Are some people born clever, and others born stupid? Or is intelligence developed by our environment
Are some people born clever, and others born stupid? Or is intelligence developed by our environment and our experiences? 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 rich and varied surroundings. Thus the limits of a persons 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 at random from the population,
it is likely that their degrees 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. Relations like brothers and sisters, parents and children, usually have similar intelligence, and this clearly suggests that intelligence depends on birth.
Imagine now that 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 indicates that environment as well as birth plays
a part. This conclusion is also suggested by the fact that people who live in close contact with each other, but who are not related at all, are likely to have similar degrees of intelligence.
26. Which of these sentences best describes the writers point in Paragraph 1?
A. To some extent, intelligence is given at birth.
B. Intelligence is developed by the environment.
C. Some people are born clever and others born stupid.
D. Intelligence is fixed at birth, but is developed by the environment.
27. It is suggested in this passage that_______.
A. unrelated people are not likely to have different intelligence
B. close relations usually have similar intelligence
C. the closer the blood relationship between people, the more different they are likely to be in intelligence
D. people who live in close contact with each other are not likely to have similar degrees of intelligence
28. Brothers and sisters are likely to_______.
A. have similar intelligence B. have different intelligence
C. go to the same university D. go to the same factory
29. In Paragraph 1, the word surroundings means_______.
A. intelligence B. life
C. environments D. housing
30. The best title for this article would be_______.
A. On Intelligence
B. What Intelligence Means
C. We Are Born with Intelligence
D. Environment Plays a Part in Developing Intelligence
答案：26. D 27. B 28. A 29. C 30. A