Ever wondered if your personality was decided at birth?
有沒有想過，你的個性其實在出生時就已經決定了？

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.
事實證明，出生順序不僅會影響你的個性，還會影響你取得學術成就的機會。

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.
來自加拿大多倫多的米切爾·墨菲特和格雷格·布朗近日在一個在線科學秀中指出，有幾項理論表明，家庭中的排行決定了你是怎樣的人。

FIRST-BORNS
老大

According to Mitchell and Brown, first-born children are expected to be higher academic achievers and more ambitious.
米切爾和布朗認為，家中排行老大的孩子通常會在學術上取得更高的成就，并且更具有野心。

They also have a stronger sense of responsibility and are generally more mature.
他們也會有更強的責任感，并且通常來說會更加成熟。

They also tend to have better leadership skills than other birth orders.
相比其他孩子來說，老大往往有更好的領導能力。

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，是他們從父母那里得到了更多的愛和關注，而父母對第一個孩子往往會有更高的期望。

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.
這是一個自我實現的預言：如果你背負著很高的期望，就會更想努力工作，不辜負這些期望。

FAMOUS OLDEST CHILDREN
在家中排行老大的名人：

Beyoncé碧昂斯

Emma Watson艾瑪·沃特森

Taylor Swift泰勒·斯威夫特

Hillary Clinton希拉里·克林頓

Richard Branson理查德·布蘭森

J. K. RowlingJ·K·羅琳

Kate Middleton凱特·米德爾頓

Oprah Winfrey奧普拉·溫弗瑞

Rihanna蕾哈娜

Winston Churchill溫斯頓·丘吉爾

MIDDLE-BORNS
中間出生的孩子

Middle-born children apparently tend to be more co-operative, flexible and sociable.
中間出生的孩子顯然更傾向于合作，更加靈活，并且更善交際。

They are also able to make and maintain friendships easily.
他們也很容易建立和維護友誼。

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，中間出生的孩子不像第一個孩子那樣背負著很高的期望，也不像最小的孩子一樣接受較為放松的教育。

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，與老大相比，他們往往沒那么具有野心，在生活中也會保持相對放松的態度。

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.
排行中間的孩子得到的關注比其他兄弟姐妹更少，他們會在家庭之外尋找關系和友誼，成為社交達人。

FAMOUS MIDDLE CHILDREN
在家中排行中間的名人：

Kim Kardashian金·卡戴珊

Madonna麥當娜

Martin Luther King馬丁·路德·金

Bill Gates比爾·蓋茨

Britney Spears“小甜甜”布蘭妮

Jennifer Lopez詹妮弗·洛佩茲

Anne Hathaway安妮·海瑟薇

Kristen Stewart克里斯汀·斯圖爾特

Princess Diana戴安娜王妃

Stella McCartney斯特拉·麥卡特尼

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愛和迷人的。

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，他們更有創造性，有更強的安全感和信心。

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.
因為父母已經有了其他的孩子，所以他們往往很少受到嚴格的管教，成長環境相對寬松。

Parents' expectations will also be lower.
父母的期望也會降低。

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負責任，而且往往會更幼稚，因為他們常常覺得別人會給他們起帶頭作用。

FAMOUS YOUNGEST CHILDREN
在家中排行最小的名人：

Jennifer Lawrence詹妮弗·勞倫斯

Cameron Diaz卡梅隆·迪亞茲

Harry Styles哈里·斯泰爾斯

Ryan Gosling瑞恩·高斯林

Robert Pattinson羅伯特·帕丁森

Blake Lively布萊克·萊弗利

Angelina Jolie安吉麗娜·朱莉

George Clooney喬治·克魯尼

Johnny Depp約翰尼·德普

Jude Law裘德·洛

ONLY CHILD
獨生子女

Only children tend to be academically-able, creative and resourceful.
獨生子女往往具有較強的學術能力、創造力和應變能力。

They are also mature and responsible, and dislike disorder and like to be in control.
他們也是成熟和負責任的，喜歡一切井井有條，不喜歡混亂的狀態。

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.
作為父母唯一的孩子，他們總是背負著很高的期望。但與老大相比，他們不需要為了吸引父母的注意力而爭斗。

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.
更不用說，一個只有成年人的家庭環境常會讓孩子更快地開始成熟并模仿父母的行為，而不是在兄弟姐妹幼稚或年輕的興趣環境中長大。

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，因為他們從來沒有兄弟姐妹或與他們年齡相仿的同伴，當事情沒有按照他們的想法發展時，他們會就感到煩惱，容易失控。

FAMOUS ONLY CHILDREN
身為獨生子女的名人：

Leonardo DiCaprio萊昂納多·迪卡普里奧

Daniel Radcliffe丹尼爾·雷德克里夫

Natalie Portman娜塔莉·波特曼

Drew Barrymore德魯·巴里摩爾

James Dean詹姆斯·迪恩

Jack Nicholson杰克·尼科爾森

Elvis Presley貓王

Alicia Keys艾麗西亞·凱斯

Russell Brand拉塞爾·布蘭德

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.
米切爾和布朗補充道，性別、社會地位和年齡差距，以及兄弟姐妹的數量也會在個性形成方面發揮重要的作用。

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.
米切爾和布朗強調：“某些方面可能對你完全適用，或者聽起來就是這么回事，但這一理論并不能與世界各地每一個人的特定出生順序完全對應。

'It’s important to remember that your personality and your destiny in life is not predetermined at birth.'
“你的個性和命運是無法在出生時預先確定的，記住這一點非常重要。”

Vocabulary：

prophecy:預言

social butterfly: 交際花，社交達人

lenient: 寬容的

mould: 陶冶，形成

（翻譯：丁瀟BISTU 編輯：欽君 Helen）