阅读理解。
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.
1. According to the author, we are more creative when we are _______.
A. focused
B. relaxed
C. awake
D. busy
2. What does the author imply about newspapers?
A. They are solution providers.
B. They are a source of inspiration.
C. They are normally full of bad news.
D. They are more educational than websites.
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. switch to the traffic channel
D. stop concentrating on anything
4. The author writes the last paragraph in order to _______.
A. offer practical suggestions
B. summarize past experiences
C. advocate diverse ways of life
D. establish a routine for the future
