Question

[Lê Quỳnh Anh]

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.

According to the article, newer education techniques include .................. 

A. exposure to many tests

B. children finding things out themselves

C. memorizing information

D. improved test scores

Answer 1

[Dương Hoàn Anh]

Đáp án B

Thông tin: Another possible explanation is a change in educational styles, with teachers encouraging children to leam by discovering things for themselves rather than just memorizing information.

Dịch nghĩa: Một giải thích có khả năng khác là sự thay đổi trong phong cách giáo dục, với việc giáo viên khuyến khích trẻ con học bằng cách tự khám phá mọi thứ thay vì chỉ ghi nhớ thông tin.

Như vậy, các phương pháp giáo dục mới bao gồm việc trẻ con phải tự khám phá mọi thứ. Phương án B. children finding things out themselves là chính xác nhất.

A. exposure to many tests = sự tiếp xúc với nhiều bài thi.

“Some suggest that the improved test scores simply reflect an increased exposure to tests in general” = Một số gợi ý rằng điểm kiểm tra cao hơn chỉ đơn giản phản ánh một sự tăng cường tiếp xúc với các bài thi.

Sự tiếp xúc với nhiều bài thi chỉ giải thích việc điểm cao hơn chứ không được nói là nằm trong phương pháp giáo dục mới.

C. memorizing information = ghi nhớ thông tin

Từ thông tin được giải thích, ta có thể hiểu phương pháp giáo dục cũ bao gồm ghi nhớ thông tin, nhưng phương pháp mới không như thế nữa.

D. improved test scores = điểm kiểm tra được cải thiện.

Đây là kết quả của việc áp dụng phương pháp giáo dục mới, chứ không nằm trong những phương pháp ấy.