单选题 Most people believe they don't have much imagination. They are wrong. Everyone has imagination, but most of us, once we become adults, forget how to access it. Creativity isn't always connected with great works of art or ideas. People at work and in their free time routinely think of creative ways to solve problems. Maybe you have a goal to achieve, a tricky question to answer or you just want to expand your mind! Here are three techniques to help you.
This technique involves taking unrelated ideas and trying to find links between them. First, think about the problem you have to solve or the job you need to do. Then find an image, word, idea or object, for example, a candle. Write down all the ideas/words associated with candles: light, fire, matches, wax, night, silence, etc. Think of as many as you can. The next stage is to relate the ideas to the job you have to do. So imagine you want to buy a friend an original present, you could buy him tickets to a match or take him out for the night.
Imagine that normal limitations don't exist. You have as much time/space/money, etc, as you want. Think about your goal and the new possibilities. If, for example, your goal is to learn to ski, you can now practice skiing every day of your life because you have the time and the money. Now adapt this to reality. Maybe you can practice skiing every day in December, or every Monday in January.
Look at the situation from a different point of view. Good negotiators (谈判者) use this technique in business, and so do writers. Fiction writers often imagine they are the characters in their books. They ask questions, what does this character want? Why can't she get it? What changes must she make to get what she wants? What does she dream about? If your goal involves other people, put yourself "in their shoes". The best fishermen think like fish!

单选题 According to the passage, when we become adults ______.

A. we can still learn to be more creative
B. most of us are no longer creative
C. we are not as imaginative as children
D. we are unwilling to be creative

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[解析] 文章第一段提到：多数人认为自己没有想象力。他们是错误的。每个人都有想象力，但是一旦成年，我们多数人忘记如何使用想象力。因此，答案为A选项。

单选题 According to the first technique, if you need to solve a problem ______.

A. you could find an image and try to link it with the problem
B. you should link it with candles
C. you have to think of buying a present for a friend
D. you should link it with as many words as possible

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[解析] 文章第二段指出：这个技术包括提取不相关的想法，并试图发现它们之间相互关联。首先，思考你必须解决的问题或你需要做的工作。然后找到一个图像、文字、思想或物体。因此，答案为A选项。

单选题 The second technique suggests that you just imagine ______.

A. setting a goal is as simple as skiing
B. you have every resource to achieve your goal
C. new possibilities will soon appear
D. December and January are the best months for skiing

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[解析] 文章第三段要求人们去想象自己的目标和新的可能性的出现。因此，答案为C选项。

单选题 The phrase "put yourself in their shoes" in Paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to ______.

A. dress yourself like them
B. do as they ask you to
C. think as they would
D. put on their shoes

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[解析] 文章最后一段主要讨论第三种技能。最后提到：“渔夫像鱼一样去思考，这才是最好的方法。”因此，可以推断C选项为正确答案。

单选题 We learn from the third technique that a good salesman should ask himself ______.

A. what do I usually do
B. what did my boss tell me to do
C. what are my customers' needs
D. how should I sell my products

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[解析] 文章最后一段提到：从一个不同的观点看问题。良好的谈判人员在谈判中使用这种技术，并且作家也如此。那么好的销售人员应该考虑的是顾客需要什么。因此，答案为C选项。