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  3. Where do good ideas come from? For centuries, all credit for these mysterious gifts went to faith, fortune and some fair muses.

Where do good ideas come from? For centuries, all credit for these mysterious gifts went to faith, fortune and some fair muses.

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问题     Where do good ideas come from? For centuries, all credit for these mysterious gifts went to faith, fortune and some fair muses. But to assume creativity is some lofty trait enjoyed by the few is both foolish and unproductive, argues Jonah Lehrer in "Imagine" , a smart new book about "how creativity works". Drawing from a wide array of scientific and sociological research—and everything from the poetry of W. H. Auden to the films of Pixar—he makes a convincing case that innovation cannot only be studied and measured, but also nurtured and encouraged.
    Just outside St Paul, Minnesota, sits the corporate headquarters of 3M. The company sells more than 55,000 products, from streetlights to computer touch-screens, and is ranked as the third-most innovative in the world. But when Mr. Lehrer visits, he finds employees engaged in all sorts of frivolous activities, such as playing pinball and wandering about the campus. These workers are actually pushed to take regular breaks, as time away from a problem can help spark a moment of insight. This is because interrupting work with a relaxing activity lets the mind turn inward, where it can subconsciously puzzle over subtle meanings and connections. "That’s why so many insights happen during warm showers," says Joydeep Bhattacharya, a psychologist at Goldsmiths, University of London.
    But this is just one reason for 3M’s creative output. The company also encourages its employees to take risks, not only by spending masses on research (nearly 8% of gross revenue), but also by expecting workers to spend around 15% of their time pursuing speculative ideas. Most of these efforts will fail, but some will generate real profit for the company. The reason why this approach works—and why it has been imitated by other crafty companies such as Google—is because many breakthroughs come when people venture beyond their area of expertise.
    This is why young people tend to be the most innovative thinkers in nearly any field, from physics to music. The ignorance of youth "comes with creative advantages," writes Mr. Lehrer, as the young are less Jill by custom and experience. Still, he reassures readers that anyone can stay creative as long as he works "to maintain the perspective of the outsider". This can be done by considering new problems at work, travelling to new countries or simply spending more time staring " at things we don’t fully understand. "
    This is an inspiring and engaging book that reveals creativity as less a sign of rare genius than a natural human potential. Mr. Lehrer points to William Shakespeare, for example, as someone who was largely a man of his time; the culture of Elizabethan London nurtured quite a few poets—much like ancient Athens gave rise to a glut of thinkers and Renaissance Florence inspired many fine artists. Shakespeare knew his way with a pen, but he also lived in a culture that put a premium on ideas, spread education, introduced new patents for inventions and did not always rigorously enforce censorship laws.
    Mr. Lehrer concludes with a call for better policy to "increase our collective creativity". He suggests allowing more immigration, inviting more risk and enabling more cultural borrowing and adaptation. He also warns that the work demands a lot of time, sweat and gut. Or as Albert Einstein put it: "creativity is the residue of time wasted. "
We can conclude from Paragraph 5 that______.
选项 A、innovation is always branded with the limitation of specific time
B、creativity of human being has reached its summit in several historical periods
C、creativity can be encouraged and nurtured in the right circumstance
D、Shakespeare is merely an ordinary man with no superior creativity
答案C
解析 本题考查对文章第五段中心大意的把握。第五段中莱勒提到了莎士比亚的例子，在莱勒看来，莎士比亚和他同时代的很多诗人、画家一样，固然杰出，但他们都深受伊丽莎白时代文化的影响，“Shakespeare knew his way with a pen，but he also lived in a culture that put a premium on ideas，spread education，introduced new patents for inventions and did not always rigorously enforce censorship laws”。正是伊丽莎白时代重视教育、重视思想、鼓励发明的文化氛围造就了一大批杰出的人。因此作者在这一段想要表达的主要意思是，创造力并不只是个人的天赋，更重要的是它是能够在特定的环境中鼓励和培养的潜能。[C]为正确答案。其他几个答案都只是第五段内容的一部分，不足以概括整个一段的中心大意。
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