Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on the answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the following questions:
ARE HUMAN BEINGS GETTING SMARTER?
Do you think you're smarter than your parents and grandparents? According to James Flynn, a professor at a New Zealand university, you are! Over the course of the last century, people who have taken IQ tests have gotten increasingly better scores-on average, three points better for every decade that has passed. This improvement is known as "the Flynn effect," and scientists want to know what is behind it.
IQ tests and other similar tests are designed to measure general intelligence rather than knowledge. Flynn knew that intelligence is partly inherited from our parents and partly the result of our environment and experiences, but the improvement in test scores was happening too quickly to be explained by heredity. So what was happening in the 20th century that was helping people achieve higher scores on intelligence tests?
Scientists have proposed several explanations for the Flynn effect. Some suggest that the improved test scores simply reflect an increased exposure to tests in general. Because we take so many tests, we learn test-taking techniques that help us perform better on any test. Others have pointed to better nutrition since it results in babies being bom larger, healthier, and with more brain development than in the past. Another possible explanation is a change in educational styles, with teachers encouraging children to learn by discovering things for themselves rather than just memorizing information. This could prepare people to do the kind of problem solving that intelligence tests require.
Flynn limited the possible explanations when he looked carefully at the test data and discovered that the improvement in scores was only on certain parts of the IQ test. Test takers didn't do better on the arithmetic or vocabulary sections of the test; they did better on sections that required a special kind of reasoning and problem solving. For example, one part of the test shows a set of abstract shapes, and test-takers must look for patterns and connections between them and decide which shape should be added to the set.
According to Flynn, this visual intelligence improves as the amount of technology in our lives increases. Every time you play a computer game or figure out how to program a new cell phone, you are exercising exactly the kind of thinking and problem solving that helps you do well on one kind of intelligence test, So are you really smarter than your parents? In one very specific way, you may be.
Which sentence from the article gives a main idea?
A. Scientists have proposed several explanations for the Flynn effect.
B. Because we take so many tests in our lives, we learn test-taking techniques that help us perform better on any test.
C. Test-takers didn’t do better on the arithmetic or vocabulary sections of the test.
D. For example, one part of the test shows a set of abstract shapes, and test-takers must look for pattern and connections between them and decide which shape should be added to the set.
Đáp án A
Giải thích: Hai đoạn đầu tiên trong bài đọc có tác dụng dẫn dắt, giới thiệu “Hiệu ứng Flynn” và đặt ra vấn đề là điểm các bài kiểm tra trí tuệ ngày càng tăng lên. Câu hỏi cần được trả lời trong bài đọc là So what was happening in the 20th century that was helping people achieve higher scores on intelligence tests? = Vậy điều gì đang xảy ra vào thế kỉ 20 mà đang giúp cho con người đạt được điểm số cao hơn trong các bài kiểm tra trí tuệ?
Nghĩa là ta đang cần đi tìm nguyên nhân cho việc con người đạt được điểm số cao hơn trong các bài kiểm tra trí tuệ. Do đó, phương án A. Scientists have proposed several explanations for the Flynn effect. = Các nhà khoa học đã đặt ra một vài lời giải thích cho Hiệu ứng Flynn, là phương án chính xác nhất.
B. Because we take so many tests in our lives, we leam test-taking techniques that help us perform better on any test. = Bởi vì chúng ta làm quá nhiều bài kiểm tra, chúng ta học các kĩ thuật làm bài kiểm tra mà giúp chúng ta thể hiện tốt hơn trong bất kì bài kiểm tra nào.
Đây chỉ là một ý nhỏ để giải thích rõ hơn cho ý lớn trước nó: Some suggest that the improved test scores simply reflect an increased exposure to tests in general.
C. Test-takers didn’t do better on the arithmetic or vocabulary sections of the test. = Những người làm kiểm tra không làm tốt hơn trong phần toán học hoặc phần từ vựng cùa bài thi.
Đây chỉ là một ý nhỏ để giải thích rõ hơn cho ý trước nó: Flynn limited the possible explanations when he looked carefully at the test data and discovered that the improvement in scores was only on certain parts of the IQ test.
D. For example, one part of the test shovvs a set of abstract shapes, and test-takers must look for pattern and connections betvveen them and decide vhich shape should be added to the set. = Ví dụ, một phần cùa bài kiểm tra cho thấy một bộ các hình dạng trừu tượng, và thí sinh phải tìm ra quy luật và sự kết nối giữa chúng và quyết định hình nào nên được thêm vào trong bộ đấy.
Đây chỉ là một ví dụ minh họa cho ý lớn trước nó: they did better on sections that required a special kind of reasoning and problem solving.