Question

What makes one person more intelligent than another? What makes one person a genius, like the brilliant Albert Einstein, and another person a fool? Are people born intelligent or stupid, or is intelligence the result of where and how you live? These are very old questions and the answers to them are still not clear.

We know, however, that just being born with a good mind is not enough. In some ways, the mind is like a leg or an arm muscle. It needs exercise. Mental (done with the mind) exercise is particularly important for young children. Many child psychologists (心理學家) think that parents should play with their children more often and give them problems to think about. The children are then more likely to grow up bright and intelligent. If, on the other hand, children are left alone a great deal with nothing to do, they are more likely to become dull and unintelligent.

Parents should also be careful with what they say to young children. According to some psychologists, if parents are always telling a child that he or she is a fool or an idiot, then the child is more likely to keep doing silly and foolish things. So it is probably better for parents to say very positive (helpful) things to their children, such as “That was a very clever thing you did.” or “You are such a smart child.”

1. The words “intelligent” and “brilliant” in the first paragraph probably mean _______ while “dull” in the second paragraph means _______.

A. bright and splendid; slow in thinking and understanding

B. pretty and handsome; ordinary-looking

C. great and important; common

D. hopeful and helpful; careless

2.According to the context we can guess that a genius is ______ while an idiot is _______.

A. a normal person; a funny person

B. a strong person; a weak person

C. a highly intelligent person; a foolish or weak-minded person

D. a famous person; an ordinary person

3.A person ________ is more likely to become a genius.

A. whose parents are clever

B. often thinking about difficult problems

C. often helped by his parents and teachers

D. born with a good brain and putting it into active use

4.Which of the following is NOT true according to the article?

A. Parents play an important part in their children’s growth.

B. The less you use your mind the duller you may become.

C. Intelligence is obviously the result of where and how you live.

D. What makes a person bright or stupid is still under discussion.

Answer 1

1.A

2.C

3.D

4.C

【解析】

試題分析：一個人聰明與否，僅僅靠天生的智商是不夠的，后天的智力訓練對于孩子很重要，所以家長要注意這一點。

1.A詞義猜測題。由于第一段中用“brilliant”來修飾Albert Einstein，所以“intelligent” and “brilliant”表示“聰明”，而根據第二段的語境：心理學家建議家長應更多地讓孩子們思考，這樣會使他們變得更加地聰明，而另一方面，如果讓孩子什么也不做，（顯然）會讓他們變得“愚鈍”。所以第二段中的“dull”意為“遲鈍的，愚鈍的”，故該題正確答案為A.

2.C推理判斷題。根據文章第二句“What makes one person a genius, like the brilliant Albert Einstein,”可知“genius”指天才，聰明人。根據文章最后一段中“if parents are always telling a child that he or she is a fool or an idiot, then the child is more likely to keep doing silly and foolish things. ”可知“an idiot”與“a fool”近義，意為“白癡，蠢人”，故該題正確答案為C.

3.D推理判斷題。文章講到了：成為天才、聰明人，天生的智商還不夠，還需要后天的腦力訓練。故該題正確答案為D.

4.C細節推理題。文章并沒提到生活的地點和方式會對智商有影響，故該題答案為C.

考點：科普說明文的閱讀