C
If you were bringing friends home to visit, you could show them the way. You know the landmarks—a big red house or a bus-stop sign. But what if you were swimming in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean? Could you still find your way home? A loggerhead turtle(海龟)could.
According to Dr. Ken Lohmann, loggerheads have a magnetic(磁力的)sense based on Earth’s magnetic field. It helps them locate the best spots for finding food and their home beaches.
Scientists already know that several other animals, such as whales and honeybees, can detect(探测到)magnetic fields. The difference between them and loggerheads, however, is the way they learn to use their magnetic sense. Young whales and honeybees can learn from adults. Loggerheads are abandoned as eggs.
As newborn loggerheads have no adults to learn from, what helps them figure out how to use their magnetic sense? Lohmann thinks one of the cues was light on the sea.
Baby loggerheads hatch only at night. However, a small amount of light reflects off the ocean. The light makes that region brighter. Heading toward the light helps them get quickly out to sea, where they can find food. Lohmann tested whether newborn loggerheads use this light source to set their magnetic “compasses”(罗盘). He and his team put some newborns in a water tank and recorded which way they swam. Around the tank, the scientists created a magnetic field that matched the Earth’s. They set a weak light to the east of the magnetic field. Then they let the newborns go.
At first, the newborns swam toward the light. After the scientists turned off the light, the turtles that had seen the light in the east always swam toward east. When the researchers reversed(颠倒)the magnetic field, these turtles turned around and swam toward the new “east”.
This and the follow-up experiments all showed that loggerheads use light from the outside world to set their magnetic “compasses” and then remember the “correct” direction. If a turtle hatches on a brightly-lit beach, that would damage its magnetic sense forever and make survival hard for the turtle.
Lohmann’s work has led others to protect the habitat of this endangered species. Yet many questions about these creatures remain unanswered, and researchers have a lot to study.
46. Loggerheads and whales differ in the way they ______.
A. bring up their young B. recognize landmarks
C. detect magnetic fields D. learn to find directions
47. What is needed for newborn loggerheads to set their magnetic sense?
A. Weak light reflected off the ocean. B. Help from adult loggerheads.
C. Bright sunlight from the sky. D. Food in warmer waters.
48. In the experiment, after the newborns’ magnetic sense was set, their moving direction
was determined by ______.
A. the light B. the magnetic field
C. other unknown factors D. the light and the magnetic field
49. What is the significance of Lohmann’s research work?
A. It enables researchers to keep track of turtles.
B. It contributes to the studies of the magnetic field.
C. It offers a new solution to environmental pollution.
D. It helps protect the loggerheads’ living environment.
50. What could be the best title of the passage?
A. Experiments on Loggerheads B. The Survival of the Sea Turtle
C. The Loggerhead’s Built-in “Compass” D. Comparison of Loggerheads and Other Animals
D
Most people aren’t good at creative problem solving for two reasons: (1) They are not trained in how to be creative. (2) They don’t understand group strength well enough to harness(驾驭)their power to maximize group creativity.
A key element of creativity is applying existing knowledge to a new problem. The more people getting involved in solving it, the more knowledge there is to work on it. Unfortunately, research shows that the traditional brainstorming methods fail to achieve that goal. When groups get together to exchange ideas, they actually come up with fewer ideas overall than if they each had worked alone.
To fix this problem, you should consider the two stages of group problem-solving: divergence(分散)and convergence(集中). Divergence happens when the group considers as many different potential solutions as possible. Convergence happens when the various proposed solutions are evaluated and reduced to a smaller set of candidate solutions to the current problem.
The essential principle of group creativity is that individuals working alone diverge, whereas group members working together converge. In groups, once a member states a potential solution, that makes others think about the problem similarly. That is why groups working together diverge less than individuals working alone.
Therefore, be aware of when to diverge and when to converge. For example, early in the problem-solving process, have group members work alone to write down statements describing the problem. Then get them back to discuss their descriptions. The group discussion will lead everyone to accept one or a small number of these statements to work on---this is healthy convergence.
When starting to generate solutions, you again want divergence. Have people work alone to start. Then collect people’s initial ideas and send them around to others and allow the divergence to continue as everyone individually builds on the ideas of other members.
Finally, let the group discuss the resulting ideas. This discussion will gradually lead the group to converge on a small number of candidate solutions. This simple method works effectively, because it respects what individuals and groups do best.
51. Research shows that the traditional brainstorming methods ______.
A. actually limit group creativity B. greatly encourage group creativity
C. enable people to form more ideas together D. prevent people’s involvement in the problems
52. According to Para. 4, when a member presents an idea, others tend to ______.
A. think the other way round B. follow his way of thinking
C. be more confident in their own ideas D. be less willing to share their own ideas
53. What should group members first do early in the problem-solving process?
A. Discuss the problem. B. Simplify the problem.
C. Put down group statements together. D. Write down their individual descriptions.
54. How can each group member make changes to his initial solution?
A. By adding in collected evidence. B. By reorganizing his own words.
C. By drawing on others’ ideas. D. By making his statement briefer.
55. What is the author’s purpose in writing the passage?
A. To advocate a way to make group thinking more effective.
B. To demonstrate the difficulty in organizing group thinking.
C. To highlight the differences between divergence and convergence.
D. To show the advantage of group thinking over individual thinking.
