听写短文

Changing Rate of Employment

West Germany had one of the lowest rates of unemployment back in 1980. It stood at just 3%. But then over the next three years it rose quite sharply and steadily. In 1982 it was nearly 6%, and in 1983 it was the same as France. 1984 saw a slight increase, and 1985 a slight fall. The 1985 figure was 8%, in between France and the United States. The United States has had ups and downs, or rather, it’s the only country to show a significant drop in the number of unemployed. This is d ue to high interest rates, which haven’t helped the rest of the world. In 1980 the rate was about the same as France and Great Britain, slightly higher than France, actually, at about 7%. This rose to 7.5% in 1981, and then peaked the following year at over 9%.

Creativity

Creativity is not something one is just born with, nor is it necessarily a characteristic of high intelligence. That a person is highly intelligent does not mean he uses it creatively. Creativity is the matter of using the resources one has to produce original ideas that are good for something. There are things that parents can do at home to encourage creativity. They can involve children in decision-making if the problem is appropriate, asking the child for suggestions. Parents can help their children to understand the consequences of various decisions. Parents should also encourage their children to talk out loud about things they are doing, thinking and language skills are closely related. Talking out loud improves language skills and thinking skills. It is important to give children choices. As children grow older, parents should let their children make more serious decisions, but not automatically help them too much if they make the wrong decision. This may be confusing for the child, but that is all right. This is because one of the most important traits of creative people is a very strong motivation to make order out of confusion.