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.
Why does the author mention computer games?
A. to give an example of technology that improve our visual intelligence.
B. to explain why young people have poor vocabularies.
C. to encourage the reader to exercise.
D. to show that young people are not getting more intelligent.
Đáp án A
Thông tin: 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.
Dịch nghĩa: Theo Flynn, loại thông minh hình ảnh này cải thiện khi lượng công nghệ trong cuộc sống chúng ta tăng lên. Mồi lần bạn chơi một trò chơi điện tử hoặc tìm ra cách cài đặt một chiếc điện thoại mới, bạn đang luyện tập chính xác loại suy nghĩ và giải quyết vấn đề mà giúp bạn làm tốt trong một bài kiểm tra trí tuệ.
Việc chơi trò chơi điện tử (computer game) được đưa ra để làm ví dụ minh
họa cho ý kiến phía trước là “this visual intelligence improves as the amount of technology in our lives increases” (loại thông minh hình ảnh này cải thiện khi lượng công nghệ trong cuộc sống chúng ta tăng lên)
Do đó phương án A. to give an example of technology that improve our visual intelligent = để đưa ra một ví dụ của công nghệ làm cải thiện trí thông minh hình ảnh của chúng ta, là phương án chính xác nhất.
B. to explain why young people have poor vocabularies = để giải thích tại sao những người trẻ lại có vốn từ vựng kém.
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 của bài thi.
Thông tin này chỉ nói là phần từ vựng không được cải thiện điểm, chứ
không nói là những người trẻ tuổi có vốn từ vựng kém.
C. to encourage the reader to exercise = để khuyến khích người đọc luyện tập.
Không có thông tin như vậy trong bài.
D. to show that young people are not getting more intelligent = để chỉ ra rằng những người trẻ tuổi đang không trở nên thông minh hơn.
Câu này trái ngược với ý kiến được đưa ra trong bài rằng càng ngày các thế
hệ sau càng thông minh hơn cha mẹ họ.