(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

阅读下列材料，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　All parents tell their children little white lies from time to time．“Of course Father Christmas comes down the chimney! ” “Eat your spinach-you'll get as strong as Popeye．”… and so on．However, there's one fib that's bigger than all the others．It's “I don't have a favorite child．”

　　In his fascinating new book, The Sibling Effect：What Bonds Among Brothers and Sisters Reveal About Us, Jeffrey Kluger, a father of two daughters, aged eight and ten, claims that “ 95 percent of parents in the world have a favorite child-and the other 5 percent are lying．”

　　Kluger may be exaggerating the figures for dramatic effect-but despite every parent's vehement(激烈的)denial that they have a favorite child-scientific research shows that he is not far off the truth．

　　According to one recent study by researchers from the University of California-which followed 384 sibling pairs and their parents for three years-65 percent of the mothers and 70 percent of fathers exhibited a preference for one child．As this was among families that knew they were being monitored, there's a strong possibility the true figures could be significantly higher．

　　Favoritism is certainly a controversial topic．When raised as a subject for discussion on parenting websites, it always arouses a stream of angry denials．

　　But interestingly, a lot of personal anecdotes appear from parents who say they were overshadowed by a favored sibling, or were, indeed, their mother or father's favorite．It seems everyone knows favoritism exists-but nobody wants to put their hand up and say they’re guilty of it themselves．

　　Another research, where siblings have been asked to say who their mother and father favor, suggests that mothers do tend to a show a preference for their first-born son, but fathers often dote on their youngest daughters．

　　Parents will often be drawn to the child who is easiest to get along with-or the child that shares similar traits to them．For example, mum will have a special bond with her sensitive, arty son, while dad lavishes attention on his sporty daughter．

　　Professor Scott says being least favored in a family can color our behavior as adults．“Children who feel they are less loved within their family are more likely to develop low self-esteem, anxiety and depression．”

　　But some experts believe being less favored can have positive consequences．Professor Scott agrees that favored children can sometimes find life difficult when they have to rub along in the real world．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

阅读理解

　　Kimberly Kirberger is the president and founder of Inspiration and Motivation for Teens, Inc．(I．A．M．for Teens, Inc．)a corporation formed exclusively(专有地)to work for teens．It is her goal to see teens represented in a more positive light and it is her strong belief that teens deserve(应受)better and more positive treatment．

　　She spends her time reading thousands of letters and stories sent to her by teen readers and traveling around the country speaking to high school students and parents of teens．She has appeared as a teen expert on many television and radio shows．

　　Kimberly says that the College Soul book has been an amazing journey．In getting close to and hearing from so many teenagers she kept hearing about this very emotionally packed time that begins

　　with application(申请)to college and extends through the four-year experience．It became clear to her that this was a time of life that was filled with many challenges(挑战)and that college students could really benefit from a book like this．For her, it was simply a continuation of a commitment(义务)that she has made to teenagers to do what she can to inspire and motivate(激发)them while letting them know there are people who believe in them．

　　Kimberly is the co-author of the bestseller, Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul and the New York Times bestseller, Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul Ⅱ, as well as Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul Journal?(期刊)．She is also the co-author of the forthcoming Chicken Soup for the Parent’s Soul and Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul Ⅲ, and the author of Teen Love：On Relationships, a Book for Teenagers．

　　Kimberly started the Teen Letter Project with Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen and Health Communications, Inc．The project is responsible for answering the letters received from teenagers and also reaching out to teens in trouble and encouraging them to seek professional help．

　　To book Kimberly for a speaking engagement or for further information on any of her projects, please contact：

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)