Discovering Wes Moore Pre-Reading

Question 1

Prodigy

Answer 1

a person, especially a young one, endowed with exceptional qualities or abilities.

Question 2

Personality

Answer 2

an individual’s characteristic style of behaving, thinking, and feeling

Question 3

environmental influence

Answer 3

every nongenetic influence, from prenatal nutrition to the people and things around us (family, school, culture, friend groups, and more)

Question 4

charisma

Answer 4

A magical-seeming social ability to attract followers or inspire loyalty

Question 5

Shared Influence

Answer 5

environmental variables that are common to all the children in a family or household.

Question 6

fate

Answer 6

the development of events beyond a person’s control, regarded as determined by a supernatural power. Named after figures from Greek and Roman Mythology.

Question 7

destiny

Answer 7

the events that will necessarily happen to a particular person or thing in the future; inevitable or unpreventable

Question 8

heritable traits

Answer 8

A trait that can be passed on genetically from parent to offspring. This is the passing of traits down from parents to offspring.

Question 9

Genes

Answer 9

DNA segments that serve as the key functional units in hereditary transmission. Also: Chemical factors that determine traits

Question 10

nurture

Answer 10

(v.) to bring up, care for, train, nourish; (n.) rearing, training, upbringing. Also: the way the world around us acts upon us and changes us as we live and grow.

Question 11

social norms

Answer 11

A group’s expectations regarding what is appropriate and acceptable for its members’ attitudes and behaviors.