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In Britain, in a population of 60 million, there are 13 million grandparents, many of whom live alone a
long way from their grandchildren.The loneliness of these older people has become an issue that schools
are trying to teach children about .
On a popular teacher's website, there is a classroom activity to help make children aware of the
implications of the different generations of the same family living far from each other. It's a story about Mrs. Eiderdown, an elderly lady whose grandchildren have moved to Australia with their parents. She lives
alone and rarely sees her family .
First of all, the children speculate about Mrs. Eiderdown's life. What does she have for breakfast ?
what does she do all day ?how does she feel about her life ?
One day, Mrs. Eiderdown decides that she wants a pet to keep her company and puts an
advertisement in a local shop window. Then she waits at home to see if anyone will answer her
advertisement .
A tall thin man rings her doorbell. he is holding a cardboard box. Mrs. Eiderdown chats with the man
for ten minutes before she realizes that she hasn't looked in-side the box to see what the pet is. She can hear a his-sing sound. The children guess what is in the box(a snake). Mrs. Eiderdown thanks the man but
says she doesn't think the snake is a good idea .
The next time the doorbell rings, there's a lady on the doorstep, also carrying a cardboard box.In the
bottom of the box, Mrs. Eiderdown sees something black and hairy with eight legs. Again ,the children say what they think it is (a spider). Mrs. Eiderdown thanks the lady for her kindness but says that a spider is
not the sort of pet she has in mind.
At last, the little girl next door brings her a dog .Mrs. Eiderdown's life improves a lot because of the dog.
more importantly, of course, the little girl, whose own granny lives a long way away, starts to visit
Mrs.Eiderdown more often. This interactive classroom idea has led to a greater awareness among children about the possible loneliness of older people who live quite near them .
1.what's the main idea of the passage?
A.children get to know about the trouble of the elderly
B. neighbors help select pets for Mrs. Eiderdown
C. society helps the lonely people in the UK
D. school send pets to the lonely elderly
2.what does the underlined sentence in the third paragraph mean ?
A. they talk about how she feels about being old
B. they try to experience her loneliness
C. they try to imagine how she lives
D. they write about her life story
3. what can we infer from the passage ?
A. the little girl often visits her own granny
B. the people who offer pets are lady's neighbors
C. the farther the elderly live ,the lonelier they feel
D. the little girl begins to care more about Mrs. Eiderdown
