How clever are you? How do we measure intelligence? Where did your intelligence come from? Scientists now believe that our genes strongly influence how our brain develops. We inherit our genes from our parents. 

    In other words, we inherit our intelligence from our parents. This does not mean that we cannot do anything to develop ourselves. Each of us must decide how to use our brains and how to develop our skills. 

    Scientists have studied sets of identical twins. They have found that certain areas of the brain are strongly influenced by our parents, and that these areas influence intelligence. Identical twins have almost identical brains. When they did tests,scientists found that identical twins had very similar scores in tests with numbers, words, shapes and memory. This was not true with non-identical twins, or brothers and sisters; they had great differences in their test scores. 

    However, our success as adults is not simply a matter of how clever we are. Our ability to work with other people is also important. In addition, our determination, confidence and our courage also play important parts. We may inherit our intelligence from our parents but we must decide how to live our own lives. We cannot blame our parents! 

    There is one area where our parents can help us. When we are children, they can provide us with a stimulating environment in which to live. This will help to develop our brains and develop our confidence. If parents encourage their children to listen to music, to play a musical instrument, to play with puzzles, to draw pictures and to read books, then their children are likely to become more intelligent. Remember that when you become a parent! 

    你有多聪明?我们如何测量智力?你的智力从何而来?当今的科学家认为基因对我们大脑的发展有很大的影响。父母遗传给了我们基因，换句话说，父母，遗传给了我们智力。这并不意味着我们对发展自我就无能为力。每个人都必须决定如何使用大脑，如何培养自己的技能。 

    科学家们研究了好几对同卵双胞胎。他们发现我们大脑的某些部位受父母的影响极大，而这些部位影响着智力。同卵双胞胎具有几乎完全相同的大脑。 

    当他们做测试时，科学家们发现同卵双胞胎在数字、词语、形状和记忆等方面所得到的分数十分相似。这并不适用于非同卵双胞胎或兄弟姐妹；他们在测试时，测试成绩差别很大。

    然而，我们成年后的成功不仅仅在于有多聪明。我们与他人共事的能力也很重要。另外，决心、自信和勇气也起着重要的作用。我们可能遗传了父母的智力但要自己决定如何生活。我们绝不能去责怪父母! 

    父母可以在一个方面帮助我们。他们能在我们孩提时代营造一个激发智力的生活环境。这有助于大脑的发育、信心的增强。如果父母鼓励孩子欣赏音乐、弹奏乐器、玩猜谜游戏、学习绘画或阅读书籍，那么孩子们可能会更加聪慧。当你成为家长时，千万记住这一点!