Leaving a child under 12 at home should be made a criminal offence, most parents believe.

A YouGov poll of parents carried out by The Times found that two thirds want the government to set a minimum age limit that is legally binding.

Most say that the current situation, in which families judge for themselves when it is safe to leave a child, is inadequate. In the poll the age of 12 was the youngest age at which most parents felt comfortable leaving a child at home for an hour, with 61 percent saying that this would be generally safe. Only a quarter of parents thought it acceptable to leave a ten-year-old for an hour, and 7 per cent believed that applied to an eight-year-old. 

The poll was conducted after it occurred that a mother who left her six-year-old son at home for 45 minutes had been given a police caution. Eight years ago, the mother was taking a driving lesson, and a health visitor called at her home. The caution is preventing the mother from pursuing a career as a mental health nurse. The disappearance of Madeleine McCann in the Algarve in May 2007 has also intensified the debate. The girl and her brothers had been left asleep while her parents dined with friends at a restaurant 50m away. Her parents say that the apartment was always within their sight.

Justine Roberts, chief executive of the Mumsnet forum, told The Times: “Actually the decision comes down to the individual child. Some parents would happily leave their responsible eight-year-old on the sofa for ten minutes while they head to the corner shop. Others would refuse to leave a more absent-minded 12-year-old home alone under any circumstances,” she said. “The reason why the question arises so regularly on Mumsnet is because we all want to be sure that our decisions aren’t entirely off the wall. We parents do need clear and flexible research-based guidance.”

The poll found that three in five parents did not know what the law was. Despite the public demand for guidance, though, there is little prospect that the main parties will act.

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1.How many parents think it OK to leave their ten-year-olds at home alone for an hour?

A 60%.

B 25%.

C 80%.

D 66%.

解析：选B。B 细节理解题。根据文章第三段Only a quarter of parents thought it acceptable to leave a ten-year-old for an hour可知，只有四分之一（25%）的人认为将10岁的孩子单独留在家里是可以接受的。

2.Why does the author mention the two incidents in the passage?

A It helps to make it illegal to leave a child under 12 alone at home.

B It warns parents not to take driving lessons with children at home alone.

C It tells parents not to dine out with children sleeping at home alone.

D The two incidents started and intensified the child-care debate.

解析：选D。D 细节理解题。根据文章第四段The poll was conducted after…The disappearance of …has also intensified the debate可知，这两个事件引起并加剧了有关将孩子留在家中的最佳年龄的讨论，是标志性的事件。

3.What is the concern of the parents who take part in the forum on Momsnet?

A They want to be assured that they have made the right decision.

B They want to have a new law passed telling them the minimum age limit.

C They worry that they might be given a police caution.

D They wonder if the main parties will agree to pass the new law.

解析：选A。A 细节理解题。根据文章第五段The reason why the question arises so regularly …is because we all want to be sure that our decisions …do need clear and flexible research-based guidance可知，父母很关心自己将孩子留在家中的决定是否正确，从而避免违反儿童监护的法律。

4.What does the underlined phrase most probably mean in Paragraph Five?

A Distant from the wall.

B Extraordinary and rare.

C Unusual or even crazy.

D Disappointing and frustrating.

解析：选C。C 猜测词义题。根据文章中的sure，前文的inadequate, comfortable, acceptable可以判断，off the wall 在文章中意为“不平常的甚至疯狂的”，父母们都想在监护孩子方面尽到责任，不愿意被别人认为做了荒唐事。

5.What can be inferred from the passage?

A The legal age limit for leaving children home alone is unlikely to be set.

B Parents are very responsible and hardly leave their children home alone.

C Parents are not allowed to leave their children under 12 home alone.

D Children that are left home alone are very likely to make trouble for parents.

解析：选A。A 推理判断题。根据文章最后一段there is little prospect that the main parties will act可知，恐怕主要政党不会有什么行动，结合文章开头的Leaving a child under 12 at home should be made a criminal offence判断，公众要求将小于12岁的孩子单独留在家中的行为视为非法的请求难以成为具有约束力的法律条文。