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.

1.The underlined part “in a different family” (in Para. 1) means “_______”.

2.In terms of language development, later-borns ________.

3.What was found about fights among siblings?

4.The word “feminine” (in Para. 4) means “_______”.

Doctors recognize obesity as a health problem. So why is it so hard for them to talk to their patients about it?

The results of two surveys, one of primary care physicians and the other of patients, found that while most doctors want to help patients lose weight and think it is their responsibility to do so, they often don’t know what to say.

So while doctors may tell patients they are overweight, the conversation often ends there, said Christine C. Ferguson, director of the Stop Obesity Alliance. Without being told about options for diabetes, she said. “Doctors don’t feel they have good information to give. They felt they didn’t have adequate tools to address this problem.”

The lack of dialogue hurts patients, too. The patient survey, of over 1,000 adults, found that most overweight patients don’t even know at they’re too heavy. Only 39 percent of overweight people surveyed had ever been told by a health care provider that they were overweight.

Of those who were told they were obese, 90 percent were also told by their doctors to lose weight, the survey found. In fact most have tried to lose weight and may have been successful in the past — and many are still trying, the survey found. And many understand that losing even a small amount of weight can have a positive impact on their health and reduce their risk of obesity-related diseases like hypertension and diabetes.

Dr. William Bestermann Jr., medical director of Holston Medical Group, in Kingsport, Tenn., which ranks 10th in obesity among metropolitan areas in the United States, said the dialogue had to be an ongoing one and could not be dropped after just one mention of the problem. “If you’re going to be successful with helping your patients lose weight, you’re going to have to talk to them at virtually every visit about their progress, and find something to encourage them about, find progress in some aspect of their care and coach them,” he said.

He acknowledged that many doctors tend to be optimistic.

“Part of this is that there’s this common belief, and doctors are burdened by it, too, that heavy people are weak-willed and just don’t have any willpower and are self-indulgent and all that business,” he said. “If you think that way, you’re not going to spend time having a productive conversation.”

61．What is most probably the Stop Obesity Alliance, as in Paragraph 3?

A．An organization of doctors specializing in obesity.

B．An organization of patients suffering from obesity.

C．A research group that conducts special surveys about overweight people.

D．A research group dealing with doctor – patient relationship.

62．How many of the patients surveyed have been advised by their doctors to lose weight?

A．About 350.             B．About 390.      C．About 900.             D．1,000.

63．What can be inferred about obesity patients in Paragraph 5?

A．They are not as hopeless as doctors think they are.

B．Most of them have tried hard to lose weight, but in vain.

C．Without their doctors’ constant coaching, there is little chance of their succeeding in losing weight.

D．Most of them have just given up their hope of becoming less heavy.

64．According to the passage, which factor contributes to the lack of dialogue between doctors and patients?

A．Most doctors just never think of warning their patients about their weight problem.

B．Many doctors find it difficult to persuade overweight people to lose weight.

C．Most patients are too weak – willed to do anything about their weight.

D．Many patients tend not to trust their doctors about their weight problem.

65．Which of the following is the best title of the passage?

A．Obesity in the U.S.

B．Trouble of overweight Americans

C．Talk more, help better

D．Doctors or patients – who to bear more blame?

The life of an actor appears attractive and many young people dream about becoming one. But the truth is, it is very hard work. If you’re successful, there are deadlines to be met, appointments to keep and the press to deal with. If you’re not successful, then life is extremely tough.

I remember when I started out, I had to search the advertisement board at my drama school every day to look for acting jobs. Drama school was expensive and I needed extra cash to help pay the fees. I welcomed every small job. I played extras in many crowd scenes and became a confident participant in a lot of TV commercials for hair shampoo, soap and washing powder.

I had been working for about two years before I got my lucky break. One day, as I was passing the drama school, I decided to go in to check the notice board. There was nothing on it and I was just leaving when the secretary came along the corridor with a piece of paper. She asked me how I was and I told her life was hard and work was difficult to find. The next moment, she put the paper in my hand and walked away. My hands were shaking as I unfolded the paper, full of expectation. To my surprise, it was an audition (试演) for a clown（小丑）for the Canadian circus. I couldn’t stop myself from laughing. I had expected an audition with a famous director for a new film!

When I was at drama school, there had been a course in acrobatics and clown tricks. I had gained top marks in this course for originality and daring. Later I went to the audition feeling very strange. This was not what I’d had in mind when I enrolled in drama school. To my surprise, the job as a clown turned out to be exactly what I wanted. I loved every moment of getting dressed up and putting on the make-up. I had the opportunity to travel the world and I was more than an actor, I was an entertainer as well. I had visited over 32 different countries and entertained millions of people.

1.The first paragraph is about how _______ it is to be an actor, whether you’re successful or not.

A．easy             B．attractive          C．enjoyable         D．difficult

2.According to paragraph 3, the writer went into the drama school __________.

A．to look for a job

B．to see the secretary

C．to collect a piece of paper

D．to put a notice on the notice board

3.Which of the following can best describe the author’s feeling when he unfolded the paper?

A．Extremely frightened.                    B．Feeling anxious and excited.

C．Very worried.                          D．Trembling with fear.

4.From the whole passage, we can tell that the writer is ___________.

A．sad that he was not a famous actor

B．happy to travel the world

C．feeling very strange to be a clown

D．very content with his life

5.Which of the following would be the best title?

A．The Life of a TV Actor                    B．Acrobatics and Clown Tricks

C．More than an Actor                      D．Going to Drama School

Is it difficult for you to get up in the morning? Do you sometimes oversleep？ Are you often late for work or school? Yes? Then Hiroyuki Sugiyama of Japan has a (an)    1   bed for you. Hiroyuki's bed will get you up in the morning! Here is how it      2   .

The bed    3  an alarm clock. First, the alarm clock rings. You have a few minutes to wake up. Next, a tape recorder in the bed plays   4  music or other pleasant sounds. The tape recorder in Hiroyuki's bed plays a recording of his girlfriend. She whispers in a sweet  5 , "Wake up, darling, please." A few minutes later, a second recording   6  . The sound recording can be loud music or   7 sounds. Hiroyuki hears a recording of his boss shouts, "Wake up immediately,   8 you'll be late!"

If you don't get up  9 the second recording, you will be sorry! A mechanical "foot" is in the bed. The mechanical foot kicks you in the head. Then the bed waits a few  10 minutes. What! You're still in bed! Slowly the   11 of the bed rises higher and higher. The foot of the bed goes lower and lower.   12 the bed is vertical (垂直的). You slide off the bed and onto the floor. You are out of bed and     13 

Hiroyuki made his bed because he wanted to   14  a contest. He works for Honda Motor Company. Once every two years Honda has a contest for its 200,000 employees ---"All-Honda Idea Contest". The employees think of new ideas. If their ideas win, the employees win   15  . Hiroyuki Sugiyama won a lot of money for his bed.

第Ⅱ卷(共三节，满分45分)

第一节：七选五：根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。（共5小题；每小题2分，满分10分）

A man came home from work late, tired and found his 5-year-old son waiting for him at the door.

“Daddy, may I ask you a question?” “Yeah, sure, what is it?” replied the man.  71  “If you must know, I make $20 an hour.” “Oh,” the little boy replied, with his head down. Then he looked up and said, “Daddy, may I borrow $10?” The father was angry, “If the only reason you asked for that is to borrow some money to buy a silly toy, then you should go to bed.”  72 

After about an hour or so, the man calmed down, and started to think. Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that $10 and he really didn’t ask for money very often.  73  “Are you asleep, son?” He opened the door and asked. “No, Daddy,” replied the boy. “I’ve been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you just now.” said the man, “Here’s the $10 you asked for.”  74  “Oh, thank you, Daddy!” he yelled. Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some small change.  75  “Why do you want more money if you have already had some?” the father asked angrily.

“Because I didn’t have enough, but now I do.” The little boy replied, “Daddy, I have $20 now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home earlier tomorrow, I would like to have dinner with you.”

A. Silently the little boy returned the money to his father with tears.

B. The man, seeing that the boy already had money, started to get angry again.

C. “Daddy, how much do you make an hour?”

D. “Daddy, how much do you spend a day?”

E. The man went to the door of the little boy’s room.

F. The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door.

G. The little boy sat straight up, smiling.