Question

    If you believe that scientists and artists are most creative when they're young, you are missing an important part of the story. A new study published in De Economist looked at Nobel Prize winners in the field of economics. It found there are two different peaks of creativity. One comes early in a person's career, while another comes later.

The research supports previous work by the authors that found similar patterns in the arts and other sciences.

"We believe what we found in this study isn't limited to economics, but could apply to creativity more generally," said Bruce Weinberg, lead author of the study and professor of economics at The Ohio State University.

"Many people believe that creativity is exclusively associated with youth, but it really depends on what kind of creativity you're talking about."

In the study, those who did their most groundbreaking work early in their careers tended to be "conceptual" innovators（创新者）.

These type of innovators "think outside the box", challenging conventional wisdom and suddenly coming up with new ideas. Conceptual innovators are not yet immersed（沉浸于）in the accepted theories of their field, Weinberg said.

But there is another kind of creativity, he said, which is found among "experimental" innovators. These innovators accumulate knowledge through their careers and find new ways to understand it.

The long periods of trial and error for important experimental innovations come later in a Nobel laureate's（荣誉获得者的）career.

"Whether you hit your creative peak early or late in your career depends on whether you have a conceptual or experimental approach," Weinberg said.

The researchers took a novel, empirical（经验主义的）approach to the study, which involved 31 laureates. They arranged the laureates on a list from the most experimental to most conceptual.

This ranking was based on the laureates' most important work, classifying them into "conceptual" or "experimental".

After classifying the laureates, the researchers determined the age at which each laureate made his most important contribution to economics and could be considered at his creative peak.

They found that conceptual laureates peaked between ages 25 and 29. Experimental laureates peaked when they were roughly twice as old, in their mid-50s.

"Our research suggests that when you're most creative is more about how you approach your work."

1.What does the underlined phrase "think outside the box" mean?

A.Follow rules strictly. B.Experiment on boxes.

C.Break old thought patterns. D.Figure out how to escape from a box.

2.What do we know about "experimental" innovators?

A.They usually come up with new ideas all of a sudden.

B.They make discoveries through constant trial and error.

C.The majority of them reach their creative peak in their twenties.

D.They make more contributions than "conceptual" innovators.

3.Which of the following statements about the study published in De Economist is false?

A.The study is not the first of its kind.

B.The conclusion can be applied to other areas.

C.The laureates' most important work decides whether they are "conceptual" or "experimental".

D.The "conceptual" won their Nobel Prizes between ages 25 and 29.

4.What do the researchers believe determines someone's creative peak?

A.One's personality type. B.What kind of job one takes.

C.How one handles their work. D.One's attitude toward their work.

5.What's the main idea of this passage?

A.Creativity comes at any age, young or old.

B.Creativity tends to decrease as people get older.

C.Economists, artists and other scientists have much in common.

D.Economists are more creative than artists and other scientists.

Answer

1.C

2.B

3.D

4.C

5.A

【解析】

本文是一篇说明文。文章讲述了通过对一些诺贝尔奖获得者事业生涯的研究，发现人的创造力会有两种峰值，这取决于你是哪种类型的创新者，是“概念性的”的创新者还是“实验性的”创新者。

1.

词句猜测题。在划线短语所在的句子中，后面的非谓语动词部分“challenging conventional wisdom and suddenly coming up with new ideas”是对划线短语的补充解释，意思为“挑战传统智慧，突然想出新点子”，也就是勇于突破一些旧的思维模式，跳出框框去思维。故选C项。

2.

细节理解题。根据第8段中“The long periods of trial and error for important experimental innovations come later in a Nobel laureate's（荣誉获得者的）career.”在一位诺贝尔奖得主的职业生涯中，重要的实验性的创新经历了漫长的不断的反复实验。由此可知“实验性”的创新者是从不断的反复实验中获得发现。故选B项。

3.

细节理解题。根据文章倒数第三段中“They found that conceptual laureates peaked between ages 25 and 29.”可知，

“概念性”的诺贝尔奖获得者创造力在25岁到29岁之间达到顶峰，不是在25岁到29岁之间获得诺贝尔奖。故选D项。

4.

细节理解题。根据最后一段中“Our research suggests that when you're most creative is more about how you approach your work.”可知，研究人员认为，决定你什么时候达到创造力巅峰的是你如何处理你的工作。此题是语义转换，“how you approach your work”和选项C中的“How one handles their work”是语义转换。故选C项。

5.

主旨大意题。文章第一段中提到“It found there are two different peaks of creativity. One comes early in a person's career, while another comes later.” 研究发现，创造力有两个不同的巅峰。在一个人的职业生涯中，有一个高峰出现得比较早，而另一个高峰出现得比较晚。倒数第二段提到“They found that conceptual laureates peaked between ages 25 and 29. Experimental laureates peaked when they were roughly twice as old, in their mid-50s.”研究还表明，“概念性的”诺贝尔奖获得者在25岁到29岁之间达到创造力巅峰，而“实验性的”诺贝尔奖获得者的巅峰时期是他们年龄的两倍，也就是50多岁的时候。因此文章主要是说明创造力巅峰可以出现在任何年龄，可能在年轻的时候，也可能是年老的时候。什么时候出现创造力巅峰与你如何处理你的工作有关。故选A项。