Among the Boys is a unique after-school program for boys living in the Highland Park neighborhood of our city. The organizational task is to provide males living in low-income and public housing with opportunities to discover their ability to change challenges into possibilities. The program includes an academic part as well as specific plans for supporting the overall development of the participants. Among the Boys uses painting as an instrument for helping boys examine their world, discuss it, and develop positive ways of handling the challenges they face daily. Young men present personal challenges to the group, such as a recent fight or the long-term drug abuse they observe in their neighborhood. After guided discussion, the youth work as a team, determining how to best represent the issue at hand in a painting. The resulting paintings and explanations of these paintings provided by the young people suggest that something profound(深远的) occurs through this process. These young men are learning a healthy way to express and cope with the pain and suffering they feel. Art serves as a healing process and a structured method of teaching teamwork, nonviolent values, conflict handling and problem-solving skills.
Activities in Among the Boys are in agreement with the best practices in the prevention of high-risk behavior. First, community-based youth development programs are considered important parts of a comprehensive prevention method, particularly in high-risk neighborhoods. Second, compensatory(补偿) education that targets at risk youth for academic failure is also considered an effective prevention method. Third, interventions(介入) aimed at improving youth’s moral reasoning, social problem-solving, and thinking skills are reported to be effective methods for reducing violence in high-risk populations, especially when carried out with elementary school-aged boys. Finally, Among the Boys has an adapted tutoring part, considered an effective prevention tool. Tutoring is typically a one-to-one match between a tutor and a youth, but Among the Boys employs what is referred to as “group tutoring.” Among the Boys makes up for its high student-tutor ratio(比例) with quality and quantity of time, as the program meets after school, on Saturdays, and all day during the summer, and is staffed primarily by males, an unusual quality among educational programs.
Among the Boys is rare and successful form of grassroots program, and represents the dream of a successful male who grew up in the Highland Park neighborhood and has returned to make a valuable contribution to his community.
小题1:Which of the following most accurately describes the organization of the second paragraph？
A．A theory is presented and proved with data.
B．A statement is made and supported with examples.
C．A problem is put forward and solutions are suggested
D．A situation is described and a prediction is provided小题2: Which of the following statements is implied in the passage?
A．Art programs can promote painting but cannot prevent school failure.
B．Social problem-solving skills are not important for high school-age youth.
C．Most educational programs have some female staff members.
D．Teamwork produces better paintings than does independent work.小题3: In discussing Among the Boys’ tutoring part, the author implies that ______.
A．Among the Boys employs a traditional tutoring model
B．tutoring is effective only with elementary school-age boys
C．tutoring prevents the youth’s attention from wandering off
D．increased hours with a group can be as effective as a one-to-one tutoring relationship小题4:The founder of the program described in the passage ______.
A．sought contributions to make his program successful
B．designed the program for the same neighborhood in which he grew up
C．is seeking reelection for the Highland Park community school board
D．was a successful graduate of Among the Boys when he was a youth小题5: The attitude of the author of the passage toward Among the Boys is ______.
A．forgiving
B．doubtful
C．praising
D．ignorant
