Nurturing Talent Within The Family Reading Answers

Dec 2, 2022

Nurturing Talent Within The Family Reading Answers 13 questions that have to be answered in 20 minutes. Nurturing Talent Within The Family Reading Answers comprises question types, namely- one or two words, choose three correct options, true/false/not given and choose one correct option. For one or two, candidates must read the passage and understand the statement provided and write an answer within two words. In choose three correct options, candidates are required to answer based on a given cue and choose three different options suitable for the given situation. For true/false/not given, candidates must read the passage and understand the statement provided. For choose one correct option, they are required to choose from multiple options. Candidates must read the IELTS reading passage, identify keywords, and recognize synonyms to answer the question.

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Reading Passage Questions

What do we mean by being ‘talented’ or ‘gifted’? The most obvious way is to look at the work someone does and if they are capable of significant success, label them as talented. The purely quantitative route - ‘percentage definition’ - looks not at individuals, but at simple percentages, such as the top five per cent of the population, and labels them - by definition - as gifted. This definition has fallen from favour, eclipsed by the advent of IQ tests, favoured by luminaries such as Professor Hans Eysenck, where a series of written or verbal tests of general intelligence leads to a score of intelligence.

The IQ test has been eclipsed in turn. Most people studying intelligence and creativity in the new millennium now prefer a broader definition, using a multifaceted approach where talents in many areas are recognised rather than purely concentrating on academic achievement. If we are therefore assuming that talented, creative or gifted individuals may need to be assessed across a range of abilities, does this mean intelligence can run in families as a genetic or inherited tendency? Mental dysfunction - such as schizophrenia - can, so is an efficient mental capacity passed on from parent to child?

Animal experiments throw some light on this question, and on the whole area of whether it is genetics, the environment or a combination of the two that allows for intelligence and creative ability. Different strains of rats show great differences in intelligence or ‘rat reasoning’. If these are brought up in normal conditions and then mn through a maze to reach a food goal, the ‘bright’ strain make far fewer wrong turns that the ‘dull’ ones. But if the environment is made dull and boring the number of errors becomes equal. Return the rats to an exciting maze and the discrepancy returns as before - but is much smaller. In other words, a dull rat in a stimulating environment will almost do as well as a bright rat who is bored in a normal one. This principle applies to humans too - someone may be born with innate intelligence, but their environment probably has the final say over whether they become creative or even a genius.

Evidence now exists that most young children, if given enough opportunities and encouragement, are able to achieve significant and sustainable levels of academic or sporting prowess. Bright or creative children are often physically very active at the same time, and so may receive more parental attention as a result - almost by default - in order to ensure their safety. They may also talk earlier, and this, in turn, breeds parental interest. This can sometimes cause problems with other siblings who may feel jealous even though they themselves may be bright. Their creative talents may be undervalued and so never come to fruition. Two themes seem to run through famously creative families as a result. The first is that the parents were able to identify the talents of each child, and nurture and encourage these accordingly but in an even-handed manner. Individual differences were encouraged, and friendly sibling rivalry was not seen as a particular problem. If the father is, say, a famous actor, there is no undue pressure for his children to follow him onto the boards, but instead their chosen interests are encouraged. There need not even by any obvious talent in such a family since there always needs to be someone who sets the family career in motion, as in the case of the Sheen acting dynasty.

Martin Sheen was the seventh of ten children born to a Spanish immigrant father and an Irish mother. Despite intense parental disapproval he turned his back on entrance exams to university and borrowed cash from a local priest to start a fledgling acting career. His acting successes in films such as Badlands and Apocalypse Now made him one of the most highly-regarded actors of the 1970s. Three sons - Emilio Estevez, Ramon Estevez and Charlie Sheen - have followed him into the profession as a consequence of being inspired by his motivation and enthusiasm.

A stream seems to run through creative families. Such children are not necessarily smothered with love by their parents. They feel loved and wanted, and are secure in their home, but are often more surrounded by an atmosphere of work and where following a calling appears to be important. They may see from their parents that it takes time and dedication to be master of a craft, and so are in less of a hurry to achieve for themselves once they start to work.

The generation of creativity is complex: it is a mixture of genetics, the environment, parental teaching and luck that determines how successful or talented family members are. This last point - luck - is often not mentioned where talent is concerned but plays an undoubted part. Mozart, considered by many to be the finest composer of all time, was lucky to be living in an age that encouraged the writing of music. He was brought up surrounded by it, his father was a musician who encouraged him to the point of giving up his job to promote his child genius, and he learnt musical composition with frightening speed - the speed of a genius. Mozart himself simply wanted to create the finest music ever written but did not necessarily view himself as a genius - he could write sublime music at will, and so often preferred to lead a hedonistic lifestyle that he found more exciting than writing music to order.

Albert Einstein and Bill Gates are two more examples of people whose talents have blossomed by virtue of the times they were living in. Einstein was a solitary, somewhat slow child who had affection at home but whose phenomenal intelligence emerged without any obvious parental input. This may have been partly due to the fact that at the start of the 20th Century a lot of the Newtonian laws of physics were being questioned, leaving a fertile ground for ideas such as his to be developed. Bill Gates may have had the creative vision to develop Microsoft, but without the new computer age dawning at the same time he may never have achieved the position on the world stage he now occupies.

Solution and Explanation

Questions 1-2:
Complete the notes, which show how the approaches to defining 'talent*have changed.
Choose ONE or TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer
Write your answers in boxes 1-2 on your answer sheet.

Question 1:

Answer: IQ or intelligence
Supporting Sentence: eclipsed by the advent of IQ tests, favoured by luminaries such as Professor Hans Eysenck, where a series of written or verbal tests of general intelligence leads to a score of intelligence.
Keywords: eclipsed, advent of IQ tests, luminaries, Professor Hans Eysenck
Keyword Location: Paragraph A, lines 5-7
Explanation: The information on how talent is defined has been addressed in paragraph 1. Therefore, either IQ or intelligence might be the answer.

Question 2:

Answer: a multi-faceted approach
Supporting Sentence: using a multifaceted approach where talents in many areas are recognised rather than purely concentrating on academic achievement.
Keywords: multifaceted, talents, concentrating, academic achievement.
Keyword Location: Paragraph B, lines 1-4
Explanation: According to the information in paragraph 2, second line, a comprehensive strategy becomes another technique to predict talent in several fields. In this instance, a comprehensive strategy would be the best course of action.

Direction to attempt questions from 3 to 5:
Choose three options from A to F to fill in the answer box from 30 to 32. You need to select the features of creative families according to the writer.

a higher than average level of parental affection
competition between brothers and sisters
Parents who demonstrate vocational commitment
strong motivation to take exams and attend university
a patient approach to achieving success
the identification of the most talented child in the family

Question 3:

Answer: B- competition between brothers and sisters
Supporting Sentence: Individual differences were encouraged, and friendly sibling rivalry was not seen as a particular problem
Keywords: encouraged, friendly, sibling rivalry
Keyword Location: Paragraph D, lines 12-13
Explanation: The three choices B, C, and E display characteristics of a creative family. In this question, the contestant may choose any choice. Each of the three alternatives solely discusses the characteristics.

Question 4:

Answer: C: Parents who demonstrate vocational commitment
Supporting Sentence: They feel loved and wanted, and are secure in their home, but are often more surrounded by an atmosphere of work and where following a calling appears to be important.
Keywords:loved, atmosphere, calling
Keyword Location:Paragraph F, lines 2-4
Explanation: The choices that discuss the characteristics of a creative family are B, C, and E. The response to this query can be any of these possibilities.

Question 5:

Answer: E- a patient approach to achieving success
Supporting Sentence: They may see from their parents that it takes time and dedication to be master of a craft, and so are in less of a hurry to achieve for themselves.
Keywords: loved, atmosphere, calling
Keyword Location: Paragraph F, lines 4-6
Explanation: The alternative that B, C, and E are left. The characteristics of a creative family are described in all three options. There should be sibling rivalry, according to B. On the other hand, the C option recommends that parents demonstrate a commitment to their career. E also advises patience as a key component of success.

Direction to attempt questions from 6 to 7:
The candidate has to choose from the following options from A to D to fill in the answer box.

Question 6:

The rat experiment was conducted to show that
certain species of rat are more intelligent than others.
intelligent rats are more motivated than ‘dull’ rats.
a rat’s surroundings can influence its behaviour
a boring environment has little impact on a ‘bright’ rat.

Answer: C- a rat’s surroundings can influence its behaviour
Supporting Sentence: a dull rat in a stimulating environment will almost do as well as a bright rat who is bored in a normal one.
Keywords: loved, atmosphere, calling
Keyword Location: Paragraph C, lines 7-9
Explanation: According to the information in paragraph 3, the environment can alter how rats behave. The author mentions "a bright rat who is bored in a normal one" in the last two words of the sentence. The information supports option C, so that is the correct response.

Q7: The writer cites the story of Martin Sheen to show that

he was the first in a creative line.
his parents did not have his creative flair.
became an actor without proper training.
his sons were able to benefit from his talents.

Answer: A- he was the first in a creative line.
Supporting Sentence: There need not even by any obvious talent in such a family since there always needs to be someone who sets the family career in motion, as in the case of the Sheen acting dynasty.
Keywords: family, career, motion, Sheen acting dynasty
Keyword Location: paragraph D, lines 14-16
Explanation: According to the facts in paragraph 4, the author has hinted that Sheen was the first member of his family to join the acting dynasty in the last sentence. This data is consistent with choice A. So, option A would be the correct response.

Direction to attempt questions from 8 to 12:
In the answer box, the candidate has to mention either true, false, or not given:
True: If the statement matches the information given in the reading passage.
False: If the statement does not match with the information given in the reading passage.
Not Given: If the information in the passage is missing in the reading passage.

Q8: Intelligence tests have now been proved to be unreliable.

Answer: Not Given
Explanation- The given statement is not present in the given paragraph.

Q9: The brother or sister of a gifted older child may fail to fulfil their own potential.

Answer: True
Supporting Sentence: This can sometimes cause problems with other siblings who may feel jealous even though they themselves may be bright. Their creative talents may be undervalued and so never come to fruition
Keywords: problems , jealous, creative talents, undervalued
Keyword Location: Paragraph D, lines 6-7
Explanation: The statement that it "causes issues with other siblings who may feel jealous even though they may be intelligent" is made in paragraph number 4. The information in the statement and the information in the reading section are comparable.

Q10: The importance of luck in the genius equation tends to be ignored.

Answer: True
Supporting Sentence: This last point - luck - is often not mentioned where talent is concerned but plays an undoubted part.
Keywords: luck, undoubted part.
Keyword Location: Paragraph G, lines 3-4
Explanation: When there is skill there, luck is sometimes overlooked. The answer should be true since the information in the passage equates to the information in the assertion.

Q11: Mozart was acutely aware of his own remarkable talent.

Answer: False
Supporting Sentence: Mozart himself simply wanted to create the finest music ever written but did not necessarily view himself as a genius.
Keywords: Mozart, necessarily.
Keyword Location: Paragraph G, lines 8-12
Explanation: The assertion runs counter to the details given in the paragraph. The writer claims that he "wanted to make the best music ever written but did not necessarily see himself as a genius" in the final sentence of paragraph 7.

Q12: Einstein and Gates would have achieved success in any era.

Answer: False
Supporting Sentence: Albert Einstein and Bill Gates are two more examples of people whose talents have blossomed by virtue of the times they were living in.
Keywords: Albert Einstein, Bill Gates.
Keyword Location: Paragraph H, lines 1-2
Explanation:Contradictory information can be found in the phrase "whose talents have blossomed as a result of the times they were living in." According to the claim, Einstein and Bill Gates' success could have been attained in any time period.

Direction to attempt question 13:
Below are given options from A to D, as per your perception after reading the passage you need to choose one option. The answer should be the most suitable title based on your understanding of the passage.

Question 13:

Geniuses in their time
Education for the gifted
Revising the definition of intelligence
Nurturing talent within the family

Answer: D- Nurturing talent within the family
Supporting Sentence: A stream seems to run through creative families. Such children are not necessarily smothered with love by their parents. They feel loved and wanted, and are secure in their home, but are often more surrounded by an atmosphere of work and where following a calling appears to be important.
Keywords: creative families, smothered, surrounded
Keyword Location: Paragraph F, lines 1-4
Explanation: In the entire passage, the writer emphasised the idea of nurturing talent. The writer has laid seeds of many hints when he talks about nurturing talent within the family. Even, the title of the passage reflects the idea which becomes our answer too.

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