26. What’s the main idea of the passage?

A. The research done by the researchers at UCL is very useful.

B. You should learn a second language if English is not your native language.

C. If you want to learn a second language, you should do it between the ages of two and thirty-four.

D. Learning a second language can give you another window to the world and make your brain more flexible.

C

A new book written by a Chinese American on her super-strict parenting—“Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother” has raised fierce debates in the US.

Amy Chua is a Yale Law School professor and the mother of two teenage girls. She is the daughter of Chinese immigrants. In the Chinese culture, the tiger represents strength and power. In her book, Ms. Chua writes about how she demanded excellence from her daughters. Chua writes that her daughters, Sophia and Louisa, were never allowed to go on a date, be in a school play, watch TV or play computer games. They couldn’t choose their own after-class activities or get any grade less than an A. They had to play the piano or violin—and no other musical instruments.

She writes that if a Chinese child gets a B—which she says “would never happen”—there would be “a screaming, hair-tearing explosion.” She describes making her 7-year-old daughter play a piano piece perfectly—yelling, not letting her leave the bench and even using the bathroom—until it was.

Many people have criticized Amy Chua. Some say her parenting methods were abusive (虐待的). She even admits that her husband, who is not Chinese, objected to her parenting style. But she says that was the way her parents raised her and her three sisters.

Stacy Debroff, who has written four books on parenting, says Amy Chua’s parenting style is not limited to Chinese families. She says it represents a traditional way of parenting among immigrants seeking a better future for their children. But she also sees a risk. When children have no time to be social or to follow their own interests, they might not develop other skills that they need to succeed in life. Stacy Debroff advises parents not to just repeat the way they were raised.

Alison Lo, an assistant professor of marketing at the University of Washington’s Bothell campus, says, “I don’t think Amy is advocating a best practice of parenting style, or that success and achievements are critical yardsticks of a good life. But I can imagine how strong her daughters’ college applications are going to be. For many parents whose dreams are seeing their kids graduating from a competitive university, Amy is sharing with the readers that it is achievable by persistent, devoted parental guidance,” Lo says, “In that sense, a young adult’s giftedness can be born, or made.”

27. We can learn that Amy Chua is _________.

A. an assistant professor B. an easy-going woman

C. a cruel teacher D. a demanding mother

28. What do you know about Amy Chua’s husband?