单选题 Discoveries in science and technology are thought by "untaught minds" to come in blinding flashes or as the result of dramatic accidents. Sir Alexander Fleming did not, as legend would have it, look at the mold (霉) on a piece of cheese and get the idea for penicillin there and then. He experimented with antibacterial substances for nine years before he made his discovery. Inventions and innovations almost always come out of laborious trial and error. Innovation is like soccer; even the best players miss the goal and have their shots blocked much more frequently than they score.
The point is that the players who score most are the ones who take most shots at the goal and so it goes with innovation in any field of activity. The prime difference between innovators and others is one of approach. Everybody gets ideas, but innovators work consciously on theirs, and they follow them through until they prove practicable or otherwise. What ordinary people see as fanciful abstractions, professional innovators see as solid possibilities.
"Creative thinking may mean simply the realization that there's no particular virtue in doing things the way they have always been done, " wrote Rudolph Flesch, a language authority. This accounts for our reaction to seemingly simple innovations like plastic garbage bags and suitcases on wheels that make life more convenient. "How come nobody thought of that before?"
The creative approach begins with the proposition that nothing is as it appears. Innovators will not accept that there is only one way to do anything. Faced with getting from A to B, the average person will automatically set out on the best-known and apparently simplest route. The innovator will search for alternative courses, which may prove easier in the long run and are bound to be more interesting and challenging even if they lead to dead ends.
Highly creative individuals really do march to a different drummer.

单选题 What does the author probably mean by "untaught mind" in the first paragraph?
A. A person ignorant of the hard work involved in experimentation.
B. A citizen of a society that restricts personal creativity.
C. A person who has had no education.
D. An individual who often comes up with new ideas by accident.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】本题为词义猜测题。题目已告诉所猜测词汇出现在第一段，所以直接在第一段寻找答案即可。一般词义猜测题主要看该词语的前后句就能猜出释义。文章untaught minds前后说“科技发现被认为是……”“来自盲目的一闪而过或者是梦幻般的偶然”，后面举Alexander发现青霉素的例子说，他不是“untaught minds”，而是经过九年实验得出的，说明untaught minds和努力是意思相对的，所以选择D项。

单选题 According to the author, what distinguishes innovators from non-innovators?
A. The variety of ideas they have.
B. The intelligence they possess.
C. The way they deal with problems.
D. The way they present their findings.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】本题为细节题。答案定位到第二段第二行，The prime difference between innovators and others is one of approach...之后描述两者的不同表现：Everybody gets ideas，but innovators work consciously on theirs, and they follow them through until they prove practicable or otherwise. What ordinary people see as fanciful abstractions, professional innovators see as solid possibilities.所以本题选择C项。

单选题 The author quotes Rudolph Flesch in Paragraph 3 because ______.
A. Rudolph Flesch is the best-known expert in the study of human creativity
B. the quotation strengthens the assertion that creative individuals look for new ways of doing things
C. the reader is familiar with Rudolph Flesch's point of view
D. the quotation adds a new idea to the information previously presented

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】本题为意图猜测题。由题干中的Rudolph Flesch直接定位到第三段人名处，题目问的是引用这个人的话的原因，A、C项这种描述可以直接排除掉，我们从B和D项中选取。引用的作用一般是增加上面论点的论据或者引出下面的论断。从B和D项的strengthens the assertion that及previously presented可知与之前的论述关系密切，所以往前面看。上一段说的是innovators和ordinary people对待问题的不同态度，innovators常常prove practicable or otherwise，且B项说creative individuals look for new ways of doing things，所以答案选择B项。

单选题 The creative innovators think that ______.
A. innovation is like soccer
B. most ideas are practicable
C. there are more than one ways to do one thing
D. they can find the simplest way to do things

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】本题为细节题。题目问的是哪个是creative innovators的想法，A项出现在第一段最后一句话，是作者的观点，所以错误。B项为错误选项，第二段说they follow them through until they prove practicable or otherwise而非大部分的idea都是实际的。C项为倒数第二段第二句话Innovators will not accept that there is only one way to do anything.的转述，所以C项正确。D项错在原文倒数第二段说average person常常从看起来最简单的路线着手，而不是creative innovators。

单选题 The phrase "march to a different drummer" (the last line of the passage) suggests that highly creative individuals are ______.
A. diligent in pursuing their goals
B. reluctant to follow common ways of doing things
C. devoted to the progress of society
D. concerned about the advance of society

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】本题为推理题。词语含义猜测一般直接找该词语最近的前后文即可，问题的所在句是最后一句，所以看它前面的一段。上段说creative innovators和average person出发点不同，具体说两者分别从长远的角度和最简单的路线出发，最后得出这句结论，所以可以确定本题选择B项。