题文
Your youngest son or daughter has just graduated from high school, and soon he or she will trade his or her bedroom in your home for a college residence hall. You’re starting to worry about the coming silence in your home and are wondering how you will fill the hours that you previously spent with your son or daughter attending his or her school and sporting events.Take heart — the empty nest “is often worse in anticipation (预料) than in day-to-day practice”, says psychologist Bert Hayslip Jr.
Hayslip, who has studied retirement adjustment (调整) and other aging problems, such as aging sleeplessness, for many years, points out that, more often than not, children who leave do not completely cut off contact with their parents. He advises parents to think of it as a series of life events, instead of a sudden change. He also says an empty nest can cause bigger problems to surface “if a couple hasn’t looked after their marriage while raising their children”. According to Hayslip, some couples may find they no longer have anything in common once the children are out of the house.
Thinking of an empty nest as the loss of children makes the adjustment more difficult. “With the empty-nest syndrome (综合症), parents actually need to deal with the loss of the parenting control over children, not with having really lost their children,” Hayslip says. “They just have to find a new way to get along with their children.”
“Relating to their college-age children in this new way will come easily to parents as the months pass. As with many things, the passage of time heals the pain of loss,” Hayslip says.
小题1:What does the “empty nest” mean?A．Children’s cutting off contact with their parents. B．Children’s not liking spending time with their parents. C．Children’s growing up and leaving home. D．Children’s not accepting parents’ care and love.小题2:What does the underlined word “it” in the third paragraph refer to? A．Retirement adjustment. B．Aging problem.C．Sleeplessness.D．The reality of empty nest.小题3:Why do many parents find it hard to adjust to the empty-nest life？ A．Because they think they have actually lost their children. B．Because they often disagree with their children on many things. C．Because their children completely cut off contact with them. D．Because these parents don’t have anything in common.小题4:According to Hayslip, what parents actually lose in an “empty nest” is _______. A．their children’s love for them B．their control over children C．their interest in lifeD．their contact with children 题型：未知难度：其他题型
答案
小题1:C
小题2:D
小题3:A
小题4:B
解析
当孩子高中毕业，搬到大学宿舍的时候，你有没有一种失落感，并且开始担心如何去面对家里即将来临的沉寂，空旷呢？你是不是担心如何去填充那些以前和孩子们在一起的时间呢？在本文中作者就此现象进行了深入的剖析，并且指出了家长应如何摆脱这种失落感。
小题1:C词义猜测题。文章第一段提出了孩子们升入大学，从家里搬出去这一情况，然后在下文中就孩子离开家这种情况展开讲述，由此推断empty nest指的是孩子长大后离开家，从而家就像没了小鸟的巢穴一样，所以答案选C。
小题2:D词义猜测题。根据上文children who leave do not completely cut off contact with their parents.和下文 He also says an empty nest can cause bigger problems可知作者一直在讲述孩子离开家后家长会出现的一些不适应情况，由此推测 it指的是空巢问题，所以D选项正确。
小题3:A细节理解题。根据文章倒数第二段Thinking of an empty nest as the loss of children makes the adjustment more difficult.可知如果把孩子搬离家去外面居住看作是失去孩子的话，人们会很难去适应这种空巢生活，故A选项正确。
小题4:B细节理解题。由文章倒数第二段parents actually need to deal with the loss of the parenting control over children,可知Hayslip认为在空巢现象中家长失去的仅仅是家长对子女的心理控制感，故答案选B。
考点
据考高分专家说，试题“Your youngest son or.....”主要考查你对 [日常生活类阅读 ]考点的理解。日常生活类阅读
日常生活类阅读的概念：
日常生活这一话题主要涉及人们衣食住行等方面的活动。这一话题的选材主要针对人们日常的工作，生活以及学习情况。做这一类题时，最主要的是要把握好人物的活动内容，时间和地点。
日常生活类阅读题答题技巧：
【题型说明】
该类文章内容涉及到人们的言谈举止、生活习惯、饮食起居、服饰仪表、恋爱婚姻、消遣娱乐、节日起源、家庭生活等。文章篇幅短小，追根溯源，探索各项风俗的历史渊源，内容有趣。命题也以送分题为主，如事实细节题、语义转换题、词义猜测题和简单推理判断题等。虽然这类文章读起来感觉轻松，试题做起来比较顺手，但绝不能掉以轻心。因为稍不留神，就会丢分。
【备考提醒】
为了保证较高准确率，建议同学们做好以下几点：
1、保持正常的考试心态。笔者在教学中发现，越是容易的试题，同学们越是容易失分。为什么呢？因为在这种情况下，同学们极易产生麻痹思想，认为题目好做，就不引起高度重视，于是思维不发散、不周密。而命题人就是利用同学们的这一弱点，设计陷阱题。所以，无论试题难易与否，我们都要保持正常的考试心态。试题容易，不欣喜；试题难，不悲观。
2、根据前面讲到的方法，认认真真、细细心心做好事实细节题。
3、做好语义转换题。这类题是根据英语中一词多义和某些词语在文中能表达一定的修辞意义的原则而设计的。要求同学们解释某生词的含义，确定多义词或短语在文中的意思，确认文中的某个代词所指代的对象，或者对英语中特有的表达、格言、谚语进行解释。这种题要求同学们一定要根据上下文猜测词义或理解句子，切不可望文生义。
4、做好简单推理判断题。简单推理判断题要以表面文字为前提，以具体事实为依据进行推理，做出判断。这种推理方式比较直接，只要弄清事实，即可结合常识推断出合理的结论。
