2015年托福阅读材料：出生顺序真的会决定你的个性吗？

　　Ever wondered if your personality was decided at birth?

　　有没有想过，你的个性其实在出生时就已经决定了?

　　It turns out, the order in which you were born can not only have an effect on your personality, but also your chances of academic success.

　　事实证明，出生顺序不仅会影响你的个性，还会影响你取得学术成就的机会。

　　According to Canadian duo Mitchell Moffit and Greg Brown, fromToronto, who present an online science show, several theories suggest that where you are in your family determines who you are.

　　来自加拿大多伦多的米切尔·墨菲特和格雷格·布朗近日在一个在线科学秀中指出，有几项理论表明，家庭中的排行决定了你是怎样的人。

　　FIRST-BORNS

　　老大

　　According to Mitchell and Brown, first-born children are expected to be higher academic achievers and more ambitious.

　　米切尔和布朗认为，家中排行老大的孩子通常会在学术上取得更高的成就，并且更具有野心。

　　They also have a stronger sense of responsibility and are generally more mature.

　　他们也会有更强的责任感，并且通常来说会更加成熟。

　　They also tend to have better leadership skills than other birth orders.

　　相比其他孩子来说，老大往往有更好的领导能力。

　　The explanation is because although they get a lot more affection and attention from their parents, their parents have higher expectations as the first child.

　　究其原因，是他们从父母那里得到了更多的爱和关注，而父母对第一个孩子往往会有更高的期望。

　　This works as a self-fulfilling prophecy: if there are high expectations placed on you, you are more likely to want to work hard and live up to these expectations.

　　这是一个自我实现的预言：如果你背负着很高的期望，就会更想努力工作，不辜负这些期望。

　　FAMOUS OLDEST CHILDREN

　　在家中排行老大的名人：

　　Beyoncé碧昂斯

　　Emma Watson艾玛·沃特森

　　Taylor Swift泰勒·斯威夫特

　　Hillary Clinton希拉里·克林顿

　　Richard Branson理查德·布兰森

　　J. K. RowlingJ·K·罗琳

　　Kate Middleton凯特·米德尔顿

　　Oprah Winfrey奥普拉·温弗瑞

　　Rihanna蕾哈娜

　　Winston Churchill温斯顿·丘吉尔

　　MIDDLE-BORNS

　　中间出生的孩子

　　Middle-born children apparently tend to be more co-operative, flexible and sociable.

　　中间出生的孩子显然更倾向于合作，更加灵活，并且更善交际。

　　They are also able to make and maintain friendships easily.

　　他们也很容易建立和维护友谊。

　　This is due to the fact that as a middle-born child, there aren't the high expectations of the first child, nor the relaxed attitude accorded to the last child.

　　原因是，中间出生的孩子不像第一个孩子那样背负着很高的期望，也不像最小的孩子一样接受较为放松的教育。

　　As a result, they also tend to be less ambitious than their older brothers and sisters, and so will have a more relaxed attitude in life.

　　因此，与老大相比，他们往往没那么具有野心，在生活中也会保持相对放松的态度。

　　As middle children receive less attention than their other siblings, they seek out relationships and friendships outside of their family, and can be social butterflies.

　　排行中间的孩子得到的关注比其他兄弟姐妹更少，他们会在家庭之外寻找关系和友谊，成为社交达人。

　　FAMOUS MIDDLE CHILDREN

　　在家中排行中间的名人：

　　Kim Kardashian金·卡戴珊

　　Madonna麦当娜

　　Martin Luther King马丁·路德·金

　　Bill Gates比尔·盖茨

　　Britney Spears“小甜甜”布兰妮

　　Jennifer Lopez詹妮弗·洛佩兹

　　Anne Hathaway安妮·海瑟薇

　　Kristen Stewart克里斯汀·斯图尔特

　　Princess Diana戴安娜王妃

　　Stella McCartney斯特拉·麦卡特尼

　　LAST-BORNS

　　最小的孩子

　　The youngest children tend to be likeable and charming.

　　最小的孩子往往是可爱和迷人的。

　　Other traits they carry are that they are more creative than older siblings, and have a stronger sense of security and confidence.

　　相比其他的孩子，他们更有创造性，有更强的安全感和信心。

　　As their parents have already had other children, they tend to be a lot less strict and are a lot more lenient with their youngest children.

　　因为父母已经有了其他的孩子，所以他们往往很少受到严格的管教，成长环境相对宽松。

　　Parents' expectations will also be lower.

　　父母的期望也会降低。

　　As a result, youngest children will generally be less responsible and mature than older siblings, as they constantly feel like others will take the lead.

　　因此，最小的孩子通常不太负责任，而且往往会更幼稚，因为他们常常觉得别人会给他们起带头作用。

　　FAMOUS YOUNGEST CHILDREN

　　在家中排行最小的名人：

　　Jennifer Lawrence詹妮弗·劳伦斯

　　Cameron Diaz卡梅隆·迪亚兹

　　Harry Styles哈里·斯泰尔斯

　　Ryan Gosling瑞恩·高斯林

　　Robert Pattinson罗伯特·帕丁森

　　Blake Lively布莱克·莱弗利

　　Angelina Jolie安吉丽娜·朱莉

　　George Clooney乔治·克鲁尼

　　Johnny Depp约翰尼·德普

　　Jude Law裘德·洛

　　ONLY CHILD

　　独生子女

　　Only children tend to be academically-able, creative and resourceful.

　　独生子女往往具有较强的学术能力、创造力和应变能力。

　　They are also mature and responsible, and dislike disorder and like to be in control.

　　他们也是成熟和负责任的，喜欢一切井井有条，不喜欢混乱的状态。

　　Being a parent's only child, expectations are always high, but unlike a first-born, they never need to fight for the attention of their parents.

　　作为父母唯一的孩子，他们总是背负着很高的期望。但与老大相比，他们不需要为了吸引父母的注意力而争斗。

　　Not to mention, being in a household with only adults often leads the child to mature more quickly and copy the actions of the parents, rather than being moulded by siblings' childish or youthful interests.

　　更不用说，一个只有成年人的家庭环境常会让孩子更快地开始成熟并模仿父母的行为，而不是在兄弟姐妹幼稚或年轻的兴趣环境中长大。

　　But because they have never had to interact with siblings or companions of a similar age, they can have trouble relating to peers and can feel out of control when things in their life don't go their way.

　　然而，因为他们从来没有兄弟姐妹或与他们年龄相仿的同伴，当事情没有按照他们的想法发展时，他们会就感到烦恼，容易失控。

　　FAMOUS ONLY CHILDREN

　　身为独生子女的名人：

　　Leonardo DiCaprio莱昂纳多·迪卡普里奥

　　Daniel Radcliffe丹尼尔·雷德克里夫

　　Natalie Portman娜塔莉·波特曼

　　Drew Barrymore德鲁·巴里摩尔

　　James Dean詹姆斯·迪恩

　　Jack Nicholson杰克·尼科尔森

　　Elvis Presley猫王

　　Alicia Keys艾丽西亚·凯斯

　　Russell Brand拉塞尔·布兰德

　　Maria Sharapova莎拉波娃

　　They add that gender, social status, age gaps between siblings and the number of siblings can play a huge role in determining traits.

　　米切尔和布朗补充道，性别、社会地位和年龄差距，以及兄弟姐妹的数量也会在个性形成方面发挥重要的作用。

　　Moffit and Brown reiterate: 'Some aspects may be true for you, or make a lot of sense, but it wouldn’t be the same for every single person around the world in your specific birth order.

　　米切尔和布朗强调：“某些方面可能对你完全适用，或者听起来就是这么回事，但这一理论并不能与世界各地每一个人的特定出生顺序完全对应。

　　'It’s important to remember that your personality and your destiny in life is not predetermined at birth.'

　　“你的个性和命运是无法在出生时预先确定的，记住这一点非常重要。”

　　Vocabulary：

　　prophecy:预言

　　social butterfly: 交际花，社交达人

　　lenient: 宽容的

　　mould: 陶冶，形成