E

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 200,000people． 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,eldset children are less likely to be radical 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(智力) 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-borns 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 carrer．

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

 

E

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 200,000people． 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,eldset children are less likely to be radical 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(智力) 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-borns 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 carrer．

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

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 drop 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（趋势）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（学术）successful and more likely to win Nobel prizes. However, eldest children are less likely to be creative. 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（知识的）environment in the family favors the first-born who has, at least for some time, the benefit of personal care and help.

The theory which enjoys the most support is that the extra time and patience that the earlier-borns 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 carrier.

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. What kind of people is the passage mainly written for?

A．scientists        B．students                 C．experts             D．common readers

At dawn on Friday, May 19, 1780, farmers in New England stopped to wonder at the pink color of the sun. By noon the sky had darkened to midnight blackness, causing Americans, still in the painful struggle of a prolonged war of independence, to light candles and tremble at thoughts of the Last Judgment. As the birds quieted and no storm accompanied the darkness, men and women crowded into churches, where one minister commented that “The people were very attentive.” John Greenleaf Whittier later wrote that “Men prayed, and women wept; all ears grew sharp . . .”

A recent study of researchers, led by Richard Guyette from the University of Missouri’s Tree Ring Laboratory, has shown that vast forest fires in the Algonquin Highlands of southern Ontario and elsewhere in Canada brought this event upon New England. The scientists have discovered “fire scars” on the rings for that year, left when the heat of a wildfire has killed a part of a tree’s cambium (形成层). Evidence collected also points to a drought that year. An easterly wind and low barometric pressure (低气压) helped force smoke into the upper atmosphere. “The record fits pretty close,” says Guyette. “We had the right fuel, the drought. The conditions were all there.”

Lacking the ability to communicate quickly over long distances, Americans in 1780 remained in the dark about the event, which had disappeared by the next day. Over the next several months, the papers carried heated debates about what brought the darkness. Some were the voices of angry prediction, such as one Massachusetts farmer who wrote, “Oh! Backsliding New-England, attend now to the things which belong to your peace before they are forever hid from your eyes.” Others gave different answers. One stated that a “flaming star” had passed between the earth and the sun. Ash, argued another commentator. The debate, carried on throughout New England, where there were no scientific journals or academies yet, reflected an unfolding culture of scientific enquiry already sweeping the Western world, a revolution nearly as influential as the war for independence from the English.

New Englanders would not soon forget that dark day; it lived on in folklore, poems, and sermons for generations.

 

1.New Englanders crowded into churches because they were frightened by         .

A. the pink color of the sun

   B. the darkened sky at daytime

   C. the Last Judgment on Friday

   D. the American War of Independence

2.What can we infer about the event in New England on May 19, 1780?

   A. Prayers remained silent and attentive.

   B. Night birds no longer came out to sing.

   C. People’s ears became sharper than usual.

   D. Midday meals were served by candlelight.

3.According to the researchers, the origin of the event was         .

   A. an east wind

   B. a severe drought

C. some burning fuel

D. low barometric pressure

4.What can we know about the debates after the dark day?

A. They focused on causes of the event.

   B. They swept throughout the Western world.

C. They were organized by scientific institutions.

D. They improved Americans’ ability to communicate.

5.What can be the best title for the text?

   A. New England’s dark day.

   B. Voices of angry prediction.

C. There is no smoke without fire.

D. Tree rings and scientific discovery.

 

The Sauna World Championships (世界桑拿锦标赛) ended in tragedy at the weekend when one of the two finalists collapsed and died. Vladimir Ladyzhenskiy, a Russian amateur wrestler in his 60s, suffered severe burns in the bizarre(怪诞的) annual event in the southern Finnish town of Heinola. He was pronounced dead late on Saturday after he collapsed alongside reigning (卫冕) champion Timo Kaukonen of Finland roughly six minutes into the final round. The “sport” calls on participants to sit in a 230-degree (110 Celsius) room as water was tossed onto a searing stove, officials and witnesses said. Medical workers pulled both men out of the sauna in front of nearly 1,000 horrified spectators.

Both were shaking and bleeding from what appeared to be severe burns, said Hakon Eikesdal, a photographer with the Norwegian daily Dagbladet. Kaukonen, about 40, was in hospital in stable condition Sunday, contest spokesman Ossi Arvela said. The event, which had over 130 participants from 15 countries, had been held since 1999. It will never be held again, Arvela said. A pint of water is added to the stove every 30 seconds and the last person to remain at the sauna is the winner. There was no prize other than “some small things” Arvela said. He declined to provide details. Arvela said Kaukonen — the defending world champion — had refused to leave the sauna despite getting sick. Sauna bathing is a popular past-time in Finland, which has an estimated 1.6 million saunas for a population of 5 million.

Temperatures are normally kept around 158 to 176 degrees (70~80 degrees Celsius). “I know this is very hard to understand to people outside Finland who are not familiar with the sauna habit,” Arvela said. “It is not so unusual to have 110 degrees in a sauna. A lot of competitors before have sat in higher temperatures than that.” Arvela said all rules in Saturday’s competition were followed and the temperatures and times were similar to those in previous years.

1.Which of the following is True of Paragraph 1?

A．Only the Russian amateur wrestler suffered severe burns in the Sauna World Championships.

B．Timo Kaukonen won a world sauna championship though he was badly burned.

C．In the Sauna World Championships Vladimir Ladyzhenskiy was badly burned and then died.

D．Both of the finalists were pulled out of the sauna, then they were horrified to death.

2.The underlined word “searing” means “__________”.

A．burning           B．comfortable        C．warm             D．extinct

3.What can we conclude from the situation after the tragedy?

A．There was no prize other than “some small things”, which the world champion would refuse to accept.

B．Ossi Arvela suggested there were great risks in the sauna contest and it never be held in the future.

C．The contest would be continued in which the temperatures were kept around 158 to 176 degrees.

D．It was unusual to have 110 degrees in a sauna and it was hard to understand to some people outside.

4.We can infer from the news that ___________.

A．sauna is so popular that there are often competitions on weekdays in Finland.

B．the temperatures in usual saunas are too high for most people to stand in Finland.

C．the sauna contest is much too horrible even for the spectators in Finland.

D．there is a sauna for more than three people on average in Finland.