1 . Direction: Fill in each blank with a proper word’ chosen from the box. Each word can be used only once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. involving 　　B. distinguish　　 C. adapted 　　D. tailored 　　E. medium F. gains 　　G. partially 　　H. amazing 　　I. definitely　　 J. steer　　K. implications

Genes That Make You Smarter

The contributions genes make to intelligence increase as children grow older. This goes against the idea most people hold that as we age, environmental influences gradually overpower the genetic legacy (遗产) we are born with and may have     1     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     2     and goes in the other direction.”

Previous studies have shown variations in intelligence are     3     due to genetics. To find out whether this genetic contribution varies with age, Plomin’s team gathered data from six separate studies carried out in 4 countries,     4     a total of 11000 pairs of twins. The researchers tested twins on reasoning, arithmetics etc. to measure a quantity called “G”. Each study also included both identical twins, with the same genes, and fraternal twin (异卵双生) sharing about half their genes, making it possible to     5     the contributions of genes and environment to their G scores.

Plomin’s team calculated in childhood, genes account for about 4l percent of the variation in intelligence. In adolescence, this rose to 55 percent; by young adolescence, it was 66 percent.

No one     6     knows why the influence from genes should increase with age, but Plomin suggests that as children get older, they become better at handling their environment to suit their genetic needs, and says “kids with high G will use their environment to develop their cognitive ability and choose friends who are like-minded, Children with     7     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 (遗传可能性) doesn’t mean 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     8     training.”

Plomin suggests genetic differences may be more emphasized if all children share an identical curriculum instead of it being     9     to children’s natural abilities. “My tendency 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     10     ads towards things drawing out their natural talents.