MBA英语阅读理解练习十五

In today's world, racial, ethnic, and national categories no longer impose fixed barriers or unbending traditions. This is not to say that these categories have disappeared. Rather, they are mixing and interacting in new ways . The hybrid nature of today's society is a valuable resource that companies and businesses should tap into in their quest to innovate.
The ability to apply knowledge to new situations is the most valued currency in today's economy. More than ever, creativity rewards those who exercise it, so curiosity about the source of creativity has never been higher. How creativity comes about is a riddle, but a few things seem clear. Highly creative people don't necessarily excel in raw brainpower. They are misfits on some level. They tend to question accepted views and to consider contradictory ones.
The implications are plain to see: Divergent thinking is an essential ingredient of creativity. Diverse groups produce diverse thinking. Therefore, diversity promotes creativity. This logic applies to corporations, research teams, think tanks, and other groups of creators. Those who rely on a team of diverse people are more likely to innovate than those who rely on platoons of similar people.
To be sure, hybridity poses risks. A hybrid person may lose himself in a jumble of affiliations. A hybrid nation may botch the process of reinvention. Still, the price of such errors seems lower than the cost of circling the ethnic wagons and either shutting out people who are different or forcing them to become “one of us." Never before have so many people married across racial and ethnic lines. Never before have so many people left their homelands for work or pleasure. Never before have so many people touched or tasted the clothes, foods, musical styles, and ideas of cultures not available to them in their youth. These people are not becoming phantoms or dilettantes. Rather, they are part of an outpouring of human creativity that is being driven by radical mixing.
“You cannot spill a drop of American blood," Herman Melville wrote in 1849, “without spilling the blood of the whole world." More than ever, Melville's declaration applies not only to America, but to all nations.

1. The author's attitude towards mixing of cultures is one of  .
[A] unrestricted enthusiasm [B] eager advocacy [C] genuine concern [D] satisfied approval
2. According to the text, people are curious about sources of creativity because  .
[A] creativity is profitable    [B] creativity is a basic human instinct
[C] creativity is directly related to diversity [D] creative thought is valued by almost everybody
3. In the fourth paragraph, the term “botch" most likely means   .
[A] complicate  [B] err in  [C] excel at  [D] flourish in
4. The author suggests of current times that  .
[A] without diversity, creativity would cease [B] the growth of the economy depends on a diverse workforce
[C] businesses can gain from the diversity [D] today's creative individual does best in business
5. This text is mainly about  .
[A] the significance of diversity to creative thought
[B] the advantages of diversity for innovative businesses
[C] the impact of an increasingly multicultural society on the economy
[D] the advantages and disadvantages of diversity

答案：
     1.答案为[B]，属于态度推断题。判断作者态度题，需要分析行文中作者的用词。题目中的mixing of cultures 在行文中以不同的形式出现，如：diversity， hybrid， diverse， mixing， hybridity。作者在文中不断使用creativity, valuable, most valued, rewards, essential, promote, innovate, outpouring等褒义词。而第四段第5—7句重复使用了never before引导的倒装句和平行句更是明确第表达了作者对文化的融合所持的支持、提倡的态度。因此，选项B正确（积极倡导）。选项A、C的概括有点过头，因为毕竟作者还是在第四段稍微提到了一些弊病。
2.答案为[A]，属于逻辑关系题。题目中的关键词curious about sources of creativity出现在第二段第二句（其中原文中的curiosity换成了题干中的curious）：人们对创造力的源泉产生了前所未有的浓厚兴趣是因为发挥创造力的人会得到前所未有的回报。由此可知，选项A符合此意：原文=题干+选项A（其中是原文的同义表达）。其他选项B、D在文中未提到，选项C推导有误，与第三段第三句不符。
3.答案为[A]，属于词义推断题。botch所在的句子与其前面一句构成了平行结构，而且在意义上后一句是前一句的进一步引申说明。这两句指出：混血儿由于各方面的关系错综复杂，可能会迷失自我。一个种族混杂的国家可能会把重整河山的进程botch。由此可推知botch的意思与前句中的lost himself in a jumble of affiliation相近，而决不会是个褒义词，因此可首先排除选项C（在……方面表现突出）、D（在……方面繁荣兴旺）。选项A、B中符合此意的应该是A（使复杂、麻烦、难处理）。
4.答案为[C]，属于信息推断题。题目中的关键词current times的同义词today’s society出现在第一段最后一句：现代社会的混杂性是个宝贵的资源，公司、企业在探索创新的过程中应该好好加以发掘利用。由此可知，符合此意的只有选项C，其中原文中的hybrid nature, valuable resource分别换成此选项中的diversity和gain。其他选项都属于推导过泛、过广。
5.答案为[B]，属于主旨思想题。文章第一段最后一句就是本文的主题（见上题译文）。下面的段落进一步解释混杂性的好处：它对创造力有推动作用，有助于公司、团体进行革新和创新。因此，选项B正确。其他选项A、C是文章第一、三段的内容，而选项D中提到的disadvantages（弊病）在第四段前三句中简单提到，但接下来的一句用still一转折表明了作者真正的观点态度：这种风险比起排斥、分化异类的代价小多了。
参考译文
当今的世界，种族、民族、国家的界限划分再也不会造成固定的隔阂或无法通融的传统观念；但这并不意味着这些类别已经消失，相反，它们正以新的方式混杂交融、相互作用。现代社会的混杂性是个宝贵的资源，公司、企业在探索创新的过程中应该好好加以发掘利用。
对知识活学活用的能力是现代经济生活中最受重视的通货。发挥创造力的人们得到前所未有的回报，于是人们对创造力的源泉也产生了前所未有的浓厚兴趣。创造力是怎样产生的？这是一个谜，不过有些事情似乎十分明了：具有高度创造力的人的天生智力不一定出类拔萃，在某种程度上他们还与周围的环境格格不入；他们常常会对大家都接受的见解提出质疑，而对有争议的意见情有独钟。
这其中的含意显而易见：不同的思维是创造力的基本要素之一。不同的群体产生不同的思维，因此多样性对于创造力起到了推动作用。同样的道理也适用于公司、研究组、智囊团以及其他创造性团队。依靠一支由形形色色的人所组成的团队的人们比那些仰仗由相似人群所构成的团体的人们更有可能进行革新和创新。
当然了，混杂状态是有风险的。混血儿由于各方面的关系错综复杂，可能会迷失自我。一个种族混杂的国家可能会把重整河山的过程弄得一塌糊涂。然而不管怎样，与绕过异族的马车、排斥异类或强迫他们变成“我们中的一分子”的成本相比，为上述过失所付出的代价要小得多。在此之前，从来没有这么多人跨越种族、民族的界限缔结姻缘；在此以前，从来没有这么多人为工作或游乐的需要离开故乡；在此以前，从来没有这么多人接触或尝试过小时候无法获得或接触到的各种服装、饮食、音乐风格、文化观念。这些人并没有变得令人恐惧或是成为浅薄的涉猎者；相反，他们是人类创造力表现的一部分，这种创造力正是在彻底地混合搅拌后迸发出来的。
1849年，作家赫尔曼·梅尔维尔这样写道：“如果美国人在流血，全世界也在流血。” 如今，他的这句话比以往任何时候都更适用，不仅适用于美国，更适用于世界各国。