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... " LANGUAGE III
Student's name: Date :

CriteriosdeEvaluaci6n: Adecuacion del registro y formato.

Utilizaci6n delvocabuarlo especifico y estructuras correspondientes al niveL Organizaci6n: coherencia y cohesion.
Usa y atcances derecursos especificos. Extraccion e inferencia dela informacion requerida.
Lagro de latarea propuesta. Precision.

READING PART

For questions 1-5, read the following texts about genius. For questions 1-4,
answer with a word or short phrase. You do not need to write complete
sentences. For question 5, write a summary according to the instructions
given .
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; Can you Make a Genius?

I! When the artist Whistler was asked if he thought that genius was
I hereditary, he replied that he couldn't really say since he hadn't had
any children. Science hasn't got very much further than this smart
aleck response. Last week's television programme entitled 'Can you
make a Genius?' revisited the familiar 'is it Nature or is it nurture?'
debate, without burdening itself with any preliminary reflection on
what constitutes genius, or whether making geniuses is even
desirable.
It may be, in fact, that genius is not an absolute quality, but is the
victim of changing fashions . One minute. a work of art may be
hailed as a work of genius and the next reviled as worthless. For
this reason, it seems that genius can only reliably be conferred on
individuals in hindsight. And while the musical prodigies we heard
on the programme had a timeless quality to their virtuosity, you
couldn't really say the same for the man who could calculate 99 to
the power of I I in his head . Is not his showy brand of genius also
vulnerable to changing timesl Today we have pocket calculators that

I
can work out 99 to the power of II, whereas we still don't have a
machine that can paint or sculpt as gloriously as Michelangelo. I
mean, we are not impressed by someone who can handwash their
clothes as efficiently as a washing machine, are we?
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1 Which phrase tells us the writer's attitude towards Whistler?

2 In your own words, explain what the writer thought was lacking in the
television programme he describes.

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I . Gene Genius

I Of the sixty or so members of the Bach family who lived in the 17th
and 18th centuries, more than fifty were professional musicians of one
kind or another, and at least one was hailed as a genius. So does this
mean that musical talent is in the genes? Or was it simply a habit, in
1
those houses echoing to the sound of music, that each young Bach

would acquire musical skill? And it's not just the Bachs. Many leading

contemporary musicians come from, or may well go on to found,

I musical dynasties. But the problem with the genetic idea is that there is
no solid evidence either to prove or disprove it. Detailed genetic studies
have been beyond the scope of science, while the psychological line 10
research that has been done to date leaves plenty of room for furious
argument.

{ Adapted from an article byHugh Alersey-Williarns in The Independent.

3 In your own words, explain what the writer means by the phrase 'beyond the
scope of science'. (linelO) .

;..

4 Which phrase in the second paragraph is used instead of the word 'genius'?

~ 5 In a paragraphofbetween 50 and 70 words, summarize in your own

words as far aspossible. ithe reasons given in the texts to explain why it's
difficultto be sure what genius is.

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