【推荐1】Once there was a poor family in a village. It’s New Year tomorrow. The family was so poor _________ the parents didn’t have money to buy anything. It’s difficult for them to afford _________ some delicious food and drinks. Qing wanted to buy a new _________. Just at that time, a man came to the village. He asked Qing to help him. She thought she had _________ to do and it’s so cold. So she had a look at the man and invited him _________ her house to have a drink.

The man asked her some questions about the plan of New Year. Qing felt very _________ when he asked her plan. She told the man that she had no _________ but to wear old clothes, because she was too poor. The man told her that he was an interviewer. He told Qing _________ she could go to the TV talk show, she could make her dream come true. That meant she _________ buy a sweater for herself.

Later, Qing knew the man was Bai Yansong. He was a famous __________ . Of course, her dream came true with his help.

【推荐3】Nguyen Son, a Vietnamese kid, would watch his parents play chess for hours. Before he was three years old, he asked them if he could ________. Expecting the pieces (棋子) to end up on the floor, they let him play. Not for one minute had they ________ what would happen next. The boy not only set up the pieces correctly, but also began playing according to the rules. Within weeks he was ________ his parents. Within months he was playing in national games against opponents (对手) twice his ________ and twice his size. He became world under-10 champion in 2000 and was a grandmaster (国际大师) at 14.

For Son’s parents, it was nothing but (a)n ________. They were teachers who took home less than $100 a month in total. They had not trained their boy to be a chess prodigy (天才). ________, they hadn’t even taught him the rules of the game. For Nguyen, it just came ________. No sooner had he started playing than he was able to make clever moves.

How do child prodigies become what they are? The subject has been a continuous source of ________ to both the public and scientists. These gifted children have been labelled (贴标签) as being far ahead of others, treated as money-making machines, and studied like lab rats. Rarely have they been understood.

Perhaps the key question is whether they are born or made. Numerous studies have looked at inheritability ( 继承性 ) of intelligence. Overall, they believe that it can be ________ through the generations of a family, but the studies do not prove the link between intelligence and particular characteristics of prodigies. Prodigies are not smart in any ________ kind of way; they are able to master highly specific (具体的) skills. “I just see things on the ________ and know what to do.” he said.

There is one thing that the experts are beginning to agree on, ________, the importance of ________. Professor Wu Wutien says, “Prodigies are half born, half made.” This may contribute to the understanding of the major ________ in one’s growth.

Only if they are in a(n) ________ home environment will their natural talents develop. When parents have a house full of books and interesting objects, read to their child from an early age, or take them to museums and places of natural beauty, these all help in shaping the child.