Question

Do you have trouble trying to create the next big idea? Sometimes the answer isn’t to just force an idea out of your mind. Instead, you might want to try sitting back, relaxing and letting your mind wander（走神）. Yes, you heard that correctly. If you are in need of a new idea, try daydreaming.

Researchers from the University of California, Santa Barbara, found an association（联系）between daydreaming and creative problem-solving. Their study includes having participants（参与者）first do an “unusual-use task”. They had to try to come up with as many different ways to use an object as they could.

Then, the participants chose to do one of the following four things before doing the “unusual-use task” again: Complete a difficult task ; complete an easy task; take a 12 –minute break; or skip（跳过）12-minute break and move right on to the task exercise again.

Surprisingly, the group that performed(执行) best was the one that completed the easy task. Many participants reported that they were daydreaming while performing the easy task. So the researchers believed that this daydreaming might have helped unlock their creativity.

But how could daydreaming help the brain come up with creative ways? The answer is something known as “unconscious thought”. Even when you are not actively working to solve a problem, it is still in the back of your mind. Your brain is still thinking about the problem, but in a much more subtle（不易察觉的）way.

When you daydream, your mind is allowed to think in ways it normally would not. Because it is free of control, it can create completely new and out-of-the-box ideas.

Great ideas never come easily, but that does not mean you always have to work hard to get them. Feel free to do what you want and let your mind wander.

1.What could you do to create great ideas according to the passage?

A.Work hard. B.Let your mind wander. C.Have a nice sleep. D.Read more books.

2.The “unusual-use task” included having participants______________________.

A.complete an easy task B.complete a very difficult task

C.take a 12-minute break D.come up with different ways to use an object

3.Why did the participants who completed the easy task perform best?

A.Because they were more creative than the others.

B.Because they were more knowledgeable than the others

C.Because they were better at solving problems than the others

D.Because they had the time to daydream, which might have helped unlock their creativity.

4.What does the underlined phrase “unconscious thought” in Paragraph 5 mean?

A.Your brain is thinking about a problem outside of your awareness（意识）

B.Your brain knows what you’re thinking and doing.

C.Your brain has a purpose of its own that cannot be known.

D.Your brain refuses to receive any information from the outside world.

5.What is the main idea of the passage?

A.Brainstorming is important to creative ideas.

B.The more we exercise our brains, the more ideas we will have.

C.Daydreaming is a way to improve creativity.

D.Problem-solving skills are important in our lives.

Answer 1