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 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 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.It is better for parents ________.

A. to praise and encourage their children more often

B. to be hard on their children

C. to leave their children alone with nothing to do

D. to give their children as much help as possible

5.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.A

5.C

【解析】

试题分析：本文主要讲了一个人之所以能成为天才的两个方面的原因：一、拥有一颗聪明的大脑，即我们自身的天赋；二、能够充分的运用自己的大脑思考，即我们后天的思考和学习。只有综合两者，我们才有可能成为一个聪明的人。所以孩子们的成长需要不断的学习和思考。

1.在第一段“What makes one person more intelligent than another? What makes one person a genius, like the brilliant Albert Einstein, and another person a fool?”中，作者指出有的人是intelligent，而有的人却很笨，由此可知intelligent应与fool意思相反，表示“聪明的”，与bright意思相近；我们都知道爱因斯坦是一位杰出的科学家，brilliant表示“杰出的”与splendid意思相近；第二段前部分说道只有不断进行思考的人，他们的大脑才会更加灵活，聪明，紧接着说“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”而另一方面，如果孩子们什么都不做，什么都不想，那么他们就会变得反映迟钝。“dull”和“unintelligent”都表示“不聪明的，反映迟钝的”。综合答案，故选A。

2.词义猜测题。文中第一段指出“What makes one person a genius, like the brilliant Albert Einstein”意思是，是什么让一个人成为一个天才，就像阿尔伯特•爱因斯坦。而我们知道他是一位很聪明，有着高智商的人。所以这里的“genius”是指有高智商的人；由文章最后一段“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 ”可知如果父母总说孩子笨或说他们是一个傻瓜，那么孩子就更有可能做一些愚蠢的事。这里的“fool”和“ idiot”表示并列关系，意思相近。综合答案，选C。,

3.归纳分析题。本文主要讲了一个人之所以能成为天才的两个方面的原因：一、拥有一颗聪明的大脑；二、能够充分的运用自己的大脑思考。所以答案选D。

4.理解题。从最后一段中“So it is probably better for parents to say very positive things to their children, such as “That was a very clever thing you did.” or “You are such a smart child.”可以看出父母经常对孩子传达积极向上的思想，例如，鼓励孩子，夸奖孩子，这样更有助孩子的成长。所以选项A正确。

5.

考点：考查说明文阅读