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We see it everywhere. A tired parent, at the end of a stressful day, loses it - and a child suffers. We'd like to help if we could, but we hesitate. Is it our business to intervene? And if we do, will we embarrass and offend the parent, making her even more angry with the child? Will we make the mistake of harshly telling a parent to be gentle with her children? Isn't it wiser to walk past without comment? After all, none of us is a perfect parent.
 There seems to be a common assumption in our society that intervening on behalf of a child in a public place is necessarily hurtful and critical. It needs to be neither. There is a world of difference between officious, hurtful criticism (“How dare you treat your child like that?”) and helpful intervention done in a caring way (“It can be really hard to meet their needs when you're so busy. Is there anything I can do to help?”) There is nothing essential in intervention that requires one to be offensive. The act of offering assistance to the parent, or comfort to the child, needs to have no offending qualities at all.
 Many in our society make a second common assumption that the choice we have is to give a message to the parent (and the child) or to give no message at all. But “giving no message” is not, in fact, one of our choices. We give as clear a message by walking past a distraught child as we do by intervening. Walking past, we give the message to the child that no one cares about his suffering, and to the parents we give the message that we approve of their actions.
 I have been asked if I advocate intervention in every case of potential abusiveness. Of course I do not. But there is a big difference between a child crying for no apparent reason and one who is crying because he has just been hit hard, insulted, or completely ignored. But even if a baby is crying for mysterious reasons, the parent might still welcome an offer of assistance.
 Babies cry for many reasons. Yet my friends and I have witnessed some really harmful acts: slapping, hitting, pinning against a wall, severe verbal abuse, hurtful comparisons to brothers and sisters, and so on. These children accept this treatment because they are too helpless and inexperienced to stand up for themselves. Should we simply walk past an obviously abusive situation? At exactly what point should we step in? Should we wait until the child is the victim of a severe physical assault? But assault takes many forms. That emotional abuse leaves no outward scars should not excuse us from helping these children. Those of us who can recognize damaging treatment have an obligation to step in.
 There is one more reason for intervening that is nearly always overlooked in these discussions, but which I consider to be the most significant: the lifelong effect it can have on the child. Many adults in counseling sessions still recall with gratitude the one time that a stranger stepped in on their behalf, and how much it meant: that someone cared, and that the child's feelings of anger and frustration were recognized and accepted. These adults have stated to me that this one intervention changed their lives and gave them hope. Are we to bypass the opportunity to make such a big difference in the life of a child?
 Even in the unfortunate --- and hopefully rare --- case where the parent is offended, the intervention may still act as a reminder to the parent to be more attentive to the nature of their interactions with their child.
 Psychiatric case histories clearly show that today’s psychopathic adults were yesterday's hurt children. There is no time machine we can take to help yesterday’s children. But we can help today's children to become secure and responsible adults who will treat their own children with dignity, love, and compassion.
65. What does the underlined word “intervene ” in Paragraph 1 mean?
   A. To ruin a quiet and peaceful situation.
   B. To get involved in order to change an action.
   C. To come between when you are not wanted.
   D. To stop one’s action by suddenly speaking to him.
66. If you pass an abusive situation without intervention, _______.
   A. the parent will be disappointed
   B. the child will feel lonely and helpless
   C. the abuse will become more severe
   D. the other passers-by will blame you
67. Which is one of the reasons that stop people from helping an abused child?
   A. Their forgiveness for the parent’s action.
   B. Their ignorance of what is happening.
   C. Their worry about the parent’s attack.
   D. Their disregard for the child’s situation.
68. Which intervention does the writer most likely approve of?
   A. Don't you think you are too hard on your child?
   B. Our law doesn't allow you to treat your child like that.
   C. If you can't look after her well, just leave her at home.
   D. The boy may be tired. Do you need any help?
69. What can we learn from the passage?
   A. Intervention only applies to physical abuse.
   B. If you see a child crying, intervention is always needed.
   C. Proper intervention helps a child grow healthily.
   D. A psychological problem is not so difficult to get rid of.
70. What does the passage mainly talk about?
   A. The necessity of public intervention.
   B. The education of abused children.
   C. The treatment of psychological problems.
   D. The effect of good family relationship.
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