听力原文：

Recording Three

Ronald and Lois married for two decades considered themselves a happy couple. But in the early years of their marriage both were distilled by persistent arguments that seem to fade away without ever being truly resolved. They uncovered clues to what was going wrong by researching a fascinating subject. How birth order affects not only your personality but also how compatible you are with your mate. Ronald and Lois are only children and onlies grow up accustomed to being the apple of parents’ eyes. Match two onlies and you have partners to sub consciously expect each other to continue fulfilling this expectation while neither has much experience in the giving and here's a list of common birth order characteristics and some thoughts on the best and worst Marischal matches for each. The oldest tends to be self-assured, responsible, a high achiever and relatively seriously reserved. He may be slow to make friends. Perhaps content with only one companion. The best matches are with a youngest and only or a mate raised in a large family. The worst match is with another oldest since the two will be too sovereign to share a household comfortably. The youngest child of the family thrives on the tension and tends to be outgoing, adventurous, optimistic, creative and less ambitious than others in the family. He may lack self-discipline and have difficulty making decisions on his own. A youngest brother of brothers often unpredictable and romantic will match best with an oldest sister of brothers. The youngest sister of brothers is best matched with the oldest brother of sisters who will happily indulge these traits. The middle child is influenced by many variables however middles are less likely to take initiative and more anxious and self-critical than others. Middles often successfully marry other middles. Since both are strong on tact not so strong on the aggressiveness and tend to crave 

affection. The only child is often most comfortable when alone. But since an only tends to be a well-adjusted individual she'll eventually learn to relate to any chosen spouse. The male only child expects his wife to make life easier without getting much in return. He is sometimes best matched with the younger sister of brothers. 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—her worst much. Another only of course.

Questions 22 to 25 are based on the recording you have just heard.

22. What does the speaker say about Ronald and Lois's early years of married life?

23. What do we learn about Ronald and Lois?

24. What does the speaker say about the oldest child in the family?

25. What does the speaker say about the only children?

解析：浏览四个选项，根据选项中出现的breaking up，quarreled，argued等词可以推测，该题可能涉及两个人的关系如何。题干问的是关于罗纳德和路易斯的早期婚姻生活，演讲者说了什么。讲座中提到，在他们的早期婚姻生活中，两个人都为无休止的争吵感到苦恼，这些争论似乎在没有得到真正解决的情况下消失了。故答案为C(他们经常争吵并且从来没有解决过问题)。A项(他们在分手的边缘)、B项(他们摒弃差异，互相包容)和D项(他们为是否要孩子不停争吵)原文均未提及，故排除。

浏览四个选项，根据选项中出现的。neither of them，they，spoiled等词可以推测，该题可能涉及对两个人的具体描述。题干问的是关于罗纳德和路易斯，我们可以了解到什么。讲座中提到，他们两个都是独生子女，而独生子女习惯了做父母的掌上明珠。故答案为A(他们两个都没有兄弟或者姐妹)。B项(他们两个都不被父母喜爱)、C项(他们两个在童年时期都没有被溺爱)和D项(他们不喜欢做父母的掌上明珠)原文均未提及，故排除。

浏览四个选项，根据选项中出现的good at，adventurous，creative，content with，self-assured，responsible等词可以推测，该题可能涉及某人的性格特点。题干问的是关于家中最大的孩子，演讲者说了什么。讲座中提到，最大的孩子常常很自信、有责任心，能取得较高的成就，而又相对严肃和克制。故答案为D(他们常常很自信和有责任心)。A项(他们通常善于交朋友)与原文内容不符，原文中说的是他们交朋友很慢，可能只有一个伙伴，故排除。B项(他们喜欢冒险并且具有创造力)是最小孩子的特点，故排除。C项(他们对自己拥有的东西很满足)原文未提及，故排除。

浏览四个选项，根据选项中出现的they，well adjusted，take initiative，successful marriages等词可以推测，该题可能涉及某个群体的特征。题干问的是关于独生子女，演讲者说了什么。讲座中提到，独生子女在自己独处的时候最舒服，但由于独生子女是适应能力很强的个体，她最终会学会和她选择的任何一个伴侣建立关系。故答案为B(他们适应能力很强)。A项(他们喜欢交朋友)、C项(他们最没有可能采取主动)和D项(他们通常拥有成功的婚姻)原文均未提及，故排除。