Unit 4 CreativityPart 1 Listening, Understanding and SpeakingListening IIn China, education is considered a race. Students have to begin as early as possible and have to proceed as quickly as possible around the track. Success is measured by how many students cross the finish line in the short time. In America, we recognize the race too, but we feel that the students have a chance to explore things for themselves, even if not all of them reach the finish line. As a result of their exploring, some of the participants may have more to offer by the end of the race.The advantage of the Chinese way is that more students become proficient and reach the finish line. The disadvantage is that they may have less to say or to show once they get there. The disadvantage of the American way is that some students never finish the race. The advantage, however, is that some who do go "all the way" have very interesting and original things to say when they get there.Listening IIOnce Wealth and Poverty approached a merchant and introduced themselves as Goddesses. The merchant greeted both of them and said, "May I ask why you have come to my humble house?" The Goddess of Wealth said, "We want you to judge between us who is the most beautiful."The merchant did not know what to say. He knew he was between the devil and the deep blue sea: If he said that Wealth was more beautiful than Poverty, Poverty would curse him. If he said that Poverty was more beautiful than Wealth, Wealth would abandon him. However, he became calm and said, "I have great respect for you both. Would you please do what I ask of you? It is the only way I can judge properly." The Goddesses agreed. He said, "Mother Wealth, would you please walk towards my house? Mother Poverty, Would you please walk away from my house? This way I can see you both better, from near and far." The two Goddesses did what the merchant had asked them to do. Then the merchant confidently declared, "Mother Wealth! You appear most beautiful when you are nearest my house. Mother Poverty! You look most beautiful when you are farthest from my house." The Goddesses appreciated the wit and wisdom of the merchant. The Goddess of Wealth happily stayed in his house while the Goddess of Poverty cheerfully departed.Whenever we have a serious problem, if we look within and think calmly, a solution will come in answer to the problem.Listening IIIThere is an old and common saying in the United States that "There is nothing new under the sun."I thought of that today while reading an article in a magazine. The article tells about the growing number of people who are building earth-sheltered houses, which are partly underground. I had known about modern earth-sheltered houses, but I had never thought about their roofs before. Instead of having metal or tiles on the roofs, many of these houses now have living roofs. Thewooden top of the house is covered with a special waterproof plastic material. On top of this there is soil, in which grass and flowers are planted. Such a roof can be very beautiful. But this really is not a new idea. When the early settlers came to the United States, they often made their houses by digging into the ground. Their roofs were made of wood, and then covered by large areas of soil with grass or turf. They were warm, though not always waterproof. People replaced these houses and roofs as soon as they could live in regular wooden homes with wooden or metal roofs. Now, 200 years later, some people think of this as a new idea. But I think, "There is nothing new under the sun."Listening IVMan: It is said that the first sandwich was made in 1762 by the Earl of Sandwich. He didn't want to take time away from his card games to eat, so he ordered his butler to makesandwiches instead.Woman: Is that so? Hey, look at this. The first beauty contest was held in Belgium in 1888.Why in Belgium of all places?Man: Why not? Oh, here's one I bet you're proud of. The electric chair was used for the first time in 1890, in the United States. Yes, you're first to diagnose AIDS, too. The firstrecorded case was in New York.Woman: Plus and minus signs were used in 1514 in Holland. Yeah, there was no way we could have guessed that one. And the equals sign, you'll be pleased to hear, was first used inOxford, in 1557. You'd have thought they'd all have been invented at the same time.Man: Well, we both got these right. Coffee was in Arabia around 1,000 AD, and just before that, playing cards were invented in China.Woman: Well, I got this one right. First diagram of a flying machine was drawn by Leonardo da Vinci, as I said, in 1492.Man: Yeah, but the first air flight wasn't made until 1903, and it was in the United States. Woman: But that wasn't the question, was it? Also, England was also the first to transmit television.Man: Garbage! It was the Italians.Woman: No, it says here, the first TV transmission was in London, 1925. And here we are again, the first traffic lights were in London, in 1868.Man: But they didn't even have cars then, so why would they have needed traffic lights? Part 4 Further ListeningListening IJuan comes up to the Mexican border on his bicycle. He's got two large bags over his shoulders. The guard stops him and says, "What's in the bags?""Sand," answers Juan.The guard says, "We'll just see about that. Get off the bike." The guard takes the two bags and rips them apart; he empties them out and finds nothing in them but sand.He detains Juan overnight and has the sand analyzed, only to discover that there is nothing butpure sand in the bags.The guard releases Juan, puts the sand into new bags, hefts them onto the man's shoulders and lets him cross the border.A week later, the same thing happens. The guard asks, "What have you got?""Sand," says Juan.The guard does his thorough examination and discovers that the bags contain nothing but sand. He gives the sand back to Juan, and Juan crosses the border on his bicycle.This sequence of events is repeated every week for three years. Finally, Juan doesn't show up one day and the guard meets him in a bar in Mexico."Hey, buddy," says the guard. "I know you are smuggling something. It's driving me crazy. It's all I think about. I can't sleep. Just between you and me, what are you smuggling?"Juan sips his beer and says, "Bicycles."Listening IIPottery has been found in the remains of every ancient civilization. The oldest known piece of pottery was found in China and dates back to 7,900 BC. That's almost 10,000 years ago!The first pots were large bowls, formed by taking a lump of clay and making a bowl shape. Pottery doesn't just include pots, but anything made from clay that can hold things, such as jugs, vases and cups. Pottery was used to hold water, milk, seeds and grains.Later, people learned to mix different clays together to make stronger pottery and to put the pottery in a fire oven so that the clay would harden faster. The potter's wheel was invented in China around 3100 BC. The wheel spins clay like a top. It allowed people to make pottery much more quickly and made shapes that were perfectly symmetrical—bowls that were really round, rather than lumpy or uneven. Pottery is not only considered one of the first inventions but also one of the first art forms. Most types of pottery have been painted with figures or designs; some even tell a story!Listening III(Students are in the classroom waiting for the teacher to arrive. Two are talking.)Cathy: I've enjoyed talking about creativity in our English class. I wish I had been encouraged more when I was in elementary school.Michael: I know what you mean. I always liked drawing, but my teachers and parents insisted I was just wasting my time with it. My father said I should work onmathematics.Cathy: Maybe you will still use your artistic talent some day.Michael: Oh, I don't know. After all, I'm in university now. Perhaps I'm too old to be creative.Cathy: I don't think so. I read an interesting article about a lady who wanted to be an artist but the whole family wanted her to work in their candy business.Michael: What happened?Cathy: Well, Jean, the lady, knew painting was what she wanted to do, not making candy. After graduating from college she tried various jobs to support herself,though none of her jobs was in the candy business. And she kept painting in herspare time.Michael: Then what?Cathy: About 20 years ago a worker in the family candy business quit aroundValentine's Day, one of their busiest seasons. Her father needed Jean to come tohelp with the business.Michael: Did she?Cathy: Yes, although she didn't like it.Michael: So, how did she cope?Cathy: She got an idea of putting art and candy together.Michael: How?Cathy: First she experimented with making an edible paint. She found that powdered food coloring mixed with vodka would work.Michael: That's quite a combination.Cathy: Then, for her "canvas", she melted white chocolate and molded it flat. She even learned how to make chocolate frames.Michael: What kind of art did she create?Cathy: She copied the works of famous painters. She displayed her candy art in the candy shop and customers would come in just to look at the art.Michael: What did her family think then?Cathy: They didn't take her seriously until the Toledo Museum of Art heard about her works and paid her to paint 77 reproductions of works in their collection. Thatwas her first big job. Now she works full-time on her candy creations.Michael: Does she do anything besides copying art masterpieces?Cathy: Yes, she's done some portraits. However, people love her reproductions.Michael: What are the prices for her candy art creations?Cathy: From $150 to $200 each.Michael: Well, her creativity has brought her success.Listening IVFor over 30 years, "Sesame Street" has been the most popular TV program for young children in the United States. The characters on this show are mainly puppets, and probably the most loved of the puppets is a gigantic yellow bird called "Big Bird".Caroll Spinney has played Big Bird all the years of Big Bird's existence on American television. Spinney's love of puppets and his own creativity led him to this career. When he was five yearsold, he saw his first puppet show. He loved the show and never forgot it. When he was seven he bought a used monkey puppet for five cents. His mother had made him a stuffed snake from green material, so he got the idea of making his own puppet show. He made a stage from wooden orange boxes and his mother's old curtains. He charged 2 cents for admission and earned 32 cents for his first performance.Spinney's family liked his creativity and encouraged him to do more. For Christmas when he was nine, his older brother made him a better puppet theater and his mother secretly sewed eight colorful puppets for him. Spinney later wrote, "The more I gave shows, the more I felt the power that one has when performing. All these people would sit in a room and listen to everything I said.I did all the character voices: little girl voices, an old lady voice, and a ghost voice. The audience listened and clapped at the end, and also paid me to do it. What could be a better way to make a living than to perform? I knew that I would wind up in the world of entertainment."Spinney continued giving puppet shows. When he decided to go to art school, puppet shows helped him pay for his tuition. Even when he was in the army, he managed to continue giving puppet shows. He knew he wanted to do this as his life's work and that he wanted his audience to be children. When he was given the opportunity to create the character of Big Bird on "Sesame Street", he accepted it and over the years has made Big Bird one of the most beloved characters on American television.。
