Question

    Anecdotal evidence has long held that creativity in artists and writers can be associated with living in foreign parts. Rudyard Kipling, Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway, Paul Gauguin, Samuel Beckett and others spent years living abroad. Now a pair of psychologist has proven that there is indeed a link.

As they report in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, William Maddux of INSEAD, a business school in Fontainebleau, France, and Adam Galinsky, of the Kellogg School of Management in Chicago, presented 155 American business students and 55 foreign ones studying in America with a test used by psychologists as a measure of creativity Given a candle, some matches and a box of drawing pins, the students were asked to attach the candle to a cardboard wall so that no wax would drip on the floor when the candle was lit. (The solution is to use the box as a candleholder and fix it to the wall with the pin.) They found 60% of the students who were either living abroad or had spent some time doing so, solved the problem, whereas only 42% of those who had not lived abroad did so.

A follow-up study with 72 Americans and 36 foreigners explored their creative negotiating skills. Pairs of students were asked to play the role of seller of a petrol station who then needed to get a job and a buyer who would need to hire staff to run the business. The two were likely to reach a deadlock because the buyer had been told he could not afford what the seller was told was his minimum price. Nevertheless, when both negotiators had lived abroad 70 % struck a deal in which the seller was offered a management job at the petrol station in return for a lower asking price. When neither of the negotiators had lived abroad, none was able to reach a deal.

Merely travelling abroad, however, was not enough. You do have to live there. Packing your beach towel and suntan lotion will not, by itself make you Hemingway.

1.What is the purpose of mentioning the famous names in the opening paragraph?

A. To show the relationship between creativity and living abroad.

B. To indicate the link between artistic creation and life experience.

C. To emphasize how great these artists are.

D. To impress the importance of creativity.

2.What can be inferred from the text?

A. William Maddux and Adam Galinsky have carefully designed the test.

B. Negotiators who had lived abroad are more flexible in negotiating.

C. American business students are less creative than those oversea students.

D. One's creativity is associated with the length one has spent abroad.

3.What does the author mean in the last sentence of paragraph 4?

A. There exist sharp differences between travelling and living abroad.

B. You shouldn't lie on the beach when travelling.

C. Only real experience of living abroad can help drive creativity.

D. Living abroad is more meaningful than just travelling abroad.

4.Where is the text most likely from?

A. A diary. B. A magazine.

C. A novel. D. A guidebook.

Answer

1.A

2.B

3.C

4.B

【解析】

本文是一篇说明文，介绍了研究发现国外生活可以提升创造力。

1.推理判断题。根据第一段中的“Anecdotal evidence has long held that creativity in artists and writers can be associated with living in foreign parts.”可知，长期以来，坊间证据表明，艺术家和作家的创造力可能与生活在外国有关，接下来提到那些著名的人物就是为了证明这一点，即：展示创造力和海外生活之间的关系，故A项正确。

2.推理判断题。根据倒数第二段中的“when both negotiators had lived abroad 70 % struck a deal in which the seller was offered a management job at the petrol station in return for a lower asking price.”可知，当谈判的双方都在国外居住时，70%的人达成了协议，由此可知，在国外生活过的谈判者在谈判中更灵活，故B项正确。

3.推理判断题。根据第四段中的“Merely travelling abroad, however, was not enough. You do have to live there.”可知，然而，仅仅出国旅游是不够的（不能提升创造力），你必须住在那里，由此可知作者说这句话的意思是只有在国外居住才能提升创造力，故C项正确。

4.推理判断题。通读全文可知，心理学家通过研究发现国外生活可以提升创造力，这属于科学研究范畴，最有可能出现在杂志的科学研究版块，故B项正确。