Question

Are some people born cleverer and others born stupid? Or is intelligence developed by our environment and our experience? Strangely enough, the answer to both these questions is yes. To some extent, our intelligence is given us at birth, and no amount of special education can make a genius out of a child born with low intelligence. On the other hand, a child who lives in a boring environment will develop his intelligence less than one who lives in a rich and varied environment. Thus the limits of a person's intelligence are fixed at birth, but whether or not he reaches those limits will depend on his environment. This view, now held by most experts, can be supported in a number of ways.

It is easy to show that intelligence is to some extent something we are born with. The closer the blood relationship between two people, the closer they are likely to be in intelligence. Thus if we take two unrelated people without any plan from the population, it is likely that their degree of intelligence will be completely different. If on the other hand we take two identical twins, they will very likely be as intelligent as each other. Family members like brothers and sisters, parents and children, usually have similar intelligence, and this suggests that intelligence depends on birth.

Imagine that now we take two identical twins and put them in different environments. We might send one, for example, to a university and the other to a factory where the work is boring.  We would soon find differences in intelligence developing, and this shows that environment as well as birth plays a part. This view is also suggested by the fact, that people who live in close contract with each other, but who are not related at all, are likely to have similar degrees of intelligence.

　　  1. From the 1st paragraph we can infer that——.

　　　　   A. no way can make a stupid child cleverer

　　　　   B. environment plays a more important part in intelligence developing than birth

　　　　   C. a rich and varied environment enables one to reach one's highest level of intelligence

　　　　   D. if one is born bright, he can reach his highest limit of intelligence whatever environment he lives in

　　  2. The expression “identical twins” (Para. 3) can best be replaced by

　　　　   A. two boys born together by the same mother

　　　　   B. two girls born together by the same mother

　　　　   C. two children of different sexes born together by the same mother

　　　　   D. two children born together by the same mother and are exactly alike

　　  3. Which statement would, the author probably disagree with?

　　　　   A. Intelligence is given at birth and developed by environment.

　　　　   B. It is impossible for people without any blood relationship to have similar intelligence.

　　　　   C. People who have similar experience are likely to have similar degrees of intelligence.

　　　　   D. One cannot control his own birth, but can choose a favorable environment.

　　  4. What is the best title for this passage?

　　　　   A. Intelligence　　　　    　　　　　　 B. Degrees of Intelligence

　　　　   C. Intelligence Is Given by Birth

D. Intelligence Depends on Environment

 

Answer 1

答案：1C2D3B4A
解析：

1．C。推断题。第一段讲，天生与后天的环境和经历对智力都有影响。就后天因素——环境而言，成长在恶劣环境里的儿童的智力比成长在富裕的丰富多彩的环境里的儿童的智力要慢。每个人天生都有其智力极限。是否能达到自己的智力极限取决于环境。由此推断，丰富多彩的环境能使人们达到自己的智力最高水平。选项C正确。选项A与上述论据无联系。选项B讲，在智力环境比天生方面更重要，是一个错误的推论。本文无任何这样的暗示。选项D讲，不论环境如何，只要天生聪明，就可达到智力最高点。这也偏离了本文的主旨。     2．D。语义题。identical意为“完全相同的，完全相似的”。“identical twins”意指“先天因素与外貌完全一致的双胞胎”。实际上，twins一词本身就表示两个孩子的天生因素与外貌的一致性，identical一词是多余的。由于作者想强调两个先天因素与外貌完全一致的儿童在不同的后天环境中，其智力水平发展不平衡，所以多加了identical一词。选项D正确。其他三项均不符合twins的概念。     3．B。推断题。选项A是作者在第一、三段中想说明的问题。另外作者还通过identical twins的实例证明了这一观点。选项C是作者在第三段中通过identical twins的实例，一方面说明birth对一个人的智力有影响，另一方面说明environmental对人的智力也有影响。也就是说，无任何血缘关系但有相同生活环境的人也可能有相同的智力水平。选项D的内容作者完全可能会同意，因为作者认为environment对智力的发展起作用，而birth是人们不能选择的客观因素。选项B的内容与作者的观点相悖。     4．A。主旨题。本文围绕intelligence展开论述，谈论什么因素会决定一个人智力。选项A正确。本文主旨不是围绕degrees of intelligence展开的，选项B错误。选项C和D偏离文章主旨，两者均错。