Solution for: The Nature of Genius
Answer Table
| 1. B, C, F, H, J IN ANY ORDER | 8. FALSE |
| 2. B, C, F, H, J IN ANY ORDER | 9. TRUE |
| 3. B, C, F, H, J IN ANY ORDER | 10. TRUE |
| 4. B, C, F, H, J IN ANY ORDER | 11. NOT GIVEN |
| 5. B, C, F, H, J IN ANY ORDER | 12. TRUE |
| 6. TRUE | 13. NOT GIVEN |
| 7. TRUE |
Questions 1 – 5, choose FIVE letters, A – K
ANSWER: B, C, F, H, J
Most of the popular beliefs about genius and giftedness are mentioned in paragraph 2
A. Truly gifted people are talented in all areas.
In paragraph 2: “it is popularly believed that if people are talented in one area, they must be defective in another”. That means they are unable to be talented in all areas. FALSE
– defective: having a fault or faults; not perfect or complete
B. The talents of geniuses are soon exhausted.
In paragraph 2, “… that intellectuals are impractical, that prodigies burn too brightly too soon and burn out”.
– burn out = exhausted
– prodigies = [young] talents
This means that the talents of geniuses soon burn out/are exhausted TRUE
C. Gifted people should use their gifts
“that people with gifts have a responsibility to use them [their gifts]” TRUE
D. A genius appears once in every generation NOT GIVEN
E. Genius can be easily destroyed by discouragement NOT GIVEN
F. Genius is inherited
In paragraph 2: “…that genius runs in families”. That means genius is inherited from people in their families. TRUE
G. Gifted people are very hard to live with NOT GIVEN
H. People never appreciate true genius.
“…that genius goes unrecognized and unrewarded” => that means they [geniuses] are not appreciated by other people. TRUE
I. Geniuses are natural leaders NOT GIVEN
J. Gifted people develop their greatness through difficulties.
“….that adversity makes men wise” =>that means people [men] become wiser through difficulties. TRUE
K. Genius will always reveal itself.
In paragraph 3, the writer refers to: “…the frequency with which abilities went unrecognised by teachers and schools”. Therefore, it is not always true that genius is recognized or reveals itself. FALSE
Questions 19 – 26
19. Nineteenth century studies of the nature of genius failed to take into account the uniqueness of the person‟s upbringing
Key words: nineteenth century studies, nature of genius, failed, take into account uniqueness of person‟s upbringing.
In paragraph 3: “However, the difficulty with the evidence produced by these studies, fascinating as they are in collecting together anecdotes and apparent similarities and exceptions, is that they are not what we would today call norm-referenced”.
– failed to take into account = they are not norm-referenced… we must also take into account
– the uniqueness of the person’s upbringing = information about how common or exceptional
these circumstances were at the time. For example, most studies were conducted among “members of the privileged classes”, but “home tutoring was common in the families of the nobility and wealthy”. So, studies failed to take into account the education and health of the circumstances of children from a range of social classes – the social norms.
=> ANSWER: TRUE
20. Nineteenth – century studies of genius lacked both objectivity and proper scientific approach.
Key words: nineteenth – century, studies of genius, lacked, objectivity, proper scientific approach
The last sentence in paragraph 3: “It was only with the growth of paediatrics and psychology in the twentieth century that studies could be carried out on a more objective, if still not always very scientific, basis”. This means that in the 19th century studies could not be conducted using an objective and scientific approach. Studies only became more objective and scientific in the 20th century.
=> ANSWER: TRUE
21. A true genius has general powers capable of excellence in any area.
Key words: true genius, general powers, excellence in any area.
In paragraph 4, the writer notes the idea of Dr Johnson that: “The true genius is a mind of large general powers, accidentally determined to particular direction. We may disagree with the „general‟, for we doubt if all musicians of genius could have become scientists of genius or vice versa¼”
=> ANSWER: FALSE
22. The skills of ordinary individuals are in essence the same as the skills of prodigies.
Key words: skills of ordinary individual, the same as, the skills of prodigies.
In paragraph 5: “…the achievements of prodigies are the manifestations ofskills or abilities which are similar to, but also much superior to, our own”. This means that the skills of prodigies are similar to those of ordinary people, but their achievements are much greater. However, “….their minds are not different from our own…”
– the same as = similar to
=>ANSWER: TRUE
23. The ease with which truly great ideas are accepted and taken for granted fails to lessen their significance.
Key words: truly great ideas, accepted, taken for granted, fails, lessen their significance.
In paragraph 5, the writer expains that “the hard-won discoveries of scientists like Kepler or Einstein become the commonplace knowledge of schoolchildren and the colours of an artist like Paul Klee so soon appear on the fabrics we wear. This does not minimise the supremacy of their achievements….”
– So, great ideas/hard-won discoveries are accepted and taken for granted~ even schoolchildren learn them. However, the importance of these ideas is not lessened/reduced.
– lessen = minimize
=> ANSWER: TRUE
24. Giftedness and genius deserve proper scientific research into their true nature so that all talent may be retained for the human race.
Key words: giftedness and genius, deserve, scientific research, true nature, talent, retained for the human race
In the passage, there is no reference to scientific research relating to what genius really is, in order for all talent to be retained. In fact, in the last paragraph the writer tells us that: “Genius and giftedness are relative descriptive terms of no real substance”.
=> ANSWER: NOT GIVEN
25. Geniuses often pay a high price to achieve greatness
Key words: geniuses, pay high price, achieve greatness
In paragraph 6: “We may envy their achievements and fame, but we should also recognize the price they may have paid in terms of perseverance, single-mindedness ….to make their way to the top”. This means that we may feel jealous because some geniuses become famous. However, they did not achieve this fame without a lot of hard work and determination to succeed.
=> ANSWER: TRUE
26. To be a genius is worth the high personal cost
Key worth: be a genius, worth, high personal cost
In paragraph 6, the writer only mentions the high price that geniuses may have paid to gain success/ achieve greatness. There is no reference to whether all the personal costs – restrictions on their personal lives, demands on their time and energy, for example – are worth the reward of becoming a genius.
=> ANSWER: NOT GIVEN
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