真题训练

1994 Passage 5
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 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 the 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 alternate 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.

67. 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.

68. 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.

69. 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

70. 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 science
[D] concerned about the advance of society
难句解析

难句解析：
①Discoveries in science and technology are thought by "untaught minds" to come in blinding flashes or as the result of dramatic accidents.
▲本句的主干是Discoveries are thought by... to do sth. or as sth.。在句中by "untaught minds"后面有两个并列的用or连接起来的结构作为被认为的对象。
△要理解本句，就首先要知道"untaught minds"的是指那些“对科学实验的艰辛过程不了解的人”；而blinding flashes指“眩目的一瞬”，其实意思相当于汉语中的“灵光一闪”。
②Sir Alexander Fleming did not, as legend would have it, look at the mold on a piece of cheese and get the idea for penicillin there and then.
▲本句的主干是Sir Alexander Fleming did not... look at and get the idea...。中间两个逗号隔开的部分是一个插入成分，并不影响阅读。
△要理解本句，就要对科学史有一定的了解，弗莱明爵士发明了青霉素penicillin；而there and then表示“当时当地”，用来强调人们传说的活灵活现。
③Innovation is like soccer; even the best players miss the goal and have their shots blocked much more frequently than they score.
▲本句的主干是由分号隔开的两个分句，后半句比较复杂，主语是the best players有两个并列的谓语miss和have their shot blocked，后面有一个比较结构。
△复习分号的用法，就知道后半句是补充说明前半句的。
④The point is that the players who score most are the ones who take the most shots at the goal — and so it goes with innovation in any field of activity.
▲本句由两个并列句构成，前面的一个的表语比较复杂，里面还有两个定语从句，分别修饰表语从句的主语和表语。破折号后面的结构较简单。
△理解so it goes的意思是理解本句的重点，它表示“同样的道理，同理，……也一样”。注意在本句和上一句中作者都把发明创造比喻为踢足球，而把发明家比喻为足球运动员。
⑤"Creative thinking may mean simply the realization that there is no particular virtue in doing things the way they have always been done," wrote Rudolph Flesch, a language authority.
▲本句是一个直接引语，在引语中主干是Creative thinking may mean simply the realization...，后面是一个同位语从句修饰the realization，而在从句从又有一个定语从句修饰状语the way。
△注意virtue表示“美德，道理”的意思，而the way前面可以被视为少了一个介词in。
⑥This 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?"
▲本句的主干非常简单，就是This accounts for our reaction。最后的引语是our reaction的同位语，而reaction后面介词to的宾语比较繁杂，核心词是simple innovations，后面有两个例子，还有一个定语从句来修饰核心词。
△在阅读中，一定要抓住本句的主干，其实看不懂plastic garbage bags and suitcases on wheels都不会对把握文章的整体意思产生什么影响，另外知道account for的意思也很重要。
试题解析

试题解析：
67. [A] 根据原文第1段，“untaught minds”本文应该指那些不了解发明与革新的艰辛的人。
[B]、[D]则明显不对。
[C]“untaught”一词有“未受过教育的”这个意思，但从本文第1段来看，这里并非指未受过教育的人，不了解发明创造的艰辛的人未必没有受过教育。
68. [C] 这是文章主要要说明的问题。
文章第2段第2句指出：有创造力的人与他人的最大区别在于他们对待事物的方法不同，此句中“one”指“difference”。文章最后一段以结论的形式再次说明了这一主旨。
[A]意为：有创造力的人所拥有的各种各样的思想。如上文解释[C]项时所指出的，本文重点要说明的是：在对待事物的方法上，有创造力的人与常人不同，这与他们所持有的思想的多少没有关系。
[B]如上所分析，二者的主要区别不在于智力上的不同。
[D]意为：善于发明创造的人表述自己的发现的方式与人不同。这也是不对的。
69. [B] 作者引用Flesch的话当然是为了支持自己的观点：有创造力的人经常探索做事的新方法。
文章第3段Flesch指出：创造性思维往往只起源于一种认识：做事情的传统的方法未必是最好的。
[A]、[C]所表达的内容也许是正确的，但并不是文章引用Flesch的目的。
[D]Flesch的话所表达的思想与作者的看法是相吻合的，并没有添加新的思想。
像举例一样，引用其他人的观点（正面引述也好反面引述也好）都是为了说明文章的主旨或主题，否则，引述便显得没必要了，引用其他人的发现或数据也是如此。从这一点也可以看出把握文章的主旨、主题与思路对正确选择答案的重要性。
70. [B] 文章中“march to different drummer”是一个比喻。“drummer”意为“鼓手”，“to”意为“伴着”，整个词组的意思为：伴着一个不同的鼓手所敲出的节奏行进，即：不随波逐流，与其他人走的道路或所持的思路不同。这是对文章主旨的一个形象总结。
[A]强调的是毅力，而不是方法方面。
[C]、[D]强调的是责任心，而不是方法方面。
全文翻译

全文翻译：
科学技术上的发明创造被“不知内情者”看做灵感的眩目闪现或戏剧性事件的结果。亚历山大•弗莱明爵士可不是像传说中的那样，看了一眼奶酪上的霉就立刻想到了青霉素的发明。他是对抗菌物质进行了长达9年的实验才有了这项发明的。发明及创新几乎都是艰苦的试验和失败的产物。创新就像踢足球，即使是最出色的球员也会痛失进球机会，其射门被挡出的机会大大多于进球的机会。
问题在于得分最多者正是那些射门次数最多的球员，而任何领域的创新活动都是如此。创新者与普通人的主要区别在于处理问题的方法不同。每一个人都有想法，但创新者会自觉地钻研他的想法，并不懈努力直到证明想法切实可行或不可行。普通人视为凭空想像的抽象概念在职业创新者眼里却具有坚实的可能性。
“创造性思维也许只不过意味着能够意识到按老办法办事没什么特别可取之处。”语言权威人士鲁道夫•弗莱契写到。这解释了我们看到像塑料垃圾袋和带轮箱包之类令生活更便利但看似简单的发明时的反应：“怎么过去就没有人想到这办法呢？”
创造性方法始于“一切不可貌相”的主张。创新者不会接受办事只有一种方法的论调。面对从A到B的挑战，普通人会自动踏上一条最为人熟悉、显然最简单的路径。创新者则会探寻另外不同的道路，而这样的道路将（guangxian注：may宜译为“可能”）会最终被证实更简单、也一定更有趣、更富挑战性，即使它们通向绝境。
极富创造性的人的确是伴着不同鼓手打出的鼓点前进的。