22. A child's ___ of being an individual grows in stages during the pre-school years.A. deficitB. awarenessC. mentalityD. cautio

本题考查词汇辨析，解题思路是理解每个选项单词的含义，再结合句子语境来判断哪个选项最符合。

• A选项“deficit”：意为“赤字；不足；亏损”。例如：The country has a large trade deficit.（这个国家有很大的贸易赤字。）将其代入句子“A child's deficit of being an individual grows in stages during the pre - school years.”，句子表达“孩子作为个体的不足在学前阶段分阶段增长”，语义不通，所以A选项不符合。
• B选项“awareness”：意为“意识；认识”。“awareness of”是固定搭配，表示“对……的意识”。句子“A child's awareness of being an individual grows in stages during the pre - school years.”意思是“孩子作为个体的意识在学前阶段分阶段发展”，符合句子逻辑和语境，所以B选项正确。
• C选项“mentality”：意为“心态；思想；心理”。例如：He has a very positive mentality.（他有非常积极的心态。）把它代入句子“A child's mentality of being an individual grows in stages during the pre - school years.”，“孩子作为个体的心态在学前阶段分阶段增长”，这种表达不符合正常语义逻辑，所以C选项不合适。
• D选项“caution”：意为“小心；谨慎；警告”。例如：You should exercise caution when crossing the road.（你过马路时应该小心。）代入句子“A child's caution of being an individual grows in stages during the pre - school years.”，“孩子作为个体的谨慎在学前阶段分阶段增长”，语义不合理，所以D选项不正确。