Unit Eight Creativity

1. Unit Eight Creativity

2. Part I Preparation

3. 1. What is creativity? creativity usually refers to man’s ability to cause something to exist or make something new or original. Then “being creative” has several meanings: one can think of things which other people can’t; one can deal with a problem with an original and simple method; one can do things in a way very different from that of common people. Not only scientists or inventors are creative but also the ordinary people. For example, man’s dream of flying has a very long history. In ancient times, people tried all kinds of mans to fly. Some of them equipped themselves with a pair of large wings, which looked like those of a real bird. Although these tries ended with failure, man still stuck to his ideal. Later, driven by this idea, the Wright brothers invented the first aeroplanes, which for the first time realized man’s old dream. From this example, we can say man’s first tries were creative, without these creative ideas, man would not have realized his dreams.

4. 2. Creativity and Inventions.Directions: Discuss in groups the following list of inventions and describe how they represent creative ways of doing everyday things. In your discussion, you might consider first the things they replaced. • Typewriter: Before the invention of a typewriter, people had to write by hand, which was slow and not so neat. Today, with this machine, people can raise the writing speed, and write more neatly. • Calculator: the invention of the calculator made it possible for us to discard the traditional abacus. With it, we can get a more accurate figure. It has made the complex calculations become easy and quick. • Lightbulb: the invention of the lightbulb signals the ending of people’s depending on sunlight and candles. It is much brighter than candles at night. It really helps people a lot. • Ballpoint pen: It helps people write more conveniently, and can last a longer time compared with pen and pencil. • Refrigerator: before the invention of the refrigerator, people were not able to keep food which went bad easily. Now, people can keep vegetables ad other foods fresh for a comparatively long period.

5. 3. What is my line?Directions: The following drawings are composed of English letters which spell the names of the six occupations listed below. Look closely at the drawings and match them with their appropriate occupations. actress waiter artist butcher actor banker

6. Part II Listening-centered activities

7. Proceed, track, the finish line, wander, participant, proficient, original Listening I Directions: Listen to the passage and fill in the following table.

8. Exercise II. Directions: listen to the passage again and discuss the following question. Do you agree with what the passage says about Chinese education and American education? Why or why not? Answer: Yes, I agree. In China, there are so many people taking part in the race, and it is not possible to allow students to follow their own paths. Everyone has to take the same examination, so they want the best preparation possible. The size of the population, the limited number of universities, and the examination system are the causes of the differences between American and Chinese educations.

9. Mistakenly, creativity, Alex Osborn, efficient, hanger, book Exercise I. Directions: listen to the passage and fill in the blanks. Many people mistakenly think that creativity is the ability to think thoughts that no one else has ever thought. In fact, creativity is just a way of looking at the ordinary in a different way. Alex Osborn, one of the pioneers in the study of creativity and imagination, discovered that almost everyone is more creative than he thinks. E usually don’t recognize our good ideas as creativity in action. For example, in a large mid-western city a group of thieves had invented a very efficient system. They could go into a clothing store, take all the clothes away and be out of the store before the police arrived. Then a young man had an idea. He told stores to change the way they hung the clothes. He told them to place some hangers with the hook facing in and some with the hooks facing out. The next time the police arrived, they found the young thieves removing the clothes one at a time. everyday creativity is just looking at things from a new point of view.

10. Exercise II. Directions: Listen to the passage again and discuss the following questions. • What do you think of the young man’s solution? It was simple and did not require any money. He made a clever observation: the thieves were able to grab many clothes at one because it was easy. So he thought of something that made it more difficult for them. • What do you think more conventional solutions would be? Adding extra cameras; hiring more staff; hiring men to watch the store at night; putting bars on the doors and windows to prevent burglaries.

11. Part III Reading-centered activities

12. In-class Reading

13. Cultural Background Knowledge Before the 1960’s, the traditional teaching methodology laid an emphasis on teachers centered model of teaching. This meant in class, it was the teacher who was in an active position rather than the students. The students merely received knowledge passively. One of the drawbacks of this teaching method is that it prevents students form being creative. Since the 1960’s, in USA, Canada, Australia, people started a reform in the field of teaching. They integrated strategies into an educational system which helped children learn “by doing”, by “hand-on” class work and by special “projects”. These activities are called students-centered activities whose purpose is to let the students gain knowledge from their won observation. In this way, the students are more active in class than in the past. They show more interests in learning and a lot of creativity.

14. Vocabulary

15. automatically adv. 1. self-actively; unconsciously. e.g. When the teacher comes into the classroom, the students take out their books automatically. 2. (of a machine) worked by itself without human control; self-regulatingly. e.g. The air-conditioner can regulate the temperature of the room automatically. automatic a. automation n. automate v. automat n. automobile n.

16. boundary n. 1. line that marks a limit; dividing line. e.g. The fence marks the boundary between my land and hers. 2. (pl) limit or extent e.g. Scientists continue to push back the boundaries of knowledge. bound v. Boundless a.

17. creativity n. The ability of inventing and developing new idea. e.g. Parents can encourage children’s creativity by various means. create v. Creative a. Creation n.

18. dismiss v. 1. remove sb. (esp. an employee) from a position. e.g. The workers were unfairly dismissed. 2. consider sb / sthg not worth thinking or talking about. e.g. The court dismissed my case. 3. send sb away; allow sb to leave. e.g. Dismiss the soldiers. 4. put (thoughts, feelings, etc.) out of one’s mind. e.g. He tried without success to dismiss her memory from his thoughts. dismissal n. dismiss from

19. mask n. Covering for the face, or part of it, worn as a disguise. e.g. The bank was robbed by a man wearing a mask. v. Cover the face with a mask. e.g. The thief masked his face with a stocking. Throw off one’s mask. do sthg under the mask of friendship.

20. motivation n. inspiration. e.g. They lack the motivation to study. motivate v. motivated a. motiveless a. put something in motion

21. practically adv. 1. almost; nearly. e.g. The hall was practically empty. 2. in a practical manner e.g. The owner’s brother has practically controlled the firm for years. Practice n. practical a. Practicable a. in practice.

22. sacrifice n. The giving up of something, usually in return for something more important or valuable. e.g. Getting rich isn’t worth the sacrifice of your principles. v. Give up sthg as a sacrifice. e.g. the car’s designers have sacrificed comfort in order to sell it at a low price. Sacred a. Sacrifice sthg to ; sacrifice sthg for

23. scorn v. Feel or show strong contempt for (sb/ sthg) e.g. Some young people scorn traditional methods. n. Strong contempt. e.g. He has nothing but scorn for my ideas. laugh sb/ sthg to scorn

24. vital adj. 1. essential to the existence, success, or operation of sthg. e.g. It is vital to keep an accurate record of every transaction. 2. connected with or essential to life e.g. The heart performs a vital bodily function. vitally ad. vitality n.

25. involve……in: make somebody take part in e.g. Don’t involve me in solving our problems. e.g. How many children are involved in preparing for the concert?

26. sacrifice……for e.g. Many women sacrificed their careers for their family. e.g. The boy’s parents sacrificed much rest time for his education. Sacrifice to sb. Sacrifice sthg to sb Make a sacrifice of something to sb.

27. (be) up to….. • be the responsibility of sb. e.g. It’s up to us to help those in need. • Decide by someone. e.g. It’s not up to you to tell me how to do my job.

28. apply ……to • Put something into use. e.g. We should apply theory to practice. • Be concentrated on doing something; be absorbed in doing sthg. e.g. We must apply our minds to finding a solution. • Attach e.g. Apply the glue to both surfaces.

29. be known as e.g. He is known as a great artist. be known to be known for be famous as be famous to be famous for

30. Difficult sentences

31. If Dick Drew had listened to his boss in 1925, we might not have a product that we now think of as practically essential: masking tape. (L. 3-4) Think of ……as= regard……as e.g. He is thought of as a successful businessman. In fact, Dick Drew didn't listen to his boss who advised him to give up his new idea to invent a sticky-sided substance. At last, he succeeded. Now, we are using this substance everywhere. 如果当时迪克.克鲁听了他老板的话, 也许我们今天就不会有这种片刻难离的必需品-------遮蔽胶带.

32. Creativity is not something one is just born with, nor is it necessarily a characteristic of high intelligence. (L.16 -17) When a sentence started with a word of negative meaning, the subject and the predict verb must be diverted. e.g. Never have I been to Beijing. e.g. I’m not a teacher, nor is my sister. Nobody is born with creativity, it is not a characteristic of high intelligence, either. 具有创造力不是天生就有的, 也不一定是高智商的标志.

33. The result is that children can give back information but can’t recognize ways to apply it to new situations. (L. 22-23) Give back: allow sb to have or enjoy something again. e.g. The operation gave him back the use of his leg. This result in children’s reuse of this information, but they are unable to learn ways to put this information to practical use. 这样做的结果是孩子们只会对信息知识再使用,但是却不会在新的形式下在应用它.

34. Teachers feel that even if the answers seem silly, it’s OK, that sometimes being silly is an essential step towards creativity. (L32.-33) Even if: even though e.g. Even if you don’t like him, try to get along with him. e.g. Even if we are defeated in this match, we should not lose our self-confidence. Teachers think although the answers may seem to be silly, they will not laugh at or scorn these answers. Sometimes, that may be a good way to creativity. 老师们认为,即使答案是愚蠢的,那也无妨,有时可笑的事情正是通往创造力的第一步.

35. In the classroom as well as at home, children must have the right to have crazy thoughts, experts say. (L. 33-34) As well as: besides; in addition to e.g. He as well as his brother tool part in the match. e.g. The child is lively as well as clever. Have the right to (do) something. e.g. Children have to right to receive education/ to education. Besides at home, children should also be allowed to have crazy ideas in the classroom, experts say. 在家与在教室一样, 专家们认为孩子们有权拥有一些疯狂的想法.

36. As children grow older, parents should let their children decide how to use their time or spend their money, but not automatically help them too much if they make the wrong decision. (L. 52-54) When children become older, parents should let their children decide how to deal with their time or how to spend their money by themselves, when children decide wrongly, parents should not give them help immediately without careful thinking. 随着孩子逐渐长大, 父母应该让孩子自己决定如何支配时间与金钱;当孩子们作出错误的决定时, 也不要毫不思索的立即给予帮助.

37. An Abstract of the Text The text mainly tells us the importance of creativity during the course of children’s development, and school and parents can learn various methods to encourage the skill in children. Some schools don’t pay much attention to the development of children’s creativity, but some other schools have accepted the educators’ advice to encourage children to develop their creativity. When at home, children can be encouraged by their parents to do some things helpful to the skill.

38. After-class Reading • A Long Match to Creativity

39. Cultural Background Knowledge In western countries, such as the U.S.A, children are encouraged to do some things independently, which is considered a good way to develop their creativity. Sometimes even if children do something in a wrong way, parents don’t intervene immediately or directly tell them what to do. Instead, they encourage children to overcome difficulties by themselves. Unlike American parents, Chinese parents take too much care of their children, the result of which is that children are cultivated in such a dependent easy that they are unable to compete with others in society when they grow up. Chinese educators have realized this and they do call on Chinese parents to learn from foreign on children’s education.

40. Vocabulary

41. appoint v. 1. fix or decide on sthg. e.g. Appoint a date to meet/ for meeting. 2. choose sb for a job or position. e.g. He was appointed as chairman. 3. to create sthg by choosing members. e.g. Appoint a committee. appointment n. Appointee n.

42. awkward adj. 1. (of living thing) clumsy; leaving little skill. e.g. The child was awkward with his knife and fork. e.g. Some animals are awkward on land but able to move easily in the water. 2. (of objects, places) not well designed for use; (of circumstances, etc.) likely to cause inconvenience for difficulty. e.g. This is an awkward corner, there have been several road accidents here. awkwardly ad. awkwardness n.

43. encounter vt. 1. meet (a friend, etc.) unexpectedly. e.g. Yesterday, I encountered an old friend in the street. 2. find oneself faced by (danger, difficulties, etc.) e.g. They encountered dangers in pursuit of the Antarctic exploration. n. sudden or unexpected meeting. e.g. I still remember my first encounter with Mary.

44. hesitation n. Instance of hesitation; state of hesitating. e.g. She agreed without the slight hesitation. hesitate v. Hesitant adj.

45. intervene v. 1. (of person) interfere so as to prevent sthg or change the result. e.g. I feel I couldn’t intervene in a family dispute. 2. (of events, circumstances) come between (others) in time. e.g. I shall leave on Sunday if nothing intervenes. intervention intervene in.

46. manual adj. Of, done with the hand. e.g. manual labor n. hand-book o textbook e.g. A shorthand textbook. e.g. Read this instruction manual carefully before operating this machine. manufacture.

47. rear v. Bring up; cause or help to grow. e.g. He rears a large family. n. Back part. e.g. The kitchen is in the rear of the house.

48. withdraw v. 1. pull or draw back; take out or away. e.g. withdraw money from the bank. 2. to cause to move back or away. e.g. They are prepared to withdraw troops from this area. 3. take back (a statement, accusation, an offer) e.g. The chairman has withdrawn his statement. withdrawal n. Withdrawn a. withdraw sb/sthg from

49. for the sake of I will help you for your sister’s sake. He argues for the sake of arguing, only because he likes arguing.

50. not in the least It doesn’t matter in the least. I don’t understand in the least what the author is trying to say.