Unit Nine  

     Text

                         Asimov explains why there is much more in intel-
                          ligence than just being able to score high on intelligence
                          tests.

                WHAT IS INTELLIGENCE, ANYWAY?

                                                               Isaac Asimov

  
         What is  intelligence,  anyway?  When I was  in the  army  I  received a 
     kind of aptitude test  that  all soldiers  took and,  against  a  normal of  100,
     scored 160. No one at the base had ever seen a figure like that and for two
     hours  they made a  big fuss  over me. ( It didn't mean  anything. The  next 
5   day I was still a buck private with KP as my highest duty. ) 

            All  my  life  I've  been  registering  scores like that,  so that I have  the
     complacent feeling  that  I'm  highly  intelligent, and I expeet other  peopl to
     think so, too. Actually, though, don't  such scores simply  mean  that  I am 
     very good at answering the type of academic questions that are considered
10 worthy of answers by the people who make up the intelligence tests -- peo-
     ple with intellectual bents similar to mine?

          For instance, I had an auto-repair  man once, who, on these  intelligence 
     tests,could not possibly have scored more than 80; by my estimate.I always 
     took it for granted  that I was  far  more  intelligent  than he  was. Yet, when
15 anything went wrong  with my  car I hastened  to him  with it,  watched  him 
     anxiously as he explored  its  vitals, and  listened to his  pronouncements as 
     though they were divine oracles - and he always fixed my car.

          Well, then, suppose my auto-repair  man devised questions for  an  intel-
20 ligence  test. Or  suppose a  carpenter did, or a  farmer, or,  indeed,  almost 
    anyone but an academician. By every one of those tests, I'd  prove  myself a
    moron. And I'd  be a moron, too. In  a world where I could not use my aca-
    demic training  and my verbal talents but had  to  do  something  intricate, or
    hard, working  with my  hands,  I  would do  poorly.  My  intelligence,  then,
25 is not absolute. Its  worth  is determined  by  the  society  I  live   in.Its  nur-
    nerical  evaluation   is  determined  by  a  small   subsection  of that  society 
    which has  managed  to foist  itself on  the rest of us as an  arbiter  of  such 
    matters.

            Consider my auto-repair man, again. He had a habit of telling me  jokes 
30 whenever he saw me. One time he raised his head from under the automobile 
     hood to say: "Doc, a deaf-and-dumb guy went into a hardware store  to ask 
     for some nails.He put two fingers together on the counter and made hamme-
     ring motions with the other hand. The clerk brought him a hammer. He shook
     his head and pointed to the two f ingers he was hammering.The clerk brought
35 him nails. He picked out the sizes  he  wanted, and  left.  Well, doc,  the  next
    guy who came in was a blind man. He wanted  scissors. How do you suppose 
    he asked for them?"

          I lifted my right hand  and  made scissoring   motions  with  my  first  two
   fingers. Whereupon my auto-repair man laughed heartily and said,  "Why, you 
   dumb .fool, he used his voice  and  asked  for  them. " Then  he  said, smugly, 
   "I've been trying that on all my customers today." "Did  you  catch  many?"  I
   asked.  "Quite a  few, "he said, "but I  knew for sure I' d catch you." "Why  is
   that?" I  asked. "Because  you're  so  goddamned educated, doc, I  knew  you 
   couldn't be very smart. "
       And I have an uneasy feeling he had something there.

                            New Words

 aptitude /  n.                     natural ability or skill 能力, 才能
 normal n.                         the usual state or level 正常的状态或水平
 figure n.                           数字 
 fuss n.                             unnecessary expression of excitement, 
                                            anger,impatience, etc.大惊小怪
 buck private n.	                (sl. ) common soldier of the lowest rank 
                                            列兵
 KP ( abbr. )	                kitchen police ( a military duty of helping 
                                           the  cooks prerpare and serve the food, 
                                           wash the dishes,and clean.up the kitchen)
                                            炊事值勤（员）
 register / vt.	                achieve;write in a list or record 取得;登记
 complacent / a.                self-satisfactory; pleased with oneself 自满
                            的；自鸣得意的
 highly ad.	                 to a great degree; very 
 simply ad.	                 just ; only 仅仅; 只不过
 academic / a.	                scholarly, theoretical, not practical; of a
                                            college or university 学术的,学院的;学院的
 worthy (of) / a.                deserving 值得的
 bent / n.                           natural tendency or inclination 嗜好,倾向
 similar / a.	                alike; of the same sort 类似的
 auto / n.                         (short for) automobile 汽车
 estimate / n.	                judgment  or  opinion  about  how much, how
                                            many, low good, etc. 估计
 grant / vt.                       give or allow (what is asked for) 授予;准予
 hasten / vi.	              go fast; be quick 赶快; 急忙
 explore /  vt.	              search or examine thoroughly 探索 ; 探究
 vitals /  n.	              essential parts of anything;the main bodily
                                            organs 主要部件(~;(人体的)重要器官
 pronouncement n.            formal or authoritative statement; opinion 
                                             声明 ;见解
 divine / a.                        conung from God ; sacred 神的 ; 神圣的 
 oracle / n.                            圣言 ; 神谕 
 devise / vt.                      think out; plan 想出; 设计
 carpenter /  n.                 木匠
 academician / n.              member of an art, literary or scientific 
                                           academy or society 院士, 学会会员
 moron / n.                      stupid person 低能者; 蠢人
 verbal / a.                       connected with words and their use; spoken,
                                           not written 词语的; 口头的
 intricate / a.                    complicated 错综复杂的
 absolute / a.                    not  measured  by  comparison  with  other 
                                            things 绝对的
 determine vt.                   fix or find out exactly 确定
 numerical / a.                  of a number; shown by numbers 数字的;用数字
                                    表示的
 evaluation / n.                  估价 , 评价
   evaluate / vt.
 subsection / n.                  part of a section 小组, 分部
 foist / vt.                          force (sth.)on another person by fraud or 
                                             tricker把...强加于
 arbiter / n.                        judge 仲裁人, 公断人
 joke / n.                           sth. said  or  done  to  cause  laughter or 
                                            amusement
 automobile / n.                 汽车
 hood / n.                      （汽车）引擎罩
 doc                                (short for) doctor
 deaf / a.                           unable to hear 聋的
 dumb /  a.                       unable to speak ; stupid 哑的; 愚笨的 
 deaf-and-dumb a.            unable to hear and speak
 hardware  /n.                    metal goods such as utensils,tools, nails, 
                                            etc. 金属器具
 hammer / n.                     锤子，榔头
          v.                     strike repeatedly (with a hammer)
 clerk / n.                          salesclerk; person who works in a shop 
                                            selling things 店员
 scissors / n.                    剪刀
 scissor v.                        cut with scissors
 whereupon / ad.               upon,at,or af ter which 于是, 因此 ;然后
 heartily / ad.                    尽情地
 smugly / ad.                    complacently 沾沾自喜地
 goddamned / ad.            ( sl. ) very, extremely
 uneasy a.                        awkward; not easy in mind or body 局促的; 
                                            不安的 ; 不安适的

	                Phrases & Expressions 

 make a fuss of/over            为...大惊小怪
 worthy of                          deserving 值得
 make up                            prepare ready for use 编制 ;配制
 by one's estimate               据某人估计 
 take sth. for granted	          regard it as true or as certain to happen 
                                             认为某事当然 
 go wrong                          stop working properly 出毛病
 pick out                            select 挑选 
 try...on                             在…身上试验
 for sure                            for certain; certainly 确切地;肯定

                            Proper Name

 Isaac Asimov /                  艾萨克·阿西莫夫