考研英語閱讀理解命題思路透析和真題揭秘(21)

2007年Text 2

For the past several years, the Sunday newspaper supplement Parade has featured a column called "Ask Marilyn." People are invited to query Marilyn vos Savant, who at age 10 had tested at a mental level of someone about 23 years old; that gave her an IQ of 228 -- the highest score ever recorded. IQ tests ask you to complete verbal and visual analogies, to envision paper after it has been folded and cut, and to deduce numerical sequences, among other similar tasks. So it is a bit confusing when vos Savant fields such queries from the average Joe (whose IQ is 100) as, What's the difference between love and fondness? Or what is the nature of luck and coincidence? It's not obvious how the capacity to visualize objects and to figure out numerical patterns suits one to answer questions that have eluded some of the best poets and philosophers.
 
Clearly, intelligence encompasses more than a score on a test. Just what does it mean to be smart? How much of intelligence can be specified, and how much can we learn about it from neurology, genetics, computer science and other fields?
 
The defining term of intelligence in humans still seems to be the IQ score, even though IQ tests are not given as often as they used to be. The test comes primarily in two forms: the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale and the Wechsler intelligence Scales (both come in adult and children's version). Generally costing several hundred dollars, they are usually given only by psychologists, although variations of them populate bookstores and the World Wide Web. Superhigh scores like vos Savant's are no longer possible, because scoring is now based on a statistical population distribution among age peers, rather than simply dividing the mental age by the chronological age and multiplying by 100. Other standardized tests, such as the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) and the Graduate Record Exam (GRE), capture the main aspects of IQ tests.
 
Such standardized tests may not assess all the important elements necessary to succeed in school and in life, argues Robert J. Sternberg. In his article "How Intelligent Is Intelligence Testing?", Sternberg notes that traditional tests best assess analytical and verbal skills but fail to measure creativity and practical knowledge, components also critical to problem solving and life success. Moreover, IQ tests do not necessarily predict so well once populations or situations change. Research has found that IQ predicted leadership skills when the tests were given under low-stress conditions, but under high-stress conditions, IQ was negatively correlated with leadership -- that is, it predicted the opposite. Anyone who has toiled through SAT will testify that test-taking skill also matters, whether it's knowing when to guess or what questions to skip.

30. What is the author's attitude towards IQ tests?
[A]Supportive     
[B]Skeptical.       
[C]Impartial       
[D]Biased

[答案] B

[解題思路]

縱觀全文，尤其是最后一段，作者對智商測試是持懷疑態(tài)度的。像該段第一句話"Such standardized tests may not assess all the important elements necessary to succeed in school and in life"（ 這樣的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)測試不可能評估在學(xué)校和生活中取得成功所需的所有重要因素）、第三句話"Moreover, IQ tests do not necessarily predict so well once populations or situations change"（ 而且，一旦種群或環(huán)境發(fā)生變化，智商測試就未必能夠準(zhǔn)確預(yù)測）、以及最后一句話"Anyone who has toiled through SAT will testify that test-taking skill also matters, whether it's knowing when to guess or what questions to skip"（ 任何經(jīng)歷過學(xué)術(shù)能力檢測的人都會認(rèn)為，應(yīng)試能力也很重要，無論是知道何時(shí)應(yīng)該進(jìn)行猜題，還是知道應(yīng)該忽略什么問題等，都是很起作用的）等都證明了作者的這一態(tài)度，因此正確答案為B選項(xiàng)。

[題目譯文]

作者對于智商測試的態(tài)度是怎樣的？
[A] 支持的
[B] 質(zhì)疑的
[C] 客觀的
[D] 有偏見的

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