CET4快速阅读配套练习
【解 析】88 percent。本题涉及到美国高中毕业生的比例。本句讲到了美国人拥有高中毕业文凭的比率。不分年龄段 (across age groups)的美国人，即题干中所说的the Americans of all ages (所有年龄段的美国人)，故答案为88 percent。 【设题处】数字处设题
10.【线索词】Mr. Schleicher 【定位处】最后一段
【解 析】college education。本题涉及到Schleicher先生的观点。题干将原文的直接引语转变为间接引语并做了句型转换。最后一句中的it指代的即是the U.S.，由此可知，the U.S.在college education和making education sort of accessible for everyone方面成为一个norm (标准)。题干中已经给出making education accessible for everyone，故答案为college education。 【设题处】观点处设题
Passage 3
Directions: In this part, you will have 15 minutes to go over the passage quickly and answer the questions on Answer Sheet 1.
For questions 1―7, choose the best answer from the four choices marked [A], [B], [C] and [D]. For questions 8―10, complete the sentences with the information given in the passage.
What do we mean by being ?talented or gifted‘? The most obvious way is to look at the work someone does and if they are capable of significant success, label them as talented. The purely quantitative route — ?percentage definition‘— looks not at individuals, but at simple percentages, such as the top five percent of the population, and labels them — by definition — as gifted. This definition has fallen from favor, eclipsed by the advent of IQ tests, favored by luminaries such as Professor Hans Eysenck, where a series of written or verbal tests of general intelligence leads to a score of intelligence.
The IQ test has been eclipsed in turn. Most people studying intelligence and creativity in the new millennium now prefer a broader definition, using a multifaceted approach where talents in many areas are recognized rather than purely concentrating on academic achievement. If we are therefore assuming that talented, creative or gifted individuals may need to be assessed across a range of abilities, does this mean intelligence can run in families as genetic or inherited tendency? Mental dysfunction — such as schizophrenia — can, so is an efficient mental capacity passed on from parent to child?
Animal experiments throw some light on this question, and on the whole area of whether it is genetics, the environment or a combination of the two that allows for intelligence and creative ability. Different strains of rats show great differences in intelligence or ?rat reasoning‘. If these are brought up in normal conditions and then run through a maze to reach a food goal, the ?bright-strain make far fewer wrong turns that the ?dull-ones‘. But if the environment is made dull and boring the number of errors becomes equal. Return the rats to an exciting maze and the discrepancy returns as before — but is much smaller. In other words, a dull rat in a stimulating environment will almost do as well as bright rat who is bored in a normal one. This principle applies to humans too — someone may be born with innate intelligence, but their environment probably has the final say over whether they become creative or even a genius.
Evidence now exists that most young children, if given enough opportunities and encouragement, are able to achieve significant and sustainable levels of academic or sporting prowess. Bright or creative children are often physically very active at the same time, and so many receive more parental attention as a result — almost by default — in order to ensure their
CET4快速阅读配套练习
safety. They may also talk earlier, and this, in turn, breeds parental interest. This can sometimes cause problems with other siblings who may feel jealous even though they themselves may be bright. Their creative talents may be undervalued and so never come to fruition. Two themes seem to run through famously creative families as a result. The first is that the parents were able to identify the talents of each child, and nurture and encourage these accordingly but in an even handed manner. Individual differences were encouraged, and friendly sibling rivalry was not seen as particular problem. If the father is, say, a famous actor, there is no undue pressure for his children to follow him onto the boards, but instead their chosen interests are encouraged. There need not even by any obvious talent in such a family since there always needs to be someone who sets the family career in motion, as in the case of the Sheen acting dynasty.
Martin Sheen was the seventh of ten children born to a Spanish immigrant father and an Irish mother. Despite intense parental disapproval he turned his back on entrance exams to university and borrowed cash from a local priest to start a fledgling acting career. His acting successes in films such as Badlands and Apocalypse Now made him one of the most highly-regarded actors of the 1970s. Three sons — Emilio Estevez, Ramon Estevez and Charlie Sheen — have followed him into the profession as a consequence of being inspired by his motivation and enthusiasm.
A stream seems to run through creative families. Such children are not necessarily smothered with love by their parents. They feel loved and wanted, and are secure in their home, but are often more surrounded by an atmosphere of work and where following a calling appears to be important. They may see from their parents that it takes time and dedication to be master of a craft, and so are in less of a hurry to achieve for themselves once they start to work.
The generation of creativity is complex: it is a mixture of genetics, the environment, parental teaching and luck that determines how successful or talented family members are. This last point — luck — is often not mentioned where talent is concerned but plays an undoubted part. Mozart, considered by many to be the finest composer of all time, was lucky to be living in an age that encouraged the writing of music. He was brought up surrounded by it, his father was a musician who encouraged him to the point of giving up his job to promote his child genius. Mozart himself simply wanted to create the finest music ever written but did not necessarily view himself as a genius — he could write sublime music at will, and so often preferred to lead a hedonistic lifestyle that he found more exciting than writing music to order.
Albert Einstein and Bill Gates are two more examples of people whose talents have blossomed by virtue of the times they were living in. Einstein was a solitary, somewhat slow child who had affection at home but whose phenomenal intelligence emerged without any obvious parental input. This may have been partly due to the fact that at the start of the 20th century a lot of the Newtonian laws of physics were being questioned, leaving a fertile ground for ideas such as his to be developed. Bill Gates may have had the creative vision to develop Microsoft, but without the new computer age dawning at the same time he may never have achieved the position on the world stage he now occupies.
1. According to the first paragraph which shows how the approaches to defining ?talent‘ have changed?
[A]IQ / intelligence [B] parental attention [C] multifaceted approach [D] academic achievement
CET4快速阅读配套练习
2. Which of the following does the author regard as one of the features of creative families? [A] a higher than average level of parental affection [B] parents who demonstrate vocational commitment [C] strong motivation to take exams and attend university [D] the identification of the most talented child in the family
3. The rat experiment was conducted to show that ______. [A] a boring environment has little impact on a ?bright rat‘ [B] certain species of rat are more intelligent than others [C] intelligent rats are more motivated than ?dull rats‘ [D] a rat‘s surroundings can influence its behavior
4. The author cites the story of Martin Sheen to show that ______. [A] he was the first in a creative line
[B] his parents did not have his creative flair [C] he became an actor without proper training [D] his sons were able to benefit from his talents
5. According to the passage the brother or sister of a gifted older child may ______. [A] have more creative talents [B] receive less family affection [C] fail to fulfill their own potential [D] equally succeed in various areas
6. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage? [A] Mozart was acutely aware of his own remarkable talent. [B] Intelligence tests have now been proved to be unreliable. [C] Einstein and Gates would have achieved success in any era.
[D] The importance of luck in the genius equation tends to be ignored.
7. Which of the following is the most suitable title for the passage? [A] Geniuses in Their Time [B] Education for the Gifted
[C] Nurturing Talent within the Family [D] Revising the Definition of Intelligence
8. Evidence shows that bright or creative children are often physically very active and thus receive more ______ to ensure their safety.
9. __________is often not mentioned but an undoubted part of a person how creative or talented. 10. Albert Einstein‘s and Bill Gates‘ significant success may be due to ______.
答案解析 Passage 3 【结构剖析】议论文。文章围绕才干和天赋进行论述。首段给出大部分人对才干和天赋的定义。专家通过对老鼠进行研究得出结论：人类的成功与周围的生存环境有关，比如遗传、CET4快速阅读配套练习 家庭环境、父母的教育以及运气等。 1. 【线索词】the first paragraph 【定位处】第一段最后两句
【解 析】选[A]。第三句给出了天赋的定义：百分比定义法（percentage definition），接着第四句对这种定义进行了进一步的说明：对天赋的百分比定义已不受权威人士欢迎，并且因智商测试的出现而黯然失色（eclipsed by the advent of IQ tests），由此可知，是IQ tests显示了给talent下定义的方法已经改变，故[A]为答案。 【设题处】破折号处设题 2.
【线索词】features of creative families 【定位处】第六段第二句
【解 析】选[B]。该句提到，在有创造性家庭里的孩子能感觉到被人宠爱和需要，有安全感，但是are often more surrounded by an atmosphere of work and where following a calling appears to be important（他们更多被一种工作氛围所包围，并且认为工作是很重要的），[B]是原文的同义转述，故为答案。 【设题处】转折处设题 3.
【线索词】rat experiment 【定位处】第三段倒数第二句
【解 析】选[D]。该句指出，在一种刺激性的环境中，一只反应迟钝的老鼠几乎和一只处在正常环境中感到厌倦的反应灵敏的老鼠表现得一样好，由此可知，老鼠的生活环境会影响它的行为，故[D]为答案。 【设题处】对比处设题 4.
【线索词】Martin Sheen 【定位处】第四段末句
【解 析】选[A]。作者引用例子是为了证明论点，并且此论点的位置应在所举的例子的前面或后面。文中作者引用Martin Sheen是为了证明there always needs to be someone who sets the family career in motion（一直需要家庭里某个成员来鼓励其他成员在职业上的发展）。[A]是原文的同义转述，故为答案。 【设题处】举例处设题 5.
【线索词】the brother or sister of a gifted older child 【定位处】第四段第四、五句
【解 析】选[C]。这两句中提到尽管天才儿童的兄弟姐妹可能会很聪明，但是他们很有可能会因为妒忌而不能成功挖掘他们的潜能，故[C]为答案。 【设题处】转折处设题 6.
【线索词】following statements is true 【定位处】第七段第二句
【解 析】选[D]。该句指出，在谈及天才时，通常不提及运气，[D]中的tends to be ignored是文中often not mentioned的同义转述，故为答案。 【设题处】破折号处设题 7.
【线索词】the most suitable title 【定位处】全文
【解 析】选[C]。本文讨论了天才是如何产生的，主要谈论家庭环境对天才的产生有很大影响，[C]全面概括了全文内容，故为答案。[A]和[D]都只涉及到其中一部分；[B]在文中没有提及。
【设题处】主旨处设题 8.
