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Unit 8
Section A
Pre-reading Activities
First Listening
Having ideas about a story before you read it is an important reading skill. Please listen to a very short piece of recording.
Second Listening
Now listen to the recording for the second time and try to the best of your ability to answer the following questions.
1. Where do good ideas come from?
2. How many examples or ways of getting good ideas are discussed?
3. How did Wagner get the idea for the beginning of his music?
Birth of Bright Ideas
No satisfactory way exists to explain how to form a good idea. You think about a problem until you're tired, forget it, maybe sleep on it, and then flash! When you aren't thinking about it, suddenly the answer arrives as a gift from the gods.
Of course, all ideas don't occur like that but so many do, particularly the most important ones. They burst into the mind, glowing with the heat of creation. How they do it is a mystery but they must come from somewhere. Let's assume they come from the "unconscious." This is reasonable, for psychologists use this term to describe mental processes which are unknown to the individual. Creative thought depends on what was unknown becoming known.
All of us have experienced this sudden arrival of a new idea, but it is easiest to examine it in the great creative personalities, many of whom experienced it in an intensified form and have written it down in their life stories and letters. One can draw examples from genius in any field, from religion, philosophy, and literature to art and music, even in mathematics, science, and technical invention, although these are often thought to depend only on logic and experiment. All truly creative activities depend in some degree on these signals from the unconscious, and the more highly insightful the person, the sharper and more dramatic the signals become.
Take the example of Richard Wagner composing the opening to "Rhinegold". Wagner had been occupied with the idea of the "Ring" for several years, and for many months had been struggling to begin composing. On September 4, 1853, he reached Spezia sick, went to a hotel, could not sleep for noise without and fever within, took a long walk the next day, and in the afternoon flung himself on a couch intending to sleep. Then at last the miracle happened for which his unconscious mind had been seeking for so long. Falling into a sleeplike condition, he suddenly felt as though he were sinking in a mighty flood of water, and the rush and roar soon took musical shape within his brain. He recognized that the orchestral opening to the "Rhinegold", which he must have carried about within him yet had never been able to put it into form, had at last taken its shape within him. In this example, the conscious mind at the moment of creation knew nothing of the actual processes by which the solution was found.
As a contrast, we may consider a famous story: the discovery by Henri Poincare, the great French mathematician, of a new mathematical method called the Fuchsian functions. Here we see the conscious mind, in a person of highest ability, actually watching the unconscious at work. For weeks, he sat at his table every day and spent an hour or two trying a great number of combinations but he arrived at no result. One night he drank some black coffee, contrary to his usual habit, and was unable to sleep. Many ideas kept surging in his head; he could almost feel them pushing against one another, until two of them combined to form a stable combination. When morning came, he had established the existence of one class of Fuchsian functions. He had only to prove the results, which took only a few hours. Here, we see the conscious mind observing the new combinations being formed in the unconscious, while the Wagner story shows the sudden explosion of a new concept into consciousness.
A third type of creative experience is exemplified by the dreams which came to Descartes at the age of twenty-three and determined his life path. Descartes had unsuccessfully searched for certainty, first in the world of books, and then in the world of men. Then in a dream on November 10, 1619, he made the significant discovery that he could only find certainty in his own thoughts, cogito ergo sum ("I think; therefore, I exist"). This dream filled him with intense religious enthusiasm.
Wagner's, Poincare's, and Descartes' experiences are representative of countless others in every field of culture. The unconscious is certainly the source of instinctive activity. But in creative thought the unconscious is responsible for the production of new organized forms from relatively disorganized elements.
Words: 707
NEW WORDS
satisfactory
a. good enough to be pleasing, or for a purpose, rule, standard, etc. 令人满意的
flash
vi. 1. (of an idea) come suddenly 突然产生（想法、灵感）
2. move very fast 飞驰，掠过
particularly
ad. especially 特别是
glow
vi. 1. produce light and heat without fire 发光，发热
2. show strong or warm color 呈现鲜艳的颜色
▲creation
n. creating 创造
mystery
n. something that is not fully understood 谜
reasonable
a. showing common sense; fair 合理的，适当的
psychologist
n. a person trained and educated to perform psychological research, testing and treatment 心理学家
process
n. a connected set of actions or events that produce continuation or slow change 过程，进程
individual
n. a human being regarded as unique 个体，个人
personality
n. 1. a person who is well-known to the public 名人
2. the quality or condition of being a person 人的品质或条件
▲intensify
v. make or become stronger 增强，加强
genius
n. 1. [C] a person of exceptional natural ability 天才
2. [U] strong natural ability 天赋
religion
n. belief in the existence of a god or gods or a creative force of greater power outside of one's self 宗教
philosophy
n. the search for knowledge and understanding of the nature and meaning of all the natural world including human life 哲学
invention
n. 1. the action of creating something new 发明
2. something created 发明物
logic
n. the science of thinking about or explaining the reasons for sth. 逻辑；逻辑学
truly
ad. 1. really; completely 真正地
2. honestly; exactly as described 真诚地，真心地
highly
ad. very; to an unusually great degree 非常
dramatic
a. 1. sudden, exciting, not expected 引人注目的
2. about drama or acting 戏剧的；演戏的
compose
v. create or produce (a written or musical piece) 创作（文学或音乐）
occupy
vt. 1. engage, employ, or busy (oneself) 把注意力集中于……
2. fill up (time or space) 占用（时间或空间）
▲fling
vt. 1. throw with force 猛扔，抛
2. move oneself or part of one's body suddenly or forcefully 猛烈地移动，急动
▲couch
n. a long comfortable seat; a sofa 沙发
miracle
n. an act or event that cannot be explained by known laws of nature 奇迹
▲mighty
a. having or showing great power, skill, strength, or force 强大的，巨大的
recognize
vt. 1. realize or be aware that sth. exists or is true 注意到，认识到
2. identify as previously known; know sth. or sb. 认出
orchestral
a. of or by a large group of musicians who play various musical instruments together 管弦乐的，管弦乐队的
contrast
n. (with, between) unlikeness or difference shown by comparing objects or people 对照；（对照中的）差异
■mathematician
n. a person gifted or learned in mathematics 数学家
mathematicial
a. of or related to mathematics 数学的
combine
v. come together; act together; unite, join together 结合，合并
combination
n. something that results from two or more things (esp. chemicals) being combined 结合，合并；［化］化合物
▲surge
vi. move (as if) in waves 汹涌
stable
a. firm, without movement 稳定的
existence
n. the fact or state of existing 存在
observe
vt. see and notice sth. or sb.; watch sth. or sb. carefully 观察
explosion
n. 1. a sudden bursting out 爆发；骤发；爆炸
2. the act or a moment of sudden increase 激增，扩大
concept
n. something formed in the mind; a thought or idea 概念
▲exemplify
vt. show by example 例示，作为……的例子
▲certainty
n. the fact, quality, or state of being certain 确定性，必然性；确实的事情
enthusiasm
n. 1. great positive feeling for or interest in a subject or cause 热情，积极性
2. a thing causing this feeling 爱好的事物
representative
a. (of) being like or common to others of the same class 有代表性的
source
n. a place from which sth. comes or is acquired 源泉，来源
responsible
a. 1. being the cause of sth. 是……的原因
2. having the duty of looking after sb. or sth. so that one can be blamed if things go wrong 需负责任的，承担责任的
organize
vt. put together into a well-planned, sequenced whole 组织起来
element
n. a necessary part of a whole 元素，成分
PHRASES AND EXPRESSIONS
sleep on sth.
leave sth. undecided or unattended until the next day 暂时不作决定，过一晚再作决定
a gift from the gods
an unearned, or unexpected, benefit that is greatly valued 不期而获又大受欢迎的好处，利益
depend on
happen according to; count on 依靠，依赖
write down
record in writing 写下来
be occupied with
be busy with 忙于做，专心于
seek for
try to find; look for 寻找
as though
as it would be if... 好象，俨然
take shape
take on a defined form 成型
put into
express in 表达
at work
having an effect; in operation 在起作用
arrive at
reach or make; come to 达成（协议）；得出（结论）
search for
look carefully about a place in order to find 搜索，寻找
fill sb. with sth.
cause sb. to experience sth. (like feelings) 使充满（感情）
PROPER NAMES
Richard Wagner
理查德·瓦格纳（1813-1883），德国作曲家、剧作家
Rhinegold
瓦格纳创作的《莱茵河的黄金》
Spezia
斯佩齐亚，意大利西北部港市
Henri Poincare
亨利·庞加莱（1854-1912），法国数学家，物理学家和作家
Fuchsian functions
富克斯函数
Descartes
笛卡尔（1596-1650），法国哲学家、数学家；西方近代哲学的创始人之一，二元论者、唯理论者
cogito ergo sum
I think; therefore, I exist.［拉丁语］我思，故我在。
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