考研英语阅读命题思路透析和真题揭秘(37)

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.

26. Which of the following may be required in an intelligence test?
[A] Answering philosophical questions.
[B] Folding or cutting paper into different shapes.
[C] Telling the differences between certain concepts.
[D] Choosing words or graphs similar to the given ones.

[答案] D

[解题思路]

本题对应于文章第一段的第三句话"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"（智商测试要求你完成一些文字和图像的分析，要求你在纸张被折叠和剪切后想象它的形状，要求你推论数字的顺序，还有其他类似的项目），显然A和C选项的内容不包括其中，因而是错误选项。B选项的表述与原文"to envision paper after it has been folded and cut"意思相左，也可排除。Ｄ选项对应于"to complete verbal and visual analogies"，因而是正确答案。

[题目译文]

下列的哪一项在智商测试中有所要求？
[A] 回答哲学问题
[B] 把纸折成或剪成不同的形状
[C] 区别一些概念之间不同
[D] 根据给定的词汇或者图像选择相似的词汇或图像。

28. People nowadays can no longer achieve IQ scores as high as vos Savant's because
[A] the scores are obtained through different computational procedures.
[B] creativity rather than analytical skills is emphasized now.
[C] vos Savant's case is an extreme one that will not repeat.
[D] the defining characteristic of IQ tests has changed.

[答案] Ａ

[解题思路]

本题的对应信息在文章第二段的第四句话"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"（ 像沃斯•萨文特那么高的分数也再也不可能出现了，因为现在的分数依据的是相同年龄者的统计学群体分布状况，而不是简单地通过实际年龄乘以100来划分智能年龄），显而易见主要是因为现在的计算方法不同，答案为Ａ选项。Ｂ和Ｄ选项的表述与原文相反，而Ｃ选项则属于无中生有，与原文无关。

[题目译文]

现在的人们不再可能取得沃斯•萨文特那么高的智商分数是因为

[A] 现在使用不同的计算程序计分
[B] 现在更加强调创造力而不是分析能力
[C] 沃斯•萨文特的例子只是一个不会再出现的极端情况
[D] 智商测试的定义性特征发生了变化