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  3. The contribution genes make intelligence increase as children grow older. Th

The contribution genes make intelligence increase as children grow older. Th

游客2025-04-14  47
问题     The contribution genes make intelligence increase as children grow older. This goes against the notion that most people hold that as we age, environmental influences gradually overpower the genetic legacy we are born with and may have implications for education. "People assume the genetic influence goes down with age because the environmental differences between people pile up in life," says Robert Plomin. "What we found was quite amazing, and goes in the other direction."
    Previous studies have shown variations in intelligence are at least partly due to genetics. To find out whether this genetic contribution varies with age, Plomin’s team pooled data from six separate studies carried out in the US, the UK, Australia and the Netherlands, involving a total of 11, 000 pairs of twins. In these studies, the researchers tested twins on reasoning, logic and arithmetics to measure a quantity called general cognitive ability, or "G". Each study also included both identical twins, with the same genes, and fraternal twins, sharing about half their genes, making it possible to distinguish the contributions of genes and environment to their G scores.
    Plomin’s team calculated that in childhood, genes account for about 41 percent of the variation in intelligence. In adolescence, this rose to 55 percent; by young adolescence, it was 66 percent. No one knows why the influence from genes should increase with age, but Plomin suggests that as children get older, they become better at exploiting and manipulating their environment to suit their genetic needs, and says "Kids with high G will use their environment to foster their cognitive ability and choose friends who are like-minded." Children with medium to low G may choose less challenging pastimes and activities, further emphasizing their genetic legacy.
    Is there any way to interfere with the pattern? Perhaps. "The evidence of strong heritability doesn’t mean at all that there is nothing you can do about it," says Susanne Jaeggi, "From our own work, the ones that started off with lower IQ scores had higher gains after training."
    Plomin suggests that genetic differences may be more emphasized if all children share an identical curriculum instead of it being tailored to children’s natural abilities. "My inclination would be to give everyone a good education, but put more effort into the lower end," he says. Intelligence researchers Paul Thompson agrees: "It shows that educators need to steer kids towards things drawing out their natural talents." [br] The word "pattern" in paragraph four is closest in meaning to______.
选项 A、cognitive ability
B、strong heritability
C、genetic legacy
D、challenging pastimes
答案 A
解析 推理题。根据第三段可知，Plomin认为那些G较高的孩子将利用他们的环境培养认知能力，选择志同道合的朋友。而那些G中等或较低的孩子可能选择不那么具有挑战性的娱乐和活动，更进一步强化了他们的基因遗传。接下来就讲到我们是否可以人为介入这一模式。由此可以推出，这里所说的模式指的是孩子们的认知能力的发展。所以正确答案是A选项。
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