There are certain conceptual and logical problems with the idea that talent contributes to exceptional human abilities. In everyday discourse reasoning about talent is often circular, for example: "She plays so well because she has a talent. How do I know she has a talent? That's obvious, she plays so well!"
Even among researchers who use the concept of talent for explanatory purposes, the supporting evidence is based on its alleged effects. Like many scientific constructs, talent is not observed directly but inferred.
There is nothing wrong with this, but one must be sure that the findings cannot be accounted for more plausibly without introducing the talent concept
Article
1. Write a or an before the indefinite singular nouns.
Don't write anything in the blank before the indefinite plural or uncountable nouns.
A.: You have ______ nice things here. This is ______ unusual calendar. And these are______beautiful shoes.
Ò.: Jean has ______ new records, _______ new blouse,______postcards, and ... Jean, why are you keeping______four old movie tickets?
L: Oh, they're just______souvenirs. We went to remember ______special evening.
A.: Hmmmm ... you have______menu from_____nice restaurant, too. Look at this! They serve______great food, I bet.
Ò.: Is the menu from ______ date with ______ two special guys?
L.: Um ... I ... you see, sometimes we get lost in______city, and then we ask______people for______direction, and then ...
A.: Tell us about them. Are they handsome? What do they do for a living? Do they have ______money? Are you going to see them again? Well?
Insert a or an if necessary.
1. My neighbour is ... photographer; let's ask him for ... advice about colour films. 2. We had ... fish and ... chips for ... lunch. That doesn't sound ... very interesting lunch. 3. I had ... very bad night; I didn't sleep ... wink. 4. He is ... vegetarian; you won't get ... meat at his house. He'll give you ... nut cutlet. Last time I had ... nut cutlet I had ... indisgestion. 5. ... travel agent would give you ... information about ... hotels. 6. We'd better go by ... taxi if we can get ... taxi at such ... hour as 2 a.m. 7. ... person who suffers from ... claustrofobia has ... dread of being confined in ... small space, and would always prefer ... stairs to ... lift. 8. Do you take ... sugar in ... coffee? I used to, but now I'm on ... diet. I'm trying to lose ... weight. 9. ... man suffering from ... shock should not be given anything to drink. 10. You'll get ... shock if you touch ... live wire with that screwdriver. Why don't you get ... screwdriver with ... insulated handle? 11. It costs fifty-five and ... half pence and I've got ... fifty pence piece. You can pay by ... cheque here. But can I write ... cheque for fifty-five and ... half pence? 12. ... Mr Smith is ... old customer and ... honest man. Why do you say that? Has he been accused of ... dishonesty? 13. I'm not ... wage-earner; I'm ... self-employed man. I have ... business of my own. Then you're not ... worker; you're ... capitalist! 14. When he was charged with ... murder he said he had ... alibi. 15. ... friend of mine is expecting ... baby. If it's ... girl she's going to be called Etheldreda. What ... name to give ... girl! 16. I have ... hour and ... half for lunch. I only have ... half ... hour-barely ... time for ... smoke and ... cup of coffee. 17. I hope you have ... lovely time and ... good weather; but I'm not going for ... holiday; I'm going on ... business. 18. He looked at me with ... horror when I explained that I was ... double agent. 19. I wouldn't climb ... mountain for £1,000! I have ... horror of ... heights. 20. I have ... headache and ... sore throat. I think I've got ... cold. I think you're getting ... flu. 21. ... Mr Jones called while you were out (neither of us knows this man). He wants to make ... complaint about ... article in the paper. He was in ... very bad temper. 22. If you go by ... train you can have quite ... comfortable journey, but make sure you get ... express, not ... train that stops at all the stations. 23. ... few people know (hardly any one knows) that there is ... secret passage from this house to ... old smugglers' cave in the cliffs. 24. I'm having ... few friends in to ... coffee tomorrow evening. Would you like to come? I'd love to, but I'm afraid I'm going to ... concert. 25. It's time you had ... holiday. You haven't had ... day off for ... month. 26. He broke ... leg in ... skiing accident. It's still in ... plaster. 27. I want ... assistant with ... knowledge of French and ... experience of ... office routine. 28. I see that your house is built of ... wood. Are you insured against ... fire? 29. The escaping prisoner camped in ... wood but he didn't light ... fire because ... smoke rising frok the wood might attract ... attention. 30. I had ... amazing experience last night. I saw ... dinosaur eating ... meat pie in ... London park. You mean you had ... nightmare. Anyway, dinosaurs didn't eat ... meat. 31. I'll pay you ... hundred ... week. It's not ... enormous salary but after all you are ... completely unskilled man. 32. If you kept ... graph you could see at ... glance whether you were making ... profit or ... loss. 33. ... little (hardly anything) is known about the effect of this drug; yet ... chemist will sell it to you without ... prescription. 34. I have ... little money left; let's have dinner in ... restaurant. 35. Would it be ... trouble to you to buy me ,... newspaper on our way home? 36. ... man is ... reasoning animal.