Table of Contents
Intelligence and Giftedness
Passage
A. In 1904 the French minister of education, facing limited resources for schooling, sought a way to separate die unable from the merely lazy. Alfred Binet got the job of devising selection principles and his brilliant solution put a stamp on the study of intelligence and was the forerunner of intelligence tests still used today, he developed a thirty-problem test in 1905, which tapped several abilities related to intellect, such as judgment and reasoning, the test determined a given child’s mental age’, the test previously established a norm for children of a given physical age. (for example, five-year-olds on average get ten items correct), therefore, a child with a mental age of five should score 10, which would mean that he or she was functioning pretty much as others of that age. the child’s mental age was then compared to his physical age.
B. A large disparity in the wrong direction (e.g., a child of nine with a mental age of four) might suggest inability rather than laziness and mean he or she was earmarked for special schooling, Binet, however, denied that the test was measuring intelligence, its purpose was simply diagnostic, for selection only. This message was however lost, and caused many problems and misunderstanding later.
C. Although Binet’s test was popular, it was a bit inconvenient to deal with a variety of physical and mental ages. So in 1912 Wilhelm Stem suggested simplifying this by reducing die two to a single number, he divided the mental age by the physical age, and multiplied the result by 100. An average child, irrespective of age, would score 100. a number much lower than 100 would suggest the need for help, and one much higher would suggest a child well ahead of his peer.
D. This measurement is what is now termed the IQ (for intelligence quotient) score and it has evolved to be used to show how a person, adult or child, performed in relation to others, (the term IQ was coined by Lewis m. Terman, professor of psychology and education of Stanford university, in 1916. he had constructed an enormously influential revision of Binet’s test, called the Stanford-Binet test, versions of which are still given extensively.)
E. The field studying intelligence and developing tests eventually coalesced into a sub-field of psychology called psychometrics (psycho for ‘mind’ and metrics for ‘measurements’). The practical side of psychometrics (the development and use of tests) became widespread quite early, by 1917, when Einstein published his grand theory of relativity, mass-scale testing was already in use. Germany’s unrestricted submarine warfare (which led to the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915) provoked the United States to finally enter the First World War in the same year. The military had to build up an army very quickly; it had two million inductees to sort out. Who would become officers and who enlisted men? Psychometricians developed two intelligence tests that helped sort all these people out, at least to some extent, this was the first major use of testing to decide who lived and who died, as officers were a lot safer on the battlefield, the tests themselves were given under horrendously bad conditions, and the examiners seemed to lack commonsense, a lot of recruits simply had no idea what to do and in several sessions most inductees scored zero! The examiners also came up with the quite astounding conclusion from the testing that the average American adult’s intelligence was equal to that of a thirteen-year-old!
F. Intelligence testing enforced political and social prejudice, their results were used to argue that Jews ought to be kept out of the united states because they were so intelligently inferior that they would pollute the racial mix; and blacks ought not to be allowed to breed at all. And so abuse and test bias controversies continued to plaque psychometrics.
G. Measurement is fundamental to science and technology, science often advances in leaps and bounds when measurement devices improve, psychometrics has long tried to develop ways to gauge psychological qualities such as intelligence and more specific abilities, anxiety, extroversion, emotional stability, compatibility, with marriage partner, and so on. Their scores are often given enormous weight, a single IQ measurement can take on a life of its own if teachers and parents see it as definitive, it became a major issue in the 70s, when court cases were launched to stop anyone from making important decisions based on IQ test scores, the main criticism was and still is that current tests don’t really measure intelligence, whether intelligence can be measured at all is still controversial, some say it cannot others say that IQ tests are psychology’s greatest accomplishments
Questions
Questions 14-17
The reading Passage has seven paragraphs A-G.
Which paragraph contains the following information?
Write the correct letter A-G in boxes 14-17 on your answer sheet.
14. IQ is just one single factor of human characteristics.
15. Discussion of methodology behind the Professor Stern’s test.
16. Inadequacy of IQ test from Binet.
17. The definition of IQ was created by a professor.
Questions 18-21
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Write your answers in boxes 18-21 on your answer sheet.
18. Professor Binet devise the test to_____
A. find those who do not perform satisfied
B. choose the best one
C. measure the intelligence
D. establish the standard of intelligence
19. The test is designed according to_______
A. math
B. age
C. reading skill
D. gender
20. US Army used Intelligence tests to select______
A. Officers
B. Normal Soldiers
C. Examiners
D. Submarine drivers.
21. the purpose of the text is to______
A. Give credit to the contribution of Binet in IQ test
B. prove someone’s theory is feasible.
C. discuss the validity and limitation of test
D. outline the history of the test
Questions 22-26
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 2? In boxes 22-26 on your answer sheet, write
TRUE if the statement is true
FALSE if the statement is false
NOT GIVEN if the information is not given in the passage 2
22. Part the intension in designing the test by professor Binet has been misunderstood.
23. Age as a factor is completely overboked in the simplified tests by Wilhelm Stern
24. Einstein was a counter-example of IQ test conclusion.
25. IQ test may probably bad to racial discrimination as a negative effect.
26. The author regards measuring intelligent test as a goal hardly meaningful
Answers
Below are the answers, key words, synonyms and full explanations for the IELTS Reading passage Intelligence and Giftedness (Passage 2, Questions 14–26).
Questions 14–17: Which paragraph contains the following information? (A–G)
14. IQ is just one single factor of human characteristics.
Answer: G
Key words: psychometrics has long tried to develop ways to gauge psychological qualities such as intelligence and more specific abilities, anxiety, extroversion, emotional stability …
Synonyms: IQ is just one factor = intelligence is only one of many psychological qualities psychometrics measures = “psychological qualities such as intelligence and more specific abilities, anxiety, extroversion …”
Explanation: Paragraph G places IQ among many measured qualities → G.
15. Discussion of the methodology behind Professor Stern’s test.
Answer: C
Key words: Wilhelm Stern … divided the mental age by the physical age, and multiplied the result by 100
Explanation: Paragraph C explains Stern’s calculation method → C.
16. Inadequacy of IQ test from Binet.
Answer: B
Key words: Binet, however, denied that the test was measuring intelligence, its purpose was simply diagnostic … This message was however lost, and caused many problems and misunderstanding later
Synonyms: inadequacy/limit of Binet’s test = the test wasn’t meant to measure intelligence and was misunderstood = “denied that the test was measuring intelligence … This message was however lost”
Explanation: Paragraph B notes the limitation/misunderstanding of Binet’s test → B.
17. The definition of IQ was created by a professor.
Answer: D
Key words: the term IQ was coined by Lewis M. Terman, professor of psychology and education of Stanford University, in 1916
Explanation: Paragraph D credits Professor Terman with coining “IQ” → D.
Questions 18–21: Multiple Choice
18. Professor Binet devised the test to
Answer: B (choose the best one — i.e. selection)
Key words: sought a way to separate the unable from the merely lazy … its purpose was simply diagnostic, for selection only
Explanation: The test’s stated purpose was selection → B. (Note: this MCQ is debatable — the passage says it aimed to “separate the unable from the merely lazy,” so option A “find those who do not perform satisfied” is a strong alternative; B is the published/graded key.)
19. The test is designed according to
Answer: B (age)
Key words: The child’s mental age was then compared to his physical age
Explanation: The test works by comparing mental to physical age → B.
20. US Army used Intelligence tests to select
Answer: A (Officers)
Key words: Who would become officers and who enlisted men? Psychometricians developed two intelligence tests that helped sort all these people out
Explanation: The tests sorted recruits into officers vs enlisted men → A.
21. The purpose of the text is to
Answer: C (discuss the validity and limitation of the test)
Key words: the main criticism was and still is that current tests don’t really measure intelligence, whether intelligence can be measured at all is still controversial
Explanation: The passage weighs the tests’ validity and limits → C.
Questions 22–26: True / False / Not Given
22. Part of the intention in designing the test by professor Binet has been misunderstood.
Answer: TRUE
Key words: Binet … denied that the test was measuring intelligence … This message was however lost, and caused many problems and misunderstanding later
Explanation: Binet’s diagnostic-only intent was misunderstood → TRUE.
23. Age as a factor is completely overlooked in the simplified tests by Wilhelm Stern.
Answer: FALSE
Key words: he divided the mental age by the physical age, and multiplied the result by 100
Synonyms: age completely overlooked (contradicted) = Stern still used both mental and physical age = “he divided the mental age by the physical age”
Explanation: Stern still uses age in the calculation → FALSE.
24. Einstein was a counter-example of IQ test conclusion.
Answer: NOT GIVEN
Key words: by 1917, when Einstein published his grand theory of relativity, mass-scale testing was already in use (Einstein is only a time marker; no counter-example claim)
Explanation: Einstein is used only to date events, not as a counter-example → NOT GIVEN.
25. IQ test may probably lead to racial discrimination as a negative effect.
Answer: TRUE
Key words: their results were used to argue that Jews ought to be kept out of the United States … and blacks ought not to be allowed to breed at all
Synonyms: lead to racial discrimination = results used to argue racial exclusion = “used to argue that Jews ought to be kept out … blacks ought not to be allowed to breed”
Explanation: The tests were used to justify racial prejudice → TRUE.
26. The author regards measuring the intelligence test as a goal hardly meaningful.
Answer: NOT GIVEN
Key words: whether intelligence can be measured at all is still controversial, some say it cannot others say that IQ tests are psychology’s greatest accomplishments
Explanation: The author presents both sides without declaring it meaningless → NOT GIVEN.
Answer Key (Quick Reference)
| Q | Answer | Q | Answer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | G | 21 | C |
| 15 | C | 22 | TRUE |
| 16 | B | 23 | FALSE |
| 17 | D | 24 | NOT GIVEN |
| 18 | B | 25 | TRUE |
| 19 | B | 26 | NOT GIVEN |
| 20 | A |
Intelligence and Giftedness | IELTS Reading Practice Test
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