The importance of art for child growth藝術對于兒童成長的重要性

李全忠

在日常生活中，我們可能會忽視藝術的重要性。實際上，兒童早期在藝術方面的活動能夠促進他們在體能、認知和社交方面的技能發展。

主題語境：藝術 篇幅：316詞 建議用時：6分鐘

If youve ever watched a child find his rhythm on pots and pans or been surprised tofind a drawing on the wall， you know a childs need to create is endless. And while you maynot want your entire home to be covered with your childrens paintings， its important forchildren to experiment with and engage in the arts during their developmental years. Thebenefits of children taking part in artistic practice are plentiful， including positive impacts（影響） on physical， cognitive and social skills.

One of the most basic impacts the arts can have on children is the development of finemotor skills. Using tools like paintbrushes or crayons can be beneficial in building the mus?cles that are important in allowing kids to properly write.

Having your children create their own masterpieces also plays a role in the develop?ment of cognitive skills like language. The effect of early artistic experiments contributes tolanguage development not only by learning the appropriate names of shapes， colors and ma?terials but also descriptive words to discuss their own creations or to talk about what feel?ings are elicited （引出） when they see different styles of art works. By exposing your childrento creative environments， you are helping them pick up the skills needed to identify andcommunicate in general.

When children engage in artistic exploration， they are also developing stronger social?skills， or“pro?social”behaviors. These pro?social behaviors include sharing， empathy （共情） and caring. Whether its you who help guide your children down the path of artistic dis?covery or your childrens teachers and peers， the journey is ultimately a social one that con?tains a certain degree of collaboration.

Children can become stronger communicators， thinkers and social beings just by toy?ing with a little bit of paint. So dont be afraid to get a little messy and take some time to becreative with your kid.

Reading Check

1. What kind of skills are motor skills？

A. Artistic skills. B. Physical skills.

C. Cognitive skills. D. Social skills.

2. What can children develop by creating a piece of art work？

A. Better knowledge of art works.

B. Responsible and independent behaviors.

C. Different creative art styles.

D. Identification and communication skills.

3. How can children improve social skills through artistic exploration？

A. By working on a project on their own.

B. By cooperating with their friends.

C. By going on an actual journey.

D. By describing feelings towards art works.

4. What is the main idea of the text？

A. The arts help kids with multiple skills.

B. The process of developing kids skills.

C. The proper methods for art creations.

D. The importance of artistic practice.

Language Study

Ⅰ. Difficult sentences in the text

1. And while you may not want your entire home to be covered with your childrenspaintings， its important for children to experiment with and engage in the arts during theirdevelopmental years. 雖然你可能不希望你的整個家都被孩子的畫所覆蓋，但對孩子來說，在他們的成長階段嘗試和參與藝術（活動）是很重要的。

【點石成金】本句的主干為its important for children to experiment with and engagein the arts。其中it為形式主語，真正的主語為不定式結構；experiment with and engagein the arts為and連接的并列成分；句末的during their developmental years作時間狀語；while引導讓步狀語從句。

2. Whether its you who help guide your children down the path of artistic discovery oryour childrens teachers and peers， the journey is ultimately a social one that contains a cer?tain degree of collaboration. 無論是你幫助引導你的孩子走上藝術探索的道路，還是你孩子的老師和同齡人，這段旅程最終都是一個包含一定程度合作的社交旅程。

【點石成金】本句的主干為the journey is a social one。句首的Whether引導讓步狀語從句，其中its you who help guide your...discovery是結構為it is...who的強調句。that引導的定語從句修飾one，that在從句中作主語。

Ⅱ. Text?centered chunks

experiment with以……做試驗

engage in 參加；從事；忙于

contribute to 有助于；捐獻；帶來；促成；投稿

in general 大體上；總的來說；通常