Gifted children and learning: reading answers and analysis
An academic overview of how highly able children learn. IQ reflects home support as well as ability, and gifted pupils regulate their own learning better. Teachers should build that independence rather than spoon-feed, while knowledge, independence and well-managed emotions all feed top achievement.
The paragraph matching (14-17) uses D twice. The researcher matching (18-22) jumps around A, C, E and F. The sentence completions (23-26) go back to A, B and D, in order.
Answer key and self-check
Type what you wrote and hit mark. Hide the key first if you haven't done the passage yet. Every question number jumps to its explanation.
Q
Your answer
Answer
Questions 14-17 · Matching information (paragraphs A-F)
How to attack this block: Find each idea's paraphrase: 'domestic' is home, 'too much guidance' is overdirecting, 'anxiety' is fear, and 'socially disadvantaged' is deprived areas. D holds two answers, so don't cross it off after the first.
Question 14
Answer: AParagraph A, third and fourth sentences
Which paragraph mentions how a gifted child's home life influences them?
a very close positive relationship was found when children's IQ scores were compared with their home educational provision (Freeman, 2010)
Question says → Passage says
the domestic backgroundtheir home educational provision / verbal interactions with parents, number of books and activities in their home
influencea very close positive relationship
Why: 'Domestic' means to do with the home. A links IQ to what the home provides: talk with parents, books and activities. That's the influence of home background.
The trap: F mentions 'significant others', which could include family, but it's about emotions in learning, not the home environment.
Question 15
Answer: DParagraph D, second to fourth sentences
Which paragraph says what learners lose if they're guided too much?
Too much dependence on the teacher risks loss of autonomy and motivation to discover.
Question says → Passage says
too much guidance'overdirect' / 'spoon-feeding' / Too much dependence on the teacher
what can be lostrisks loss of autonomy and motivation to discover
Why: D warns that teachers who 'overdirect' or spoon-feed can cost pupils their independence and their drive to discover. Those are the things that can be lost.
The trap: B talks about external regulation by teachers too, but it says this helps average pupils. It doesn't warn about losing anything.
Question 16
Answer: FParagraph F, third sentence
Which paragraph mentions the harm anxiety can do?
negative emotions inhibit it. Fear, for example, can limit the development of curiosity
Question says → Passage says
anxietyFear / negative emotions
damaging effectsinhibit it / can limit the development of curiosity
Why: Fear is a form of anxiety, and F says it limits curiosity, which drives scientific progress. That's a damaging effect.
The trap: B mentions feelings around learning, but only positive ones like curiosity and confidence. There's no harm described there.
Question 17
Answer: DParagraph D, last two sentences
Which paragraph gives classroom methods that help children from poor areas?
There are quite a number of new methods which can help, such as child-initiated learning, ability-peer tutoring, etc. Such practices have been found to be particularly useful for bright children from deprived areas.
Question says → Passage says
examples of classroom techniqueschild-initiated learning, ability-peer tutoring
socially-disadvantaged childrenbright children from deprived areas
Why: D names two methods and says they work especially well for bright children from deprived areas. 'Deprived' is 'socially disadvantaged'. D is the answer for the second time.
The trap: People who've already used D for question 15 look elsewhere. The instructions say letters can be repeated, and D holds both.
Matching statements to people
Questions 18-22
How to attack this block: Each name sits in brackets next to its claim, so scan for the names and read the sentence around them. E has two researchers side by side: Elshout on knowledge and Simonton on independence. Keep them apart.
Question 18
Answer: BParagraph C, third sentence
Who says gifted pupils who make fewer mistakes need less practice?
If they merely make fewer errors, then we can shorten the practice
Question says → Passage says
produce accurate workmake fewer errors
less time can be spent on exerciseswe can shorten the practice
Why: Shore and Kanevsky's quote has this exact logic: fewer errors means you can shorten the practice. B.
The trap: They go on to say this isn't the whole story, which can put people off. The question only asks who made the statement, and it's their line.
Question 19
Answer: DParagraph E, second sentence
Who says independence helps gifted people reach the top?
Research with creative scientists by Simonton (1988) brought him to the conclusion that above a certain high level, characteristics such as independence
Question says → Passage says
self-relianceindependence
reach their goalsreaching the highest levels of expertise
Why: Simonton found that above a certain level, independence matters more than intellectual skills for reaching the highest expertise. Self-reliance is independence: D.
The trap: Elshout is in the same paragraph, but his point is about knowledge, not independence.
Question 20
Answer: EParagraph F, last two sentences
Who says gifted children use their emotions to help them learn?
In Boekaerts' (1991) review of emotion in the learning of very high IQ and highly achieving children, she found emotional forces in harness.
Question says → Passage says
channel their feelingsemotional forces in harness
gifted childrenvery high IQ and highly achieving children
Why: 'In harness' means controlled and put to work. Emotions harnessed for curiosity and better learning are feelings channelled to help learning: E.
Question 21
Answer: AParagraph A, third and fourth sentences
Who says very gifted children gain from good support at home?
The higher the children's IQ scores, especially over IQ 130, the better the quality of their educational backup, measured in terms of reported verbal interactions with parents
Question says → Passage says
the very gifted childespecially over IQ 130
appropriate support from close relativeseducational backup… verbal interactions with parents
Why: Freeman's study links the highest IQs to the best educational backup at home, measured partly by how much parents talk with their children. A.
The trap: Boekaerts mentions emotions of 'significant others' in F, but she isn't talking about support from relatives.
Question 22
Answer: CParagraph E, first sentence
Who says the top achievers know a lot about their field?
individuals who know a great deal about a specific domain will achieve at a higher level than those who do not (Elshout, 1995)
Question says → Passage says
really successful studentswill achieve at a higher level
learnt a considerable amount about their subjectknow a great deal about a specific domain
Why: 'A considerable amount' is 'a great deal', and 'subject' is 'domain'. The reference in brackets is Elshout: C.
The trap: Simonton (D) follows straight after and also talks about top-level expertise. His deciding factor is independence, not knowledge.
Sentence completion (NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS)
Questions 23-26
How to attack this block: Question 23 needs two words, and both are required for the mark. The others are fixed phrases: what average pupils lack, the second part of metacognition, and a teaching style in quotation marks. Copy spelling and the hyphen exactly.
Question 23
Answer: books and activitiesParagraph A, fourth sentence
Also accepted: activities and books / books activities / books, activities
What two things at home were linked strongly with children's IQ?
measured in terms of reported verbal interactions with parents, number of books and activities in their home etc.
Question says → Passage says
the availability of … at homenumber of books and activities in their home
Why: The gap ends with 'at home', and the passage's list ends 'in their home'. The two items in that slot are books and activities, in either order. Both are needed for the mark.
The trap: 'Verbal interactions with parents' is in the same list, but it's too long for the word limit and it's something parents do, not something available in the home. Writing only 'books' loses the mark, because both words are required.
Question 24
Answer: internal regulationParagraph B, third sentence
Also accepted: self-regulation
What do average-ability children lack, so they need teachers to direct them more?
for whom external regulation by the teacher often compensates for lack of internal regulation
Question says → Passage says
more direction from teachersexternal regulation by the teacher
do not havelack of
Why: Teacher control 'compensates for' something missing in these pupils, and what's missing is internal regulation. 'Self-regulation' is also accepted.
The trap: 'External regulation' is in the same sentence, but that's what the teacher provides, not what the pupils lack.
Question 25
Answer: emotional awarenessParagraph B, last sentence
Besides knowing their learning strategies, what else does metacognition involve developing?
Emotional awareness is also part of metacognition
Question says → Passage says
as well asalso part of
metacognitionmetacognition
Why: B first lists strategies (planning, monitoring, evaluation) as part of metacognition, then adds 'emotional awareness is also part of' it. Two words, exactly within the limit.
The trap: 'Curiosity or confidence' are examples of the feelings to be aware of, not the skill itself. 'Planning' and 'monitoring' are the learning strategies already in the sentence.
Question 26
Answer: spoon-feedingParagraph D, third sentence
What teaching approach often produces impressive test grades?
Although 'spoon-feeding' can produce extremely high examination results
Question says → Passage says
what is known as'spoon-feeding'
impressive gradesextremely high examination results
Why: The quotation marks around 'spoon-feeding' match 'what is known as' in the question, and the high results match the impressive grades. Keep the hyphen.
The trap: 'Overdirect' is in the sentence before, but it's a verb in its own quotation marks, and it's linked to reducing autonomy, not to high grades.
D (Simonton). Independence matters more than intellect at the top. Elshout, in the same paragraph, is about knowledge.
Words from this passage worth keeping
cut-off point(A)
the level that decides who is in or out of a group
tuition(B)
teaching, especially to a small group or one person
compensates for(B)
makes up for something that is missing
succinctly(C)
clearly and in few words
autonomy(D)
the ability to act and decide for yourself
deprived(D)
poor, lacking money and opportunities
inhibit(F)
hold back or slow down
in harness(F)
under control and being used for a purpose
Sit this test on Langujet, then come back
The full Cambridge 10 Test 2 reading paper: all three passages, 60 minutes, marked the second you finish with a review of every answer. Already done it? Take it again and see if the same traps still get you.
Cambridge IELTS 10, Test 2, Reading Passage 2. The passage and questions belong to Cambridge University Press and are not reproduced here. We quote short extracts only as evidence for our own commentary, and the answers are published for self-marking. Get the book for the full text, or sit the test on Langujet.
