“Creativity is the key to a brighter future,” says education and business experts. Here is how schools and parents can encourage this important skill in children.
If Dick Drew had listened to his boss in 1925, we might not have a product that we now think of as of great importance: a new type of tape. Drew worked for the Minnesota Mining Company. At work he developed a kind of material strong enough to hold things together. But his boss told him not to think more about the idea. Finally, using his own time, Drew improved the tape, which now is used everywhere by many people. And his former company learned from its mistake. Now it encourages people to spend 15 percent of their work time just thinking about and developing new ideas.
Creativity is not something one is just born with, nor is it necessarily a character of high intelligence. The fact that a person is highly intelligent does not mean that he uses it creatively. Creativity is the matter of using the resources one has to produce new ideas that are good for something.
Unfortunately, schools have not tried to encourage creativity. With strong attention to test results and the development of reading, writing and mathematical skills, many educators give up creativity for correct answers. The result is that children can give back information but can’t recognize ways to use it in new situations. They may know the rules correctly but they are unable to use them to work out practical problems.
It is important to give children choices. From the earliest age, children should be allowed to make decisions and understand their results. Even if it’s choosing between two food items for lunch, decision-making helps thinking skills. As children grow older, parents should let their children decide how to use their time or spend their money. This is because the most important character of creative people is a very strong desire to find a way out of trouble. What did the company where Drew once worked learn from its mistake?
| A．They should encourage people to work a longer time. |
| B．People should be discouraged to think freely. |
| C．People will do better if they spend most of their work time developing new ideas. |
| D．It is necessary for people to spend some of their work time considering and improving new ideas. |
According to the passage, creativity is ________.
| A．something that most people are born with |
| B．something that depends mainly on intelligence |
| C．a way of using what one has learned to work out new problems |
| D．something that is not important to the character of a person at all |
Why do schools tend to fail to encourage creativity?
| A．They give children too many choices. |
| B．They are not strict enough with children. |
| C．They care too much about examination marks. |
| D．They don’t understand the importance of education. |
Which of the following skills is the most important in developing creativity?
| A．Reading. | B．Writing. | C．Mathematical skill. | D．Decision-making. |
Scientists say they now have proof to support the old-fashioned advice that it’s best to sleep on a problem．They say sleep strengthens the memory and helps the brain organize the masses of information we receive each day．
The lead researcher Bob Stickgold at the Harvard Medical School said, “Sleep helps us draw rules from our experiences．It’s like knowing the difference between dogs and cats even if it’s hard to explain．”
The US research team studied how well students remembered connections between words and symbols, reports New Scientist．They compared how the students performed if they had had a sleep between seeing the words and having the test, and if they had not slept．They found that people were better able to remember lists of related words after a night’s sleep than after the same time spent awake during the day．They also found it easier to remember themes that the words had in common．But they forgot around one in four more themes if they had been awake．
Prof．John Groeger, of Survey University’s Sleep Research Centre, said, “People have been trying for years to find out what the purpose of sleep is, as we know that only certain parts of it have a restorative （促使康复的）value．”
“We form and store huge numbers of experiences in the head every day, and sleep seems to be the way the brain deals with them all．”The phrase “to sleep on a problem” in Paragraph 1 most likely means “________”．
| A．to pay full attention to a problem |
| B．to wait until the next day for a decision |
| C．to sleep to forget a problem |
| D．to have difficulty in sleeping |
In the study by the US research team, students were asked to ________．
| A．put together words of similar meanings |
| B．remember words and their meanings |
| C．show their knowledge of words |
| D．make up lists of related words |
Which of the following may be easier to remember?
| A．Themes learned right before the test． |
| B．Rules from personal experiences． |
| C．Words learned before a good sleep． |
| D．Ideas stored together in the brain． |
What may be the importance of the research?
| A．It shows that sleep may help us manage information． |
| B．It helps find out the common themes of words． |
| C．It tells us that more sleep can improve health． |
| D．It proves the value of old-fashioned advice． |
Visitors to Britain may find the best place to sample local culture is in a traditional pub．But these friendly pubs can be dangerous places of potential gaffes（失礼）for the newcomers．
A team of researchers have discovered some of the unknown customs of British pubs - starting with the difficulty of getting a drink．Most pubs have no waiters - you have to go to the bar to buy drinks．A group of Italian youths waiting 45 minutes before they realized they would have to fetch their own．This may sound inconvenient, but there is a hidden purpose．
Pub culture is designed to promote sociability（社交）in a society known for its reserve．Standing at the bar for service allows you to chat with others waiting to be served．The bar counter is possibly the only site in the British Isles in which friendly conversation with strangers is considered entirely suitable and really quite normal behavior．“If you haven’t been to a pub, you haven’t been to Britain．” This tip can be found in a booklet, Passport to the Pub: The Tourists’ Guide to Pub Etiquette, a customers’ rule of conduct for those wanting to sample “a central part of British life and culture”．
The trouble is that if you do not follow the local rules, the experience may fall flat．For example, if you are in a big group, it is best if only one or two people go to buy the drinks．Nothing annoys the regular customers and bar staff more than a group of strangers blocking all access to the bar while they chat and hesitate about what to order．The underlined word “sample” in the first paragraph probably means “________”．
| A．taste | B．experience |
| C．test | D．record |
The culture of pub in Britain is so developed to ________．
| A．encourage people to communicate with each other |
| B．encourage more people to consume drinks |
| C．attract more tourists to the pubs |
| D．form its own character of culture |
If you don’t follow the local rules in a pub, ________．
| A．you won’t buy good local drinks |
| B．you may annoy the regular customers and bar staff |
| C．you may fail to feel the local culture |
| D．you might get into a dangerous place |
What may be the best title for the passage?
| A．Self-service Pubs in Britain |
| B．British Local Pubs: Special Chat Places |
| C．Local Pub Culture in Britain |
| D．Manners in British Local Pubs |
Car sharing is another way to drive green that’s gaining in popularity, especially in urban areas．People who may not drive every day but still want a car to run errands （差事）or drive on weekends benefit most from car sharing．Car sharing is usually run by a service like Zipcar, though there are non-profit （非营利的）and informal car sharing services．Members pay a monthly fee and have access to an entire fleet of cars when they need one．The cars are parked in fixed spots around the city, so members only need to make a reservation, and then go to the pickup spot．
Car sharing has major environmental benefits because it reduces the number of cars on the road．Members don’t drive just because they are in a car．They plan trips, and if they don’t need a car, they don’t use one．Still, a car is available to them if they need to make a big trip to the grocery store, pick someone up at the airport or if they want to go to the beach for the day．Members also benefit by having access to a car without any of the headaches of ownership．They usually don’t have to pay for the gas, insurance or maintenance （保养）, and the monthly membership fee is less than a typical car payment．So if you really want to go green but aren’t ready to totally give up a car yet, car sharing may be the way to go．
If you still need to get around, but want to go even greener than sharing a car, share a bus!The author intends to tell us that car sharing ________．
| A．has become the most popular way to go to work |
| B．has become the best way to cut living costs |
| C．is becoming more and more popular in cities |
| D．is becoming popular both in urban and rural （乡村的）areas |
We can conclude from the passage that _________．
| A．Zipear can’t help you if you are running urgent errands |
| B．Zipcar, different from other services, aims green driving with no profit |
| C．Zipcar is a company supplying car sharing service for a monthly payment |
| D．Zipcar is a company providing formal car sharing free |
The second paragraph mainly tells us _________．
| A．why people will share a car |
| B．why car sharing benefits the environment |
| C．why car sharing is cheaper than owning a car |
| D．why a car is available to members |
Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?
| A．Car sharing has become a new trend （趋势）． |
| B．Car sharing can save you the headaches of ownership． |
| C．Bus sharing is even greener than car sharing． |
| D．Zipcar is the largest company offering car sharing services． |
A man was on the side of the road hitchhiking（搭便车）on a very dark night in the middle of a terrible rainstorm, with no cars on the road．The storm was so strong that the man could hardly see a few feet ahead of him．Suddenly, he saw a car come towards him and stop．The man, without thinking about it, got in the car and closed the door and only then did he realize that there was nobody behind the steering wheel（方向盘）!
The car started to move very slowly．The man looked at the road and saw a curve （拐弯处）coming his way．Terrified, he started to pray, begging for his life．He had not come out of shock when, just before the car hit the curve, a hand suddenly appeared through the window and moved the wheel．The man, paralyzed with fear, watched how the hand appeared every time the car was drawing near a curve．Finally, although terrified, the man managed to open the door and jump out of the spooky car．Without looking back, the man ran through the storm all the way to the nearest town．In a state of complete horror, the man walked into a nearby bar and asked for two glasses of Scotch whisky．
Then, still shaking with fright, he started telling everybody in the bar about the horrible experience he just went through in the spooky car．Everyone in the bar listened in silence and became frightened, with hair standing on end, when they realized the man was telling the truth because he was crying and he was certainly not drunk!
About half an hour later, two other young men walked into the same bar and one said to the other, “Hey, there’s a stupid man who jumped into the car while we were pushing it!”When the car was first drawing near a curve, the man ________．
| A．felt very curious | B．was extremely frightened |
| C．cried for help | D．remained as calm as possible |
According to the passage, what made the man’s experience believable?
| A．His reasonable behavior． | B．His vivid description． |
| C．His plain appearance． | D．His honest attitude． |
We can infer from the passage that ________．
| A．it is unsafe for people to take a free ride |
| B．the man was telling a lie to his listeners |
| C．the car probably broke down on the way |
| D．the two young men were familiar with the man |
Read the passage carefully．Then answer the questions or complete the statements in the fewest possible words.
Most people look forward to retirement as a time when they can finally take up activities that they never had the time or energy to pursue before．But some recent studies on people in their golden years are disturbing: they suggest that retirees are more likely to suffer from depression and possibly higher rates of other diseases such as heart disease and high blood pressure．That’s why a new study of French workers is welcome news.
Led by Hugo Westland, a professor of psychology at Stockholm University, the study of more than 14,000 workers found lower rates of depression and fatigue (疲劳) in people after they got tired while they were still employed.
The scientists followed the employees of the French national gas and electric company for 14 years．They found in the year immediately after retirement, the volunteers reported 40% fewer depressive symptoms than they had in the year before their retirement．The researchers also found an 81% drop in reports of both mental and physical fatigue over the same time period.
Clearly, said Westerlund, much of these decrease in physical and mental fatigue can be traced back to relief from the stresses of work．The decline in depressive symptoms suggests that retirement may be having a positive mental effect, too, which may have a lot to do with the generous pensions (养老金) that French workers enjoy．Most retirees in that country still benefit from about 80% of their yearly salaries.
“The economic or financial situation in retirement is very important,” Westerlund says．“We don’t know if the decrease in fatigue and depressive symptoms is because of the removal of something bad while in work or the addition of something good while in retirement．But no matter the reason, if life in retirement is not comfortable, then we won’t see the improvements we did.”
However, in European nations like France, governments are considering changes to pension plans, which may affect retirees’ health after they leave their jobs－with less of a financial safety net, workers may no longer seem so mentally and physically happy to be out of work．
(Note: Answer the questions or complete the statements in NO MORE THAN EIGHT WORDS.)According to some recent studies, retired people may have depression and higher rates of other diseases like __________.
Westerlund’s group found that in the year just after the retirement most retired French workers felt much less tired both __________.
What does the word “improvements” in paragraph 5 refer to?
Retirement may make people happier with __________.
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