Question

read the selection below. some psychologists believe that, while practice is extremely important, there is a component of intellectual ability that helps determine whether someone will be good at something such as playing the piano. psychologists david hambrick and elizabeth meinz did a study in the journal current directions in psychological science on working - memory capacity. it is a core part of the overall intellectual ability and it can predict success in something like playing an instrument. they measured the sight - reading ability of pianists, which is the ability to successfully play a piece of music they have never seen before. they studied two pianists who had accumulated the same number of practice hours but had different levels of working - memory capacity. the pianist with the higher working - memory capacity performed better on the sight - reading task. why did the author write the selection? a to introduce the idea that there is a scientific angle about musical talent as opposed to practice. b to elaborate on the idea that most people avoid doing things that they dont think theyre good at. c to identify the idea that innate talent may have an impact on musical ability. d to defend the idea that dedicated practice is more important than natural musical talent. what is most likely the reason the author included the idea about working - memory capacity? a to highlight the idea that talent versus practice is part of a bigger discussion about the role of general intellectual ability. b to offer a perspective that is different from the authors perspective and to show that practice only works if a person is naturally talented to begin with. c to provide information that contradicts other research that has been conducted on practice. d to suggest that the author has a new way of not merely judging success with a musical instrument.

Explanation:

The passage discusses a psychological study on how working - memory capacity (an aspect of intellectual ability) can impact musical ability like sight - reading in pianists, despite equal practice hours. For the first question, the author includes the study to support the idea that intellectual ability affects musical talent. For the second question, it analyzes why a certain idea was included. Option A in the second question is not a reason as the passage is not about a larger discussion on practice in a general context.

Answer:

1. A. To introduce the idea that there is a scientific aspect about musical talent besides practicing
2. A. To highlight the idea that talent versus practice is part of a larger discussion about life in general (not a valid reason)