In a list of child prodigies (神童), Judit Polgár is an interesting example. Her father, László, an educational psychologist, believed that prodigies were not born with high intelligence quotient (IQ). It was the result of proper training. He said that any child could be remarkable at an early age if given the right schooling and he even wrote a book called Raise a Genius!
László’s ideas might sound strange and unusual at the time, but when all three of László’s daughters turned out to be chess prodigies, nobody laughed at him. Judit and her sisters were taught at home as part of an educational experiment by their father László. Besides studying languages, they learned to play chess. By the time she was five, Judit could beat her father at chess. Raised in an environment of continuing chess practice, the Polgár sisters became better and better at chess competitions.
At that time, it was widely believed that men were much more excellent chess players than women. However, László’s daughters changed the opinion. The eldest daughter, Susan, became the top woman player in the world at age 15. In January 1991, she was the first woman ever to get a grandmaster rank (大师级别) on the same level as men players.
But she was soon beaten by the youngest Polgár sister, Judit. In December 1991, the 15-year-old Judit became the youngest player ever to get the rank of grandmaster, breaking the record set by Bobby Fischer in 1958. During her career, Judit avoided women’s-only events. Instead, she focused on playing against the best men players in the world, often with great success. In 2005, she reached eighth in the competition of the top players in chess, becoming the only woman ever to reach the top ten. “I played against men because it was challenging and interesting, and I felt I could improve the fastest and the best against them. It’s very important to know what your goals and dreams are,” said Judit.
29. The underlined word “
remarkable” in Paragraph 1 can be replaced by “________”.
A.strange | B.excellent | C.pleasant | D.faithful |
30. How did László deal with his daughters’ education?
A.He asked excellent teachers to teach them. |
B.He sent them to school to learn to play chess. |
C.He taught them languages and chess at home. |
D.He did a lot of experiments together with them. |
31. What did most people think of women chess players at that time?
A.They were not as good as men players. |
B.They were much better than men players. |
C.They were not allowed to play against men players. |
D.They often broke the records set by men players. |
32. What can we learn from the last paragraph?
A.Judit’s dream was to beat her sister Susan in the chess competition. |
B.Judit thought women’s-only events were challenging and interesting. |
C.Judit played against Bobby Fischer and won the competition. |
D.Judit improved herself by playing chess against men players. |