Question

If you have a brother or sister, you already know you are different from each other. You live together in the same house and have the same parents, but you have different personalities.

Why is this? One possible reason is the way your parents treat you. First-born children receive all the attention from their parents. Most families have twice as many photos of a first-born than any other child. Parents usually give first-born more responsibility and depend on them to take care of younger brothers and sisters. As a result, first-borns are often responsible, hard-working, and jealous. They often want to do well at school and work. There are more first-born American Presidents, for example, George Bush, George Washington, and Lyndon Baines Johnson-than second or last-born children.

When a second child arrives, parents are more relaxed.  The second child has to compete with the first-born for the parents’ attention and love. Their children often choose different sports and hobbies to do well at school and work, but have to be creative to get their family’s attention. They are often friendly and cool. Many famous talk-show hosts were born last.

1.The writer thinks that the second children are often  ______ .

A. outgoing and jealous           B. cool and friendly

C. hard-working and serious       D. creative and responsible

2.The underlined word “jealous” means ______  in the passage.

A. 友好的  B. 冷静的    C. 快乐的  D. 嫉妒的

3. ______ is usually the happiest in the family according to the passage.

A. The eldest child.     B. The second child.

C. The youngest child.   D. The father.

4.We can learn from the passage that      .

A. the second child is very similar to the first-born child

B. brothers and sisters usually have the same personalities

C. it’s easy for the second child to get his or her parents’ attention

D. there are more first-born successful people than second or last-born people

5.The passage is mainly about  ______ .

A. birth order and personalities

B. the personalities of the second child in a family

C. the personalities of the eldest child in a family

D. the personalities of the youngest child in a family

Answer

1.B

2.D

3.C

4.C

5.A

【解析】

试题分析：本文讲述姐妹或是兄妹之间性格不同的原因。父母常会给第一个孩子更多的责任，所以长子多有责任心，努力。而第二个孩子出生后会和第一个孩子比较，所以他们很友好，但是却很冷酷。

1.B细节理解题。最后一段是讲述第二个孩子的性格的，根据最后一行 They are often friendly and cool. “他们通常友好冷静。”故选B。

2.D词义猜测题。结合后句They often want to do well at school and work. “他们通常在学校和工作上做的很好。”说明他们好胜，可知答案为D，嫉妒的。

3.C推理判断题。文章最后一句 Many famous talk-show hosts were born last. “许多著名的脱口秀主持都是最后出生的那一个。”脱口秀主持人都是乐观、快乐的，最后出生的那个就是最小的那个。故选C。

4.C推理判断题。根据最后一段第一行The second child has to compete with the first-born for the parents, attention and love. Their children often choose different sports and hobbies to do well at school and work, but have to be creative to get their family’s attention. “第二个孩子必须和第一个孩子争父母，注意力和爱。他们的孩子通常选择不同的运动和爱好，在学校或是工作中做到很好，但是必须具有创新性来取得家人的注意力。”由此可以推断，第二个孩子更易取得关注。故选C

5.A主旨大意题。本文主要讲述当家里有两个孩子时，孩子的性格会因出生顺序而有所不同。故选A。

考点：日常生活类短文阅读。