評論
打印
Recording Three
錄音三
Ronald and Lois, married for two decades, consider themselves a happy couple.
羅納德和洛伊絲結(jié)婚二十年，是一對幸福的夫妻
But in the early years of their marriage, both were distilled by persistent arguments that seem to fade away without ever being truly resolved.
但在剛結(jié)婚的幾年里，他們總是不停地爭吵，每次爭吵都會過去，但問題卻總是沒有真正地解決。
They uncovered clues to what was going wrong by researching a fascinating subject：
他們通過一個研究課題，發(fā)現(xiàn)了問題所在：
how birth order affects not only your personality, but also how compatible you are with your mate.
出生順序不僅會影響你的個性，還會影響你和伴侶的融洽程度。
Ronald and Lois are only children, and "onlies" grow up accustomed to being the apple of their parents' eyes.
羅納德和露易絲是家里的獨生子女，都是家里人掌心上的寶。
Match two "onlies" and you have partners who subconsciously expect each other to continue fulfilling this expectation,
兩個獨生子女組成一個家庭，雙方的潛意識里期待繼續(xù)被對方寵著。
while neither has much experience in the "giving" end.
然而，兩人都沒有多少“付出”的經(jīng)驗。
Here's a list of common birth-order characteristics—and some thoughts on the best and worst marital matches for each.
以下是出生順序的一些常見特征，以及一些關(guān)于最佳和最差婚姻匹配的觀點。
The oldest tends to be self-assured, responsible, a high achiever, and relatively serious and reserved.
老大往往自信、負責、成績優(yōu)異、比較嚴肅、保守。
He may be slow to make friends, perhaps content with only one companion.
他交朋友的速度可能很慢，也許只和一個同伴相處就夠了。
The best matches are with a youngest, an "only", or a mate raised in a large family.
最適合的伴侶是年齡最小的“獨生子女”或在大家庭中長大。
The worst match is with another oldest, since the two will be too sovereign to share a household comfortably.
最不適合的伴侶是家里的老大，因為兩人太有主見，而無法幸福地組成一個家庭。
The youngest child of the family thrives on attention and tends to be outgoing, adventurous, optimistic, creative and less ambitious than others in the family.
老幺精力充沛，往往比較外向、冒險、樂觀、有創(chuàng)造力、而且沒有家里其他孩子那么雄心勃勃，
He may lack self-discipline and have difficulty making decisions on his own.
但可能自律性不夠，很難自己做決定。
A youngest brother of brothers, often unpredictable and romantic, will match best with an oldest sister of brothers.
兄弟中最小的往往捉摸不定，比較浪漫，最適合兄弟姐妹里的姐姐。
The youngest sister of brothers is best matched with an oldest brother of sisters, who will happily indulge these traits.
兄弟姐妹中，年紀最小的妹妹適合年紀最大的哥哥，男方會包容女方。
The middle child is influenced by many variables;
老二比較多變；
however, middles are less likely to take initiative and more anxious and self-critical than others.
然而，老二不太主動，他們會比其他人更焦慮，更加自我苛責。
Middles often successfully marry other middles, since both are strong on tact, not so strong on the aggressiveness and tend to crave affection.
老二通常也會選擇老二結(jié)婚，因為他們都很老練，不那么咄咄逼人，喜歡追求愛情。
The only child is often most comfortable when alone.
獨生子女通常自己一個人的時候比較舒服自在，
But since an "only" tends to be a well-adjusted individual, she'll eventually learn to relate to any chosen spouse.
但獨生子女的適應(yīng)能力一般都比較強，因此他們最終能適應(yīng)自己的伴侶。
The male only child expects his wife to make life easier without getting much in return.
獨生子希望他的妻子能讓生活更加舒適而不要求太多回報。
He is sometimes best matched with a younger sister of brothers.
最適合兄弟姐妹里的妹妹。
The female only child, who tends to be slightly more flexible, is well matched with an older man,who will indulge her tendency to test his love.
獨生女往往稍微活潑一點，適合年長的男性，這樣的男人會縱容她的一些的小脾氣，給她無盡的寵愛。
Her worst match? Another "only", of course.
洛伊絲的情況比較糟糕，她嫁的也是獨生子。
Questions 22 to 25 are based on the recording you have just heard.
根據(jù)你剛才聽到的錄音，回答22-25題。
22.What does the speaker say about Ronald and Lois’s early years of married life?
問題22：關(guān)于羅納德和露易絲早年的婚姻生活，說話者說了些什么?
23.What do we learn about Ronald and Lois?
問題23：關(guān)于羅納德和露易絲我們了解到了什么?
24.What does the speaker say about the oldest child in a family?
問題24：關(guān)于家里最大的孩子，說話者說了些什么?
25.What does the speaker say about the only children?
問題25：關(guān)于獨生子女，說話者說了什么?
