For a long time, researchers have tried to nail down just what shapes us—or what, at least, shapes us most. And over the years, they’ve had a lot of exclamation moments. First it was our parents, particularly our mothers. Then it was our genes. Next it was our peers, who show up last but hold great sway. And all those ideas were good ones—but only as far as they went.
Somewhere, there was a sort of temperamental dark matter exerting an invisible gravitational pull of its own. More and more, scientists are concluding that this unexplained force is our siblings.
From the time we are born, our brothers and sisters are our collaborators and co-conspirators, our role models and cautionary tales. They are our scolds, protectors, goads, tormentors, playmates, counselors, sources of envy, objects of pride. They teach us how to resolve conflicts and how not to; how to conduct friendships and when to walk away from them. Sisters teach brothers about the mysteries of girls; brothers teach sisters about the puzzle of boys. Our spouses arrive comparatively late in our lives; our parents eventually leave us. Our siblings may be the only people we’ll ever know who truly qualify as partners for life. “Siblings,” says family sociologist Katherine Conger, “are with us for the whole journey.”
Within the scientific community, siblings have not been wholly ignored, but research has been limited mostly to discussions of birth order. Older sibs were said to be strivers; younger ones rebels; middle kids the lost souls. The stereotypes were broad, if not entirely untrue,and there the discussion mostly ended.
But all that’s changing. At research centers in the U.S., Canada, Europe and elsewhere, investigators are launching a wealth of new studies into the sibling dynamic, looking at ways brothers and sisters steer one another into—or away from—risky behavior how they form a protective buffer (减震器) against family upheaval; how they educate one another about the opposite sex; how all siblings compete for family recognition and come to terms—or blows—over such impossibly charged issues as parental favoritism.
From that research,scientists are gaining intriguing insights into the people we become as adults. Does the manager who runs a harmonious office call on the peacemaking skills learned in the family playroom? Does the student struggling with a professor who plays favorites summon up the coping skills acquired from dealing with a sister who was Daddy’s girl? Do husbands and wives benefit from the inter—gender negotiations they waged when their most important partners were their sisters and brothers? All that is under investigation. “Siblings have just been off the radar screen until now,” says Conger. But today serious work is revealing exactly how our brothers and sisters influence us.
1. The beginning of the passage indicates that ______.
2. In the third paragraph, the author tries to demonstrate that our siblings ______.
3. In scientific community, previous research on siblings ______.
4. Which of the following is NOT sibling dynamic?
5. From the last paragraph, we can conclude that ______.
问题1选项
A.researchers have found out what shapes us
B.our peer is the last factor influencing us
C.what researchers found contributes in a limited way
D.what researchers found is good and trustworthy
问题2选项
A.offer us much useful information
B.have great influences on us
C.are the ones who love us completely
D.accompany us throughout our life
问题3选项
A.mostly focused on the sibling order
B.studied the characteristics of the kids
C.studied the matter in a broad sense
D.wasn’t believable and the discussion ended
问题4选项
A.A brother cautions his sister against getting into trouble.
B.Sisters have quarrels with each other.
C.Siblings compete for parental favoritism.
D.Older kids in a family try hard to achieve.
问题5选项
A.managers learned management skills from the family playroom
B.spouses learned negotiation skills from their siblings
C.studies on siblings are under the way
D.studies on siblings need thorough investigation
第1题:C
第2题:B
第3题:A
第4题:D
第5题:C
第1题:
【选项释义】
The beginning of the passage indicates that ______. 文章开头指出______。
A. researchers have found out what shapes us A. 研究人员已经发现是什么塑造了我们
B. our peer is the last factor influencing us B. 同伴是最后一个影响我们的因素
C. what researchers found contributes in a limited way C. 研究人员的发现在一定程度上起到了作用
D. what researchers found is good and trustworthy D. 研究人员的发现是好的和值得信赖的
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】第一段指出了研究人员研究什么塑造我们,并取得了一些成果,最后一句“但这仅仅是就目前的研究而言”,这表明目前研究的局限性,也就是说研究人员的发现只在一定程度上发挥了作用,C项“研究人员的发现在一定程度上起到了作用”符合题意。
【干扰项排除】
A项“研究人员已经发现是什么塑造了我们”,根据第一段可知研究者还在探索到底是什么塑造了我们,所以该项属于曲解原文;
B项“同伴是最后一个影响我们的因素”根据倒数第二句“虽然我们的同龄人出现得最晚,但是影响却最深刻”可知,同伴出现得最晚,但并不代表是最后一个因素,该项属于曲解原文;
D项“研究人员的发现是好的和值得信赖的”在文章开头没有提到,该项属于无中生有。
第2题:
【选项释义】
In the third paragraph, the author tries to demonstrate that our siblings ______. 在第三段中,作者试图证明我们的兄弟姐妹______。
A. offer us much useful information A. 给我们提供了很多有用的信息
B. have great influences on us B. 对我们有很大的影响
C. are the ones who love us completely C. 是那些全心全意爱我们的人
D. accompany us throughout our life D. 陪伴我们一生
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据第三段前两句“从我们出生的那一刻起,我们的兄弟姐妹就是我们的合作者和同谋者,我们的榜样和警示故事。他们是我们的责骂者、保护者、刺激者、折磨者、玩伴、顾问、嫉妒的来源、骄傲的对象。”,以及倒数第二三句“在我们的生活中,配偶来得相对较晚;我们的父母最终离开了我们。我们的兄弟姐妹可能是我们认识的唯一真正有资格成为终身伴侣的人。”可以看出,兄弟姐妹在我们生活中扮演了各种角色,以及对我们生命产生重要的影响,所以该题选择B项“对我们有很大的影响”符合题意。
【干扰项排除】
A项“给我们提供了很多有用的信息”是段落中的细节,不是作者在第三段想要说明的问题,该项属于曲解原文;
C项“是那些全心全意爱我们的人”过于绝对且在文中找不到对应信息点,该项属于无中生有;
D项“陪伴我们一生”只是影响我们的一个方面,该项属于以偏概全。
第3题:
【选项释义】
In scientific community, previous research on siblings ______. 在科学界,之前关于兄弟姐妹的研究______。
A. mostly focused on the sibling order A. 主要集中在兄弟姐妹顺序上
B. studied the characteristics of the kids B. 研究了孩子们的特点
C. studied the matter in a broad sense C. 从广义上研究了这件事
D. wasn’t believable and the discussion ended D. 不可信,讨论就此结束
【考查点】细节事实题。
【解题思路】根据题干定位至第四段第一句“在科学界,兄弟姐妹并没有完全被忽视,但研究大多局限于出生顺序的讨论”,理解可知之前关于兄弟姐妹的研究主要集中在兄弟姐妹顺序上,A项“主要集中在兄弟姐妹顺序上”符合题意。
【干扰项排除】
B项“研究了孩子们的特点”根据第四段第二句“哥哥姐姐们被认为是奋斗者;弟弟妹妹们被认为是反叛分子;中间的孩子是迷失的灵魂”可知,第二句提到年长的、年小的、中间的孩子共有的定式,并没有对他们的个性特征进行研究,该项属于无中生有;
C项“从广义上研究了这件事”根据该段最后一句“这些刻板印象非常广泛,如果不是完全不真实的话,讨论基本上就到此为止了”理解可知,这种印象很普遍,但并不意味着从广义上来研究兄弟姐妹对我们的影响,该项属于曲解原文;
D项“不可信,讨论就此结束”在原文没有依据,该项属于无中生有。
第4题:
【选项释义】
Which of the following is NOT sibling dynamic? 下列哪个不是兄弟姐妹的互动?
A. A brother cautions his sister against getting into trouble. A. 哥哥告诫妹妹不要惹祸上身。
B. Sisters have quarrels with each other. B. 姐妹之间会吵架。
C. Siblings compete for parental favoritism. C. 兄弟姐妹为了父母的偏爱而竞争。
D. Older kids in a family try hard to achieve. D. 家中年龄较大的孩子努力达到某个目标。
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据第五段的内容“在美国、加拿大、欧洲和其他地方的研究中心,研究人员正在对兄弟姐妹之间的互动进行大量的新研究,研究兄弟姐妹如何引导对方做出或避免有风险的行为,以及如何对家庭动荡形成保护缓冲;他们如何互相教育异性;所有的兄弟姐妹如何竞争获得家庭的认可,并在诸如父母偏爱这样不可能解决的问题上达成妥协或冲突。”可知,兄弟姐妹的互动包括引导规避风险、吵架、相互竞争等,而D项“家中年龄较大的孩子努力达到某个目标”并不符合原文,原文提到所有的兄弟姐妹都会竞争获得家庭的认可,并不只是年龄大的孩子,该项不属于兄弟姐妹之间的互动,所以该题选择D项。
【干扰项排除】A项“哥哥告诫妹妹不要惹祸上身”、B项“姐妹之间会吵架”和C项“兄弟姐妹为了父母的偏爱而竞争”都属于兄弟姐妹之间的互动,这三项是反向干扰。
第5题:
【选项释义】
From the last paragraph, we can conclude that ______. 从最后一段,我们可以得出结论______。
A. managers learned management skills from the family playroom A. 管理者们从家庭游戏室中学习管理技巧
B. spouses learned negotiation skills from their siblings B. 配偶们从他们的兄弟姐妹那里学习谈判技巧
C. studies on siblings are under the way C. 对兄弟姐妹的研究正在进行中
D. studies on siblings need thorough investigation D. 关于兄弟姐妹的研究需要彻底调查
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据最后一段的内容“通过这项研究,科学家们对我们成年后会变成什么样有了有趣的见解。管理和谐办公室的经理是否需要在家庭游戏室里学到的调停技巧?一个与偏爱的教授斗争的学生,是否唤起了他从与父亲的亲妹妹打交道中获得的应对技巧?当他们最重要的伙伴是他们的兄弟姐妹时,他们的丈夫和妻子是否会从他们进行的性别间谈判中获益?这一切正在调查中(All that is under investigation)。”理解可知,关于兄弟姐妹的研究还正在调查中,C项“对兄弟姐妹的研究正在进行中”符合题意。
【干扰项排除】
A项“管理者们从家庭游戏室中学习管理技巧”和B项“配偶们从他们的兄弟姐妹那里学习谈判技巧”只是该段中的个别例证,这两项属于以偏概全;
D项“关于兄弟姐妹的研究需要彻底调查”根据最后一句的内容“但今天,严肃的工作正在揭示我们的兄弟姐妹是如何影响我们的”可知,最后一句提到要进一步研究兄弟姐妹是如何影响我们的,所以该项属于反向干扰。