Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 36 to 42.
I grew up with precious little choice about anything. You ate what you were given, went to school where you were told, wore your sister's hand-me-downs. And twice a year - birthday, Christmas - you got a present. We weren't poor at all but that was entirely normal and I don't remember feeling remotely deprived. Today, as we can see all around us, children seem to have everything - designer clothes, computer games, fussy eating habits and the attention span of itchy gnats. A report yesterday from the Children's Society found that one in ten kids now has mental illness diagnosed and it concluded that materialistic consumer pressure may be partly to blame, with children from poor backgrounds the main victims.
Where is it coming from, this consumer pressure? First, from television, and the false dreams on offer there. Children from poor backgrounds, as well as having less money to buy the latest clothes or electronic games, are more likely to have parents without time to spend with them, and homes without access to outside space, so are far more likely to end up spending hours in front of the telly soaking up adverts alongside the easy gratification offered by cartoon; fantasy or drama. You cannot just blame the parents for this; many will be working hard, with no choice, just to put food on the table; after all, how many can afford a house with a garden in a city or suburb these days?
Of course parents can correct bouts of consumerism in their children by teaching them what is and is not affordable, but why subject them to the clever traps of marketing people in the first place? Pressure is bad enough as it is, from schoolfriends and celebrity excess, without allowing some of the cleverest adult minds in the sharpest advertising agencies in the world to manipulate them as well.
But why is it in a child's interests to be treated like a consumer? It has yet to be proven that giving even adults a wide range of choices improves their lives. In many instances, from too many yoghurts in the supermarket all the way up to a supposed choice of doctor or school, it is just confusing and stressful. I think the fewer, carefully selected, choices we can give young children, the more we help them. Watch the exhausted face of a six-year-old confronted by all this year's Christmas presents, without the time to play with any of them for more than a few minutes, and see what I mean.
We are spoilt, and we are spoiling our children. They need to be taught to look down as well as up; to choose to feel fortunate, and not envious -and to recognise that gratification isn't as easy as buying a new toy or switching on a dream. And, as my mother would have been delighted to hear, it will not cost a thing.
(Adapted from Traveller by H.Q. Mitchell)
Question 36. Which best serves as the title for the passage?
A. Poor children are falling victim. B. I want less choice, not more.
C. The cons of consumerism. D. A message to my mother.
Question 37. The word “deprived” in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to _______.
A. negative B. disappointed C. disadvantaged D. affluent
Question 38. According to paragraph 2, what is the major concern surrounding poor children being exposed to the television?
A. They are less likely to spend time in the garden.
B. They are less likely to buy clothes and electronic games.
C. They will become addicted to cartoons and fantasy stories.
D. They will see a lot of television commercials.
Question 39. The word ‘gratification’ in paragraph 2 mostly means _______.
A. satisfaction B. boredom C. interest D. assumption
Question 40. The word ‘them’ in paragraph 3 refers to _______.
A. adverts B. parents C. children D. bouts
Question 41. Which of the following is true, according to the passage?
A. The materialistic culture we live in is wholly responsible for the rise in mental illness among children.
B. Children from impoverished backgrounds are less likely to feel the negative effects of consumerism.
C. Television contributes more to creating consumer pressure than other media outlets.
D. Content on television portrays an unrealistic view of the world we live in.
Question 42. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?
A. Having a great amount of choice is not always beneficial.
B. Buying children a new toy can free them from the pressure of consumerism.
C. Children are more spoilt today than they were ten years ago.
D. Most six year olds receive too many gifts during Christmas time.
