(08·陕西C篇)

This was no ordinary class. The students who came together were all science or engineering professors at Cornell University. They had interrupted their research to accept an invitation to take part in an unusual experiment: “an interesting week of poetry”. This class was part of a study to answer the questions: Why is science difficult for many nonscience students? What can teachers learn about teaching if they take a class that is not in their field?

The students in the poetry class listened to lectures and took notes. They had reading tasks and had to write three short papers. All students noticed one thing—the importance of spoken words. In science and engineering classes, the instructors put tables and drawings on the blackboard. But in this poetry class, the instructors just talked. They didn’t write anything on the board.

The scientists and engineers noticed one similarity between science and poetry. In both subjects, students need to find layers (层次)　of meaning . Some layers are simple, clear, and on the surface; other layers are deeper and more difficult. This search for different levels of meaning doesn’t happen much in undergraduate(本科)　science classes, but it is important later, in graduate school. And it is always important in humanities(人文科学).

Both the poetry instructors and their students learned something about teaching from this experience. One poetry instructor, for example, now sees the importance of using informative as he teaches. Most of the scientists agreed on several points. First, humanities classes might help science students to see patterns and decide which information is important. Second, the poetry class was fun. One engineer decided, “We need to change the way we teach engineering to make it an enjoyable experience for students.”

But perhaps the most important result of the experience was this:All of the professors began to think about how they teach and how they can teach better.

49. What do we know about this unusual class?

A. The teachers did lots of writing on the board.

B. The teacher were invited to attend several lectures.

C. The students were professors from a university.

D. The students were studying science and humanities.

50. The experiment was designed to find out       .

   A. how to teach the students in the science class

B. whether poetry is difficult for science students

C. what to be taught in the humanities class

D. why many humanities students find science hard

51. Finding levels of meaning is       .

   A. important for graduate students in humanities

B. difficult for graduate students in humanities

C. common for undergraduate students in science

D. easy for undergraduate students in science

52. What did the science professors learn after the experiment?

   A. They should change the way they teach.

B. A poem could be explained in clear definitions.

C. A poetry class could be more informative.

D. Their teaching was an enjoyable experience.

Have you ever been in a meeting while someone was making a speech and realized suddenly that your mind was a million miles away? You probably felt sorry and made up your mind to pay attention and never have daydreaming again. Most of us from earlier school days have been told that daydreaming is a waste of time.
“ On the contrary,” says L.Giambra, an expert in psychology（心理学）, “ daydreaming is quite necessary. Without it, the mind couldn’t get done all the thinking it has to do during a normal day… .
You can’t possibly do all your thinking with a conscious（有意识的） mind. Instead, your unconscious mind is working out problems all the time. Daydreaming then may be one way that the unconscious states of minds have silent dialogues.”
Early experts in psychology paid no attention to the importance of daydreams or even considered them harmful. At one time daydreaming was thought to be a cause of some mental illness. They did not have a better understanding of daydreams until the late 1980s. Eric Klinger, a professor of psychology, is the writer of the book Daydreaming. Klinger says, “we know now that daydreaming is one of the main ways that we organize our lives, learn from our experiences, and plan for our futures… Daydreams really are a window on the things we fear and the things we long for in life.”
Daydreams are usually very simple and direct, quite unlike sleep dreams which may be hard to understand. It’s easier to gain a deep understanding of your life by paying close attention to your daydreams than by trying to examine your sleep dreams carefully. Daydreams help you recognize the difficult situations in your life and find out a possible way of handling them.
Daydreams cannot be predicted; they move off in unexpected directions which may be creative and full of useful ideas. For many famous artists and scientists, daydreams were and are a main source of creative energy.
So the next time you catch yourself daydreaming, don’t stop. Just pay attention to your dream. It may be more important than you think.
【小题1】In what way are daydreams different from sleep dreams?

Have you ever been in a meeting while someone was making a speech and realized suddenly that your mind was a million miles away?You probably felt sorry and made up your mind to pay attention and never have daydreaming again. Most of us, from earliest school days, have been told that daydreaming is a waste of time.

"On the contrary, "says L. Giambra, an expert in psychology(心理学), "daydreaming is quite necessary. Without it, the mind couldn't get done all the thinking it has to do during a normal day... You can't possibly do all your thinking with a conscious(有意识的)mind. Instead, your unconscious mind is working out problems all the time. Daydreaming then may be one way that the unconscious and conscious states of mind have silent dialogues. "

Early experts in psychology paid no attention to the imporance of daydreams or even considered them harmful. At one time daydreaming was thought to be a cause of some mental illnesses. They did not have a better understanding of daydreams until the late 1980s. Eric Klinger, a professor of psychology, is the writer of the book Daydreaming. Klinger says, "We know now that daydreaming is one of the main ways that we organize our lives, learn from our experiences, and plan for our futures...Day dreams really are a window on the things we fear and the things we long for in life. "

Daydreams are usually very simple and direct, quite unlike sleep dreams, which may be hard to understand. It's easier to gain a deep understanding of your life by paying close attention to your daydreams than by trying to examine your  sleep dreams carefully. Daydreams help you recognize the difficult situations in your life and find out a possible way of handling(处理)them.

Daydreams cannot be predicted(预料);they move off in unexpected directions which may be creative and full of useful ideas. For many famous artists and scientists, daydreams were and are a main source of creative energy.

So the next time you catch yourself daydreaming, don't stop. Just pay attention to your dream. It may be more important than you think.

1. Daydreaming used to be considered                 .

A. very simple and direct

B. unimportant or even harmful

C. a necessary part of thinking

D. the result of an unconscious mind

2 In what way are daydreams different from sleep dreams?

A. Daydreams are easier for us to understand.

B. Daydreams are not so easy for us to control and direct.

C. Daydreams help us to handle more difficult situations.

D. Daydreams help to develop an unconscious mind.

3. Professor Eric Klinger believes that                   .

A. we may study our experiences just through our daydreams

B. daydreaming is one of the important ways that we recognize our lives

C. we should be able to tell our futures by having daydreams

D. our fears and longings in life are shown in our daydreams

4. The writer of the article thinks that                   .

A. Professor Eric Klinger has a better idea than L. Giambra

B. daydreaming with an unconscious mind will do good to health

C. daydreaming is more helpful than sleep dreams

D. many artists and scientists are famous because they have daydreams

5. Which of the following is NOT TRUE according to the passage?

A. Daydreaming was once regarded as a cause of some mental illnesses. 

B. Scientists believe that we can know daydreams before having them.

C. Experts began to have a better understanding of daydreams in the late 1980s.

D. Many well-known artists gained energy of creation from daydreams.