Read this paragraph and answer the questions that follow.

It is apparently very necessary to distinguish between parenthood and parentage. Parenthood is an art; parentage is the consequence of a mere biological act. The biological ability to produce conception and to give birth to a child has nothing whatever to do with the ability to care for that child as it requires to be cared for. That ability, like every other, must be learned. It is highly desirable that parentage be not undertaken until the art of parenthood has been learned. Is this a counsel of perfection? As things stand now, perhaps it is, but it need not always be so. Parentage is often irresponsible. Parenthood is responsible. Parentage at best is responsible for the birth of a child. Parenthood is responsible for the development of a human being--not simply a child, but a human being. I do not think it is an overstatement to say that parenthood is the most important occupation in the world. There is no occupation for which the individual should be better prepared than this, for what can be more important to the individual, his family, his community, his society, his nation, and the world of humanity than the making of a good human being? And the making of a good human being is largely the work of good parents. And it is work--hard work--not to be irresponsibly undertaken or perfunctorily performed. Yet parenthood, perhaps like politics, is the only profession for which preparation is considered unnecessary.

--Ashley Montagu, The American Way of Life

1			Write a complete sentence in your own words that expresses the main idea.
2			What distinction does the writer make when he writes, "Parenthood is responsible for the development of a human being--not simply a child."
3			List two points the writer makes about parentage.
4			List two points the writer makes about parenthood.