A new study has found that it may be possible to train people to be more intelli

A new study has found that it may be possible to train people to be more intelligent, increasing the brainpower they had at birth．

Until now，it has been widely assumed that the kind of mental ability that allows us to solve new problems without having any relevant previous experience—what psychologists call fluid intelligence—is innate and cannot be taught（though people can raise their grades on tests of it by practicing）．

But in the new study，researchers describe a method for improving this skill，along with experiments to prove it works．

The key, researchers found, was carefully structured training in working memory—the kind that allows memorization of a telephone number just long enough to dial it．This type of memory is closely related to fluid intelligence，so the researchers reasoned that improving it might lead to improvements in fluid intelligence．

First they measured fluid intelligence of volunteers using standard tests．Then they trained each in a complicated memory task—the child’s card game，in which they had to recall a card they saw and heard．During the course, they needed to ignore irrelevant items, monitor ongoing performance，manage two tasks at the same time and connect related items to one another in space and time．

The four groups experienced a half-hour of training daily for 8, 12, 17 and 19 days, respectively．To make sure they were not just improving their test-taking skills，the researchers compared them with control groups that took the tests without the training．

The results, published Monday in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences，were striking．Improvement in the trained groups was a lot greater．Moreover，the longer they trained, the higher their scores were．All performers，from the weakest to the strongest，showed significant improvement．

“Our results show you can increase your intelligence with proper training．” said Dr Jaeggi, a co-author of the paper．“No one knows how long the gains will last after training stops,” he added, “and the experiment’s design did not allow the researchers to determine whether more training would continue to produce further gains．

【小题1】By writing the article，the writer intends to ______________．

A．inform the readers of a new study

B．call on people to be trained to increase intelligence

C．prove one’s born brainpower can be improved

D．tell people the improved intelligence will last forever

【小题2】The researchers thought the key to improving the intelligence was ______________．

A．memorizing telephone numbers

B．improving working memory

C．training in concentration

D．recalling a card

【小题3】The following aspects of the training help increase intelligence EXCEPT___________．

A．ignoring irrelevant items

B．monitoring ongoing performance

C．managing two tasks at the same time

D．using previous experience

【小题4】When the experiment was conducted, the researchers______________．

A．trained the four groups for the same period of time

B．only made comparisons between the four groups

C．compared the four groups with control groups

D．trained the four groups together

试题答案

【小题1】A

【小题2】B

【小题3】D

【小题4】C

解析试题分析:一直以来人们普遍认为在没有经验的前提下解决新问题的能力是天生的，不是后天通过学习训练得到的，尽管通过学习可以提高考试分数。但是最近一项新的研究表明通过训练来提高人们的智商是可能的。

【小题1】A主旨大意题。文章在开头提出一项新调查研究结果，然后在下文中对此进行了详细的介绍，由此判断文章目的就向读者介绍一项新的调查结果，选A。

【小题2】B细节理解题。从文章第四段 The key, researchers found, was carefully structured training in working memory可知提高智商的关键是训练working memory，故B选项内容正确。

【小题3】D细节理解题。通过文章第五段内容they needed to ignore irrelevant items, monitor ongoing performance，manage two tasks at the same time and connect related items to one another in space and time．可以判断D选项内容与训练无关，选D。

【小题4】C细节理解题。根据文章倒数第三段可知在实验中把四个受过训练的小组和没有接受过训练的小组进行了对比，选C。

考点：考查社会科学类短文阅读。