vicky1008
New member
- Joined
- Jun 24, 2011
- Member Type
- Student or Learner
- Native Language
- Japanese
- Home Country
- Japan
- Current Location
- Japan
Hi! I would like to ask you native speakers of english about the following passage.
Learning a new language calls for no great originality of mind or critical faculty, but it does demand an eager intellectual ( 1 ) and a constant and lively ( 2 ) in the endless ways in which human ideas may be expressed. It demands quick ( 3 ) first of all, reasonable ability to mimic and imitate, good powers of association and generalization, and a retentive memory.
We have to choose one word each for the blanks from the following:
[ interest, observation, curiosity]
The answer is, 1...curiosity 2...interest 3...observation.
The answer "observation" makes sense to me, no problem. However, as for "curiosity" and "interest", I have no idea why the answer should be this. You say intellectual curiosity, but also you say intellectual interest, right? "Lively curiosity" is as good as "lively interest", too, isn't it? Collocation-wise, I suppose either word could be in blank 1 or 2. Would someone please tell me why the answers should be like this?
FYI, this problem is a part of a university entrance examination in Japan.
Learning a new language calls for no great originality of mind or critical faculty, but it does demand an eager intellectual ( 1 ) and a constant and lively ( 2 ) in the endless ways in which human ideas may be expressed. It demands quick ( 3 ) first of all, reasonable ability to mimic and imitate, good powers of association and generalization, and a retentive memory.
We have to choose one word each for the blanks from the following:
[ interest, observation, curiosity]
The answer is, 1...curiosity 2...interest 3...observation.
The answer "observation" makes sense to me, no problem. However, as for "curiosity" and "interest", I have no idea why the answer should be this. You say intellectual curiosity, but also you say intellectual interest, right? "Lively curiosity" is as good as "lively interest", too, isn't it? Collocation-wise, I suppose either word could be in blank 1 or 2. Would someone please tell me why the answers should be like this?
FYI, this problem is a part of a university entrance examination in Japan.