Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks from 26 to 30. "Parents to

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks from 26 to 30.

"Parents today want their kids to spend time on things that can bring them success, but (26) _______ we've stopped doing one thing that's actually been a proven predictor of success – and that's household chores," says Richard Rende, a developmental psychologist in Paradise Valley, Ariz, (27) _______ co-author of the forthcoming book "Raising Can-Do Kids.” Decades of studies show the benefits of chores - academically, emotionally, and even professionally. Giving children household chores at an early age helps to build (28) _______ lasting sense of mastery, responsibility and self-reliance, according to a research by Marty Rossmann, professor emeritus at the University of Minnesota. In 2002, Dr. Rossmann analyzed data from a longitudinal study (29) _______ followed 84 children across four periods in their lives - in preschool, around ages 10 and 15, and in their mid-20s. She found that young adults who began chores at ages 3 and 4 were more likely to have good relationships with family and friends, to achieve academic and early career success and to be self-sufficient, as (30) _______ with those who didn't have chores or who started them as teens. Chores also teach children how to be empathetic and responsive to others' needs, notes psychologist Richard Weissbourd of the Harvard Graduate School of Education. 

(Adapted from http://www.wsj.com/articles/why-children-need-chores)