Phân Tích Bài Đọc Cambridge IELTS 16 Academic: How to Make Wise Decisions

Reading Passage 3: How to make wise decisions. Source: Cambridge IELTS 16 Academic (page 47)

*Academic Reading and Writing:

An Analysis of a Passage from Cambridge IELTS 16 Academic

Sự thông tuệ là năng lực Trời ban cho một số ít may mắn hay còn là do tác nhân ngoại cảnh mà bạn có được hay học được cách đạt được những quyết đoán khôn ngoan?

Mời các bạn học kĩ năng đọc hiểu xuyên suốt, ghi nhận trường từ vựng liên quan đến trí tuệ và tham khảo một vài cách viết trong văn nghị luận khoa học.

*Cambridge IELTS 16 Academic | Test 2, Passage 3:

How to make wise decisions

Across cultures, wisdom has been considered one of the most revered human qualities. Although the truly wise may seem few and far between, empirical research examining wisdom suggests that it isn’t an exceptional trait possessed by a small handful of bearded philosophers after all – in fact, the latest studies suggest that most of us have the ability to make wise decisions, given the right context.

*American Speaker, Professor Steven Lawrence, from Reflective English:

‘It appears that experiential, situational, and cultural factors are even more powerful in shaping wisdom than previously imagined,’ says Associate Professor Igor Grossmann of the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. ‘Recent empirical findings from cognitive, developmental, social, and personality psychology cumulatively suggest that people’s ability to reason wisely varies dramatically across experiential and situational contexts. Understanding the role of such contextual factors offers unique insights into understanding wisdom in daily life, as well as how it can be enhanced and taught.’

It seems that it’s not so much that some people simply possess wisdom and others lack it, but that our ability to reason wisely depends on a variety of external factors. ‘It is impossible to characterize thought processes attributed to wisdom without considering the role of contextual factors,’ explains Grossmann. ‘In other words, wisdom is not solely an “inner quality” but rather unfolds as a function of situations people happen to be in. Some situations are more likely to promote wisdom than others.’

Coming up with a definition of wisdom is challenging, but Grossmann and his colleagues have identified four key characteristics as part of a framework of wise reasoning. One is intellectual humility or recognition of the limits of our own knowledge, and another is appreciation of perspectives wider than the issue at hand. Sensitivity to the possibility of change in social relations is also key, along with compromise or integration of different attitudes and beliefs.

Grossmann and his colleagues have also found that one of the most reliable ways to support wisdom in our own day-to-day decisions is to look at scenarios from a third-party perspective, as though giving advice to a friend. Research suggests that when adopting a first-person viewpoint we focus on ‘the focal features of the environment’ and when we adopt a third-person, ‘observer’ viewpoint we reason more broadly and focus more on interpersonal and moral ideals such as justice and impartiality. Looking at problems from this more expansive viewpoint appears to foster cognitive processes related to wise decisions.

What are we to do, then, when confronted with situations like a disagreement with a spouse or negotiating a contract at work, that require us to take a personal stake? Grossmann argues that even when we aren’t able to change the situation, we can still evaluate these experiences from different perspectives.

For example, in one experiment that took place during the peak of a recent economic recession, graduating college seniors were asked to reflect on their job prospects. The students were instructed to imagine their career either ‘as if you were a distant observer’ or ‘before your own eyes as if you were right there’. Participants in the group assigned to the ‘distant observer’ role displayed more wisdom-related reasoning (intellectual humility and recognition of change) than did participants in the control group.

In another study, couples in long-term romantic relationships were instructed to visualize an unresolved relationship conflict either through the eyes of an outsider or from their own perspective. Participants then discussed the incident with their partner for 10 minutes, after which they wrote down their thoughts about it. Couples in the ‘other’s eyes’ condition were significantly more likely to rely on wise reasoning – recognizing others’ perspectives and searching for a compromise – compared to the couples in the egocentric condition.

‘Ego-decentering promotes greater focus on others and enables a bigger picture, conceptual view of the experience, affording recognition of intellectual humility and change,’ says Grossmann.

We might associate wisdom with intelligence or particular personality traits, but research shows only a small positive relationship between wise thinking and crystallized intelligence and the personality traits of openness and agreeableness. ‘It is remarkable how much people can vary in their wisdom from one situation to the next, and how much stronger such contextual effects are for understanding the relationship between wise judgment and its social and affective outcomes as compared to the generalized “traits”,’ Grossmann explains. ‘That is, knowing how wisely a person behaves in a given situation is more informative for understanding their emotions or likelihood to forgive [or] retaliate as compared to knowing whether the person may be wise “in general”.’

(757 words)

Adapted from “The Factors That Foster Wise Reasoning,” by The Association for Psychological Science, April 17, 2017.

A. Notes on Reading Comprehension (Skimming / Scanning):

Trước tiên, in the first place, bạn đọc lướt nắm đại ý, general idea, tập trung nhiều hơn cho đoạn 1 xác định bối cảnh, vấn đề được đặt ra và ý kiến quy kết của người viết; ngay sau đó lướt qua toàn bài viết, passage or article, bám theo dòng tư tưởng, line of thought, qua các từ then chốt xoay quanh chủ điểm, key words on the topic.

1. Situation + problem / science-based solution:

+ Wisdom has always been considered the most respected human qualities.

+ An exceptional trait of a few outstanding personalities?

+ No, most of us can make wise decisions under the right circumstances.

Sự thông thái luôn được xem là phẩm chất đáng quý nhất.

Nó là tính cách vượt trội của một số ít người xuất chúng sao?

Không, phần lớn chúng ta có thể quyết định khôn ngoan nếu có được những điều kiện hoàn cảnh phù hợp.

2. Argument + supporting evidence / Line of thought: Key words on the topic

Đọc lướt tiếp theo hướng trên dưới, downward, tìm từ khóa xoay quanh ý chủ điểm, bạn tìm thấy những ý từ như sau:

*The right context / circumstances?

+ experiential, situational, and cultural factors

+ external factors, rather than internal qualities

Nếu hội đủ điều kiện hoàn cảnh phù hợp:

+ Các tác nhân trải nghiệm, tình huống và văn hóa

+ Các tác nhân ngoại cảnh, quan trọng hơn là những phẩm chất nội tại

*Four characteristics:

+ Intellectual humility or recognition of the limits of our own knowledge

+ Appreciation of perspectives wider than the issue at hand

+ Sensitivity to the possibility of change in social relations

+ Compromise or integration of different attitudes and beliefs

Từ hoàn cảnh cụ thể, bạn có thể quyết định khôn ngoan nếu bạn học được 4 ‘đặc tính’ sau:

+ Khiêm tốn về trí thông minh, nhận ra giới hạn bản thân về kiến thức

+ Coi trọng và đón nhận các góc nhìn rộng hơn xoay quanh vấn đề đang gặp phải

+ Nhạy bén với khả dĩ có thay đổi trong quan hệ xã hội

+ Bao dung hay tích hợp các thái độ và niềm tin khác biệt

+ We need to look at scenarios from a third-party perspective. Ego-decentering promotes greater focus on others and enables a bigger picture, conceptual view of the experience.

Nhìn mọi kịch bản sự việc từ quan điểm ‘người thứ 3’. Việc tách ra khỏi cái tôi chủ quan giúp có được bức tranh toàn diện hơn …

*Conclusion: “… how wisely a person behaves in a given situation is more informative for understanding their emotions or likelihood to forgive [or] retaliate as compared to knowing whether the person may be wise in general.”

Câu kết: “So với việc chúng ta biết rằng bản thân ai đó vốn thông thái, thì việc quan sát ai đó xử lý thế nào trong điều kiện hoàn cảnh cụ thể cung cấp nhiều thông tin hơn giúp hiểu được tình cảm và khả năng dung thứ hay trả thù của họ, tức là sự khôn ngoan thông thái vậy.”

B. Notes on Written Language / Expressions (Paraphrases, Sentence Patterns, Evidence Quotations):

Reading Passage 3: How to make wise decisions. Source: Cambridge IELTS 16 Academic (page 48)

1. Paraphrasing:

*Language awareness: Ý thức và ghi nhận những ngôn từ tương ứng này sẽ giúp bạn đọc hiểu tốt hơn và phát huy vận dụng ngôn từ linh hoạt.

+ the truly wise / the bearded philosophers

+ wisdom / making wise decisions / wise reasoning / reasoning wisely / thought processes attributed to wisdom / wisdom-related reasoning / wise judgement / more extensive viewpoint / wise thinking

+ external factors / not inner qualities or personality traits / not crystallized intelligence / not exceptional traits

+ wider perspective / integration of different attitudes and beliefs / extensive points of view / wider expansive viewpoints / having bigger picture

+ external effects / social and affective outcomes

+ ego-decentering / not egocentric condition

2. Scientific evidence and quotation:

+ Empirical research examining wisdom suggests that …

+ In fact, the latest studies suggest that …

+ Recent empirical findings from cognitive, developmental, social, and personality psychology cumulatively suggest that … / have invariably proved that …

+ Grossmann and his colleagues have also found that …

+ Research suggests that …

+ Grossmann argues that …

+ In one experiment that took place …

+ In another study, …

+ But research shows …

+ Grossmann explains …

3. Concession in persuasive arguments:

+ Although the truly wise may seem few and far between, empirical research examining wisdom suggests that it isn’t an exceptional trait possessed by a small handful of bearded philosophers after all – in fact, the latest studies suggest that most of us have the ability to make wise decisions, given the right context.

+ It seems that it’s not so much that some people simply possess wisdom and others lack it, but that our ability to reason wisely depends on a variety of external factors.

+ We might associate wisdom with intelligence or particular personality traits, but research shows only a small positive relationship between wise thinking and crystallized intelligence.

4. To show personal attitude:

+ It appears that …

+ It seems that …

+ It’s not so much that …

+ It’s not true that …

+ It’s remarkable that …

5. Some useful expressions:

+ across cultures / in most cultures

+ the most revered / respected human qualities

+ the truly wise may seem few and far between / there are only a few of such wise people

+ a small handful of bearded philosophers / a very small number of …

+ given the right context / if in the right context / given favourable conditions

+ shaping wisdom / forming and developing wise reasoning skills

+ Associate Professor / a position just below professorship

+ cumulatively suggest that / have constantly suggested that …

+ offers unique insights into … / enable one to gain greater understanding of …

+ some people simply possess wisdom and others lack it / some people are born wise, others are not

+ in other words / to put it another way

+ coming up with a definition of wisdom is challenging / thinking of and reaching the right definition of …

+ the issue at hand / the issue under discussion / the problem in point

+ from a third-party perspective / from an observer’s viewpoint

+ when confronted with situations like a disagreement with a spouse / when facing such situations

+ visualize an unresolved relationship conflict / just imagine a conflict of …

+ We might associate wisdom with intelligence, but … / We may confuse wisdom with intelligence, but …

+ people can vary in their wisdom from one situation to the next / people in different situations may have different degrees of wisdom

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