Reading and Writing 4

Unit 1 Achievement Test

Name: ________________________________

Date: _________________________________

PART 1: READING SKILLS

Read the article. Then use the information to complete the activities that follow.

Becoming a Savant

1 Savants are people who have “superhuman” mental abilities. They might be able to remember every word
of a book they just read, or quickly estimate the sum of a complicated math problem. This rare condition is
often linked with autism. People with autism are socially disabled in terms of their interactions with others.
Likewise, savants usually have difficulty assimilating with the rest of society. They have a hard time
relating to everyone else. In a recent study, one savant said, “You’d think people would realize that we’re
anxious and uncomfortable around them.” Another savant tried to explain his feelings by stating, “I’m not
very flexible. I have my own schedule that I like to keep to, and I don’t care what people say.”
2 Emerging evidence in the past few decades has suggested that savant-like abilities can be related to injury
to the left hemisphere of the brain. It can also be due to lack of development of this part of the brain. The
right hemisphere of the brain compensates for this, and as a result, savants develop new mental abilities that
are different from those of ordinary people.
3 Allan Snyder is a scientist in Sydney, Australia. He is known for his expertise in this area. Dr. Snyder
decided to study the effect of electromagnetic pulses on different areas of the brain. He believed that he
could bring out savant-like abilities in ordinary people by sending pulses to their brains. The study is an
important one. If controlled correctly, people could certainly benefit from having these new abilities.
4 Dr. Snyder’s results were predictable, based on his theory. He found that the pulses transformed the way
the brain handled information. People were able to recognize details that they never saw before in images
and words. The longer they received the pulses, the more details they retained. For example, a New York
Times reporter drew a cat several times while receiving pulses to his brain. He noted that each image was
more and more detailed. “I could hardly recognize them as my own drawings, though I had watched myself
render each one, in all its loving detail.”
5 Dr. Snyder’s persistence in this study has helped to give an idea of how a savant’s brain works. It has also
shown that, with the right equipment, anyone can be a savant!

A. Choose the best answer.

1. What is another good title for this article?

A. “The Life of a Savant”
B. “The Mind of a Savant”
C. “Learning to Be a Genius”
D. “Smarter than You Think”

Copyright © 2020 by Pearson Education, Inc. Photocopying for classroom use is permitted.
1
Reading and Writing 4
Unit 1 Achievement Test
2. How are savants different from everyone else?
A. They can solve math problems.
B. They can draw detailed pictures.
C. They have electromagnetic pulses.
D. They have amazing mental abilities.

3. What is the best heading for paragraphs 3 and 4?

A. Brain research
B. Savant behavior
C. Science in Australia
D. Finding more savants

4. In Dr. Snyder’s study, the pulses ____.

A. made people want to be savants
B. helped people notice more details
C. made savants act like ordinary people
D. helped savants become smarter overall

B. Read the following quotes from the article. Choose the assumption that each quote shows.

5. Paragraph 1: “You’d think people would realize that we’re anxious and uncomfortable around them.”
Some people think that savants ____.
A. always want to be by themselves
B. have more abilities that are still hidden
C. are more like regular people than they are

6. Paragraph 1: “I’m not very flexible. I have my own schedule that I like to keep to, and I don’t
care what people say.”
Some people think that savants ____.
A. need a schedule to feel safe and secure
B. should not always follow the same schedule
C. have interesting schedules they also want to follow

C. Read the excerpt from the article. Underline the section where the voice changes from the
author’s to someone else’s.

7. For example, a New York Times reporter drew a cat several times while receiving pulses to his
brain. He noted that each image was more and more detailed. “I could hardly recognize them
as my own drawings, though I had watched myself render each one, in all its loving detail.”

Copyright © 2020 by Pearson Education, Inc. Photocopying for classroom use is permitted.
2
Reading and Writing 4
Unit 1 Achievement Test
PART 2: VOCABULARY

A. Read the paragraphs. Use the words from the box to fill in the blanks. Not all of the words will
be used.

compensated flexible interaction sum expertise images retain transform

Many savants have social disabilities. They do not like 8. ____________ with others, and
they find it hard to be 9. ____________ in new situations.
Some savants can 10. ____________ large amounts of text or numbers into
11. ____________, as if they are taking a picture of the information. They 12. ____________
this information and can recall it fairly easily.

B. Complete the chart with the correct word forms.

Noun Verb Adjective Adverb

13. ________ benefit beneficial beneficially
emergence emerge 14. ________ X
estimation 15. ________ estimated X
16. ________ persist persistent persistently
prediction predict 17. ________ predictably

PART 3: GRAMMAR

Use the words from the box to complete the paragraph. Not all of the words will be used.

determined had made had asked had written had never learned wrote
had given had determined asked
Carl Friedrich Gauss was one of the most important mathematicians ever to have lived. Not only that, but
he was also a child prodigy. Gauss was born in Brunswick, Germany in 1777. His mother did not know the
date of his birth because she 18. __________________ to read. However, Gauss later
19. __________________ his birthday by comparing his mother’s description to other events. When Gauss
was three years old, he corrected a math error that his father 20. __________________. Three years later,
Gauss solved a difficult problem which his teacher 21. __________________ him in order to keep him
busy. She 22. __________________ him to add up all of the numbers from 1–100, thinking that it would
take Gauss a long time to complete the task. By inventing a special method, Gauss was able to find the
answer in just a few minutes. By the time he was 21, Gauss 23. __________________ an important
textbook about number theory. He went on to make a number of major contributions to mathematical and
scientific research.
Copyright © 2020 by Pearson Education, Inc. Photocopying for classroom use is permitted.
3
Reading and Writing 4
Unit 1 Achievement Test
PART 4: WRITING SKILLS

A. Read the paragraph. Then answer the questions that follow.

Gilles Tréhin is an interesting savant who created an imaginary city in his head. Gilles has
drawn hundreds of sketches to provide the details of this city, which he named “Urville.” He has
been able to draw three-dimensional objects since he was five years old. He has also written a
history of Urville and published a book about the city. Gilles is an example of a savant who lives
in his own world.

24. What is the topic sentence of the paragraph?

A. Gilles Tréhin is an interesting savant who created an imaginary city in his head.
B. Gilles has drawn hundreds of sketches to provide the details of this city, which he named “Urville.”
C. He has been able to draw three-dimensional objects since he was five years old.

25. What is the controlling idea of the paragraph?

A. Gilles is an interesting savant.
B. Gilles created an imaginary city in his head.
C. Gilles has drawn hundreds of sketches.

B. Choose the topic sentence that best completes the paragraph below.

26. ____ Leslie had many birth defects. He had to have his eyes removed and did not stand until
he was 12 years old. He had difficulty doing the same things that other people do not think
about, such as swallowing food. Yet, Leslie is able to play a piece of music after hearing it only
once. He is a true savant.
A. Many people think Leslie Lemke is a musical genius.
B. Leslie Lemke was adopted when he was six months old.
C. Leslie Lemke is a musical genius who has many disabilities.

C. Identify whether each item is F (a fragment) or C (a complete sentence).

___ 27. Geniuses often look at the world in different and creative ways.
___ 28. Savant-like abilities have to do with how the brain processes information.
___ 29. Although savants are different from ordinary people.
___ 30. When some geniuses interact with other people they have never met.

Copyright © 2020 by Pearson Education, Inc. Photocopying for classroom use is permitted.
4