题文
Ridgewood is a small, quiet town 20 miles from Manhattan. It is a typical suburban town, perfect for raising children away from the fast pace of the city. However, some Ridgewood kids feel as upset as if they were on the city’s busy streets. In addition to hours of homework, Ridgewood’s children are occupied with afterschool activities — from swimming to piano to religious classes.Out of desperation one day, the town decided to schedule another activity. This one was called “Ridgewood Family Night — Ready, Set, Relax!” Instead of schedules filled with sports, music, or overtime at the office, some of the town’s 25,000 residents decided to take the night off and stay home. For a few months before Family Night, a committee of volunteers worked hard to spread the word. Younger students took “Save the Date for Me” leaflets home to their parents. The mayor issued a statement, and schools and clubs agreed to cancel homework and meetings so families could relax and be together.
The tension between a hope for a more relaxed lifestyle and the knowledge that the benchmark for success has been raised in recent years weighs heavily on the minds of the townspeople. Some parents like to recall a different kind of childhood, one without so many scheduled afterschool activities. However, these same parents feel obliged to make sure their children are prepared to survive in today’s high-pressure work environment. They are afraid that any gap in their children’s physical or intellectual development might mean they won’t be admitted to the “right” universities and won’t succeed in a more and more competitive world.
Nevertheless, it seems that Family Night worked, at least to a point. Cars moved easily around Ridgewood’s normally busy downtown streets, and stores and restaurants saw a drop in business. Some families ate supper together for the first time in months.
Initially, there was great hope of taking back their lives. But sadly, few families believe that one night will change their lives. Many are sure that they will fall back into the habit of over-scheduling their children to be overachieving adults.
小题1:The writer describes Ridgewood as a town where ________.A．residents take little notice of educationB．children are stressful and over expectedC．parents are concerned about children’s safetyD．children lead a life of relaxed, ordinary rhythms小题2:According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true about the Family Night?A．Schools assigned no homework.B．Fewer people ate in the restaurants.C．The streets were less crowded.D．People enjoyed meeting each other.小题3:According to the passage, the parents in Ridgewood ________.A．have conflicting desires about what experiences to offer their childrenB．are happy with the lifestyle they have chosen for themselves and the childrenC．believe that it is their duty to make a change for the stressful life styleD．are worried about their children’s lacking of big ambition小题4:We may get the conclusion from the passage that ________.A．the concept of Family Night will become a regular part of life in RidgewoodB．Ridgewood people believe the Family Night will change their way of livingC．Family Night is not as popular as people have originally thoughtD．schools are worried about students being given too much free time 题型：未知 难度：其他题型
答案
小题1:B
小题2:D
小题3:A
小题4:C
解析
文章介绍因为学习和就业的压力，Ridgewood的孩子除了做作业，还要上课外的课程，有人建议事项Ridgewood Family Night，这样学校没有作业，人们呆在家里，享受和家人的时光，但是这个想法不像人们远离想象的那么受欢迎。
小题1:细节题：从第一段的句子：However, some Ridgewood kids feel as upset as if they were on the city’s busy streets. In addition to hours of homework, Ridgewood’s children are occupied with afterschool activities — from swimming to piano to religious classes. 可知Ridgewood的孩子除了做作业，还要上课外的课程，所以有压力，选B
小题2:细节题：从第二段的句子：This one was called “Ridgewood Family Night — Ready, Set, Relax!” Instead of schedules filled with sports, music, or overtime at the office, some of the town’s 25,000 residents decided to take the night off and stay home.和第四段的句子 Cars moved easily around Ridgewood’s normally busy downtown streets, and stores and restaurants saw a drop in business. Some families ate supper together for the first time in months.可知实行family night后，学校没有作业，人们呆在家里，不出去吃饭了，街道上不那么拥挤了，D表达错误。
小题3:细节题：从第三段的句子：Some parents like to recall a different kind of childhood, one without so many scheduled afterschool activities. However, these same parents feel obliged to make sure their children are prepared to survive in today’s high-pressure work environment. 可知这里的父母对提供什么经验给孩子想法是有冲突的，选A
小题4:推理题：从最后一段的句子：Initially, there was great hope of taking back their lives. But sadly, few families believe that one night will change their lives. 可知Ridgewood Family Night 不像人们远离想象的那么受欢迎，选C
考点
据考高分专家说，试题“Ridgewood is a small.....”主要考查你对 [社会现象类阅读 ]考点的理解。社会现象类阅读
社会现象类阅读概念：
这类文章通过写人记事来揭示文章的主题，显示其社会意义，一般采用顺序或倒叙来叙述。题目经常是一些细节问题。考查的方面可以是原因和其中引发的思考。
社会现象类阅读解题技巧：
这类文章通过写人记事来揭示文章的主题，显示其社会意义，一般采用顺序或倒叙来叙述。题目经常是一些细节问题。考查的方面可以是原因和其中引发的思考。阅读这类文章要理清思路。
1、浏览试题，明确要求。
在阅读文章前，最好先浏览一下文章后面的题干和选项。知道了问题后再去看文章，可使思路更敏捷，而且也便于阅读时留意文中出现的与选项有关的信息。
2、通读全文，抓住主要内容。
在不影响理解的前提下，尽可能地阅读以便在尽可能短的时间内理解文章或段落的内容。阅读时，如遇到不熟悉的单词、词组或一时看不懂的句子，不要停下来苦思冥想，继续读下去，通过上下文的词语和句子可能就理解了。
3、抓住中心思想和段落大意。
通读全文时，要特别注意主题句。每篇文章或每个段落都有与文章有关的句子，尤其是科技、政论性文章的主题句一般都在文章的开头或结尾，插在中间的很少。所以，文章的第一段或开头的第一、二个句子往往包含着文章的中心思想、作者的意图或全文的概述，因此要特别注意，彻底理解。
4、有针对性地仔细阅读，找寻所需信息。
在前面的基础上，可进行有针对性地阅读了。把与问题无关的内容一扫而过，而对于和问题有关的内容认真阅读，还可以用笔在下面做出记号。再把这些信息与问题的要求结合起来，逐条分析，综合判断，找出正确答案。
5、进行合理的推理判断。
对文章有了全面的了解之后，可以按照文章要求以及上下文之间的关系，做出推理判断。在进行推理判断的时候，需要综合考虑句型、语法、句子之间的逻辑关系、文化背景等方面的因素。
6、认真复读，验证答案。
要用全文的中心思想统帅各个题目，研究其内在联系和逻辑关系，并依次审核那些还未打上的题目，确保理解无误。
