Question

【题目】 Does your older brother think he’s cleverer than you? Well, he’s probably right. According to a new research published in the journal Intelligence, the oldest children in families are likely to have the highest IQs and the youngest the lowest.

A number of studies have suggested that IQ scores decline with birth order. In the most recent study, at Vrije University, Amsterdam, researchers looked at men and women whose IQ had been tested at the ages of 5，12 ，and 18．

The results, which show a trend for the oldest to score better than the youngest in each test, involved about 200,000 people. That showed that first-borns had a three-point IQ advantage over the second-born, who was a point ahead of the next in line．

The order of birth can also affect personality, achievement, and career, with first-borns being more academically successful and more likely to win Nobel prizes. However, eldest children are less likely to be radical（不同凡响的） and pioneering. Charles Darwin, for example, was the fifth child of six．

Exactly why there should be such differences is not clear, and there are a number of theories on environmental influences on the child．

The so-called dilution(稀释法) theory suggests that as family resources, both emotional and physical, as well as economic, are limited, it follows that, as a result , as more children come along, the levels of parental attention and encouragement will drop. Another theory is that the intellectual environment in the family favors the first-born who has, at least for some time, the benefit of individual care and help．

The theory which enjoys the most support is that the extra time and patience that the earlier-borned get from their parents, compared with those arriving later, gives them an advantage．

【1】What is the passage mainly about?

A.IQ scores have little to do with the order of birth．

B.Intellectual families favor the first-born.

C.The order of birth can have an effect on IQ.

D.The order of birth can affect personality, achievement, and career．

【2】By using Charles Darwin as an example, the author wants to prove that________.

A.eldest children are the smartest in a family

B.youngest children will usually become experts

C.first-borns are more likely to win Nobel prizes

D.eldest children are less likely to try something new

【3】What do we know about the dilution theory?

A.Intellectual parents love the first –born better

B.Parents’ attention will drop with more children coming

C.Family resources, both emotional and physical are endless．

D.First-born get less care and help from their parents．

【4】The passage is developed mainly by .

A.offering opinion with further explanation

B.pointing out similarities and difference

C.comparing opinions from different fields

D.providing typical examples

【5】The passage can be classified into the following type of writing_______.

A.argumentationB.description

C.narration(记叙文)D.exposition(说明)

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】C

【2】D

【3】B

【4】A

【5】D

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。根据一项新研究，出生的顺序会影响智力。关于为什么会产生这种差异，不同的理论有不同的解释。

【1】主旨大意题。根据文章第一段中的According to a new research published in the journal Intelligence, the oldest children in families are likely to have the highest IQs and the youngest the lowest.可知根据一项新研究，家庭中年龄最大的孩子可能智商最高，而最小的智商最低。文章后面也进一步解释了这个以及介绍了相关的理论，所以本文主要讲出生的顺序会影响智力，故选C项。

【2】推理判断题。根据第四段中However, eldest children are less likely to be radical（不同凡响的） and pioneering. Charles Darwin, for example, was the fifth child of six．可知长子不太可能激进和开拓。例如，查尔斯·达尔文（Charles Darwin）是六个孩子中的第五个孩子。在这里作者用达尔文是第五个孩子的例子证明前文中“长子不太可能激进和开拓”，也就是长子不太可能尝试新的东西，故选D项。

【3】细节理解题。根据第五段中的The so-called dilution(稀释法) theory suggests that as family resources, both emotional and physical, as well as economic, are limited, it follows that, as a result , as more children come along, the levels of parental attention and encouragement will drop.可知所谓的稀释法理论表明，由于家庭资源，无论是在情感上还是物质上以及经济上都是有限的，因此，随着更多的孩子的出现，父母的关注和鼓励水平也会下降。故选B项。

【4】推理判断题。本文第一二段首先介绍研究表明出生的顺序会影响智力，第三段进一步阐释了这项新研究，接着列举了三个人们用来解释为什么出生顺序会造成智商差异的理论。由此可以看出，作者通过给出一个观点然后进行进一步阐释来写这篇文章的，故选A项。

【5】推理判断题。作者先提出新研究发现家庭中年龄最大的孩子可能智商最高，而最小的智商最低，然后对其进行进一步阐释使读者对其有了一定的认识，是一篇说明文，选D项。