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 (心理学家) 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.A

2.C

3.D

4.C

【解析】

试题分析：一个人聪明与否，仅仅靠天生的智商是不够的，后天的智力训练对于孩子很重要，所以家长要注意这一点。

1.A词义猜测题。由于第一段中用“brilliant”来修饰Albert Einstein，所以“intelligent” and “brilliant”表示“聪明”，而根据第二段的语境：心理学家建议家长应更多地让孩子们思考，这样会使他们变得更加地聪明，而另一方面，如果让孩子什么也不做，（显然）会让他们变得“愚钝”。所以第二段中的“dull”意为“迟钝的，愚钝的”，故该题正确答案为A.

2.C推理判断题。根据文章第二句“What makes one person a genius, like the brilliant Albert Einstein,”可知“genius”指天才，聪明人。根据文章最后一段中“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”与“a fool”近义，意为“白痴，蠢人”，故该题正确答案为C.

3.D推理判断题。文章讲到了：成为天才、聪明人，天生的智商还不够，还需要后天的脑力训练。故该题正确答案为D.

4.C细节推理题。文章并没提到生活的地点和方式会对智商有影响，故该题答案为C.

考点：科普说明文的阅读