单选题 Where do good ideas come from? For centuries, all credit for these mysterious gifts went to faith, fortune and some fair muses. But to assume creativity is some lofty trait enjoyed by the few is both foolish and unproductive, argues Jonah Lehrer in "Imagine", a smart new book about "how creativity works". Drawing from a wide array of scientific and sociological research—and everything from the poetry of W. H. Auden to the films of Pixar—he makes a convincing case that innovation cannot only be studied and measured, but also numbed and encouraged.
Just outside St Paul, Minnesota, sits the corporate headquarters of 3M. The company sells more than 55,000 products, from streetlights to computer touch-screens, and is ranked as the third-most innovative in the world. But when Mr. Lehrer visits, he finds employees engaged in all sorts of frivolous activities, such as playing pinball and wandering about the campus. These workers are actually pushed to take regular breaks, as time away from a problem can help spark a moment of insight. This is because interrupting work with a relaxing activity lets the mind turn inward, where it can subconsciously puzzle over subtle meanings and connections. "That"s why so many insights happen during warm showers," says Joydeep Bhattacharya, a psychologist at Goldsmiths, University of London.
But this is just one reason for 3M"s creative output. The company also encourages its employees to take risks, not only by spending masses on research (nearly 8% of gross revenue), but also by expecting workers to spend around 15% of their time pursuing speculative ideas. Most of these efforts will fail, but some will generate real profit for the company. The reason why this approach works—and why it has been imitated by other crafty companies such as Google—is because many breakthroughs come when people venture beyond their area of expertise.
This is why young people tend to be the most innovative thinkers in nearly any field, from physics to music. The ignorance of youth "comes with creative advantages," writes Mr. Lehrer, as the young are less jaded by custom and experience. Still, he reassures readers that anyone can stay creative as long as he works "to maintain the perspective of the outsider". This can be done by considering new problems at work, travelling to new countries or simply spending more time staring "at things we don"t fully understand."
This is an inspiring and engaging book that reveals creativity as less a sign of rare genius than a natural human potential. Mr. Lehrer points to William Shakespeare, for example, as someone who was largely a man of his time; the culture of Elizabethan London nurtured quite a few poets—much like ancient Athens gave rise to a glut of thinkers and Renaissance Florence inspired many fine artists. Shakespeare knew his way with a pen, but he also lived in a culture that put a premium on ideas, spread education, introduced new patents for inventions and did not always rigorously enforce censorship laws.
Mr. Lehrer concludes with a call for better policy to "increase our collective creativity". He suggests allowing more immigration, inviting more risk and enabling more cultural borrowing and adaptation. He also warns that the work demands a lot of time, sweat and gut. Or as Albert Einstein put it: "creativity is the residue of time wasted."

单选题 It can be inferred from Paragraph 2 that ______ is necessary for sparking a moment of insight.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】细节事实题
[解析] 文章第二段以3M公司为例，介绍了约拿·莱勒关于创造力的第一个观点。当莱勒访问3M公司时，发现公司的员工都在做一些看似与公司不相关的工作，例如打弹球或者四处闲晃。原来3M公司规定员工在工作几个小时后就必须起身休息一下，以激发他们的想象力。这是因为在专心工作一段时间后放松一下能够让大脑进入内省状态，而此时大脑往往能够在无意识中思考一些难以理解的含义或者难以察觉的关联(This is because interrupting work with a relaxing activity lets the mind turn inward, where it can subconsciously puzzle over subtle meanings and connections)。由这几句话，我们可以判断灵感往往不是在大脑专心致志地工作的时候产生的，B错误。A．constant distraction是对regular breaks的曲解。D具有一定的迷惑性，文中指出当人们暂时放下手头的工作，参与一些relaxing activity的时候，容易产生灵感。心情放松只是为了让大脑暂时进入无意识思考状态，因此潜意识思考过程是激发灵感的必备条件，C正确，而D错误。

单选题 According to Paragraphs 2 and 3, which of the following statements about the company 3M is true?

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】判断题
[解析] 本题考文中与3M公司相关的一系列细节。文中第二段提到3M公司通过强制员工休息的方法来激发他们的创造力。第三段提到3M公司还通过鼓励员工冒险的方式来激发创造力。A正确，3M公司鼓励员工冒险的方法成效显著，连谷歌在内的许多公司都争相效仿“...it has been imitated by other crafty companies such as Google”。B错误，3M公司鼓励员工冒险，其中很多的冒险方案都失败了，但是那些成功的方案给公司带来了巨大的利益“Most of these efforts will fail, but some will generate real profit for the company”。C错误，3M公司确实注重个性和创造力，但是不注重合作精神的说法文中并没有体现出来。D偷换概念，3M公司鼓励员工每天花15%的时间来做大胆的设想(spend around 15% of their time pursuing speculative ideas)，而不是花15%的时间来思考提升生产力的方法。

单选题 It can be inferred from Paragraph 4 that the old tend to be less creative because ______.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】推理题
[解析] 文章第三段提到3M公司鼓励员工大胆设想、大胆冒险的做法取得了积极的效果，第三段最后一句话“...many breakthroughs come when people venture beyond their area of expertise”，许多突破都是当人们冒险越过自己熟知的领域时发生的。第四段接着这句话的内容继续深入。作者在第四段提到年轻人之所以比年长者更有创造力是因为年轻人“无知”而无畏。莱勒还告诉人们只要能够时时保持用一个局外人的眼光看待问题，就能拥有永不枯竭的创新能量。所谓“保持局外人的眼光”意思也就是说要善于打破常规，打破定势思维，换个角度看问题。由此我们可以判断，年长者之所以不像年轻人那么有创造力是因为他们太有经验，而往往不愿意跳出自己熟知的经验领域以全新的视角和眼光看待问题。D为正确答案。比较具有迷惑性的是C，利用文中的关键词perspective of the outsider设置干扰。

单选题 We can conclude from Paragraph 5 that ______.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】中心主旨题
[解析] 本题考查对文章第五段中心大意的把握。第五段中莱勒提到了莎士比亚的例子，在莱勒看来，莎士比亚和他同时代的很多诗人、画家一样，固然杰出，但他们都深受伊丽莎白时代文化的影响，“Shakespeare knew his way with a pen, but he also lived in a culture that put a premium on ideas, spread education, introduced new patents for inventions and did not always rigorously enforce censorship laws”。正是伊丽莎白时代重视教育、重视思想、鼓励发明的文化氛围造就了一大批杰出的人。因此作者在这一段想要表达的主要意思是，创造力并不只是个人的天赋，更重要的是它是能够在特定的环境中鼓励和培养的潜能。C为正确答案。其他几个答案都只是第五段内容的一部分，不足以概括整个一段的中心大意。