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In terms of attitudes to creativity there seems to be a reversal of priorities: young Westerners making their boldest departures

admin2017-07-27  27
问题     In terms of attitudes to creativity there seems to be a reversal of priorities: young Westerners making their boldest departures first and then gradually mastering the tradition; and young Chinese being almost inseparable from the tradition, but over time, possibly evolving to a point equally original. Which should go first, creativity or tradition? The following are opinions from two sides. Read the excerpts carefully and write your response in about 300 words, in which you should:
    1. summarize briefly the opinions from both sides;
    2. give your comment.
    Marks will be awarded for content relevance, content sufficiency, organization and language quality. Failure to follow the above instructions may result in a loss of marks.
Chinese
    Lily: Solid and basic skills are the base of successful creativity. Only when one masters the basic skills of tradition well, can he go further and learn things completely. Without basic skills, creativity’s just bullshit! Take writing for example. Writing a novel is beyond possibility if you can’t even make a grammatically correct sentence. Anyway, I have been practicing playing piano everyday since I was four years old. And now I can make my own small tunes.
    Marilyn: I am afraid that if skills are not acquired early, they may never be acquired. On the other hand, there is no comparable hurry to promote creativity. Even though we Chinese don’t talk creativity much, enormous creativity can be found in Chinese scientific, technological and artistic innovations past and present, and they start from our very tradition.
    Dick: Those seemingly basic and elementary skills we have learned in school actually play a significantly indispensable role in our future work. Maybe you don’t like the dull reading, writing or practicing, but after a considerable period of time, you may sense the difference. When we examine any innovation closely, its reliance on previous achievements is very obvious, which is the so-called "standing on the shoulders of giants" phenomenon.
Westerners
    Legend from France: The society changes very quickly. Everyday we may have to face the emergence of the new. No matter how skilled you are in doing something, there will be new things you cannot handle and there will be new areas you’ve never come across. At this time, the spirit of creativity is beneficial to our career. When confronting some difficult challenges, creativity can offer us a brand-new angle to see through the essence of the matter. And unless creativity has been acquired early, it may never emerge; on the other hand, skills can be picked up later.
    Chip Kidd from the US: Every business requires creative thinkers, they may be engineers, medical researchers, technology innovators, business entrepreneurs, artists, performers, writers, illustrators, designers, inventors, educators or parents. Those with the ability to "think outside of the box" will lead the future and make special things happen. I seek the sharp, scary pleasure that comes from beginning something new, that calls on all my resources and challenges my mind, my body, and my spirit, all at once.
    Wapnick from the UK: Because the rate of changing is accelerating and everything is moving more quickly, there is a more competitive environment and we need new ways to do things. I think people will have better lives if they are more creative problem solvers. If you have a creative idea about how to accomplish something faster, smarter or better than the current method, do it your way and see what happens. It’s always been true both for business and individual fulfillment.
    Write your response on ANSWER SHEET FOUR.
选项
答案 Creativity vs. Tradition As is known to all, the advancement of the society depends on continuous innovations, while innovations stem from the tradition. The views toward the priorities of creativity and tradition vary greatly among the Chinese and the Westerners. Chinese tend to believe that basic skills are the solid foundation for further learning and future work. What’s more, it is advisable to acquire the traditional skills as early as possible, and comparatively, creativity can be cultivated over time. Most importantly, anyone who makes breakthroughs in intellectual pursuits must first understand the research and works created by thinkers of the past. While Westerners hold just the opposite view. They argue that creativity can be found in every field and those who can think creatively have the future in their hands. Also, the changing and competitive society requires new ways to do things and new angles to see through the surface of the matter. Besides, creativity has to be acquired early, otherwise, it may never appear. Considering the views of both sides, I think they both overstated one, and meantime, understated the other. Though the Chinese attach greater importance to the tradition, creativity can be found in many Chinese innovations past and present. Besides, we cannot sleep on the tradition handed down from our ancestors all the time. On the other hand, there is a danger of exaggerating creative breakthroughs in the West for business and individual fulfillment. There is no denying the fact that creativity is indispensable to the human society, but no one can create something out of nothing, just as Isaac Newton put it, "if I have seen a little further if is by standing on the shoulders of Giants." Since the fostering of skills and creativity are both worthwhile goals, can we gather a superior way to approach the debate and perhaps strike a better balance between the poles of creativity and tradition?
解析 本文旨在讨论创新能力与传统技能的关系，该命题与社会生活息息相关。题目要求简要概括所给材料中中国人与西方人的不同观点，并发表自己的评论。在具体行文方面，考生可以开门见山，简要概述这一存在争议的话题，并提出论点，即创新能力与传统技能应该从哪一个开始；第二段简要阐述中西方不同的观点；第三段重点提出自己的看法，并阐明理由；最后一段总结自己的观点，提出解决争议的可能办法。
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