Section C
Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.

Passage One
Questions 46 to 50 are based on the following passage.

It’s good to be smart. After all, intelligent people earn more money, accumulate more wealth, and even live longer. But there’s another side to the story. The brightest people and strongest leaders sometimes make errors others don’t, especially in situations that require common sense.

Travis Bradberry, president at TalentSmart, explained Bradberry in his post Why Smart People Act so Stupid that “rational thinking and intelligence don’t tend to go hand in hand”. Intelligent people are more prone to silly mistakes because of blind spots in how they use logic. These blind spots exist because smart people tend to be overconfident in their reasoning abilities. “They’re so used to being right and having quick answers that they don’t even realise when they’re making a mess by answering without thinking things through.”

A lifetime of praise leads smart people to develop too much faith in their intelligence and abilities. They often fail to recognise when they need help, and when they do recognise it, they tend to believe that no one else is capable of providing it.

“It’s hard for anyone to graciously accept the fact that they’re wrong. It’s even harder for smart people because they grow so used to being right all the time that it becomes a part of their identity,” Bradberry wrote. “For smart people, being wrong can feel like a personal attack, and being right, a necessity.”

Smart people also have a hard time accepting feedback. They tend to undervalue the opinions of others, which means they have trouble believing that anyone is qualified to give them useful feedback. Not only does this tendency hinder their growth and performance, it can lead to harmful relationships, both personally and professionally.

Smart people develop overachieving personalities because things come so easily to them. They simply don’t understand how hard some people have to work to accomplish the same things, and because of that, they push people too hard. They set the bar too high, and when people take too long or don’t get things quite right, they assume it’s due to lack of effort. So they push even harder.