How is it that siblings （兄弟姐妹） can turn out so differently? One answer is that in fact each sibling grows up in a different family． The firstborn is, for a while, an only child, and therefore has a completely different experience of the parents than those born later． The next child is, for a while, the youngest, until the situation is changed by a new arrival． The mother and father themselves are changing and growing up too． One sibling might live in a stable and close family in the first few years; another might be raised in a family crisis, with a disappointed mother or an angry father．
Sibling competition was identified as an important shaping force as early as in 1918． But more recently, researchers have found many ways in which brothers and sisters are a lasting force in each others’ lives． Dr． Annette Henderson says firstborn children pick up vocabulary more quickly than their siblings． The reason for this might be that the later children aren’t getting the same one-on-one time with parents． But that doesn’t mean that the younger children have problems with language development． Later-borns don’t enjoy that much talking time with parents, but instead they harvest lessons from bigger brothers and sisters, learning entire phrases and getting an understanding of social concepts such as the difference between “I” and “me”．
A Cambridge University study of 140 children found that siblings created a rich world of play that helped them grow socially． Love-hate relationships were common among the children． Even those siblings who fought the most had just as much positive communication as the other sibling pairs．
One way children seek more attention from parents is by making themselves different from their siblings, particularly if they are close in age． Researchers have found that the first two children in a family are typically more different from each other than the second and third． Girls with brothers show their differences to a maximum degree by being more feminine than girls with sisters． A 2003 research paper studied adolescents from 185 families over two years, finding that those who changed to make themselves different from their siblings were successful in increasing the amount of warmth they gained from their parents． In terms of language development, later-borns ________．
| A．get their parents’ individual guidance |
| B．learn a lot from their elder siblings |
| C．experience a lot of difficulties |
| D．pick up words more quickly |
What was found about fights among siblings?
| A．Siblings hated fighting and loved playing． |
| B．Siblings in some families fought frequently． |
| C．Sibling fights led to bad sibling relationships． |
| D．Siblings learned to get on together from fights． |
The word “feminine” （in Para． 4） means “_______”．
| A．having qualities of parents |
| B．having qualities of women |
| C．having defensive qualities |
| D．having extraordinary qualities |
The following table shows some results of a survey （调查）in which 800 Japanese school pupils were asked to give their impressions（印象）of their classroom teachers. The pupils’ impressions were found to differ depending on whether the teacher was new (with less than three years’ experience), middle-standing(ten to twenty years), or veteran（有经验的）（twenty to thirty years）. The numbers in the table show the percentage of the pupils who answered “very satisfied” or “extremely satisfied” for each question item （项目）
| Question Items |
New |
Middle-standing |
Veteran |
| 1.Shows sense of humor in class 2.Explains clearly 3.Teaches in a relaxed（放松的）manner. 4. Writes neatly on the blackboard 5. Lets pupils ask questions in class 6. Makes checks in notebooks 7. Speaks loudly and clearly 8. Treats pupils equally 9. Cares about pupils opinions 10. Spends time with pupils between classes |
42 33 30 9 18 22 45 43  4725 |
56 58 46 43 30 30 85 58 43 10 |
70 68 65 56 47 43 54 42 17 6 |
In contrast（对比）to the new teachers, the middle-standing and veteran teachers seem to have made a remarkable（显著的）improvement in their ability to _______.
| A．be fair to any pupil | B．evaluate pupils’ progress |
| C．present materials clearly | D．understand and play with pupils |
Pupils seem to regard the new and the middle-standing teachers as being more_____.
| A．relaxed in class than the veterans |
| B．interested in pupils’ ideas than the veterans |
| C．neat in appearance than the veterans |
| D．skilful at explaining than the veterans |
Which of the following statements is true according to the table?
Over a hundred years ago people in London were surprised to see a very unusual boat come sailing up the Thames River. The boat was eighty feet long, flat-bottomed, with big wooden eyes on both sides in the front and was colorfully painted at the back.
People came to know that it was a sailing boat from Fuzhou in distant China. The boat 
had sailed round the Cape of Good Hope(好望角), up the western coast of Africa, and finally to England. It had covered(航行) fifteen thousand miles — more than half of the distance round the world.
Although it wa
s unexpected, the Chinese were warmly welcomed. The boat carried goods such as silk and tea as well as a number of gifts from the Emperor of China for the Queen of England.
People had always mistakenly thought of the Chinese as a people not used to the sea. However, from centuries of trading and sailing in dangerous seas, the Chinese had learned how to build good boats and sail them well. The coming of this sailing boat to 
London proved once again that the Chinese could sail to distant countries in the world. The Chinese sailing boat arrived in London .
| A．before she sailed to Africa | B．in the nineteenth century |
| C．hundreds of years ago | D．in the twentieth century |
The boat was considered unusual because .
| A．it was a small wooden boat | B．it carried Chinese silk an d tea |
| C．it had travelled fifteen thousand miles | D．it looked strange in several ways |
According to this article, which of the following is true?
| A．The distance round the earth measures less than thirty thousand miles. |
| B．The Chinese Emperor gave silk and tea to the English Queen as gifts. |
| C．The Chinese boat came to London by accident. |
| D．The Chinese people were not good at sailing in dangerous seas. |
The writer want
s to prove that a long time ago the Chinese .
| A．carried silk, tea and other goods to England |
| B．could reach many parts of the world by sea |
| C．could sail along the Thames River |
| D．surprised Londoners with an unusual boat |
In order to know a foreign language thoroughly(完全地), four things are necessary. First, we must understand the language when we hear it spoken. Secondly, we must be able
to speak it ourselves, correctly with confidence(自信) and without hesitation(犹豫). Thirdly, we must be able to write it. We must be able to make sentences that are correct in grammar.
There is no short way to succeed in language learning. A good memory is a great help, but it is not enough only to memorize the rules from a grammar book. It is no much use learning by heart long lists of words and their meanings, studying the dictionary and so on. We must learn by using the language. If we are pleased with a few rules we have memorized, we are not really learning the language. We must “Learn through use”. Practice is important. We must practise speaking and writing the language whenever we can.The most important things to learn a foreign language are __________.
| A．understanding and speaking | B．hearing, speaking, reading and writing |
| C．writing and understanding | D．memorizing and listening |
Someone hears and writes English very well, but he speaks it very badly. This is because __________.
| A．he doesn’t understand the language when he hears it spoken |
| B．he doesn’t have a good memory |
| C．he always remember lists of words and their meanings |
| D．he often hesitates to practise speaking it |
One can never learn a foreign language well only by __________.
| A．much practice | B．studying the dictionary |
| C．learning through use | D．using the language |
Which of the following is the most important in learning a foreign language?
| A．A good memory. | B．Spea king. |
C．Practice. | D．Writing. |
“Learn t
hrough use” means __________.
| A．we use a language in order to learn it | B．we learn a foreign language in order to use it |
C．we can learn a language well whi le we are using it |
D．both B and C |
A couple of years ago, I received a $ 600 insurance dividend (保险股息).Sitting at the kitchen table, my wife and I discussed what we might do with the money.
I realized now that the refrigerator overheard our talk. The very next day it went wrong. The repairman told us we needed a new unit. Cost:$600. Not long after that, we got a refund（赔偿金）from the shop, enough to pay for a trip to Mexico. “I’ve something to tell you,” I said to my wife in a low voice. “How about the living-room?” she suggested. I remembered the color TV set was there. “No, not there. Let’s go out.” I showed her the check as we stood on the driveway. We held each other excitedly and hardly noticed the rain. My car was parked within5 meters. I didn’t think anything about it at the time. As I started for the airport the next day, the car began making strange sounds. Changing the engine cost about $ 1, 000.
Then I looked through our financial records. I discovered that during the last ten years we spent all our “found money” repairing a hot water heater, a television and a stove.
I never mention money in front of our mechanical equipment. But if this article is published and I am paid for, the word processor（文字信息处理机）is going to go for sure. It’ll know. What went wrong first as the writer’s?
| A．The refrigerator | B．The stove |
| C．The TV set | D．The engine of the car |
What has been repaired and still remains all right?
| A．The car | B．The color TV set |
| C．The stove | D．The hot water heater |
Which statement is wrong according to the passage?
s thingsWhat’s A Real Friend?
You can have the same neighbors for years．You love them or you think you love them．And you hope that they love you．But do you ever really understand them?
Charlie Kemp and his family lived next door to me for 15 years．We were good friends all the time．I enjoy friendship．I think it's the best thing in the world．And friendship with the Kemps was easy because they seemed to welcome it．
They were interesting and clever people．Their house caught fire twice, and twice the whole family slept in mine．They are always losing things like money, keys and watches．Pictures fell off the walls, the children fell out of bed …
I was their neighbor and their friend．Life was always interesting, never dull．Best of all, I liked the whole family．
One day, I lit a fire in the garden to burn some rubbish．After some time Charlie Kemp came out of his house and walked up the road．
“Morning, Charlie,” I said, “lovely day, isn’t it?” He smiled at me and nodded．I went on with my work．
Twenty minutes later, a policeman arrived．He walked into my garden and said, “You’ll have to put out that fire．Your neighbor has complained (抱怨) to us．He doesn't like the smell．”
“My neighbor …?” I asked．
“Yes,” the policeman took out his notebook and read, “Charlie Kemp．He lives next door, doesn’t he?”How many years did Charlie kemp and his family live next door to the wr
iter?
| A．5 years | B．10 years | C．15 years | D．20 years |
What things do the Charlie kemp’s family lose?
| A．pen | B．book | C．money and keys | D．clothes |
According to the passage, ________．
| A．Charlie Kemp is the author's neighbor and his real good friend |
B．Charlie Kemp is the author's neighbor but not his real good friend |
| C．Charlie Kemp treats the author as his real good friend |
| D．the author doesn't treat Charlie Kemp as his real good friend |
The author was blamed by the po
liceman because ________．
| A．he was found burning the rubbish by the policeman |
| B．he was found polluting the environment by burning the rubbish |
| C．his neighbor Charlie Kemp complained(抱怨) about his action and called the policeman |
| D．he burnt something of his neighbors |
The auth
or's experience tells us that ________．
| A．a friend in need is a friend indeed |
| B．it is difficult to understand a person, even your friend |
| C．anyone is sure to be friendly to you if you are friendly to him |
| D．friendship is the best thing in the world |