Brrriiinnng．The alarm clock announces the start of another busy weekday in the morning．You jump out of bed, rush into the shower, into your clothes and out the door with hardly a moment to think．A stressful journey to work gets your blood pressure climbing．Once at the office, you glance through the newspaper with depressing stories or reports of disasters．In that sort of mood, who can get down to work, particularly some creative, original problem-solving work?
The way most of us spend our mornings is exactly opposite to the conditions that promote flexible, open-minded thinking．Imaginative ideas are most likely to come to us when we’re unfocused．If you are one of those energetic morning people, your most inventive time comes in the early evening when you are relaxed．Sleepy people’s lack of focus leads to an increase in creative problem solving．By not giving yourself time to tune into your wandering mind, you’re missing out on the surprising solutions it may offer．
The trip you take to work doesn’t help, either．The stress slows down the speed with which signals travel between neurons （神经细胞）, making inspirations less likely to occur．And while we all should read a lot about what’s going on in the world, it would not make you feel good for sure, so put that news website or newspaper aside until after the day’s work is done．
So what would our mornings look like if we wanted to start them with a full capacity for creative problem solving? We’d set the alarm a few minutes early and lie awake in bed, following our thoughts where they lead．We’d stand a little longer under the warm water of the shower, stopping thinking about tasks in favor of a few more minutes of relaxation．We’d take some deep breaths on our way to work, instead of complaining about heavy traffic．And once in the office—after we get a cup of coffee—we’d click on links not to the news of the day but to the funniest videos the web has to offer．
小题1:What is the purpose of the first paragraph?
A．To tell us a specific story．
B．To introduce the topic of the passage．
C．To indicate how busy one usually is in the morning．
D．To show mornings are not suitable for creative work．小题2:What does the author imply about newspapers?
A．They are normally full of bad news．
B．They are solution providers．
C．They are a source of inspiration．
D．They are more educational than websites．小题3:By “tune into your wandering mind” （in Para．2）, the author means “_______”．
A．wander into the wild
B．listen to a beautiful tune
C．stop concentrating on anything
D．switch to the traffic channel小题4:The author writes the last paragraph in order to _______．
A．establish a routine for the future
B．summarize past experiences
C．advocate diverse ways of life
D．offer practical suggestions
小题1:B
小题2:A
小题3:C
小题4:D
文章介绍了人在注意力不集中的情况下最有创造性，给出了我们一些让自己更有创造性的建议。
小题1:B 段落大意题。第一段讲述了一个忙碌的人早晨的情况，为了引出下文的话题，B正确。
小题2:A 细节题。根据第一段4,5行you glance through the newspaper with depressing stories or reports of disasters．说明在报纸上有很多负面的消息，这些消息会影响我们的情绪。故A正确。
小题3:C 推理题。根据本段第2行Imaginative ideas are most likely to come to us when we’re unfocused．说明在注意力分散的时候，人是最有创造性的，会有很多创造性的想法出现。那么这句话意为：如果我们不给时间让我们的思绪飘荡，我们就会错过解决问题的好方法。让我们的思绪飘荡即不要把注意力集中在某个事情上，故C正确。
小题4:D 段落大意题。文章最后一段给出了很多的建议，都是关于如何度过这样的上午以让我们的更有创造性。故D正确。