In certain fields of human endeavor, such as music, chess, and some a

In certain fields of human endeavor, such as
music, chess, and some athletic activities, the
performance of the best practitioners is so outstanding,
so superior even to the performance of other highly
(5) experienced individuals in the field, that some people
believe some notion of innate talent must be invoked
to account for this highest level of performance.
Certain psychologists have supported this view with
data concerning the performance of prodigies and the
(10) apparent heritability of relevant traits. They have
noted, for example, that most outstanding musicians
are discovered by the age of six, and they have found
evidence that some of the qualities necessary for
exceptional athletic performance, including superior
(15) motor coordination, speed of reflexes, and hand-eye
coordination, can be inborn.

Until recently, however, little systematic research
was done on the topic of superior performance, and
previous estimates of the heritability of traits relevant
(20) to performance were based almost exclusively on
random samples of the general population rather than
on studies of highly trained superior performers as
compared with the general population. Recent research
in different domains of excellence suggests that
(25) exceptional performance arises predominantly from
acquired complex skills and physiological adaptations,
rather than from innate abilities. For example, it has
been found that the most accomplished athletes show
a systematic advantage in reaction time or perceptual
(30) discrimination only in their particular fields of
performance, not in more general laboratory tests for
these factors. Similarly, superior chess players have
exceptional memory for configurations of chess
pieces, but only if those configurations are typical of
(35) chess games.

The vast majority of exceptional adult performers
were not exceptional as children, but started instruction
early and improved their performance through
sustained high-level training. Only extremely rarely is
(40) outstanding performance achieved without at least
ten years of intensive, deliberate practice. With such
intensive training, chess players who may not have
superior innate capacities can acquire skills that
circumvent basic limits on such factors as memory
(45) and the ability to process information. Recent
research shows that, with the clear exception of some
traits such as height, a surprisingly large number of
anatomical characteristics, including aerobic capacity
and the percentage of muscle fibers, show specific
(50) changes that develop from extended intense training.

The evidence does not, therefore, support the
claim that a notion of innate talent must be invoked in
order to account for the difference between good and
outstanding performance, since it suggests instead that
(55) extended intense training, together with that level of
talent common to all reasonably competent performers,
may suffice to account for this difference. Since
sustained intense training usually depends on an
appropriate level of interest and desire, and since those
(60) who eventually become superior performers more
often show early signs of exceptional interest than
early evidence of unusual ability, motivational factors
are more likely to be effective predictors of superior
performance than is innate talent.

1. Which one of the following most accurately states the main point of the passage?

(A) Researchers have recently found that many inborn traits, including a surprising number of physical characteristics and motivational factors, can be altered through training and practice.
(B) Recent research into the origins of superior performance gives evidence that in sports, music, and some other fields of activity, anyone can achieve exceptional levels of performance with sustained intense practice and training.
(C) Contrary to previously accepted theories of the development of expertise, researchers have now shown that innate characteristics are irrelevant to the differences in performance among individual practitioners in various fields of activity.
(D) Recent research involving superior performers in various fields indicates that outstanding performance may result from adaptations due to training rather than from innate factors.
(E) Psychologists who previously attributed early childhood proficiency in such activities as music and chess to innate talent have revised their theories in light of new evidence of the effectiveness of training and practice.


2. Which one of the following most accurately represents the primary function of the final paragraph?

(A) It makes proposals for educational reform based on the evidence cited by the author.
(B) It demonstrates that two consequences of the findings regarding superior performance are at odds with one another.
(C) It recapitulates the evidence against the supposed heritability of outstanding talent and advocates a particular direction to be taken in future research on the topic.
(D) It raises and answers a possible objection to the author’s view of the importance of intense training.
(E) It draws two inferences regarding the explanatory and predictive roles of possible factors in the development of superior performance.


3. Which one of the following can most reasonably be inferred from the passage?

(A) In at least some fields of human endeavor, it would be difficult, or perhaps even impossible, to ascertain whether or not a superior performer with extensive training has exceptional innate talent.
(B) Performance at the very highest level generally requires both the highest level of innate talent and many years of intensive, deliberate practice.
(C) Exceptional innate talent is a prerequisite to exceptional performance in some fields of human endeavor but not others.
(D) Exceptional innate talent is probably an obstacle to the development of superior performance, since such talent results in complacency.
(E) The importance of motivation and interest in the development of superior performance shows that in some fields the production of exceptional skill does not depend in any way on innate talents of individuals.


4. Which one of the following does the passage say is usually necessary in order for one to keep up intense practice?

(A) desire and interest
(B) emotional support from other people
(C) appropriate instruction at the right age
(D) sufficient leisure time to devote to practice
(E) self-discipline and control


5. Which one of the following most accurately describes the author’s main purpose in the passage?

(A) to illustrate the ways in which a revised theoretical model can be applied to problematic cases for which previous versions of the theory offered no plausible explanation
(B) to argue that the evidence that was previously taken to support a particular theory in fact supports an opposing theory
(C) to show how a body of recent research provides evidence that certain views based on earlier research are not applicable to a particular class of cases
(D) to defend the author’s new interpretation of data against probable objections that might be raised against it
(E) to explain how a set of newly formulated abstract theoretical postulations relates to a long-standing body of experimental data in a different, but related, field of inquiry


6. The passage says that superior chess players do not have exceptional memory for which one of the following?

(A) some sequences of moves that are typical of games other than chess
(B) some types of complex sequences without spatial components
(C) some chess games that have not been especially challenging
(D) some kinds of arrangements of chess pieces
(E) some types of factors requiring logical analysis in the absence of competition