Most people aren’t good at creative problem solving for two reasons: (1) They are not trained in how to be creative. (2) They don’t understand group strength well enough to harness（驾驭）their power to maximize group creativity.
A key element of creativity is applying existing knowledge to a new problem. The more people getting involved in solving it, the more knowledge there is to work on it. Unfortunately, research shows that the traditional brainstorming methods fail to achieve that goal. When groups get together to exchange ideas, they actually come up with fewer ideas overall than if they each had worked alone.
To fix this problem, you should consider the two stages of group problem-solving: divergence（分散）and convergence（集中）. Divergence happens when the group considers as many different potential solutions as possible. Convergence happens when the various proposed solutions are evaluated and reduced to a smaller set of candidate solutions to the current problem.
The essential principle of group creativity is that individuals working alone diverge, whereas group members working together converge. In groups, once a member states a potential solution, that makes others think about the problem similarly. That is why groups working together diverge less than individuals working alone.
Therefore, be aware of when to diverge and when to converge. For example, early in the problem-solving process, have group members work alone to write down statements describing the problem. Then get them back to discuss their descriptions. The group discussion will lead everyone to accept one or a small number of these statements to work on—this is healthy convergence.
When starting to generate solutions, you again want divergence. Have people work alone to start. Then collect people’s initial ideas and send them around to others and allow the divergence to continue as everyone individually builds on the ideas of other members.
Finally, let the group discuss the resulting ideas. This discussion will gradually lead the group to converge on a small number of candidate solutions.
This simple method works effectively, because it respects what individuals and groups do best.
1. Research shows that the traditional brainstorming methods ______.| A．actually limit group creativity |
| B．greatly encourage group creativity |
| C．enable people to form more ideas together |
| D．prevent people’s involvement in the problems |
| A．think the other way round |
| B．follow his way of thinking |
| C．be more confident in their own ideas |
| D．be less willing to share their own ideas |
| A．Discuss the problem. | B．Simplify the problem. |
| C．Put down group statements together. | D．Write down their individual descriptions. |
| A．By adding in collected evidence. | B．By reorganizing his own words. |
| C．By drawing on others’ ideas. | D．By making his statement briefer. |
| A．To advocate a way to make group thinking more effective. |
| B．To demonstrate the difficulty in organizing group thinking. |
| C．To highlight the differences between divergence and convergence. |
| D．To show the advantage of group thinking over individual thinking. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】Throughout history, generations of humans have passed down their collective wisdom. Learning from the wisdom of great people can benefit you of all ages.
●Promote self-love. The first step in learning from great people’s wisdom is to explore the power of loving yourself.
●
●Build self-respect. Create stepping stones towards your great confidence.
●Resilience (韧性) is key. Accept that failure is a natural part of life, but it can also be a source of strength and growth if you treat it with resilience.
| A．Believe in yourself. |
| B．Establish moral values. |
| C．You may face many challenges in your life. |
| D．When you achieve success, share it with your friends. |
| E．You can use it to help direct your life in the following ways. |
| F．Promoting self-love can help you appreciate your unique talents. |
| G．Recognizing your power can help you strengthen confidence and self-respect. |
【推荐2】A Japanese Technique for Overcoming Laziness
Almost all of us set ourselves a new goal, but often fail to achieve it in the end.
If this is something that you often come across, you are not alone. This is where the concept of Kaizen comes into play. It is a one-minute principle developed by Masaaki Imai. The roots of Kaizen are in the words, “kai” meaning “change”, and “zen” meaning “good”.
At the center of this concept is the idea that you should practice doing something for only a minute, every day at the same time. The method is to break your lazy type of thinking, in that it should not be any trouble for you to do a task for just 60 seconds.
The underlying belief is that the more you do it and experience joy during your practice, you will more naturally want to continue doing it the next day. In time, you can ramp up (增加) your task from 1 minute to 2 minutes to 5 minutes and so on.
What you need to realize is that, the smaller challenges, when combined with continuous effort, are more rewarding.
| A．What is Kaizen about? |
| B．Why does it always turn out like this? |
| C．Masaaki Imai founded Kaizen Institute in 1985. |
| D．Together, the words mean “change for the better”. |
| E．Eventually, you will be doing your tasks for a longer period of time. |
| F．In this sense, overcoming laziness should not be a problem any more. |
| G．Taking one small step at a time helps you overcome your lack of confidence. |
【推荐3】Life can be full of challenges: starting a new school, getting along with your classmates or trying to score well in a test.
What is resilience?
Resilience means feeling better quickly after a difficult experience and trying your best to do everything or staying strong inside. The more problems you overcome, the more resilient you will be next time.
Why does resilience matter?
How can you be more resilient?
When things aren’t going well, try to pay attention to your good qualities (品德) and stay positive. Remember a time when you overcame fear or nervousness to achieve something and you felt proud of yourself.
| A．Being resilient is like having a super power. |
| B．Resilience is something you learn as you grow. |
| C．Everyone faces difficulties, but it doesn’t matter. |
| D．Learning something new helps you be more resilient. |
| E．Sleep is also a great way to make yourself free of stress. |
| F．Resilience also makes it easier to accept difficult feelings. |
| G．It is important for us to ask for help when we meet problems in daily life. |
【推荐1】Pet lovers were very angry. Last May, a news article online said three states had passed laws limiting the number of pets that each household could have to only two. The news spread quickly, as many people shared the article on Facebook and other social media sites. But pet owners had nothing to worry about----the article was made-up.
Many fake (虚假的) news are harmless, but others might have played a role in real-world events. When it comes to online news, even adults can have a hard time telling fact from fiction. Education experts say kids should start learning how to tell the difference.
Of course, there are plenty of reputable websites you can visit to read the news. Well-known news organizations, such as The New York Times and the Associated Press, have their own sites.
But many other online "news" sources aren't always reliable. And many students have trouble finding out when articles aren't entirely true or are trying to persuade them to think in a certain way.
Why would someone purposely publish an article that isn't true? The most common reason is to make money. Websites are paid by the companies that post ads on them. Companies want to place their ads on sites that get a lot of visitors. So people create fake news with attention-catching headlines to try to get users to click on them.
Some of the biggest websites are trying to stop the flow of fake news. Last November, Facebook and Google banned fake news sites from advertising on their pages. Facebook is also working with fact-checking organizations to identify and flag fake articles. But experts say the best way to slow the spread of fake news is for people to be more skeptical(’怀疑的) of what they read online.
1. What's the author's purpose of writing the first paragraph?| A．To make readers focus on fake news. |
| B．To introduce the topic about fake news. |
| C．To state the reasons for fake news' spread. |
| D．To inform readers of some media websites. |
| A．Popular. | B．Colorful. |
| C．Official. | D．Honest |
| A．People create fake news to make money. |
| B．The growing trend of fake news raises concerns. |
| C．It's unnecessary for kids to be able to spot fake news. |
| D．Most school children can easily recognize fake news. |
| A．To Limit the use of headlines. |
| B．To pass laws to limit the number to post news. |
| C．To encourage reader to be doubtful about what they read online. |
| D．To develop the system of fact-checking and flagging fake news. |
【推荐2】If you haven’t heard or seen anything about Road Rage in the last few months, you’ve probably been avoiding the media. There have been countless stories about this scary phenomenon, considered a type of aggressive driving. You have most likely encountered aggressive driving or Road Rage recently if you drive at all.
While drunk driving remains a critical problem, the facts about aggressive driving are surely as disturbing. For instance, according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Association, 41,907 people died on the highway last year. Of those deaths, the agency estimates that about two-thirds were caused at least in part by aggressive driving behavior.
Why is this phenomenon occurring more than ever now, and why is it something that seemed almost nonexistent a few short years ago? Experts have several theories, and all are probably partially correct. One suggestion is overcrowding. In the last decade, the number of cars on the roads has increased by more than 11 percent, and the number of miles driven has increased by 35 percent. However, the number of new road miles has only increased by 1 percent. That means more cars in the same amount of space; and the problem is more serious in urban areas. Also, people have less time and more things to do. With people working and trying to fit extra chores and activities into the day, stress levels have never been higher. Stress creates anxiety, which leads to short tempers. These factors, when combined in certain situations, can spell Road Rage.
You may think you are the last person who would drive aggressively, but you might be surprised. For instance, have you ever yelled out loud at a slower driver, sounded the horn long and hard at another car, or sped up to keep another driver from passing? If you recognize yourself in any of these situations, watch out!
Whether you are getting angry at other drivers, or another driver is visibly upset with you, there are things you can do to avoid any major conflict. If you are susceptible (易受影响的)to Road Rage, the key is to discharge your emotion in a healthy way. If you are the target of another driver’s rage, do everything possible to get away from the other driver safely, including avoiding eye contact and getting out of their way.
1. The first sentence in Para. 1 implies that ______.| A．one may be angered by media reports and wants to avoid them |
| B．the media invented the term “Road Rage” only a few months ago |
| C．people not interested in the media know little about recent happenings |
| D．Road Rage has received much media coverage in the last few months |
| A．relieve | B．prevent | C．spread | D．cause |
| A．Talking while driving. | B．Driving at high speed. |
| C．Sounding the horn when passing. | D．Shouting at another driver. |
| A．tell people how to deal with Road Rage |
| B．inform people how aggressive drivers could be |
| C．show people how to control themselves when angry |
| D．warn people against eye contact with another driver |
【推荐3】Many parents set rules for their children’s online activity, such as limiting (限制) the amount of time they can spend online. But some children in the US and UK are saying that they’d like to make rules for parents, too. Their main complaint? That their parents share too many photos of them online.
In a 2016 study, it was found that parents in the US share an average of 116 photos of their kids after they are born. Most were taken before the child turned 8 years old. Many of the photos showed kids in embarrassing situations, like having food all over their faces, Quartz reported.
Parents do like to share their child’s progress as he or she grows up. But their kids don’t like it as much. In a survey of UK children between the ages of 12 and 16, 70 percent said they felt their parents didn’t respect their online privacy (隐私), according to Digital Parenting magazine.
In addition, many kids said that other students at school sometimes picks on (捉弄) them after their parents post photos online, CBS News noted. In one case, a girl was bullied (欺负) by boys at school after they found her moms’ blogs, which had many family photos.
“Each time a photo or video is uploaded, it creates a digital footprint of a child, which can follow them into adult life, “a spokeswoman for a leading children’s charity in the UK said. “It’s always important to ask children for their permission (允许) before posting photos or videos of them.”
What is sharenting?
There’s a new word English to describe it when parents post pictures of their online—“sharenting”, or a combination of the world “share” and “parenting”.
1. According to the first paragraph, what do kids in the US and UK complain about?| A．Their parents setting rules for their online activity. |
| B．Their parents limiting the amount of time they spend online. |
| C．Their parents posting too many photos of them online. |
| D．Their parents setting high expectations for their schoolwork. |
| A．care too much about their progress in school |
| B．forget to set good examples for them |
| C．don’t care enough about their online safety |
| D．don’t respect their online privacy |
| A．Parents should ask kids for permission before sharing their photos. |
| B．UK kids don’t mind that their photos are shared by their parents. |
| C．Sharing photos online helps kids live a better adult life. |
| D．Kids don’t get bullied at school when their photos are shared online. |
| A．Nature Today | B．All about Space |
| C．Philosophy for Life | D．Society and Culture |
【推荐1】In January 1958, Rachel Carson received a letter from her fiend Olga Owens Huckins. Huckins lived in an area of Massachusetts where the state was trying to get rid of mosquitoes. They had used planes to spray a mixture of fuel oil and DDT (a pesticide, which can kill pests such as insects, weeds and rodents) all over the area around Huckins home. DDT was supposedly harmless but the morning after the spraying. Huckins found several of her favorite birds dead outside her house. And the spraying did not even kill all of the mosquitoes, in fact that summer there were more of them than ever before. Huckins asked Carson if she knew someone in Washington that could help prevent future spraying.
Carson had been hearing about DDT since a Swiss chemist discovered it could be used to kill insects in 1939. To many people, DDT seemed like a miracle substance. Farmers were excited about saving their crops from pests. Doctors and others were excited about saving people's lives by killing disease-carrying insects. But to Carson. DDT appeared to be dangerous to all living creatures.
The more Carson found out about DDT and other pesticides, the more she realized that she needed to help stop future spraying. Carson decided to write a book about pesticides. She said, “There would be no future peace for me if I kept silent.” She called her book Silent Spring.
Carson had spent her life studying, observing, and writing about nature. She was a trained biologist and a talented writer who knew how to present scientific information in compelling stories. Before Silent Spring, she had written other books from the perspective of fish birds, islands and oceans. Carson knew that all things in nature exist in a delicately balanced ecosystem. In Silent Spring, Carson wrote that. although the ecosystem can adjust to changes, it needs time. Carson believed that people u the 1950s were using pesticides carelessly Nature didn’t have time to adjust, wrote Carson, because so any pesticides had been used in such large quantities in such short tame.
1. Why did Huckins write a letter to Rachel Carson?| A．To tell her some bad news. | B．To turn to her for help. |
| C．To advise her to write a book. | D．To ask her some questions. |
| A．It killed pests such as insects, weeds and rodents around Huckins' home. |
| B．It killed all of the mosquitoes. |
| C．There were more birds than ever before |
| D．It had bad effects on ecosystem. |
| A．Gardeners. | B．Farmers. | C．Doctors. | D．Biologists. |
| A．Rachel Carson's research on nature | B．Rachel Carson's life |
| C．Rachel Carson's Silent Spring | D．DDT's bad effects on ecosystem |
【推荐2】With kids going back to school, many parents are concerned about how their children will manage their behavior for eight hours a day. They may keep a watchful eye on their phone in case they receive a phone call from the school regarding their children’s behavior. If a child has difficulty controlling his words and behavior, a daily behavior report card may be a helpful option.
A daily behavior report card can be as simple as a chart on the child’s desk where his teacher provides ratings based on his behavior. The chart might be broken down into each class in a day. At the end of each class, the teacher will rate the students based on how well they did in meeting their behavioral goals. For example, a child might get scored on a 1—10 scale. Students will have a goal score to earn after each class. If they earn their goal score, they will get an instant experience-based reward.
Some advantages of the daily behavior report card are that it makes classroom expectations clear and gives kids frequent feedback on how they did and what they need to do to improve next time. While many teachers often promise a reward for good behavior at the end of the school day, this possibility of a reward is often too far for many kids to care. Instead, by offering a more prompt reward after each class that a child’s behavioral goal is met, their motivation level can stay high to control their attention and behavior.
Teachers are busy during the school days. They often have to manage difficult behavior in class and they lose lots of the classroom instruction time. However, using a daily behavior report card may be able to prevent difficult behavior from occurring in the first place. Meanwhile it will also improve the teacher-parent communication, which helps parents track and solve their children’s problems.
1. What does Paragraph 2 mainly tell us about the daily behavior report card?| A．Its basis. | B．Its result. | C．Its rating. | D．Its use. |
| A．It includes all the study rules in class. |
| B．It meets the demands of children in class. |
| C．It offers them expectations and feedback in class. |
| D．It provides a great reward for those with high scores. |
| A．Immediate. | B．Reasonable. | C．Necessary. | D．Minimum. |
| A．Multi-beneficial. | B．Universally true. | C．Widely available. | D．Quite complicated. |
【推荐3】Everyone has “down days”. Maybe it’s because of the bad weather, or the disappointing grades on a difficult test, and some days teenagers just act uninterested in life or school. But these symptoms(症状) often pass quickly, as teens move on to new school subjects, or meet with friends to prevent themselves from thinking what troubles them at the moment. But if a teenager displays symptoms of sadness for more than two lasting weeks, it might point to something serious.
As teenagers develop, they push new boundaries(边界), complain about rules and look for more free rights from their parents. According to the online Health Guide on Adolescent Development, parents must be lasting figures in their teenagers’ life, providing safe boundaries for teens to grow, even if the teenagers act like these boundaries are unwanted.
Parents need to provide rules, while also remaining flexible(灵活的) and respectful of the growing teens’ need for freedom. For example, teenagers will often feel frustrated, embarrassed, and even angry that thought they want freedom, they still need to ask their parents for an agreement to go to a friend’s house, or need their mothers to take them to school.
The US Department of Education says that parents should respect and support their teen’s choices as long as those choices won’t have long-term harmful effects. For example, even if a parent doesn’t enjoy the music his or her teen listens to, it’s unlikely that the choice of music will prevent that teen from entering a good college, or lead to health problems. However, if that teen is drinking alcohol and driving, parents must get through strict punishments to teach that there are bad results for poor choices that come with increased freedom.
1. Why do teen’s feelings of bad days usually disappear quickly?| A．Their teachers help them. |
| B．They take some medicine. |
| C．Their parents talk with them. |
| D．They change their attention. |
| A．Freedom must be given at anytime. |
| B．Teens are mad at being controlled. |
| C．Teens need both freedom and proper rules. |
| D．Rules must be absolutely strict for teens. |
| A．Support their helpful hobbies. | B．Tell them which college to attend. |
| C．Cancel their after-school activities. | D．Get them away from singing pop songs. |
| A．How to Be With Growing Teens |
| B．Causes of Teens’ Sadness |
| C．Teens’ Worries About Strict Rules |
| D．The Importance of Making Friends With Teens |
【推荐1】A new study has found evidence of aggressive behaviour in children who drink four or more cups of soft drinks per day. The information for the study came from the mothers of 3,000 five-year-olds.
Researchers asked the mothers to keep a record of how many glasses of soft drinks their children drank over a two-month period. The mothers were also asked to complete a list of their children’s behaviour. The researchers found that 43 percent of the youngsters drank at least one glass of sodas every day, and four percent of the youngsters had four or more sodas to drink every day.
Shakira Suglia worked on the study with researchers from the University of Vermont and Harvard University School of Public Health. She says they have found that children who drank the most sodas were more than twice as likely as those who drank no soda to show signs of aggression. “For the children who drank four or more soft drinks per day, we see a connection between aggressive behaviour, attention problems and withdrawn（沉默寡言的）behaviour.”
The aggressive behaviour includes destroying things belonging to others and physically attacking（攻击）people.
Doctor Suglia says it is not clear why young children who drink a lot of sodas have behaviour problems. “We can’t prove that this is a direct cause and effect relationship. There are a lot of ingredients（成分）in sodas, a lot of ingredients that have not been examined in relation to behaviour.”
Caffeine is often found in soft drinks, which helps to make people feel energetic. Doctor Suglia says that caffeine could be causing the five-year-olds to be more aggressive. Earlier studies of young adults have found the highest sugar levels in those who carry weapons and show signs of bad social behaviour.
1. If a teenager drinks a lot of soft drinks, what will he/she be like?①Find it hard to tell right from wrong.
②Stay alone and speak little.
③Have reading difficulties.
④Have difficulty in concentrating.
| A．①③ | B．②④ |
| C．③④ | D．①② |
| A．Protecting oneself from being hit. | B．Behaving more confidently. |
| C．Doing harm to others. | D．Saying impolite words to other. |
| A．A lot of ingredients in soft drinks can make people feel energetic. |
| B．Caffeine may lead to children’s behaviour problems. |
| C．Having a lot of soft drinks may be bad for the memory. |
| D．Soft drinks are not good for the health. |
| A．Children Who Are Active Show More Bad Behaviour |
| B．The Relationship between Caffeine and Health |
| C．How to Keep Children Away from Soft Drinks |
| D．Children Who Drink Lots of Soft Drinks Are More Likely to Be Aggressive |
【推荐2】Vietnam launched preparations for the Lunar New Year with a fish release on Thursday. The tradition involves releasing fish called carp into rivers and lakes in the country a week before the holiday known as Tet officially begins.
The tradition comes from an ancient story of three “Kitchen Gods”. The three, two males and a female, take a ride on the brightly colored carp at the end of the year. They go to Heaven to meet with the Jade Emperor, the God who rules there. The Kitchen Gods report news about the families they represent to ask for the emperor's care and protection. Their efforts help to keep the kitchen fires burning, and families happy and healthy.
Vietnamese believe the fish release brings good luck to their families. As the gods go to Heaven, families clean their houses in preparation to celebrate Tet. A clean house, Vietnamese believe, will bring luck in the new year. On Lunar New Year's Eve, the gods will return to earth and their duties in the kitchen of the house.
Releasing the fish makes me feel better about myself," said Nguyen Hong Nhung of Hanoi. "It's like I've done a good deed, so I'll be luckier in the new year.
Thursday's event, which takes place across Vietnam, was more restrained than in years past because of COVID - 19. It is spreading in several northern areas of the country. "Vietnamese will still follow the tradition of releasing the fish, but COVID-19 has made people keep a safe distance", said Tran Van Toi as he released carp from a plastic bag at Hanoi's West Lake.
The Lunar New Year is also celebrated in China, Korea, Laos and other Asian countries.
1. Why do Vietnamese set free carp at the Lunar New Year?| A．To honor the Jade Emperor. | B．To follow official rules. |
| C．To bring good fortune. | D．To protect wildlife. |
| A．Canceled. | B．Postponed. | C．Forbidden. | D．Restricted. |
| A．A tradition in Vietnam. | B．The Kitchen Gods. |
| C．A festival in Asian countries. | D．The fish called carp. |
| A．Opinion. | B．Culture. | C．Business. | D．Lifestyle. |
【推荐3】Silvano Lattanzi, the master of made — in — Italy shoemaking, was totally conquered by a painting hung in the entrance hall of the very modem Rich Gate, the luxury district in Shanghai.
The painting, before which he knelt down to show his admiration, is the Rich Gale Rose painted by Liu Linghua. who's known as the “Chinese Van Gogh".
It was in May 2016 that Lattanzi first met Liu Linghua who was working on his 15-square-meter great piece. Lattanzi, from the country where Renaissance began, saw the painting accidentally and was immediately impressed by its beauty. He told others that he never imagined that western oil-painting techniques could be developed so well by a Chinese and that this was the best painting he had ever seen.
In the eyes of westerners, Lattanzi is a great master of shoemaking, fashion and arts. His admiration for the Rich Gate Rose well shows the high level of Liu’s painting. Ever since this, the two art masters of different nationalities, different ages and different cultural backgrounds have forged a profound friendship.
When Lattanzi came back to China six months later with the pair of shoes he made for Liu, he insisted on delivering the shoes to Liu himself. The two friends met again al the Rich Gale and Liu Linghua presented an embroidery （刺绣）of his master work The Drunken Beauty in return.
Liu expressed repeatedly that his works should be explained by painting and not the words of compliments. He does not care about the titles, though he is on par with the greatest painters. A leading light or a grand master of art, Liu pays little attention to it. Liu thinks actions are more important than words.
1. We can know from the passage that ______.| A．Lattanzi specially came to see the painting |
| B．Lattanzi is best at oil painting in Europe |
| C．Liu presented an oil painting to Lattanzi in return |
| D．the Rich Gate Rose is an excellent oil painting |
| A．He thinks his works are worthy of the compliments. |
| B．He cares much about the compliments. |
| C．He thinks the words can encourage him all the time. |
| D．He thinks the words can't well explain his works. |
| A．no better than | B．different from |
| C．as good/important as | D．ahead of |
a. Silvano Lattanzi and Liu Linghua became true friends.
b. Silvano Lattanzi knelt down in front of the Rich Gate Rose.
c. Liu Linghua presented Silvano Lattanzi an embroidery.
d. Liu Linghua met Silvano Lattanzi for the first time.
e. Silvano Lattanzi came back to China and met Liu Linghua again at the Rich Gate with the shoes he made for Liu.
| A．e-d-a-c-b | B．a-c-b-d-e |
| C．b-e-d-a-c | D．b-d-a-e-c |
| A．Chinese Van Gogh. | B．Friendship between Masters. |
| C．Western Oil Painting. | D．A Shoemaking Master. |
