It’s long been part of folk wisdom that birth order strongly affects personality, intelligence
and achievement. _1_,most of the research claiming that firstborns are radically different
from other children has been discredited,and it now seems that any effects of birth order on
intelligence or personality will likely to be _2 by all the other influences in a person’s
life. In other words, the _3 in permanent impact of birth order simply is incorrect.
Consider the question of_4 birth order affects achievement or intelligence. Many
experts today suggest that birth order plays no role at all. When one researcher looked at birth patterns before 1938 and compared them to SAT scores for that group of children,she found no
connection. _5_? the number of siblings does matter. Small families are much more
_6 of the kind of verbal ability that helps people succeed in school. The reason,she
believes, is that parental attention is _7 in larger families.
【題組】7. (A) reduced (B) defined (C) awarded (D) covered