The 10,000-Hour Rule

Which of the following inferences about the author’s thesis is best supported by the first paragraph of the excerpt?

For almost a generation, psychologists around the world have been engaged in a spirited debate over a question that most of us would consider to have been settled years ago. The question is this: is there such a thing as innate talent? The obvious answer is yes. Not every hockey player born in January ends up playing at the professional level. Only some do—the innately talented ones. Achievement is talent plus preparation. The problem with this view is that the closer psychologists look at the careers of the gifted, the smaller the role innate talent seems to play and the bigger the role preparation seems to play.

• Preparation is more important than innate talent when it comes to achievement.

• Neither preparation nor innate talent are important for achievement.

• Preparation and innate talent are equally important when it comes to achievement.

• Innate talent is more important than preparation for achievement.

Which of the following words best replaces spirited as it is used in the following passage?

For almost a generation, psychologists around the world have been engaged in a spiriteddebate over a question that most of us would consider to have been settled years ago. The question is this: is there such a thing as innate talent?

• Spirited’ means “full of spirit” or “vigorous.”

• The context in this passage seems to suggest that word has an opposite meaning.

• This word does not quite match the meaning of the underlined word.

• There is a better selection that more closely matches the meaning of the underlined word.

Which sentence from the excerpt best supports the idea that more practice leads to greater success?

• “With the help of the Academy’s professors, they divided the school’s violinists into three groups.”

• “Many of Wolfgang’s childhood compositions, such as the first seven of his concertos for piano and orchestra, are largely arrangements of works by other composers.”

• “The students who would end up the best in their class began to practice more than everyone else: six hours a week by age nine, eight hours a week by age twelve, sixteen hours a week by age fourteen, and up and up…”

• “Of course, this doesn’t address why some people get more out of their practice sessions than others do.”

What information mainly does the following quotation convey?

“In study after study, of composers, basketball players, fiction writers, ice skaters, concert pianists, chess players, master criminals, and what have you, this number comes up again and again. Of course, this doesn’t address why some people get more out of their practice sessions than others do. But no one has yet found a case in which true world-class expertise was accomplished in less time.”

• Ice skaters can achieve mastery more quickly than chess players.

• All people get the same results out of their practice sessions.

• The time required for mastery is consistent across a wide variety of skills.

• Sometimes true world-class expertise can be achieved in fewer than ten thousand hours.

With which of the following statements about success would the author most strongly agree?

• Some people are highly skilled though purely natural ability.

• Violinists must practice harder than pianists to achieve success.

• Those at the very top achieve their positions by putting in the most hours.

• Some people work harder than everyone else, but never achieve mastery.

Which passage from the text most strongly supports that statement that if you want to be at the top, you have to put in the most time and effort.

• “Many of Wolfgang’s childhood compositions, such as the first seven of his concertos for piano and orchestra, are largely arrangements of works by other composers.”

• “All of the violinists were then asked the same question: over the course of your entire career, ever since you first picked up the violin, how many hours have you practiced?”

• “And what’s more, the people at the very top don’t work just harder or even much harder than everyone else. They work much, much harder.”

• “The same pattern emerged. The amateurs never practiced more than about three hours a week over the course of their childhood, and by the age of twenty they had totaled two thousand hours of practice.”

Which of the following adjectives best describes Mozart’s early childhood compositions?

• unexceptional

• beautiful

• outstanding

• terrible

Which sentence from the excerpt most strongly support that even prodigies need hours of practice?

• "Mozart, for example, famously started writing music at six.”

• “This is true even of people we think of as prodigies.”

• “...by the standards of mature composers, Mozart’s early works are not outstanding.”

• "Achievement is talent plus preparation.”