CHAPTER XVI
INSTRUCTIONS FOR YEAR X

X, 1. Vocabulary (thirty definitions, 5400 words)

Procedure and scoring as in [VIII, 6]. At year X, thirty words should be correctly defined.

X, 2. Detecting absurdities

Procedure. Say to the child: “I am going to read a sentence which has something foolish in it, some nonsense. I want you to listen carefully and tell me what is foolish about it.” Then read the sentences, rather slowly and in a matter-of-fact voice, saying after each: “What is foolish about that?” The sentences used are the following:—

  1. “A man said: ‘I know a road from my house to the city which is downhill all the way to the city and downhill all the way back home.’”
  2. “An engineer said that the more cars he had on his train the faster he could go.”
  3. “Yesterday the police found the body of a girl cut into eighteen pieces. They believe that she killed herself.”
  4. “There was a railroad accident yesterday, but it was not very serious. Only forty-eight people were killed.”
  5. “A bicycle rider, being thrown from his bicycle in an accident, struck his head against a stone and was instantly killed. They picked him up and carried him to the hospital, and they do not think he will get well again.”

Each should ordinarily be answered within thirty seconds. If the child is silent, the sentence should be repeated; but no other questions or suggestions of any kind are permissible. Such questions as “Could the road be downhill both ways?” or, “Do you think the girl could have killed herself?” would, of course, put the answer in the child’s mouth. It is even best to avoid laughing as the sentence is read.

Owing to the child’s limited power of expression it is not always easy to judge from the answer given whether the absurdity has really been detected or not. In such cases ask him to explain himself, using some such formula as: “I am not sure I know what you mean. Explain what you mean. Tell me what is foolish in the sentence I read.” This usually brings a reply the correctness or incorrectness of which is more apparent, while at the same time the formula is so general that it affords no hint as to the correct answer. Additional questions must be used with extreme caution.

Scoring. Passed if the absurdity is detected in four out of the five statements. The following are samples of satisfactory and unsatisfactory answers:—