An Inquiry into the Existence of the Gifted Child

Questions 1-6

Complete the summary using the list of words.

A. appeal	B. determined	C. intrigued
D. single	E. achievement	F. devoted
G. involved	H. unique	I. innovative
J. satisfaction	K. intent	---

Maryam Mirzakhani

Maryam Mirzakhani is regarded as (1) in the field of mathematics because she was the only female holder of the prestigious Fields Medal – a record that she retained at the time of her death. However, maths held little (2) for her as a child and in fact her performance was below average until she was (3) by a difficult puzzle that one of her siblings showed her.

Later, as a professional mathematician, she had an inquiring mind and proved herself to be (4) when things did not go smoothly. She said she got the greatest (5) from making ground-breaking discoveries and in fact she was responsible for some extremely (6) mathematical studies.

Questions 7-11

Choose YES if the statement agrees with the claims of the writer, choose NO if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer, or choose NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this.

None

7. Many people who ended up winning prestigious intellectual prizes only reached an average standard when young.

YES

NOT GIVEN

None

8. Einstein’s failures as a young man were due to his lack of confidence.

YES

NOT GIVEN

None

9. It is difficult to reach agreement on whether some children are actually born gifted.

YES

NOT GIVEN

None

10. Einstein was upset by the public’s view of his life’s work.

YES

NOT GIVEN

None

11. Einstein put his success down to the speed at which he dealt with scientific questions.

YES

NOT GIVEN

None

Questions 12-14

Choose the correct answer.

None

12. What does Eyre believe is needed for children to equal ‘gifted’ standards?

strict discipline from the teaching staff

assistance from their peers in the classroom

the development of a spirit of inquiry towards their studies

the determination to surpass everyone else’s achievements

None

13. What is the result of Ericsson’s research?

Very gifted students do not need to work on improving memory skills.

Being born with a special gift is not the key factor in becoming expert.

Including time for physical exercise is crucial in raising performance.

10,000 hours of relevant and demanding work will create a genius.

None

14. In the penultimate paragraph, it is stated the key to some deprived children’s success is

a regular and nourishing diet at home.

the loving support of more than one parent.

a community which has well-funded facilities for learning.

the guidance of someone who recognises the benefits of learning.

None

An Inquiry into the Existence of the Gifted Child

Maryam Mirzakhani

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