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. 1.
   The words “intelligent” and “brilliant” in the first paragraph probably mean _______ while “dull” in the second paragraph means ________.
   1. A.
      bright and splendid; slow in thinking and understanding
   2. B.
      pretty and handsome; ordinary-looking
   3. C.
      great and important; common
   4. D.
      hopeful and helpful; careless
2. 2.
   According to the context we can guess that a genius is ________ while an idiot is ________.
   1. A.
      a normal person; a funny person
   2. B.
      a strong person; a weak person
   3. C.
      a highly intelligent person; a foolish or weak-minded person
   4. D.
      a famous person; an ordinary person
3. 3.
   A person ________ is more likely to become a genius.
   1. A.
      whose parents are clever
   2. B.
      often thinking about difficult problems
   3. C.
      often helped by his parents and teachers
   4. D.
      born with a good brain and putting it into active use

Answer 1

ACD
1.A 词义理解题。What makes one person a genius，like the brilliant Albert Einstein，and another person a fool? genius的含义和fool相反，自然可以推测出brilliant的含义；Are people born intelligent or stupid? Intelligent的意思和stupid含义相反。dull出现在….on the other hand…dull and unintelligent中，dull表示不聪明。答案为A选项。
2.C推理判断题。... that makes one person a genius like the brilliant Albert Einstein, and another person a fool?和fool相反的意思即为genius的含义，According to some psychologists, if parents are always telling a child that he or she is a fool or an idiot….. 很明显，idiot和fool意思相似，C选项“非常聪明的人”和“愚蠢的人”正确。A选项是“正常的人”和“有趣的人”；B选项“身体强壮的人”和“身体虚弱的人”；D选项“名人”和“普通人”。
3.D 细节理解题。对文章细节的推断，什么样的人最有可能成为天才？A选项“父母都是聪明的人”、B选项“总是思考一些难题”以及C选项“经常得到老师和父母的帮助”都比较片面；只有D选项“天资聪颖并能够常常动脑的人”符合原文In some ways, the mind is like a leg or an arm muscle. It needs exercise“从某种意义上讲，思维就像腿部或胳膊的肌肉一样，需要锻炼。”全面的回答只有这个问题。