If you have a brother or sister, you already know you are different from each other. You live together in the same house and with 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–borns more responsibility（責任）and depend on them to take care of younger brothers and sisters. As a result, first–borns are often responsible, hard–wording and serious. They often want to do well at school and work. There are more first–born American presidents than second or last-born children—for example, George W. Bush, George Washington, and Lyndon Baines Johnson.

When a second child arrives, parents are not so excited．The second child has to compete with the first–born for the parents’ attention and love. These 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 serious                     B．cool and friendly

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

（　 ）2. The underlined word “personalities” means _______ in the passage.

A．友好                   B．冷靜                 C．個性                 D．智商

（　 ）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

完形填空（共12分，每小題1分）

閱讀下面的短文，掌握其大意，然后從短文后各題所給的A、B、C、D四個選項中，選擇最佳選項

　　I had my first job at the age of thirteen, when a friend of my mother’s who owned a book shop hired（雇傭） me for six hours a week to help her in the shop. I was very 　1　 　to earn my own pocket money and my parents 　2　 　interfered（干涉）with how I spent it, even when I was spending it foolishly. They believed that by earning money, spending it, and learning from the 　3　 , I would become more mature（成熟的） and responsible about how to handle work, relationships with others, and money.

　　Like many American parents, my parents also let me and my brothers do things over which they 　4 　　a great deal. When I was sixteen, for example, after I finished high school and before I entered university, I wanted to spend the summer months traveling around Europe. My mother was against the idea of my traveling alone at such a young age, but my father felt that it would be a great 　5　 　for me. In the end, my father won the argument（爭論） on the 　6　 　that I limited（限定）my traveling to France, my mother’s home, where I had many uncles, aunts and cousins spread out through the country who could 　7　 　shelter（住處）and help if I needed them.

　　Three years later, my younger brother decided to 　8　 　a year off after his first year in university and travel through the United States and the Caribbean. Again my mother was very worried and not eager to see my brother leave school, but my father encouraged him and my brother had a(n) 　9　 　year working his way on trains and ships to 　10 　　passage to different ports and cities, and discovering many fascinating places and people.

　　These kinds of experiences are probably rare（稀少的）for children in many countries but in the US they are fairly common. Most parents start 　11　 　their children at a young age to do small things by themselves. By the time they have finished high school, many American kids have already had part-time jobs, traveled around the US or other countries on their own, have selected the university they plan to attend and maybe even 　12　 　on their future career, and so on.

1.                A．anxious　　     B．content　　　   C．proud    D．hopeful

2.                A．never          B．ever　　　 　   C．always    D．even

3.                A．problems       B．mistakes        C．disappointment D．failure

4.                A．helped         B．supported       C．shared   D．worried

5.                                  A．journey　　 B．experience

C．decision　　　　                  D．possibility

6.                A．situation　      B．agreement      C．gesture   D．condition

7.                A．promise　　    B．afford          C．provide   D．serve

8.                A．set            B．put            C．take D．keep

9.                A．unusual        B．hard           C．strange   D．busy

10.               A．accept　　     B．earn           C．find  D．search

11.               A．bringing　　    B．forcing

　　              C．pushing　　　　　                 D．protecting

12.               A．worked　　     B．decided        C．carried    D．tried

完形填空（共12分，每小題1分）
閱讀下面的短文，掌握其大意，然后從短文后各題所給的A、B、C、D四個選項中，選擇最佳選項
　　I had my first job at the age of thirteen, when a friend of my mother’s who owned a book shop hired（雇傭） me for six hours a week to help her in the shop. I was very 　1　 　to earn my own pocket money and my parents 　2　 　interfered（干涉）with how I spent it, even when I was spending it foolishly. They believed that by earning money, spending it, and learning from the 　3　 , I would become more mature（成熟的） and responsible about how to handle work, relationships with others, and money.
　　Like many American parents, my parents also let me and my brothers do things over which they 　4 　　a great deal. When I was sixteen, for example, after I finished high school and before I entered university, I wanted to spend the summer months traveling around Europe. My mother was against the idea of my traveling alone at such a young age, but my father felt that it would be a great 　5　 　for me. In the end, my father won the argument（爭論） on the 　6　 　that I limited（限定）my traveling to France, my mother’s home, where I had many uncles, aunts and cousins spread out through the country who could 　7　 　shelter（住處）and help if I needed them.
　　Three years later, my younger brother decided to 　8　 　a year off after his first year in university and travel through the United States and the Caribbean. Again my mother was very worried and not eager to see my brother leave school, but my father encouraged him and my brother had a(n) 　9　 　year working his way on trains and ships to 　10 　　passage to different ports and cities, and discovering many fascinating places and people.
　　These kinds of experiences are probably rare（稀少的）for children in many countries but in the US they are fairly common. Most parents start 　11　 　their children at a young age to do small things by themselves. By the time they have finished high school, many American kids have already had part-time jobs, traveled around the US or other countries on their own, have selected the university they plan to attend and maybe even 　12　 　on their future career, and so on.