Where Are We Going, Dad? presents a new generation of men, in a break from Chinese tradition, now take an active role in their children's lives.
Five star fathers and their children travel around China, riding camels through the western deserts, fishing off the east coast, and selling vegetables for their bus fare home in remote southwestern Yunnan province. One dad doesn’t know how to do his daughter’s hair, but give him a couple of days — he’ll figure it out. Another one must survive with his son for three days in the desert, where, because neither can cook, the two only eat instant noodles.
These story lines are part of Where Are We Going, Dad? which, since its first show in October, has become one of China’s most popular television shows, covering more than 600 million viewers each week. And searches for Where Are We Going, Dad? turn up over 40 million hits on Sina Weibo, China’s Twitter.
“In traditional Chinese culture, the common conception of parenthood is that the father is strict and the mother is kind. But on the show, we see fathers who are much gentler on their kids and more concerned with their upbringing,” said Li Minyi, an associate professor of early childhood education at the leading Beijing Normal University. “An important question arises in this show for modern Chinese society — what is the role of fathers in today’s China?”
“As they raise their children, parents are growing up at the same time,” said Wang Renping, a popular education expert, in an interview with the Qianjiang Evening News. “They cannot use parenting styles from 20 years ago to guide the development of children born 20 years later.”
The attraction of Where Are We Going, Dad? lies in the chance to have a close look at the lives of popular Chinese stars and their children. Audiences fancy watching the failed attempts of star dads making dinner, braiding hair(编头发), and disciplining children — tasks often left to mothers in a society still influenced by the opinion that “men rule outside and women rule inside.”
小题1:From the passage, we can draw a conclusion that Where Are We Going, Dad? is .
A．a TV show
B．a novel
C．a match
D．a news report小题2:In Where Are We Going, Dad, we can probably learn about .
A．how the fathers do housework at home
B．how the children study in their spare time
C．how the fathers look after and guide their children
D．how the children help their father with their travel around China小题3:Which of the following is RIGHT according to the passage?
A．In modern society, men should not care too much about their kids.
B．Where Are We Going, Dad has the most number of viewers in China.
C．In Chinese tradition, fathers always play an active part in their children’s lives.
D．While they bring up their children, parents are improving their parenting styles.小题4:The reason why Where Are We Going, Dad is so popular in China may include the following EXCEPT that .
A．audiences enjoy laughing at others’ failure in life
B．it can make people laugh and think at the same time
C．people love watching the stars and their children’s lives closely
D．it presents a new generation of men’s role in their children’s lives
