Questions 14 to 17 can’t really be answered by scanning. It seems to me that the best approach is read through article, paying attention to the meaning and not getting distracted too much by unfamiliar words. Understanding the meaning of sentences is enough. If you don’t understand a sentence, re-read it once. If you still don’t understand, move on. If you can follow meaning of the article, you should be able to quickly locate the paragraphs in which the references occur.

 

14.  a reference to the influence of the domestic background on the gifted child.

Answer: A

“a very close positive relationship was found when children’s IQ scores were compared with their home educational provision (Freeman , 2010). The higher the children’s IQ scores, especially over IQ 130, the better the quality of their educational backup, measured in terms of reported verbal interactions with parents, number of books and activities in their home.” Easy question, as long as you know that ‘domestic’ is an adjective for things related to home.

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15. a reference to what can be lost if learners are given too much guidance.

Answer: D

“teachers who have a tendency to ‘overdirect’ can diminish their gifted pupils’ learning autonomy”. Not an answer that can be easily found by skimming or scanning. You really need to have read the whole article and flow the flow of the argument, especially the relationship between paragraph C and D. C introduces the question of how gifted children should be taught. Then D talks about the importance of the right level of support, including the negative consequences of too much guidance, or ‘overdirection’.

 

16. a reference to the damaging effects of anxiety.

Answer: F

“Positive emotions facilitate the creative aspects of earning and negative emotions inhibit it. Fear, for example, can limit the development of curiosity . . .” Don’t search for the word ‘anxiety’. Instead, recognise that it is a negative emotion similar to fear.

 

17. examples of classroom techniques which favour socially-disadvantaged children.

Answer: D

“There are quite a number of new methods which can help, such as child- initiated learning, ability-peer tutoring, etc. Such practices have been found to be particularly useful for bright children from deprived areas”. To be deprived of something means to not have it. A deprived area is usually a place such as a slum or somewhere where there are high rates of unemployment and crime” Children who live such areas may be referred to as ‘socially disadvantaged’.

 

Questions 18 to 22 require scanning skills (looking for names beginning with capital letters) and then close reading of the sentence in which the name occurs. So don’t look at the questions first. Look at the names, locate them in the text, read the sentence, and then read the questions. Additionally, you will also need some skill in identifying which parts of the surrounding text express the views of the cited authors. Sometimes it is before, sometimes it is after, and sometimes it is both.

 

18. Less time can be spent on exercises with gifted pupils who produce accurate work.

Answer: B (Shore and Kanevsky).

To find the answer, find the authors’ names and read the quotation. The key sentence is “if they make fewer errors, then we can shorten the practice”. It means shorten the practice time. Don’t be confused by the fact that the authors go on to say that this “is not entirely the case”. Even though they are reporting the view of instructors, and they don’t completely agree with that view, the reference to spending less time with gifted pupils who produce accurate work (i.e., make fewer errors) still can be associated with Shore and Kanevsky.

 

19. Self-reliance is a valuable tool that helps gifted students reach their goals.

Answer: D (Simonton)

“Research with creative scientists by Simonton (1988) brought him to the conclusion that above a certain high level, characteristics such as independence seemed to contribute more to reaching the highest levels of expertise” Recognize that ‘independence’ is similar in meaning to self-reliance and that ‘reaching the highest levels of expertise’ is similar in meaning to reaching one’s goals.

 

20. Gifted children know how to channel their feelings to assist their learning.

Answer: E (Boekaerts)

This one is a little harder because it requires you to know that keeping ‘emotional forces in harness’ is similar to channelling one’s feelings. That is, gifted children control and direct emotions such as curiosity, which, as the last sentence tells us, can improve their learning efficiency (i.e., ‘assist their learning’)

 

21. The very gifted child benefits from appropriate support from close relatives.

Answer: A (Freeman)

Children usually interact with close relatives at home. Recognise that the sentence following the name ‘Freeman’ reports the specific details of Freemans research, which in the context of high IQ scores by gifted children found that one of the reasons for this was more or better verbal interactions with parents.

 

22. Really successful students have learnt a considerable amount about their subject.

Answer: C (Elshout)

“individuals who know a great deal about a specific domain will achieve at a higher level than those who do not” Recognise that “know a great deal about” is similar to “have learnt a considerable amount about” and that a “specific domain” refers to “their subject”. Domain here just means area.

 

For questions 23 to 26, the main skill to be applied is recognizing what important words from the text are being used as part of a paraphrase.

 

23. One study found a strong connection between children’s IQ and the availability of BOOKS and ACTIVITIES at home.

The key word is ‘home’. You should know that the first paragraph is the one that talks about the domestic backgrounds of gifted children. Reading paragraph A closely will reveal the answer.

 

24. Children of average ability seem to need more direction from teachers because they do not have INTERNAL REGULATION.

Here, the clue to direct you to the second paragraph is ‘average ability’. The sentence in which this term occurs tells us that teachers need to give such students more external regulation because of their “lack of internal regulation”. As we know, to lack some thing means to not have it.

 

25. Metacognition involves children understanding their own learning strategies, as well as developing EMOTIONAL AWARENESS.

The keyword to direct you to paragraph B is ‘metacognition’. In the second half of the paragraph we are told about two aspects of metacognition. After learning strategies, we are told that “emotional awareness is also a part of metacognition”. Thus, it is the answer.

 

26. Teachers who rely on what is known as SPOON FEEDING often produce sets of impressive grades in class tests.

The keyword here is “impressive grades” which is a synonym for “extremely high examination results”. What produces these high examination results? ‘Spoon-feeding’, The fact that text puts this term in quotation marks is also a clue, since they are a kind of punctuation that means “what is known as . . . “