general-to-specific

New Century College English (Book II)
Unit 6: Part A The Creative Personality
I. T eaching Objectives:
1. To make clear the writer’s purpose to write the text: encourage al l people to be creati ve
2. To grasp the key words and phrases.
3. To master the skills of writing and reading in this unit.
1)To introduce the theme with the general-to-specific structure
2)To understand idiomatic expressions
II. Teaching Content
1. Get started
2. Text Organization
3. Skill Learning in Writing and Reading
4. Language Points (key words, phrases and difficult sentences)
5. Grammar Focus (Relative pronouns)
6. Guided Practice
III. Teaching Process
1. Get started (warm-up questions)
1. What is creativity? Have you ever done anything creative?
2. Why do you think being creative is important for a person or a nation?
3. Who do you think is the most the creative person the worl d has ever seen? Why?
2. T ext Organization
Part 1 (Para 1):What makes the personalities of creative people different from others can be generalized with one word —“complexity”.
Part 2 (Para2-15): The author tells us eight traits that are often found in creative people.
3. Skill Learning in Writing and Reading
The author uses the general-to-specific method to finish off this article. He first defines the creative persons as a “multitude” and then lists the traits of them one by one i n each paragraph.
4. Language Points
A) New words and phrases explanation
1. devote: v. use all or most of your time, effort, etc. i n order to do sth. or hel p sb.
Eg: She devoted herself to her business.
2. multitude: n. a very large number of people or things
Eg: I had never seen such a multitude of stars before.
3. integrate: v. if two or more things integrate, or if you integrate them, they combine or work together in a way that makes sth. more effective
Eg: Colorful illustrations are integrated into the text.
Many schools are now integrating computer science into the curriculum.
4. external: adj. relating to the outside of sth. or of a person’s body; relating to your environment or situation, rather than to your own qualities, ideas, etc.
Eg: They did it in response to external pressures.
5. recharge one’s batteries: (informal) rest or rel ax i n order to get back your energy
Eg: I ’m going to spend a week in the mountains to recharge my batteries.
6. trial: n. a process of testing to find out whether sth. works effecti vel y and i s safe
Eg: The new drug is undergoing clinical trials.
7. (go) hand in hand: if two things go hand in hand, they are cl osel y connected;
Eg: Wealth and power go hand in hand in most societies.
8. insight: n. a sudden clear understanding of sth, especially a compli cated si tuati on or i dea
Eg: The article gives us a real insight into the causes of the present economi c cri si s.
His speech gave us an insight into the problems of education.
9. correlate: v. if two or more facts, ideas, etc. correlate or if you correlate them, they are closely connected to each other or one causes the other
Eg: He’s trying to find out if these behavior patterns correlate with particular changes in diet.
10. superior: adj. 1) of very good quality
Eg: This handbag is made of superior leather.
2) better, more powerful, more effective, etc. than a similar person or thing, especially one that you are competing against. Eg: This western restaurant is superior to the one we went to last week.
11. alternate: v. if two things alternate, or if you alternate them, they happen one after the other in
a repeated pattern
Eg: Work alternated with sleep. His moods alternated between happi ness and gl oom.
12. distinguish: v. recognize and understand the difference between two or more things or peopl e
Eg: Small children can’t distinguish between right and wrong.
distinguish普通用词，指有能力辨别或实际观察到的区别，强调辨别所需的技巧。

discriminate语气强，指从非常相似的事物中辨出差异，尤其强调把好坏区分开来。

Can you ______ good books from bad ones? (=discriminate)
I can ______ my roommates by their footsteps. (=distinguish)
The twins are so alike it’s difficult to ______ one from the other. (=distinguish)
13. regard: n. (formal) attention or considerati on that i s shown towards sb. or sth.
Eg: She has no regard for other people’s feelings.
The present administration has demonstrated little regard for envi ronmental i ssues.
14. nerve: n. courage and confidence in a dangerous, diffi cul t, or fri ghteni ng si tuati on
Eg: It must have taken a lot of nerve to ri sk so much money on one product.
15. innovation: n. the introduction of new ideas or methods
Eg: We must encourage innovation if the company i s to remai n competi ti ve.
16. credibility: n. the quality of deserving to be believed and trusted
Eg: There are serious questions about the credibility of these reports.
丑闻损害了他作为领导的威信。

The scandal has damaged his credibility as a leader.
17. expose: v. put sb. in a situation where they are not protected from something dangerous or unpleasant
Eg: The report revealed that workers had been exposed to hi gh l evel s of radi ati on.
18. threshold n. the level at which sth. starts to happen or have an effect
Eg: She has a very low threshold of pain.
19. be at / in / to the forefront (of sth.): be in a leading position in an important activity that is trying to achieve sth. or develop new ideas
Eg: The company has always been at the forefront of sci ence and technol ogy.
Prison conditions have been pushed to the forefront of public debate.
20. vicious: adj. very unkind in a way that is intended to hurt sb.’s feelings or make their character seem bad
Eg: He gave the dog a vicious blow with his stick.
21. devastating: adj. badly damaging or destroying sth.
Eg: Acid rain has a devastating effect on the forest.
22. expertise: n. special skills or knowledge in a particular subject that you learn by experience or training
Eg: What he brings to the company is financial expertise.
23. for the sake of sb. / sth., for sb.’s / sth.’s sake: in order to help, improve, or pl ease sb. or sth.
Eg: He moved to the seaside for the sake of his health.
24. strive: v. make a great effort to achieve sth.
Eg: We must continue to strive for greater efficiency.
B) Paraphrase of difficult sentences
1. (Para. 1) They contain contradictory extremes; instead of being an “individual”, each of them is
a “multitude”.
Paraphrase: Creative people have many different personalities. Instead of possessing the personality traits that are normally found only in different people, they possess these different traits all in themselves, as if each of them were made up of many individuals.
2. (Para. 3) When necessary, they can focus it like a laser beam; when not, creative types immediately recharge their batteries.
Paraphrase: Creative people have the extraordinary ability to concentrate their energy on their jobs if necessary; however, when such concentration is unnecessary, they will stop working and relax, refreshing themselves for future tasks.
3. (Para. 3) This is not a biorhythm inherited with their genes; it was learned by trial and error as a strategy for achieving their goals.
这不是得自遗传基因的生物节奏；而是为达到目标而通过反复尝试掌握的一种策略。

4. (Para. 4) As Howard Gardner reveals in his study of the major creative geniuses of the 20th century, a certain immaturity, both emotional and mental, can go hand in hand with deepest insights. Paraphrase: Creative people can be very intelligent and insightful; meanwhile they may be immature both emotionally and mentally in a certain way. That is to say, they may be very intelligent and yet at the same time be childish and naive sometimes
5. (Para. 8) …either preferring to be in the thick of crowds or sitting on the sidelines and observing the passing show.
Paraphrase: Creative people either choose to be in the company of many people or to stand outside the crowd and watch what others do.
6. (Para. 9) These individuals stand “on the shoulders of giants”.
It quotes from Newton’s words “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”
7. (Para. 12) Inventors have a low threshold of pain.
What does a low threshold of pain mean?(=It means the i nabili ty to suffer a l ot of pai n.)
8. (Para. 13) Eminence invites criticism and often vicious attacks.
(“invite”means “encourage something bad to happen, especially wi thout i ntendi ng to”.)
Translation: 卓越会招致批评，甚至往往是恶毒攻击。

5. Grammar Focus
1) Review of the relative clause which is introduced by “a preposition and a relative pronoun”.
2) Review of the relative clause including “as”. Examples are:
There stood the man for whom she had been looking.
I haven’t much money but you can use such as I have.
The time at which each control signal is sent is carefully control l ed by a di gi tal cl ock.
6. Guided Practice (exercises, oral practice and group work)
1) Summary of Some Useful Phrases from the Text
有机组合、辨证统一integrate with each other in a dialectical manner
通过反复试验掌握……learn…by trial and error
趋同思维convergent thinking
根深蒂固的现实感a deeply-rooted sense of reality
呆在人群中be in the thick of crowds
独坐一旁sit on the sidelines
冒险take risks
缺乏冒险精神a lack of nerve
凡事四平八稳play safe games
对痛苦的容忍很低have a low threshold of pain
提出一种理论develop a theory
在自己擅长的领域工作work in the area of one’s expertise
2) After-class Assignments: complete the sentences (P198-199); Close and translation (P208-209)
T ext B: Unlock Y our Own Creativity
Language points:
1. get along/on
Eg: How did you get along on so little money at college?
1.out of date
eg：Their manufacturing methods are hopelessly out of date.
2.eliminate
eg: Car makers claim that over 4,000 jobs will be eli mi nated over the next four years.
3.get a grip on
eg: I still find it difficult to get a grip on this question
4.smooth out
eg: Thanks to the good weather, the work smoothed out.
5.make sense
eg: Why did she do a thing like that? It doesn’t seem to make sense to me.
6.possibility
eg: Imagination extends the possibilities of knowledge.
ually it takes a whack on the head
Paraphrase: In most cases, we need something to activate our minds
8.We must chip away at the “mental locks” that close our minds.
Paraphrase: We must gradually unlock our minds.
9. Our company is a ship without a drummer
Paraphrase: The metaphor implies that the company needs a coordinator as a ship needa a drummer to make people work in unison.。