Above and Below the Norm. Variations in Intellectual Ability

Bill never liked school very much. For the first few years he managed to get by, although his parents pushed hard to get him to do a minimally acceptable level of first- and second-grade work. He always seemed slower in learning things that the other children had no trouble with. He wasn’t exactly a poorly behaved child but his attention span was short and he had trouble following what was going on in class. He also seemed tired much of the time, but a physical examination ruled out any medical problems.

His teachers began to suspect that he was simply lazy and unmotivated, though he did, on occasion, show great interest in lessons that involved working with his hands. Finally, out of desperation, his teachers and parents arranged that he was evaluated by a psychologist. To their surprise, they found out he had an IQ of 63 – so far below the average that his score fell into the range of IQ score classified as mentally retarded.

Bill is one of more than 6,5 million people in the United States who have intelligence far enough below average to regard it as a serious deficit. Both those people with low IQs, known as the mentally retarded and those with unusually high IQs, referred to as the intellectually gifted, make up classes of individuals who require special attention to reach their full potential. (Adapted from R.S. Feldman “Understanding Psychology”)

Упр. 5. Заполните пропуски словами в соответствии с содержанием текста.

1. a psychologist	6. IQ	11. ruled out	16. unmotivated
2. poorly	7. follow	12. acceptable	17. involved
3. span	8. problems	13. suspect	18. range
4. evaluated	9. physical	14. lazy	19. retarded
5. score	10. pushed	15. interest in	20. tired

1. Bill wasn’t a … behaved child. 2. His problem was that he couldn’t … what was going on in class because his attention … was short. 3. Though he seemed … much of the time, he wasn’t ill and a … examination … … any medical … 4. But for the first two years at school his parents … him hard and he did a minimally … level of first- and second-form work. 5. Though his teachers started to … that he was … and … he wasn’t lazy. 6. He showed great … … lessons that … working with his hands. 7. It was a … who found out what Bill’s problem was. 8. The psychologist … Bill and found out that he had an … of 63. 9. According to it Bill’s … fell into the … of IQ scores classified as mentally retarded.

Упр. 6. Ответьте на следующие вопросы к тексту:

1. Why couldn’t Bill do well at school?

2. Who diagnosed Bill as mentally retarded?

3. How high was Bill’s IQ?

4. What does it mean?

5. But Bill managed to get by for the first few years at school, didn’t he?

6. Was he one of the top pupils, during his first and second grades?

7. What were the problems that interfered with his studies?

8. The doctor found some medical problems for it, didn’t he?

9. Bill’s teachers began to think that he was simply lazy and unmotivated, didn’t they?

10. Was Bill lazy at the lessons that involved working with his hands?

11. Who arranged his examination by a psychologist?

12. How many people in the US have intelligence far below average?

13. What are people with low IQs called (referred to)?

14. What are people with unusually high IQ called (referred to)?

15. What is necessary for the children of these two opposite groups to reach their full potential?

TEXT 4

Упр. 1. Выучите следующие слова для работы с текстом:

● intrinsic [in`trinsik] прирожденный, существенный ● uniformly [`ju:nifÉ:mli] однообразно, одинаково ● accept [ək`sept] принимать, подчеркивать; acceptability [ək,septə`biliti] признание, акцент ● assess [ə`ses] оценивать, определять; assessment [ə`sesmənt] оценка, мнение, суждение ● discrepancy [dis`krepənsi] несоответствие, расхождение, различие ● cause [kÉ:z] причина, основание; cause and effect причина и следствие ● exclude [iks`klu:d] исключать, не допускать ● retardation [,ri:ta:`dei∫n] отставание, запаздывание, задержка умственного развития ● sensory [`sensəri] чувствительный ● impairment [im`pεəmənt] ослабление, ухудшение (повреждение) ● concurrently [kən`kÙrəntli] одновременно ● exceptionality [ik,sep∫ə`næliti] исключительность; exceptional [ik`sep∫ən(ə)l] исключительный, необычный ● disabled поврежденный, искалеченный, неспособный ● frequently [`fri:kwəntli] часто, постоянно ● male(s) [meil] мужчина; female(s) [fi:meil] женщина, женского пола ● occur [ə`kə:] случаться, происходить ● enrolment [in`rəulmənt] регистрация, внесение в список, запись ● stringent [`strindʒənt] точный, обязательный, строгий, убедительный, веский ● adolescent [,ædou`lesnt] юноша, девушка, подросток ● adulthood [`ædÙlthu:d] зрелость; взрослый, совершеннолетний ● presume [pri`zju:m] предполагать, допускать; presumed [pri`zju:md] предполагаемый ● disturbance [dis`tə:b(ə)ns] нарушение, беспорядок ● prerequisite [pri:`rekwizit] необходимый как предварительное условие; требуемый заранее ● feedback [`fi:dbæk] обратная связь ● comprehension [,kəmpri`hen∫(ə)n] понимание, разумение, понятливость ● obvious [`Ébviəs] понятный, очевидный, ясный ● deficiencies [di`fi∫(ə)nsiz] нехватка, отсутствие, недостаток ● adequate [`ædikwit] достаточный, надлежащий, адекватный ● overall [`əuvərə:l] общее ● intelligence [in`telidʒəns] ум, интеллект, умственные способности ● challenge [`t∫a:lindʒ] бросать вызов; challenging вызывающий сомнение, небесспорный ● resist [ri`zist] противиться, сопротивляться ● to be confused [kən`fju:zd] быть поставленным в тупик; зайти в тупик ● fraught [frÉ:t] полный, чреватый ● ticklish problems [`tikli∫] трудные, щекотливые проблемы ● label [`leibl] ярлык; mislabelling навешивание ошибочных ярлыков ● norm-referenced [`refr(ə)nst] со ссылкой на правило ● criterion-refenced [krai`tiəriən] со ссылкой на критерий ● informal inventories сделанные не по форме итоги, отступающий от правил итог ● measurement(s) [`meʒəmənt] измерения ● multiple [`mÙltipl] многократный, составной, сложный ● time-consuming требующий время ● inconvenient [inkən`vinjənt] неудобный, затруднительный ● common публичный, общепринятый, общеизвестный ● lay public непрофессионалы, любители ● multitude [`mÙltitju:d] множество, большое число ● appropriate [ə`prəupriit] соответствующий, подходящий ● tailor [`teilə] приспосабливать, угождать ● remediation [ri`mi:diei∫n] лечение ● fixe(s) дилеммы ● benefit [`benifit] приносить пользу, оказывать благотворное действие, приносить выгоду ● intervention [,intə:`ven∫n] вмешательство ● alert [ə`lə:t] предупреждать об опасности ● enhance [in`ha:ns] увеличивать, расширять ● plasticity [plæs`tisiti] гибкость, пластичность

Упр. 2. Прочитайте и переведите текст: