雅思阅读考前练习：Gifted children and learning

　　雅思阅读考前练习：Gifted children and learning!为了方便大家在雅思考试前夕检查自己的雅思阅读备考水平，

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　　Gifted children and learning

　　A Internationally, ‘giftedness’ is most frequently determined by a score on a general intelligence test, known as an IQ test, which is above a chosen cutoff point, usually at around the top 2-5%. Children’s educational environment contributes to the IQ score and the way intelligence is used. For example, a very close positive relationship was found when children’s IQ scores were compared with their home educational provision (Freeman, 2010). The higher the children’s IQ scores, especially over IQ 130, the better the quality of their educational backup, measured in terms of reported verbal interactions with parents, number of books and activities in their home etc. Because IQ tests are decidedly influenced by what the child has learned, they are to some extent measures of current achievement based on age-norms; that is, how well the children have learned to manipulate their knowledge and know-how within the terms of the test. The vocabulary aspect, for example, is dependent on having heard those words. But IQ tests can neither identify the processes of learning and thinking nor predict creativity.

　　B Excellence does not emerge without appropriate help. To reach an exceptionally high standard in any area very able children need the means to learn, which includes material to work with and focused challenging tuition — and the encouragement to follow their dream. There appears to be a qualitative difference in the way the intellectually highly able think, compared with more average-ability or older pupils, for whom external regulation by the teacher often compensates for lack of internal regulation. To be at their most effective in their self-regulation, all children can be helped to identify their own ways of learning — metacognition — which will include strategies of planning, monitoring, evaluation, and choice of what to learn. Emotional awareness is also part of metacognition, so children should be helped to be aware of their feelings around the area to be learned, feelings of curiosity or confidence, for example.

　　C High achievers have been found to use self-regulatory learning strategies more often and more effectively than lower achievers, and are better able to transfer these strategies to deal with unfamiliar tasks. This happens to such a high degree in some children that they appear to be demonstrating talent in particular areas. Overviewing research on the thinking process of highly able children, (Shore and Kanevsky, 1993) put the instructor’s problem succinctly: ‘If they [the gifted] merely think more quickly, then we need only teach more quickly. If they merely make fewer errors, then we can shorten the practice’. But of course, this is not entirely the case; adjustments have to be made in methods of learning and teaching, to take account of the many ways individuals think.

　　D Yet in order to learn by themselves, the gifted do need some support from their teachers. Conversely, teachers who have a tendency to ‘overdirect’ can diminish their gifted pupils’ learning autonomy. Although ‘spoon-feeding’ can produce extremely high examination results, these are not always followed by equally impressive life successes. Too much dependence on the teachers risks loss of autonomy and motivation to discover. However, when teachers help pupils to reflect on their own learning and thinking activities, they increase their pupils’ self-regulation. For a young child, it may be just the simple question ‘What have you learned today?’ which helps them to recognise what they are doing. Given that a fundamental goal of education is to transfer the control of learning from teachers to pupils, improving pupils’ learning to learn techniques should be a major outcome of the school experience, especially for the highly competent. There are quite a number of new methods which can help, such as child-initiated learning, ability-peer tutoring, etc. Such practices have been found to be particularly useful for bright children from deprived areas.

　　E But scientific progress is not all theoretical, knowledge is a so vital to outstanding performance: individuals who know a great deal about a specific domain will achieve at a higher level than those who do not (Elshout, 1995). Research with creative scientists by Simonton (1988) brought him to the conclusion that above a certain high level, characteristics such as independence seemed to contribute more to reaching the highest levels of expertise than intellectual skills, due to the great demands of effort and time needed for learning and practice. Creativity in all forms can be seen as expertise mixed with a high level of motivation (Weisberg, 1993).

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　　F To sum up, learning is affected by emotions of both the individual and significant others. Positive emotions facilitate the creative aspects of learning and negative emotions inhibit it. Fear, for example, can limit the development of curiosity, which is a strong force in scientific advance, because it motivates problem-solving behaviour. In Boekaerts’ (1991) review of emotion the learning of very high IQ and highly achieving children, she found emotional forces in harness. They were not only curious, but often had a strong desire to control their environment, improve their learning efficiency and increase their own learning resources.

　　Questions 14-17

　　Reading Passage 2 has six paragraphs, A-F.

　　Which paragraph contains the following information?

　　Write the correct letter, A-F, in boxes 14-17 on your answer sheet.

　　NB You may use any letter more than once.

　　14 a reference to the influence of the domestic background on the gifted child

　　15 reference to what can be lost if learners are given too much guidance

　　16 a reference to the damaging effects of anxiety

　　17 examples of classroom techniques which favour socially-disadvantaged children

　　Questions 18-22

　　Look at the following statements (Questions 18-22) and the list of people below.

　　Match each statement with the correct person or people, A-E.

　　Write the correct letter, A-E, in boxes 18-22 on your answer sheet.

　　18 Less time can be spent on exercises with gifted pupils who produce accurate work.

　　19 Self-reliance is a valuable tool that helps gifted students reach their goals.

　　20 Gifted children know how to channel their feelings to assist their learning.

　　21 The very gifted child benefits from appropriate support from close relatives.

　　22 Really successful students have learnt a considerable amount about their subject.

　　List of People

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　　A Freeman

　　B Shore and Kanevsky

　　C Elshout

　　D Simonton

　　E Boekaerts

　　Questions 23-26

　　Complete the sentences below.

　　Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.

　　Write your answers in boxes 23-26 on your answer sheet

　　23 One study found a strong connection between children’s IQ and the availability of and

　　at home.

　　24 Children of average ability seem to need more direction from teachers because they do not have

　　25 Metacognition involves children understanding their own learning strategies, as well as developing

　　26 Teachers who rely on what is known as often produce sets of impressive grades in class tests.

　　以下是本篇雅思阅读练习题目的答案解析，一起来具体的了解一下：

　　Question 1

　　难度及答案：难度低;答案为iv

　　关键词：time and place

　　定位原文：A段最后两句“Why did this…of the 18th century?”为何这个独特的大爆炸——能带来世界性的变化的工业革命——偏偏就发生在英国?为何这个革命又偏偏在18世纪末?

　　解题思路：A 段中提到了 happen in Britain 以及 at the end of thel8th century, 与iv 选项当中的time和place是对应的关系。

　　Question 2

　　难度及答案：难度低;答案为viii

　　关键词：conditions required

　　定位原文：B 段第 2 句 “There are about 20 different…he says.” 他说：“大约有 20种不同的因素，而且所有的这些因素在工革命发生之前就已存在。”

　　解题思路：B段中主要论述的是工业革命在英国发生的前提条件，与其他不同的国家做出了对比。

　　Question 3

　　难度及答案：难度低;答案为vii

　　关键词：Two keys

　　定位原文：C 段第 2 句 “Tea and beer, two of... fuelled the revolution.” 茶和啤酒，这两种在全国最受欢迎的饮料，就是工业革命的导火线。

　　解题思路：C段主要论述的是茶和啤酒在英国工业革命当中的作用。

　　Question 4

　　难度及答案 ：难度低;答案为i

　　关键词：reasons, an increase in population

　　定位原文：D段第4、6句“But then there was...four possible causes.” 但是在那时(18世纪中期)，英国的人口是爆发增长的……人们觉得有四种原因是导致这种现象发生。

　　解题思路：D段主要论述英国人口快速增长的背后潜在原因。

　　Question 5

　　难度及答案：难度低;答案为vi

　　关键词：Changes, drinking habits

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　　定位原文：E段第4、9、10句“Some digging around... it suddenly dropped again.”一些历史记录揭示了当时水污染疾病的发生率发生了改变，特别是痢疾……穷人因此转向喝水和松子酒，在18世纪20年代人口的死亡率又开始上升。然后又突然再次下降。

　　解题思路：E段主要论述英国人饮水习惯的变化和健康水平的变化。

　　Question 6

　　难度及答案：难度低;答案为ix

　　关键词：comparison Japan

　　定位原文：F段第 1、2 句 “Macfarlane looked to…those in Britain.” Macfarlane研究日本，此时的日本也是向大城市发展，也没有卫生系统的发展。水污染疾病并没有像英国那样对日本的人口造成很大的影响。

　　解题思路：F段主要论述的是和日本相比较，从而研究者得出了自己的结论。

　　Question 7

　　难度及答案：难度低;答案为ii :

　　关键词：fear of unemployment

　　定位原文：G 段第 2 句 “Macfarlane notes that…people out of work.” Macfarlane 指出尽 管在17世纪日本已经有大城市、高教育文化率，甚至期货市场，日本最终仍然放弃劳动力的替代，比如动物，而回归到工作本位，因为害怕会使人们失业。

　　解题思路：G段主要论述的是日本没有最早发生工业革命的原因是害怕失业。

　　Question 8

　　参考译文：在18世纪的中国，交通系统并不适合工业发展。

　　难度及答案：难度中等;答案为NOT GIVEN

　　关键词：China 、not suitable, the 18th century

　　定位原文：B段倒数第2句“After all... had many of these factors.”毕竟荷兰拥有一切资源, 除了煤矿，中国也有很多这些因素。

　　解题思路：考生利用China这个词可以定位到B段倒数第2句，此句说到中国也有很多这些因素，并没有明确提到交通系统不适合工业发展。

　　Question 9

　　参考译文：茶和啤酒都帮助阻止了痴疾在英国的发生。

　　难度及答案：难度中等;答案为TRUE

　　关键词: dysentery

　　定位原文: C 段第 3 句 “The antiseptic properties…diseases such as dysentery.” 茶中的活性成分单宁，以及啤酒当中的啤酒花，都有杀菌的特性，加之荼和啤酒都是由热水制成，使近距离的城市社区繁荣发展，。 比如痢疾。

　　解题思路：考生可以利用tea以及beer以及dysentery定位到C段第3句。但是有些考生难以理解without succumbing to (不向……屈服)，有意识到题目就是这句话的对应改写。

　　Question 10

　　参考译文：Roy Porter不同意Macfarlane教授的调査结果。

　　难度及答案：难度低;答案为FALSE

　　关键词：Roy Porter、disagrees

　　定位原文：C 段最后一句 “Macfarlane’s case has been…of his research.” Macfarlane的案例因得到著名的药学历史学家Roy Porter的支持而得以加强，最近Roy Porter 写了一篇对此研究的有利评估。

　　解题思路: 考生利用Roy Porter可以定位到C段最后一句，判断题目当中的disagrees与原文明显不符。

　　Question 11

　　参考译文：1740年后，英国的人口减少了。

　　难度及答案：难度低;答案为FALSE

　　关键词：After 1740, reduction

　　定位原文：D段第3、4句 “Between about 1650.., burst in population growth.” 在大约 1650年到1740年间，英国的人口是静止不变的。但是在那时(18世纪中期)， 英国的人口是爆发增长的。

　　解题思路：考生利用After 1740定位到D段第3、4句，static表示“静态的” ，burst表示“爆发”，与题目中的reduction意思相反。

　　Question 12

　　参考译文：英国人过去在家酿啤酒。

　　难度及答案：难度低;答案为NOT GIVEN

　　关键词：at home

　　定位原文：E 段第 6 句到最后一句 “He says, ‘We drank... What caused this?’” 他说：“我们喝啤酒。很久以来，英国人都被啤酒酒花中强大的抗生素所保护，这种酒花是加在啤酒中用以保存啤酒的。但在17世纪末，麦芽开始收税，这是啤酒的基本组成部分。穷人因此转向喝水和松子酒，在18世纪20年代人的死亡率又开始上升。然后又突然再次下降。是什造成这种现象?”

　　解题思路：E段最后一句说明了英国人喝啤酒，但并未说明英国人在哪里酿造啤酒，所以此 题应务NOT GIVEN。

　　Question 13

　　参考译文:对麦芽的征税间接地造成了死亡率的上升。

　　难度及答案:难度高;答案为TRUE

　　关键词：tax on malt、 indirectly、rise in die death rate

　　定位原文：E 段第6 句到最后一句“He says，‘We drank…What caused this?’”他说：“我们喝啤酒。很久以来，英国人都被啤酒酒花中强大的抗生素所保护，这种酒花是加在啤酒中用以保存啤酒的。但在17世纪末，麦芽开始收税，这是啤酒的基本组成部分。人因此转向喝水和松花酒，在18世纪20年代人口的死亡率又开始上升, 突然再次下降。是什么造成这种现象?”

　　解题思路：此句提及因为麦芽征税，所以查人不得不喝水和松子酒，所以死亡率上升了， 这种关系是间接的。因此答案是TRUE。

　　以上是网为大家分享的雅思阅读考前练习：Gifted children and learning，希望能够对大家更好的进行雅思阅读的练习和备考有帮助。