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Text 3Human intelligence and the IQ scales use

2022-08-05 19:31:45 问答库 阅读 171 次

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Text 3
Human intelligence and the IQ scales used to measure it once again are becoming the focus of fiery debate.
As argument rages over declining test scores in the nation"s schools ,an old but explosive issue is reappearing ;What is intelligence - and is it determined largely by genetics?
The controversy erupted more than a decade ago when some U. S. scholars saw a racial pattern
in the differing scores of students taking intelligence and college-entrance tests.
Now ,the racial issue is being joined by others. Teachers ,psychologists, scientists and lawyers argue over the question of whether IQ一 intelligence quotient - tests actually measure mental abili-ty ,or if findings are skewed by such factors as family background ,poverty and emotional disorders.
Moreover ,some authorities assert that the rise in the number of college-educated Americans and their tendency to marry among themselves are creating a class of supersmart children of brainy parents – and ,on the other side of the scale ,a lumpenproletariat of children reflecting the suppos-edly inferior brainpower of their parents.
Critics such as Harvard University biologist Richard C. Lewontin disagree. If mental ability were largely determined by inheritance,he says,efforts to enhance intelligence through the better-ment of both home and child-rearing environments could only be marginally effective. He com- ments :
" Genetic determinism could be used to justify existing social injustice as predetermined and in-evitable and would render efforts made toward equalitarian goals as useless. "
Supporting Lewontin in this is J. McVicker Hunt,a professor at the University of Illinois,who maintains that IQ levels can be raised significantly by exposing children at an early age to stimula- ting environments. Hunt"s studies show that early help in such areas as education and nutrition can raise a child"s IQ by an average of 30 t0 35 points.
At stake in the uproar over IQ is the national commitment to improve the capabilities of the poor by investing billions of dollars annually in educational ,medical and job programs.
51. The controversy over IQ tests is reappearing because of
[ A] the newly found racial pattern underlying students" performance.
[B] the worsening students" performance in their studies.
[ C] the long-standing division in the definition of intelligence.
[ D] the dubious IQ scales used to measure intelligence.请帮忙给出正确答案和分析,谢谢!

参考答案

正确答案:B
Text3参考译文人类智力以及过去常常使用的智商测量标准再次成为人们激烈辩论的焦点。随着对学生考试成绩下降问题争论的激烈进行,一个陈旧却极易引起争议的问题再次出现:什么是智力?智力主要由遗传决定吗?十多年前,一些美国学者发现在智力测试和大学入学考试中学生的成绩与种族密切相关,这引起了争论。现在,种族问题引起了其他人的关注。教师、心理学家、科学家和律师围绕智商测试是否真的能够检测智力,以及测试结果是否由于受到比2008年9月参考答案及精析第6页(共12页)如家庭背景、贫穷和情绪不佳这些因素的影响而出现偏差的问题进行争论。,此外,一些权威人士断言,受过大学教育的美国人人数的上升及这些人往往和受到同等教育的人结婚的倾向正在促使一个新的阶层的产生,即拥有聪明父母的高智商儿童,与之相反,那些所谓的“流氓无产阶级”儿童则反应了其父母智商较低。一些批评家,比如哈佛大学的生物学家理查德.C.莱温顿不同意以上的说法。他说,如果智力很大程度上是由遗传因素决定的,那么那些通过改善家庭及孩子养育环境的手段来提高智力的努力只能起到微不足道的作用。他指出:“基因决定论可以被用来解释现存的社会不公平现象是注定的和不可避免的,同时它会使争取达到平等目标的努力变得没有意义。”来自伊利诺斯大学的J.米维克·亨特教授支持莱温顿的观点。他认为,在孩子很小时将其置于启发性很强的环境中能够大大提高孩子的智力水平。亨特的研究表明,改善孩子的早期教育及营养能够将孩子的智商平均提高30至35分由于人们对智商及决定因素争论不休,因此,我们无法预测国家是否会每年在教育、医疗和就业项目中投入数十亿美元来提高贫困人群的能力。答案及精析51.B【精析】该题为细节题。根据第二段“Asargumentragesoverdecliningtestscoresinthenation'sschools,anoldbutexplosiveissueisreappearing:Whatisintelligence-andisitdeterminedlargelybygenetics?”可知,因为学生考试成绩下降,关于智力决定因素问题的争议再次出现,故选B。

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