WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART is among the best-known
child prodigies. A prodigy according to MACMILLAN English Dictionary for
Advanced Learners (2007) means a young person who has a natural ability to
do something extremely well. As a prodigy, WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART began
picking out tunes on the piano at three years of age; by four he could
tell if a violin was fixed, and by eight he could play without hesitation a
complex piece he had never seen before. Mozart began composing at the age of
five.
Even as a young child, he could play pieces
perfectly from memory, having heard them only once, and improvise on a theme
without ever repeating himself.
William
James Sidis (1898–1944) was profoundly gifted as a
child, reading and spelling at the age of two, inventing a new table of logarithms
at eight, speaking six languages by 10. By age 11 he was enrolled at
Adapted from Ellen
Winner. Uncommon Talents: Exploring Intelligence. Gifted
Children, Prodigies and Savants. Scientific
American, Inc. Scientific American Presents. (1998). PP: 35-37.
1. Which one would be the
best title for both texts (the title should take into account both texts?)
a) Famous Writers. q
b) Young Talented Actors. q
c) Child Prodigy. q
d) Gifted Poets. q
e) Young Violinist. q
2. Below is a list of
sentences about WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART taken from the passage above. Write
them in order in which they happened and number them.
o Mozart began composing at the age
of five.
o WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART began
picking out tunes on the piano at three years of age.
o By eight WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART
could play without hesitation a complex piece he had never seen before.
oMargaret Mead was born in the city
of
o Even as a young child, he could
play pieces perfectly from memory, having heard them only once.
3. Below is another list
of sentences about William James Sidis taken from the
passage above. Write them in order in which they happened and number them.
o William James Sidis grew
deeply bitter and resentful of his father and lost all interest in mathematics after
graduating from Harvard at 16.
oHe died, alone, from a brain
haemorrhage at 46.
o By age 11 William James Sidis was enrolled at
o He delivered lectures on
mathematics to the faculty.
o William James Sidis
could speak six languages by 10.
o At 28 William James Sidis wrote a comprehensive book on the classification of
streetcar transfer slips.
o He invented a new table of
logarithms at eight.
o William James Sidis
was able to read at the age of two.
4. Decide if these
statements are true of false. Then, justify your answer.
a. Mozart began composing at the age
of nine.
Truer Falser
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….......................................………………
b. William James Sidis
taught at
Truer Falser
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….......................................………………
c. William James Sidis
disliked his father.
Truer Falser
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….......................................………………
d. William James Sidis and Mozart are best-known talented and gifted
prodigies.
Truer Falser
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….......................................………………
5. Tick the most
appropriate explanation/ definition of the word(s) written in bold letters.
a) He could play without hesitation a
complex piece he had never seen before.
r A pause
before doing something, or a feeling that you should not do it, especially
because you are nervous, embarrassed, or worried.
r The feeling of being very interested in something or excited by it.
r Information that you discover, or opinions that you form after doing
research.
b) He could improvise
on a theme without ever repeating himself.
r To talk in an excited way
about something that you are interested in.
r To receive money for work that you do.
r To do something without preparing it first, often because the
situation does not allow you to prepare.
c)
By age 11 he was enrolled at
r Put his name on the official list of a school,
institution, university, etc. as a student.
r Failed in an exam.
r Succeeded in controlling or dealing with
something.
d)
He grew deeply bitter and resentful of
his father.
r Not harmed or
affected by something.
r Feeling
angry and unhappy because he thought he has been treated unfairly and badly or
without enough respect.
r Accepting that something unpleasant
must happen and that he cannot change it.
e) This talented young
man spent the rest of his life in mindless clerical jobs
r Jobs that do not
need any thought or intelligence.
r Jobs that need too much thinking or intelligence.
r Important and well-paid jobs.
f) WOLFGANG AMADEUS
MOZART is among the best-known child prodigies.
r Famous.
r Unknown.
r Young.
6. Find in the two
passages the antonyms of the following words.
Word |
|
Antonym |
1) Unknown |
a) …………………………………………. |
|
2) Old |
b) …………………………………………. |
7. What do the underlined
in the text refer to?
a) He (Text 1) :
…………………….……….…………
b) This talented young man (Text 2) :…………………….….………………