Post-reading Activities

1. Post-reading Activities • Reading Aloud • Comprehension of the Text • Text Analysis • Essay Summary New Horizon College English I Unit 8-A

2. Reading Aloud I. Read the following paragraph aloud until you can say it from memory. • 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.  New Horizon College English I Unit 8-A

3. Comprehension of the Text Answer the following questions. 《读写教程 I》: Ex. II, p. 178 1. Where do good ideas come from according to the author? What does “the unconscious” mean to psychologists? • Good ideas come from the unconscious. Psychologists use the term to describe mental processes which are unknown to the individual. New Horizon College English I Unit 8-A

4. Comprehension of the Text -2 2. Is it just the great creative personalities who have experienced the sudden arrival of a new idea? • No. All of us have experienced the sudden arrival of a new idea, but it is easiest to examine it in the great creative personalities. 3. What state was Richard Wagner in when he arrived at the hotel? • He was sick and could not sleep for noise without and fever within. New Horizon College English I Unit 8-A

5. Comprehension of the Text -3 4.Did Wagner have an easy time with composing the opening to “Rhinegold”? • No. He had been occupied with the idea of the “Ring” for several years, and for many months had been struggling to make a start with the actual composing. New Horizon College English I Unit 8-A

6. Comprehension of the Text -4 5. What did he recognize in his mind when he fell into a sleeplike condition? • The rush and roar of water had become music and the orchestral opening to the “Rhinegold” had at last taken its shape within him. 6. What does the Wagner story tell us? • The unconscious mind at the moment of creation knew nothing of the actual process by which the solution was found. A new concept may suddenly explode into consciousness. New Horizon College English I Unit 8-A

7. Comprehension of the Text -5 7. In what way is the example of Henri Poincare different from that of Richard Wagner? • In the example of Henri Poincare, we see the conscious mind actually watching the unconscious at work. 8. What point do you see in the example of Descartes? • Dream plays an important role. Descartes was able to make the discovery with the help of his dream. New Horizon College English I Unit 8-A

8. Text Analysis • Main idea of the text • Good ideas come from the unconscious mind or brain activity usually not controlled by us. It is easiest to examine it in the great creative personalities. • Main idea of each part • Part I (Paras. 1-3) • Part II (Paras. 4-6) • Part III (Para. 7) • Writing Devices New Horizon College English I Unit 8-A

9. Part I (Paras. 1-3) • Creative thoughts depend on what was unknown becoming known. This is easily seen in the famous creative people. New Horizon College English I Unit 8-A

10. Part II (Paras. 4-6) • The author presents three different ways of forming big ideas: Wagner’s conscious mind knew nothing about the process of idea forming while Poincare’s conscious mind observed the process of idea forming in the unconscious, and Descartes’ dream enabled him to make an important discovery. New Horizon College English I Unit 8-A

11. Part III (Para. 7) • In creative thought the unconscious is responsible for the production of new organized forms from relatively disorganized elements . New Horizon College English I Unit 8-A

12. Writing Devices • Exemplification 举例法 • Take the example of Richard Wagner composing the opening to “Rhinegold”. (Para. 4) • As a contrast, we may consider a famous story: the discovery by Henri Poincare, …, of a new mathematical method called the Fuchsian functions. (Para. 5) • 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. (Para. 6) New Horizon College English I Unit 8-A

13. Writing Devices-2 • Sequence of Time and Space 时空顺序法 • Wagner had been occupied with… for several years, and for many months had been struggling to…. 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 afternoonflung himself on a couch intending to sleep. Then at last the miracle happened for which his unconscious mind had been seeking for so long… (Para. 4) New Horizon College English I Unit 8-A

14. Writing Devices-3 • Comparison and Contrast 对比法 • 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. New Horizon College English I Unit 8-A

15. Writing Devices-4 • concession 让步法 • Of course, all ideas don’toccur like thatbut so many do, particularlythe most important ones. (Para. 2) • How they do it isa mystery but they must come from somewhere.(Para. 2) • All of us have experiencedthis sudden arrival of a new idea,but it is easiest toexamine 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. (Para. 3) New Horizon College English I Unit 8-A

16. Creative thinking depends ___ what was unknown becoming _____. Unconscious _________ unknown to us are the source of the instinctive thinking that is responsible for new _________ concepts. All of us have experienced the sudden _________ into consciousness of a new concept when we _______ thinking about it. _________ we can find examples of _________ among famous personalities in every field. For the ___________ Descartes, for example, a dream determined his _______ life path and provided a central concept about existence. Essay Summary on clear progresses organized explosion weren’t Elsewhere invention philosopher potential New Horizon College English I Unit 8-A

17. The conscious mind of the mathematical genius Poincare actually _______ his unconscious __ work. For Wagner, by _______, his conscious mind at the moment of ________ knew nothing of the actual processes __ which the sound of water became an __________ score. All of these examples of creative thinking depend __ some degree on signals from the unconscious. The more ______ insightful the person, __________ and _____ dramatic the signals become. Essay Summary -2 watched at contrast creation by orchestral in highly more the sharper New Horizon College English I Unit 8-A