四、阅读理解
A
Creativity is hard to describe. On the one hand, we know people make creative breakthroughs when they have persistence. On the other hand, most of us give up when we get stuck on a problem, believing that our creativity gets weaker over time.
In fact, research shows that the longer we stick to a single problem or task, the more creative we get. One key reason for this is the “series order effect”. That is to say, ideas that come later are often better than earlier ones.
Some business companies fail to understand this point. Silicon Valley (硅谷) prizes youth over experience, believing that “people under 35 are those who make changes
happen” while “people over 45 cannot create new ideas”. But many businessmen succeed in their 40s and beyond because they have repeatedly failed. The creators of the highest-growth new companies are, in fact, around 45 years old.
Scientific talents show a similar feature. Scientists usually do their best work near age 40. Nobel Prize winners and inventors also do much of their best work from their late 30s to mid-40s. Early success is great because it is unusual, but the best way to achieve a breakthrough is to get stuck and get unstuck over and over again.
The “series order effect” works not just at the personal level but also at the level of companies and markets. Different from the belief in business that you have to be first, many of the most successful companies are those that have gone through early failures. For example, Google succeeded after twenty-two failures. Success can come when you have tried two, three or even twenty-two times. Novelty (新颖) is overvalued. Persistence, however, is undervalued (低估). So, the next time you are stuck, remember: “You are more creative than you think you are.”
(
A. Silicon Valley.
B. The creators of the highest-growth new companies.
C. Scientific talents like Nobel Prize winners.
D. Google.
(
A. It doesn’t work for big businesses.
B. It proves novelty is unnecessary.
C. It shows the importance of a good beginning.
D. It explains why failure is common and acceptable.
(
A. Creativity is undervalued.
B. Creativity is hard to describe.
C. Creativity comes from persistence.
D. Creativity becomes weaker as time goes by.
A
Creativity is hard to describe. On the one hand, we know people make creative breakthroughs when they have persistence. On the other hand, most of us give up when we get stuck on a problem, believing that our creativity gets weaker over time.
In fact, research shows that the longer we stick to a single problem or task, the more creative we get. One key reason for this is the “series order effect”. That is to say, ideas that come later are often better than earlier ones.
Some business companies fail to understand this point. Silicon Valley (硅谷) prizes youth over experience, believing that “people under 35 are those who make changes
happen” while “people over 45 cannot create new ideas”. But many businessmen succeed in their 40s and beyond because they have repeatedly failed. The creators of the highest-growth new companies are, in fact, around 45 years old.
Scientific talents show a similar feature. Scientists usually do their best work near age 40. Nobel Prize winners and inventors also do much of their best work from their late 30s to mid-40s. Early success is great because it is unusual, but the best way to achieve a breakthrough is to get stuck and get unstuck over and over again.
The “series order effect” works not just at the personal level but also at the level of companies and markets. Different from the belief in business that you have to be first, many of the most successful companies are those that have gone through early failures. For example, Google succeeded after twenty-two failures. Success can come when you have tried two, three or even twenty-two times. Novelty (新颖) is overvalued. Persistence, however, is undervalued (低估). So, the next time you are stuck, remember: “You are more creative than you think you are.”
(
A
) 36. Which of the examples goes against the writer’s point of view?A. Silicon Valley.
B. The creators of the highest-growth new companies.
C. Scientific talents like Nobel Prize winners.
D. Google.
(
D
) 37. What can we know about the “series order effect” from paragraph 5?A. It doesn’t work for big businesses.
B. It proves novelty is unnecessary.
C. It shows the importance of a good beginning.
D. It explains why failure is common and acceptable.
(
C
) 38. What is the main idea of this article?A. Creativity is undervalued.
B. Creativity is hard to describe.
C. Creativity comes from persistence.
D. Creativity becomes weaker as time goes by.
答案：36.A 37.D 38.C
解析：
【分析】
首先通读全文，明确作者核心观点：创造力并非随时间变弱，坚持解决问题、反复尝试能提升创造力，“系列顺序效应”指后续想法更优，成功源于多次尝试而非追求新颖。36题需找违背作者观点的例子：作者批判硅谷“看重年轻、否定45岁以上人群创造力”的做法，而作者观点是坚持（多次失败）的人更具创造力，故硅谷的做法违背观点；37题定位第五段，该段提到成功来自多次尝试，新颖被高估、坚持被低估，失败是可接受的，对应选项；38题需概括主旨，全文围绕创造力来自坚持展开。
【解析】
36题：根据原文第三段，作者指出硅谷“看重35岁以下人群、否定45岁以上人群创造力”的做法是错误的，而作者核心观点是坚持（多次失败）的人更具创造力，因此硅谷的例子违背作者观点，选A。
37题：定位第五段，该段提到“成功可以来自尝试多次，新颖被高估，坚持被低估”，说明失败是常见且可接受的，这是“系列顺序效应”的体现，故选D。
38题：全文围绕“创造力来自坚持”展开，反驳“创造力随时间变弱”的错误观点，强调坚持的重要性，故主旨为创造力来自坚持，选C。
【答案】
36.A 37.D 38.C
【知识点】
阅读理解（细节理解）、阅读理解（主旨大意）
【点评】
本题为议论文阅读理解，考查细节定位与主旨概括能力，需准确抓取原文作者观点及对应段落信息，难度适中。
【难度系数】
0.6
首先通读全文，明确作者核心观点：创造力并非随时间变弱，坚持解决问题、反复尝试能提升创造力，“系列顺序效应”指后续想法更优，成功源于多次尝试而非追求新颖。36题需找违背作者观点的例子：作者批判硅谷“看重年轻、否定45岁以上人群创造力”的做法，而作者观点是坚持（多次失败）的人更具创造力，故硅谷的做法违背观点；37题定位第五段，该段提到成功来自多次尝试，新颖被高估、坚持被低估，失败是可接受的，对应选项；38题需概括主旨，全文围绕创造力来自坚持展开。
【解析】
36题：根据原文第三段，作者指出硅谷“看重35岁以下人群、否定45岁以上人群创造力”的做法是错误的，而作者核心观点是坚持（多次失败）的人更具创造力，因此硅谷的例子违背作者观点，选A。
37题：定位第五段，该段提到“成功可以来自尝试多次，新颖被高估，坚持被低估”，说明失败是常见且可接受的，这是“系列顺序效应”的体现，故选D。
38题：全文围绕“创造力来自坚持”展开，反驳“创造力随时间变弱”的错误观点，强调坚持的重要性，故主旨为创造力来自坚持，选C。
【答案】
36.A 37.D 38.C
【知识点】
阅读理解（细节理解）、阅读理解（主旨大意）
【点评】
本题为议论文阅读理解，考查细节定位与主旨概括能力，需准确抓取原文作者观点及对应段落信息，难度适中。
【难度系数】
0.6