Do you treat your children a toy or money when they perform well at school? According to a study, such actions could be harmful to their development, and cause them to be more materialistic(贪图享乐的) as adults.

The study suggests that those who were rewarded and spoiled as children were more likely to think possessions define who we are. The study was published in the Journal of Consumer Research and conducted by researchers Dr Marsha Richins (University of Missouri) and Dr Lan Nguyen Chaplin (University of Illinois at Chicago).

“Using material possessions to express love or reward children for their achievements can backfire,” wrote the authors in the paper called Material Parenting. “Loving and supportive parents can develop materialism in their children despite their best efforts to guide them away from relying on material possessions to find happiness or to judge others.”

The authors surveyed 701 adults to measure the long-term impact of material parenting. They were asked to describe their current life situation and values, and also reported on a variety of childhood circumstances, their relationship with their parents, and the rewards and punishments they received during three critical ages of childhood. Results showed adults who had received more material rewards and punishments as children were more likely than others to use possessions to define and express who they are. And adults who received many material rewards as children were likely to continue rewarding themselves with material goods and defining themselves through their possessions.

Parents should therefore be cautious about using material goods to express their love and reward their children for good behavior, warn the researchers. They say an overemphasis on material possessions during childhood can have long-lasting effects. It can pave “the way for their children to grow up to be more likely than others to admire people with expensive possessions and judge success by the kinds of things people own,” the authors conclude.

本时文内容由奇速英语国际教育研究院原创编写，未经书面授权，禁止复制和任何商业用途，版权所有，侵权必究！（作者投稿及时文阅读定制请联系微信：18980471698）

1.What do parents expect at the very beginning according to Material Parenting?

A Helping children develop materialism.

B Showing love or support to their children.

C Making children rely on material possessions.

D Keeping kids from finding happiness through possessions.

解析：选D。D 细节理解题。根据第三段“despite their best efforts to guide them away from relying on material possessions to find happiness or to judge others”可 知，家长的本意是尽最大努力引导孩子不要依靠 物质财富来寻找幸福或评判他人。故选 D。

2.What were the participants asked in the survey?

A Life situation of their childhood.

B Rewards and punishment in childhood.

C Relationships with their children.

D Unforgettable stories through their life.

解析：选B。B 细节理解题。根据第四段“They were asked to describe...the rewards and punishments they received during three critical ages of childhood.”可 知，调查问卷包括孩童时期得到的物质奖励或处 罚。故选 B。

3.What is the researchers’ advice to parents?

A Overemphasizing on material possessions.

B Admiring people with expensive possessions.

C Judging success by the kinds of things people own.

D Be careful when rewarding children for good behavior.

解析：选D。D 细节理解题。根据第五段第一句“Parents should therefore be cautious about using material goods to express their love and reward their children for good behavior, warn the researchers.”可知研究人 员说，父母应该谨慎使用物质来表达他们的爱和奖励孩子的良好行为。故选 D。

4.What is the main idea of the passage?

A How to treat your children in your daily life.

B Rewarding children can be harmful to their development.

C Many parents reward children with money or toys for good behavior.

D Children rewarded with material goods tend to grow up to be materialistic.

解析：选D。D 主旨大意题。根据第一段(主旨段)可知，本文 主要介绍在孩子表现好的时候，如果过多的用物 质奖励孩子，孩子长大后容易变得物质。故选 D。

5.What is the advice of the researchers to parents?

A Parents should guide children to admire people with expensive possessions.

B Parents should not use material goods to reward children for good behavior.

C Parents should be careful when rewarding their children for good behavior.

D Parents should give their children overemphasis on material goods.

解析：选C。C 细节理解题。根据文章第5段Parents should therefore be cautious about using material goods to…可知，研究者们的建议是，作为家长，物资奖励的做法要谨慎使用，要有度，否则将会事与愿违。