Were you the first or the last child in your family? Or were you a middle or an only child? Some people think it matters where you were born in your family. But there are 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.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} So this child is very likely to do well. An only child will succeed for the same reason.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} 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.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} 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.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}. They didn't take many chances in their lives. They usually followed orders and seldom made their own decisions. Rules didn't mean as much to later children in the family. They went out and followed their own ideas.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    Visas

    Travelers to France must have a valid passport (有效护照). Visitors from EEC (欧共体) countries and America do not need visas, but visitors from other countries should contact the nearest French consulate (领事馆) or tourist office about getting one before travelling.

    Arrival

    You could arrive at one of the two airports serving Paris.

    Charles de Gaulle is bigger and more modern. You can take a comfortable and inexpensive Air France bus to Porte Millot in the 16th district, then take a bus , the Metro or a taxi to your hotel. There are also city buses (No. 350 and 351) which go into Eastern Paris, Nation and the Gare de Train Station. A taxi takes about 40 to 50 minutes to reach the centre, and costs about 170 Francs. Add another 30 minutes for rush hours.

    Orly is the other major airport, which have mostly domestic (国内的) flights. Air France buses go to the Invalides Terminal, a convenient drop off place, where you can take the Metro or RER directly. A city bus (Orly bus) comes into the southern end of Paris at the Denfer-Rochereau Metro Station every 15 minutes. A taxi ride, not during rush hour, takes 30-40 minutes and costs about 120 Francs.

    If you arrive at a train station, you can follow the clearly posted signs towards the Metro or taxi stands.

    Money

    Many banks in Paris will change cash or travelers’ checks, and there are no special differences in rates (比率). Banking hours are 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays. The exchanges window at the Gare du Nord is open until 10 p.m. on weekdays, and other station banks are open until 8 p.m.

    There are automatic (自动的) exchange machines at the Opera (the BNP Bank) and at No.66 on the Champs-Elysees that will change other bills into Francs. International VISA cards can be used in automatic tellers at many city banks.

    If you lose your credit card, here are some hotline numbers: American Express (Tel: 4777-7200); Diners Club (Tel: 4762-7575); Carte Bleu Visa (Tel: 4277-1190).

    7 January, 2014

    A new report says more and more international students are attending colleges and universities in the United States. It also notes a large increase in the number of international students from China.

    These findings are from the latest Open Doors Report. The report documents the record number of international students in the United States during 2012, 2013 school year. It says more than seven hundred sixty-four thousand four-hundred such students were attending American colleges and universities during the last two years. That represents an increase of almost six percent than one year earlier.

    On the other hand, the number of Americans studying overseas（海外） increased by one percent, which reached nineteen thousand this year.

The report says one hundred ninety-four thousand students at American colleges and universities were from China. That is an increase of more than twenty-three percent over the year before. Peggy Blumenthal, an expert of international education, described the effect of the increase in Chinese students.

    "Now they have been coming for some time. But this year was the highest level ever." She says many Chinese families are able to pay for the highest-quality education for their children. The children mainly choose to study in America.

    "We know many of them have enough income to be able to afford to send them anywhere in the world that they want to go. And for the most part, looking around the world, Chinese students still prefer to come to the United States as their choice."

    Chinese students are not the only ones who want to attend American colleges and universities. After China, India sends the second largest number of students to the United States for higher education. India has about one hundred thousand students in American schools. South Korea is third with about seventy-two thousand students.

    Why do so many foreign students study in the United States? Peggy Blumenthal provides one reason.

    "The advantage America has is that we have a huge system and a very perfect system. So there are over four thousand universities and colleges in the United States. Among them are some top ones in the world, and what that tells us is there is still a lot of room to host international students."

    Foreign students represent less than four percent of the total student population in American higher education.

    And from Learning English, that's the VOA Special English Education Report. I'm Bob Doughty. Thanks for listening.