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Outliers Chapter 2

Total questions: 20

Worksheet time: 3600secs

Name
Class
Date
1.

Bill Joy is associated with success in ...

a)

medical research

b)

computer programming

c)

law

d)

engineering

2.

The Beatles spent 10,000 hours practicing in _____ before they arrived in America.

a)

Liverpool

b)

London

c)

Berlin

d)

Hamburg

3.

What does Gladwell call having a higher IQ?

a)

a curse

b)

a non-issue

c)

an advantage

d)

a result of privilege

4.

What "state of the art" feature did the University of Michigan have in 1971?

a)

Artificial turf football field.

b)

A high-tech computer center.

c)

A thermonuclear generator.

d)

A 3-D printer lab.

5.

To what does Bill Gates attribute his success?

a)

His parents

b)

His teachers.

c)

His intellect.

d)

A lucky series of events.

6.

What major, long-lasting accomplishment did Bill Joy achieve?

a)

Co-created Facebook & consulted on Twitter.

b)

Founded Apple Computers & invented the iPad.

c)

Co-founded Sun Micro-systems & rewrote Java.

d)

Founded Microsoft & developed Windows.

7.

What makes computer moguls Gates's, Allen's, Job's, Schmidt's, and Joy's birth years so ideal?

a)

Born during the "good old days."

b)

Perfect age during the dawn of the personal computer age.

c)

Oldest students in their class.

d)

Born after WWII & before the Korean & Vietnam wars.

8.

What "amazing thing" happened at Bill Gates's school, Lakeside?

a)

Bill Joy visited as a guest speaker.

b)

The mothers group started a computer club.

c)

Students learned computer programming with the computer-card.

d)

He created Microsoft.

9.

Gladwell defines achievement as:

a)

School smarts plus street smarts.

b)

Hard work plus good grades.

c)

Talent plus preparation.

d)

People skills plus professional skills.

10.

What did psychologist Ericsson discover about the most successful violinists?

a)

Disproportionately born in Jan., Feb., or March.

b)

Their parents had scored high on musical aptitude tests.

c)

They practiced much more than other students.

d)

They were mostly enrolled in private schools.

11.

How many years does it take to become a world-class pianist, chess player, or any other prodigy?

a)

4 years-complete high school.

b)

8 years-complete high school and college.

c)

10 yrs- average time it takes to obtain 10,000 practice hours.

d)

20 yrs-how long it takes to truly master a skill.

12.

showing unusually early development (especially in talents and mental capacity)

a)

mertitocracy

b)

precocious

c)

earnest

d)

outlier

13.

a value that "lies outside" most of the other values in a set of data

a)

ethos

b)

outlier

c)

quarry

d)

prodigy

14.

a system in which promotion is based on individual ability or achievement

a)

tumultous

b)

prodigy

c)

meritocracy

d)

paesani

15.

existing from birth, inborn; native

a)

outlier

b)

virtuoso

c)

prodigy

d)

innate

16.

How did Ericsson's study contribute to Gladwell's perception towards the factors that lead to success?

a)

He discovered that natural talent was pointless without practice.

b)

Gladwell noticed that innate talent was sufficient to reach greatness.

c)

Gladwell pointed out a connection between achievement and luck.

d)

The age in which people begin to work towards their goals is a leading factor to success.

17.

Gladwell adopts the standard rhetorical pattern of..

a)

deductive reasoning

b)

example

c)

process analysis

d)

cause and effect

18.

How does the author use various types of evidence to support his thesis?

a)

The author relies mainly on anecdotal evidence to further his thesis

b)

The author utilizes statistical analysis of the life conditions of various ‘outliers’ (very successful people) in various fields to pinpoint the origin of their success

c)

Gladwell relies mainly on observations by clinicians, psychologists, and researchers to further his claims about the origin of immense success.

d)

Gladwell presents scientific evidence in a study by K. Anders Ericsson and later provides various anecdotes about famous musicians, tycoons, and athletes that corroborate this research

19.
The following sentence is an example of an ___: "I was surprised his nose was not growing like Pinocchio’s."
a)
allusion
b)
anecdote
c)
rhetorical question
d)
statistic
20.

What is the meaning of “revolution” as used on page 36?


"After graduation from Berkeley, Joy cofounded the Silicon Valley firm Sun Microsystems, which was one of the most critical players in the computer revolution."

a)

dramatic change

b)

forceful takeover

c)

circular orbit

d)

political triumph