Boys at the top of the pecking order(长幼次序) either by birth or because their older brothers died score higher on IQ tests than their younger brothers.
Norwegian researchers now report that it’s a matter of what they call social rank in the family that gives the first born the highest scores or, if the first born had died young, the next oldest.
Kristensen and Bjerkedal studied the IQ test results of 241,310 Norwegian men drafted(征兵) into the armed forces between 1967 and 1976. All were aged 18 or 19 at the time.
The average IQ of first-born men was 103.2, they found second-born men averaged 101.2, but second-born men whose older brother died young scored 102.9. And for third-borns, the average was 100.0. But if both older brothers died young，the third-born score rose to 102.6.
The findings provide “evidence that the relation between birth order and IQ score is dependent on the social rank in the family and not birth order as such.” they concluded.
It’s an issue that has been hotly discussed since at least 1874,when Sir Francis Galton reported that men in noticeable positions tended to be firstborns more often than would have been statistically (统计) expected.
Since then, several studies have reported higher intelligence scores for firstborns, while other analyses have questioned those findings and the methods of those reports.
“These two researchers prove that how study participants(参与者) were raised, not how they were born, is what actually influences their IQs,” said Sulloway, an American professor, who was not part of the research team.
“The elder child pulls ahead,” he said, “perhaps as a result of learning gained through the process of tutoring younger brothers and sisters”.
“The older child benefits by having to organize and express its thoughts to tutor youngsters”, he said, “while the later born children may have no one to tutor.”According to Norwegain researchers’ finding, which of the following is linked to boys’ IQ?
| A．Birth order | B．Position in the family |
| C．Parents’ social rank | D．Educational experience |
What does the sentence “It’s an issue that has been hotly discussed” underlined in Paragraph 6 mean?
| A．Many people take interest in IQ study. |
| B．IQ study has gone further and further. |
| C．Many people do research on boys’ IQ. |
| D．Opinions are divided on the conclusion. |
According to Kristensen and Bjerkedal’s test results, parents can make youngsters smarter by ________.
| A．treating them as the oldest child |
| B．teaching them as the oldest child |
| C．talking to them as much as possible |
| D．encouraging them to express thoughts |
B
Parents often believe that they have a good relationship with their teenagers（青少年）. But last summer, Joanna and Henry noticed a change in their older son: suddenly he seemed to be talking far more to his friends than to his parents. “The door to his room is always shut.” Joanna noted.
Tina and Mark noticed similar changes in their 14-year-old daughter. “She used to cuddle up（蜷伏）with me on the sofa and talk ,” said Mark . “Now we joke that she does this only when she wants something. Sometimes she wants to be treated like a little girl and sometimes like a young lady. The problem is figuring out which time is which. ”
Before age 11, children like to tell their parents what’s on their minds. “In fact, parents are first on the list.” said Michael Rita, author of Uncommon Sense for Parents with Teenagers. “This completely changes during the teen years.” Rita explained. “They talk to their friends first, then maybe their teachers, and their parents last.”
Parents who know what’s going on in their teenagers’ lives are in the best position to help them. To break down the wall of silence, parents should create chances to understand what their children want to say , and try to find ways to talk and write to them . And they must give their children a mental break, for children also need freedom, though young. Another thing, parents should remember is that to be a friend, not a manager, with their children is a better way to know them.
40. “The door to his room is always shut” suggests that the son .
A. is always busy with his studies B. doesn’t want to be disturbed
C. keeps himself away from his parents D. begins to dislike his parents
41. What troubles Tina and Mark most is that .
A. their daughter isn’t as lovely as before
B. they can’t read their daughter’s mind exactly
C. they don’t know what to say to their daughter
D. their daughter talks with them only when she needs help
42. Which of the following best explains “the wall of silence” in the last paragraph ?
A. Teenagers talk a lot with their friends.
B. Teenagers do not want to understand their parents.
C. Teenagers do not talk much with their parents.
D. Teenagers talk little about their own lives.
43. What can be learned from the passage?
A. Parents are unhappy with their growing children.
B. Parents have suitable ways to talk with their teenagers.
C. Parents should be patient with their silent teenagers.
D. Parents should try to understand their teenagers.
第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
Since many of you are planning to study at a college or university in this country, you may be curious to know what you usually do in a typical week, how you can get along with your fellow students, and so on. These are the questions I want to discuss with you today.
First, let’s talk about what your weekly schedule will look like. No matter what your major may be, you can expect to spend between four and six hours a week for each class attending lectures. Lectures are usually in very large rooms because some courses such as introduction to sociology or economics often have as many as two or three hundred students, especially at large universities. In lectures, it’s very important for you to take notes on what the professor says because the information in a lecture is often different from the information in your textbooks. Also, you can expect to have exam questions based on the lectures. So it isn’t enough to just read your textbooks; you have to attend lectures as well. In a typical week you will also have a couple of hours of discussion for every class you take. The discussion section is a small group meeting usually with fewer than thirty students where you can ask questions about the lectures, the reading, and the homework. In large universities, graduate students, called teaching assistants, usually direct discussion sections.
If your major is chemistry, or physics, or another science, you’ll also have to spend several hours a week in the lab, or laboratory, doing experiments. This means that science majors spend more time in the classroom than non science majors do. On the other hand, people who major in subjects like literature or history usually have to read and write more than science majors do.
36. The main purpose of this text is .
A. to help the students to learn about university life
B. to persuade the students to attend lectures
C. to encourage the students to take part in discussions
D. to advise the students to choose proper majors
37. We can learn from the passage that university professors .
A. spend about 5 hours on lectures each week
B. must join the students in the discussion sections
C. prefer to use textbooks in their lectures
D. require the students to read beyond the textbooks
38. A discussion section does NOT include .
A. working under the guidance of university professors
B. talking over what the students have read about the courses
C. discussing the problems related to the students’ homework
D. raising questions about what a professor has said in a lecture
39. According to the author, science majors .
A. have to work harder than non science majors
B. spend less time on their studies than non science majors
C. consider experiments more important than discussions
D. read and write less than non science majors
E
Do you know about a series of books that say they are “for dummies”? These American self-help books have been translated into more than thirty-nine languages including Chinese，Arabic，Russian，French，German，Greek and Spanish．
“Dummy”is a word for a stupid person．The dummies books are not really for stupid people．
They are designed to show people how to do something they may never have tried before，like painting a house or learning a language．The books all say in a funny way that they are for dummies，such as World History for Dummies，Rabbits for Dummies，Chinese Cooking for Dummies，and Wedding Planning for Dummies．The first such book，DOS for Dummies，was published in 1991．It helped people learn how to use the DOS operating system for computers．Since then，more than one hundred fifty million dummies books have been sold．
The dummies．com website explains the idea behind the books．It says that they show that people can be taught to do anything．First they can make fun of ideas that are difficult to understand．Then they show how the information can be interesting and easy．The publishers（出版商）say that the books do not provide more information than necessary．They give readers just enough information to do what they want．They say that the dummies books give the best and easiest way to do something．And the books use simple and easy language．
There are more than one thousand different dummies books．A report in New York Times says that the top-selling dummies books are those that explain technology and personal finance（财经）．
The publishers say that the best-selling dummies books are those providing information many people need—like information about diseases，education and cooking．People interested in opera，car repair and wine can also find dummies books to help them．And there are even more dummies books to come．The publishers say that they publish about two hundred new dummies books every year．
71．Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?
A．Self-Help Books B．The Easiest，the Best
C．Books for Dummies D．New Ideas Behind the Books
72．According to the dummies．com website，with the help of dummies books people can_____．
A．simplify some personal things B．do anything they want
C．become expert in any fieldD．learn any foreign language
73．The dummies books have been popular because__________．
A．they provide just what is needed and are easy to understand
B．they provide much information on the related subject
C．people can learn to do anything with just one copy
D．people can save lots of money through self-teaching
74．According to New York Time，we know the books selling best are the ones on________．
A．cooking and world history B．opera and car repairing
C．diseases and education D．technology and personal finance
75．What can we learn from the passage?
A．The first dummies book was on Chinese cooking．
B．The dummies books will continue to be popular．
C．Fifty million different dummies books have been published．
D．The simple language was intended for child readers．
D
Many Chinese have been greatly shocked by the traffic accident caused by the drunk driver Sun Weiming, who has killed five and injured some others in Chengdu, Sichuan. However, such a case is not rare.
Today, the traffic accidents may have been regarded as a social problem. The car has killed and disabled more people in its brief history than any bomb or weapon ever invented. Much of the blood on the street flows actually from rude behavior of drivers who refuse to respect the legal and moral (道德的) rights of others. In fact, the enemies of society on wheels are rather harmless but just ordinary people acting carelessly, you might say. But it is a principle both of law and common morality that carelessness is no excuse when one's actions could bring death or damage to others. A minority of the killers go even far beyond carelessness that can be imagined.
Researchers have estimated that as many as 80 percent of all automobile accidents can be attributed to the psychological condition of the driver. Emotional upsets can change drivers’ reactions incorrectly, slow their judgment, and make them blind to the dangers that might otherwise be evident. The experts warn that it is vital for every driver to make a conscious effort to keep his/her emotions under control.
Yet the .irresponsibility; that accounts for much of the problem isn't only put upon drivers. Street walkers regularly ignore or break traffic regulations. They are blamed in most vehicle walker accidents, and many cyclists even believe that they are not subject to the basic rules of the road.
Significant legal advances have been made towards safer driving in the past few years. Safety standards for vehicles have been raised both at the point of manufacture and through regular road inspections. In addition, speed limits have been lowered. Due to these measures, the accident rate has decreased. But the accident experts still worry because there has been little or no improvement in the way drivers behave. The only real and lasting solution, say the experts, is to make people believe that driving is a skilled task requiring constant care and concentration. Those who fail to do all these things present a threat to those with whom they share the road.
67. Traffic accidents may be regarded as a social problem because
A. auto driving has become dangerous and harmful in today's society
B. people usually pay no attention to law and morality when driving
C. they have caused serious psychological problems among drivers
D. the car has killed and disabled more people than any weapon in history
68. Who are NOT mentioned as being responsible for the road accidents?
A. Careless bicycle--riders. B. Careless people walking in the street.
C. Irresponsible auto drivers. D. Irresponsible auto manufacturers.
69. Discussing solutions to traffic accidents, the author seems to be
A. doubtful and hopeless B. angry and disappointed
C. objective and concerned D. anxious and annoyed
70. The author writes this passage to
A. show his worries about drunk driving
B. help protect street walkers from car accidents
C. discuss traffic problems and possible solutions
D. warn auto drivers to refuse drunk driving
C
Arthur Miller was born in New York City in 1915. He died in 2005 at his home in Roxbury, Connecticut. For sixty years, he created one dramatic work after another. Miller won many awards for his plays. Among them were a Pulitzer Prize, New York Drama Critics’ Circle Prizes and Tony Awards. In 1984, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. honored him for his lifetime work in drama.
Arthur Miller grew up in New York. His father, Isidore Miller, made clothing and operated a store. But the father lost his money in the great economic depression in the 1930s. So Arthur worked at many jobs to earn money for college. Miller won an award for writing plays while at school.
Miller returned home to New York after completing his studies. In 1944, Arthur Miller’s first major play was performed on Broadway. It was called The Man Who Had All the Luck. However, the play did not bring him good luck. It had only four performances. But his second Broadway play, All My Sons, was a major success. It won several awards in 1947.
Miller ‘s great play, Death of a Salesman, opened on Broadway in 1949. He was thirty-three years old when he wrote it. The play tells the story of the failure of a salesman, Willy Loman. The action opens on the last day of Willy’s life. He has been dismissed from his jobs as a traveling salesman. He also recognizes that he has failed as a father. He kills himself before the play is over. Death of a Salesman had a big influence on the American public. Many people saw their own lives in Willy Loman, the victim of broken dreams. It has been translated into about thirty languages and performed around the world.
Arthur Miller once wrote that when he was young he imagined that with the possible exception of a doctor saving a life, “Writing a worthy play was the most important thing a human being could do.” Theater owners on Broadway agreed. On the day after he died, the lights of Broadway theatres darkened for a minute in honor of him.
63. Miller began to show his talent in writing plays _______ .
A. in his teens B. when he was at school
C. after his marriage D. in New York
64. Which of the following is TRUE about Arthur Miller?
A. When he was young, Arthur Miller worked hard to be a doctor.
B. The Man Who Had All the Luck brought Arthur Miller neither fame nor fortune.
C. All My Sons was the first major work of Arthur Miller ever performed on Broadway. D. The John F, Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts honored Arthur Miller for his great play, Death of a Salesman.
65. The play Death of a Salesman ________.
A. won several awards in 1947 B. made the public know Miller first
C. is thought highly of D. made Miller rich
66. Death of a Salesman’s success lies in that______.
A. it has been translated into about thirty languages
B. it has been performed around the world
C. although not all Americans are salesmen, most of them share Willy’s dream
D. theater owners on Broadway respected Arthur Miller