How do young children learn to have good values？ How can parents teach their children about the importance of kindness, patience, and self-discipline？ At a time when more and more parents worry about the negative and violent images(暴力形象) their children see on TV, in the movies and, on the Internet, some are turning to fairy tales(童话) as a way to teach their young ones how to behave in society.
Fairy tales were not always intended for children.We know this because some of these stories have existed for hundreds of years and were passed down from generation to generation through songs and drama.They were considered entertainment for everyone, not only for young people.In these ancient stories, the heroes were extremely clever, fiercely independent, and never gave up.Over the years, some of the heroes’ qualities and story lines have been changed to fit the times. Psychologists think that fairy tales have a positive influence on children because they present the two sides of good and evil very clearly.When children hear the stories, they develop sympathetic feelings for the heroic characters.In each tale, they can see that there are many different kinds of people in the world and that we all have a choice about what kind of person we want to be.We can choose to do good actions, rather that bad ones, in our lives.
What kind of values can children learn from fairy tales？ In “The Princess and the Pea,” a poorly dressed girl who insists she is a princess is given a difficult test by the Queen.When she passes the test, we learn that she is rewarded because she stayed true to herself.In “The Little Mermaid,” the mermaid(美人鱼)who lives under the sea longs to be with the humans on land.Through her experiences, we learn about the importance of living with and accepting other cultures.In “Pinocchio,” a wooden puppet(木偶)turns into a boy when he finally learns how to tell the truth. Teaching values is the reason most often given for teaching literature and encouraging reading.These old stories can indeed teach us lessons about human relationships that are universal(普遍的) enough to survive throughout the centuries.This might be the reason why they have been around for so long and are unlikely to disappear any time soon.
1.What do we learn about fairy tales from the passage？ _______
A.They are written solely for children
B.They teach universal lessons about human relationships
C.They are all passed down through songs and drama
D.They are adapted to TV and movies as entertainment
2.Why do fairy tales have a positive influence on children？
A.Good and evil are presented in way they can easily understand
B.The characters are all good examples for them to follow
C.The heroes go through all kinds of hardships but never give up
D.There are many different kinds of characters for them to imitate
3.Some of the heroes’ qualities in fairy tales have been changed over the years ________.
A.to reflect the change of values
B.to suit the tastes of different people
C.to arouse the interest of little children
D.to adapt to the change of the times
4.Children who have heard about the story of the little mermaid might ________.
A.learn to be better self-disciplined
B.be more likely to tell the truth than to tell lies
C.learn to stay true to themselves all their lives
D.be better able to accept foreign cultures
5.Parents encourage children to read fairy tales so that they ________.
A.can entertain themselves without bothering others
B.can get to know great literature of the world
C.can stay away from violence shown on TV
D.can learn how to behave in society
