Time for a Brainstorm

    A brainstorm is a session where a small group of people come together to solve a problem．People voice spontaneous ideas, sometimes just shouting , and a note-taker writes them all down．{#blank#}1{#/blank#}By getting different ideas out there, ideas are said to bounce off each other and even can help solve the problem at hand．Brainstorming is often a group exercise but individuals can also conduct personal brainstorms．

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}He defined it as using the brain to storm a creative problem and do so in commando (突击队）fashion，with each stormer attacking the same objective．According to him,, it was easier to tone down a wild idea than think up a new one．He placed importance on the collection of as many ideas as possible and dismissed scientific thinking．

    Brainstorming has become one of the most popular ways to solve problems and hold discussion in schools and businesses．Many students brainstorm for a group assignment or even for a personal essay． Sarah Grace, 24, is an Australian marketing analyst and uses brainstorming during all her creative duties． She thinks brainstorming is the best way to work as a team．The sessions get everyone on the same page，everyone moving together and with a clear understanding about the foundations of an event or idea．{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

However, a big problem with brainstorming is creating a mess that leads people further away from a solution．{#blank#}4{#/blank#} If you don't have a strong moderator or leader of the brainstorm, can go really off track，and people just start discussing something totally different． Brainstorming can sometimes confuse the human brain． {#blank#}5{#/blank#} If you brainstorm too much and your page is filled up with all the messy links, you can paint yourself into a bit of comer and get trapped with ideas． You need to move past brainstorming as soon as you have something workable．

A．The ideas can be smart，strange or crazy．

B．It is caused by a lack of direction from a leader．

C．Brainstorming really helps her organize her thoughts．

D．Brainstorming really is the best way to build team spirit．

E．It can open too many doors and not suggest a clear direction．

F．Brainstorms were popularized in the 1940s by American advertising boss Alex Osborn．．

G．They can be words, phrases, paragraphs and anything that can help answer the question．

    I still remember that summer before college.There were plans and ideas about what my college experience was going to be like, but none of them worked out as planned.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}.

    Use the mental health services available to you.

    That first night at college was memorable. There was scare and homesickness. Missing things from home wasn't the only reason why I felt down. The academic pressure to succeed and the social pressure to fit in are too much for some people, which don't just happen in the freshman year.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} Close friends always guided me, which was important because talking helps—even if it's just with a friend. Don't be afraid to take that extra help.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    I had been ready to major in politics, philosophy and economics, in preparation for a law degree.Things changed.

    You meet new people and discover new interests.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} So, don't worry if you haven't figured out exactly what you're going to major in. It will likely change anyway.

    You're there to get a degree, but a little fun won't hurt.

    As time goes by, I'm not going to remember the grades I got on papers or the late nights spent studying. Instead, lifelong memories will include playing video games with my roommate at 3:00 am, or late-night runs with my friends after a night out. Apart from doing well inside the classroom, there are also internships(实习期) and other pressures. Employers might weigh internships more heavily than your GPA.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}.

A. It's OK to change your mind about your major.

B. You don't want to get tired of your college life early.

C. Everyone says that college is the best four years of your life.

D. Here are the things I wish I had known before my freshman year.

E. It's normal to be a little unsure of your plans once you start taking classes.

F. Getting internships and having fun with friends are also of great importance.

G. For me, there were upsets long after the days that required a map to go anywhere.

    It is very important for kids to be courageous. A brave child is more likely to withstand negative peer pressure, say no to temptations（诱惑）and flight the good fight.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} It boosts kids' resilience（适应力）, confidence and willpower as their as well as their learning, performance and school engagement. Here are several ways to develop kids' courage:

    Model courage. Kids who watch their parents stick their necks out to do the right thing are more likely to do the same.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} Then express how good it feels when you conquer your fear instead of taking a shortcut. Your kids will learn how to take on the tough challenge they face by witnessing how you tackle your fears.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Research finds that kids are more likely to be courageous if they believe that their parent them to support those in need. Discuss bravery with your kids: Tell hem Courage is making the choice to do what you know is right even if you are afraid.”

    Ask your kids to share their acts of bravery. Learning to be brave takes practice, so encourage your children to do something courageous every day.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}A mom I talked to had her kids share their brave deeds at dinner time.

Teach your kids how to reduce their fears. If not kept under control, fear can be powerful.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} You might encourage positive self-talk, such as saying, “I can handle this” or “I have courage to do this.” Or teach your child to take slow, deep breaths to find courage.

A. Talk about values and courage.

B. Courage has other surprising benefits.

C. The good news is that courage can be taught.

D. Teach your child simple strategies to be brave.

E. Let your child see you step out of your comfort zone.

F. In today's uncertain world, kids will need courage and confidence.

G. Then take time to focus on their courageous breakthroughs.

    Steel is a hard metal that people use to make many different products. Car bodies, bridges, building frames, and containers are just a few of the things made from steel. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} But steel is better than iron in many ways. Steel is stronger but lighter than iron. Steel also lasts longer than iron.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Then they add carbon to the liquid iron. They may also add other materials to make different types of steel. For example, steel with added chromium（铬）is called stainless steel. It will not rust（生锈）or stain. Finally, workers use machines to cool the liquid steel into bars or long sheets.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    People made the first steel as early as 1400 BC. Ancient people heated iron inside a pile of burning charcoal（木炭）. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. The result was not the same as modern steel, but it was stronger than regular iron.

    In the 1800s people began to use huge ovens to make large amounts of steel. In the late 1800s builders used steel to make some of the first skyscrapers. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. In the 1900s new processes made steel-making easier. Today steel remains one of the most popular building materials in the world.

A. This added carbon to the iron.

B. Steel is quite different from iron.

C. The hardened steel may then be made into products.

D. Steel is basically iron mixed with a little carbon.

E. Then they will be cooled and put on the market.

F. To make steel, workers hear iron until it melts.

G. They also used steel to make large, modern bridges.

    What is style? Style is the special visual paradigm centering on the visual symbol system. It is contained in the materialized products of daily life such as fashion, borne, architecture, horticulture; and environment. It is reflected in the creation of cultural products including literature, films and music. It is still a way of behavior and life that expresses specific customs. To sum up, style is not only the core of cultural products with visual, melodic, literal and abstract symbols, but also a way of life.

    The style of China means the expression of Chinese elements. Chinese elements are the inheritance(传承)of cultural genes. The style of China relies on thousands of years of cultural accumulation(积累). It should not be limited to objects. It is supposed to express the Chinese cultural concept of Confucianism and Taoism. It must reflect the specific views of man and nature, man and objects as well as man and social relations.

    The style of China ought to be oriented towards the world. It did influence the world. Silk and ceramics were the main products traded along the Silk Road. They contained rich Chinese culture. The thousand-year-old Silk Road spread the style of China to the West. And the craze for Chinoiserie(中国艺术品)was a popular fashion in European society at that time.

    The style of China is the reproduction and variation of cultural genes. It is the inheritance along with innovation.

    The style of China is duty-bound to select as always silk, bamboo, wood, stone clay, glass and porcelain. Meanwhile, the materials in modern industrial era like meats, glass and cement should be fully used. Besides, it is necessary to continue the concept of interactive space planning between man and nature and between man and man. It also needs to explore such new spaces as digitization, the Internet, virtual reality and artificial intelligence.

    The style of China must show the transformation and promotion from Chinese manufacturing to Chinese creation. It relies on the manufacturing power and the industrial strength. The style of China presents to the world the image of a large industrial producer and a birthplace of global creativity.

    The style of China represents not only the reconstruction of objects, but also the renewal of Chinese value system.

    The style of China ought to rely on rich historical heritage(遗产), draw on strengths of others and keep up with the times. It should focus on the life of the general public, the world and the future.

    Pretending you're someone else can make you creative

    One great irony(讽刺) about our collective fascination with creativity is that we tend to frame it in uncreative ways. That is to say, most of us marry creativity to our concept of self: We are either "creative" people or we aren't, without much of a middle ground.

    Pillay, a tech businessman and Harvard professor has spent a good part of his career destroying these ideas. Pillay believes that the key to unlocking your creative potential is to dismiss the conventional advice that urges you to "believe in yourself". In fact, you should do the exact opposite: believe you are someone else.

    In a recent column for Harvard Business Review, Pillay pointed to a 2016 study showing the impact of stereotypes(刻板印象)on one's behavior. The authors, education psychologists Denis Dumas and Kevin Dunbar, divided their college student subjects into three categories, instructing the members of one group to think of themselves as "eccentric(古怪的) poets" and the members of another to imagine they were "rigid librarians" (people in the third category, the control group, were left alone for this part). The researchers then presented participants with 10 ordinary objects, including a fork, a carrot, and a pair of pants, and asked them to come up with as many different uses as possible for each one. Those who were asked to imagine themselves as "eccentric poets" came up with the widest range of ideas for the objects, while those in the "rigid librarian" group had the fewest. Meanwhile, the researchers found only small differences in students' creativity levels across academic majors—in fact, the physics majors inhabiting(寄生) the personas(伪装的外表) of "eccentric poets" came up with more ideas than the art majors did.

    These results, write Dumas and Dunbar, suggest that creativity is not an individual quality, but a "malleable(可塑的) product of context and perspective." Everyone can be creative, as long as they feel like creative people.

    Pillay's work takes this a step further: He argues that identifying yourself with creativity is less powerful than the creative act of imagining you're somebody else. This exercise, which he calls "psychological halloweenism", refers to the conscious action of inhabiting another persona—an inner costuming of the self. It works because it is an act of "conscious unfocus", a way of positively stimulating the default mode(默认模式) network, a collection of brain regions that spring into action when you're not focused on a specific task or thought.

    Most of us spend too much time worrying about two things: How successful/unsuccessful we are, and how little we're focusing on the task at hand. The former feeds the latter—an unfocused person is an unsuccessful one, we believe. Thus, we force ourselves into quiet areas, buy noise canceling headphones, and hate ourselves for taking breaks.

    What makes Pillay's argument stand out is its healthy, forgiving realism: According to him, most people spend nearly half of their days in a state of "unfocus". This doesn't make us lazy people—it makes us human. The idea behind psychological halloweenism is: What if we stopped judging ourselves for our mental down time, and instead started using it? Putting this new idea on daydreaming means addressing two problems at once: You're making yourself more creative, and you're giving yourself permission to do something you'd otherwise feel guilty about. Imagining yourself in a new situation, or an entirely new identity, never felt so productive.

Title: Pretending you're someone else can make you creative