2012年英语专八真题听力原文

　　SECTION B INTERVIEW

　　M: People often wonder how the human brain creates, for example, a beautiful painting, asculpture or even a delicious dinner. Today we are honoured to have Dr. Nancy Andreasen, aneuroscientist at the University of Iowa on our talk show. Dr. Andreasen has recently written abook called The Creating Brain: The Neuroscience of Genius. In her book, she tackles thequestionand tries to look into the brain behind creativity.

　　M: Dr. Andreasen, thanks for coming on our show.

　　W: Pleasure.

　　M: Now, Dr. Andreasen can we start with the question “What is creativity?”

　　W: Well, creativity can be saying as a process. This process starts with a person, for examplean artist, musician, inventor or even someone who's trying to figure out a better way of doinga task at work or at home. [1]That person must think about the problem or, or their project ina novel way and then come up with a solution.

　　M: Hmm, I see. But how long will it take for the person to find a solution as it were?

　　W: Well, it depends. [12]The creative process can go by in a flash or it can take years. But theend result is invariably the production of something new and useful, such as the automobile,or something beautiful and artistic, such as a painting by Vincent van Gogh.

　　M: Hmm, Dr. Andreasen, then do you think the ability to be creative is inborn or not?W: Well,no one knows yet if the ability to be creative, for example the ability to produce a hauntingsymphony is the result of the environment or a genetic makeup that allows people to becreative more easily. [2]However, creativity does seem to run in certain families.

　　M: Is that so?

　　W: Yes. You see, [2] Johann Sebastian Bach was the most famous member of the Bach family,but there were 20 other eminent musicians who came from the same family.

　　M: That's very interesting. Now Dr. Andreasen,we've so far been talking about those famouscreative people like van Gogh or Bach who have produced great pieces of work. Does thatmean that creativity only resides in great people?

　　W: No, certainly not. Creativity is not limited, I mean, to the masterpiece work of art

　　but can also be found in everyday tasks such as cooking or gardening.

　　M: Oh, really?

　　W: For example, a cook changes a recipe or even makes one up using ingredients he or shehas on hand to produce a new one. He is in fact using the creative process to create noveltaste sensations.

　　M: So can we say both famous and ordinary people can be creative?

　　W: Yes.

　　M: Now Dr. Andreasen, can you describe to us what the actual creative process is?

　　W: OK. Uh, [3] artists, musicians and writers often describe periods during which they'rerelying on ordinary creativity. For example, you know writers can spend hours at the keyboardputting thoughts together – this process is similar to the way people put together novel ideaswhen talking. And and many great artists also describe a dream-like state during which asymphony, a poem or the idea for the ending of a play comes to them in a flash.

　　M: So what's going on in the brain during a flash of inspiration?

　　W: Well, for the moment no one knows for sure, but but researchers suggest that creativepeople often slip into a zone in which ideas, uh, and thoughts come up freely in a sort ofdisorganized way. During that state a part of the brain becomes very active. And that brainregion is known to be able to link up ideas or or thoughts in potentially novel ways.

　　M: I see. Another question, do you think there is a creative personality?

　　W: Well, perhaps we can put it this way. Gifted people in the arts or science tend to enjoyadventure. They often like to explore new places or ideas. Uh, [4] they don't like beinghemmed in by rules or convention and,and they often look at problems from a different angle.Another point is,is they often have to move doggedly ahead on a project -- even when theoutside world rejects their art or new ideas.

　　M: Dr. Andreasen, what about the role of the environment in the creative process?

　　W: Environment does play a role. You see there have been hotbeds of creativity throughouthistory. For example, the city of Florence during the Renaissance period was home to bothLeonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. Both men in fact came from families that didn't especiallyvalue creativity,yet someone noticed a spark of talent in them and both got the training andfinancial backing to produce extraordinary pieces of art.

　　M: Uh,[5] since the environment helps in the creative process, are there ways for people tobuild a better, more creative brain?

　　W: Well, [5] I suggest that you spend 30 minutes a day on a creativity workout.

　　M: Oh, could you say a bit more about that?

　　W: Yes, you do three things. First, explore an unfamiliar area of knowledge. For example,people who use a lot of math on the job should sign up for a painting class.

　　M: And the second?

　　W: The second is, spend time each day thinking. This means that you don't censor yourthoughts, but allow your mind to go freely to a problem and see what kind of solutions or ideascome up.

　　M: Next thing?

　　W: That is, practice the art of paying attention. Look for and really observe a person,an objector something in your daily commute that you hadn't noticed before. Try describing or drawingthat object in a journal or sketchbook.

　　M: I hope that your advice will help people to train their brain to be creative. OK, thank youvery much Dr. Andreasen for talking on the show.

　　W: Not at all.

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