If you were to examine the birth certificates of every soccer player in 2006’s World Cup tournament, you would most likely find a noteworthy quirk: elite soccer players are more likely to have been born in the earlier months of the year than in the later months. If you then examined the European national youth teams that feed the World Cup and professional ranks, you would find this strange phenomenon to be even more pronounced.
What might account for this strange phenomenon Here are a few guesses: a) certain astrological signs confer superior soccer skills; b) winter-born babies tend to have higher oxygen capacity, which increases soccer stamina; c) soccer-mad parents are more likely to conceive children in springtime, at the annual peak of soccer mania; d) none of the above.
Anders Ericsson, a 58-year-old psychology professor at Florida State University, says he believes strongly in "none of the above." Ericsson grew up in Sweden, and stud
A. fun
B. craze
C. hysteria
D. excitement
W: Were you hard-working when you were in high school, David
M: Yes, I studied hard. But I also liked football and music.
Were you the first or the last child in you family Or were you a middle or an only child Some people think it matters where you were born in your family. But there axe different ideas about what birth order means. Some people say that oldest children are smart and strong-willed. They are very likely to be successful. The reason for this is simple. Parents have a lot of time for their first child, and they give him or her a lot of attention. So this child is very likely to do well. An only child will succeed for the same reason. What happens to the other children in the family Middle children don’t get so much attention, so they don’t feel that important. If a family has many children, the middle one sometimes gets lost in the crowd. The youngest child, though, often gets special treatment. He or she is the baby. Often this child grows up to be funny and charming. Do you believe these ideas of birth order too A recent study saw things quite differently. The study found
A. Their parents pay a lot of attention to them.
B. Their ability is the same.
C. Their family have the same many people.
D. They are happy.
M: Hi, Ms. Rowling. How old were you when you started to write, and what was your first book
W: I wrote my first finished story when I was about 6. It was about a small animal, a rabbit I mean, and I’ve been writing ever since.
M: Why did you choose to be an author
W: If someone asked me how to achieve happiness, step one would be finding out what you love doing most and step two would be finding someone to pay you to do it. I consider myself very lucky indeed to be able to support myself by writing.
M: Do you have any plans to write books for adults
W: My first two novels were for adults. I suppose I might write another one, hut I never really imagine a target audience when I’m writing. The ideas come first, so it really depends on the idea that grabs me next!
M: Where did the ideas for the Harry Potter books come from
W: I’ve no idea where the ideas come from and I hope I never find out, it would spoil my
A. She doesn’t really know where they originated.
B. She mainly drew on stories of ancient saints.
C. They popped out of her childhood dreams.
D. They grew out of her long hours of thinking.
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