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 pletely 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 petition 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 mon among the children. Even those siblings who fought the most had just as much positive munication 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.
【小题1】The underlined part “in a different family” (in Para. 1) means “ ”.A．in a different family environmentB．in a different family tradition C．in different family crisesD．in different families【小题2】In terms of language development, later-borns .A．get their parents’ individual guidance B．learn a lot from their elder siblingsC．experience a lot of difficulties D．pick up words more quickly【小题3】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.【小题4】The word “feminine” (in Para. 4) means “ ”.A．having qualities of parents B．having qualities of women C．having defensive qualities D．having extraordinary qualitiesA
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(答案→)A
解析：同一家庭出身的兄弟姐妹性格为何不同？那是因为他们生活于不同的家庭环境：对于父母的体验，第一个出生的孩子与以后出生的孩子会迥然不同；在语言发展上，后出生的孩子更喜欢向哥哥姐姐学习而不是向父母学习……
【小题1】词义猜测题。难度中等。
【解题思路】根据第一段第二句中的“…different experience…”以及第一段最后一句中“…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 and angry father.”可知，该短语意为“生活在不同的家庭环境中”，故A项正确。
【小题2】细节理解题。难度中等。
【解题思路】根据第二段最后一句话中“Later-borns don’t enjoy that much talking time with parents, but instead they harvest lessons from bigger brothers and sister…”可知后出生者更倾向于向兄弟姐妹学习，故B项正确。
【小题3】细节理解题。难度中等。
【解题思路】根据第三段最后一句“Even those siblings who fought the most had just as much posistive munication as the other sibling pairs.”可知，即使兄弟姐妹间争吵不断，他们也在此中学习相处之道，故D项正确。
【小题4】词义猜测题。难度中等。
【解题思路】根据语境可知，有兄弟的女孩比有姐妹的女孩更具有女性品质特征，故B项正确。