Extraordinary creative activity has been characterized as revolutionary, flying in the face of what is acceptable and producing not what is acceptable but what will become accepted. According to this formulation, highly creative activity transcends the limits of an existing form and establishes a new principle of organization. However, the idea that extraordinary creativity transcends established limits is misleading when it is applied to arts, even though it may be valid for the sciences. Differences between highly creative art and highly creative science arise in part from a difference in their goals. For the sciences, a new theory is the goal and end result of the creative act. Innovative science produces new propositions in terms of which diverse phenomena can be related to one another in more coherent ways. Such phenomena as a brilliant diamond or a nesting bird are relegated to the role of data, serving as the means for formulating or testing a new theory. The goal of highly creative art is very different: the phenomenon itself becomes the direct product of the creative act. Shakespeare’s Hamlet is not a tract about the behavior of indecisive princes or the uses of political power; nor is Picasso’s painting Guernica primarily a propositional statement about the Spanish Civil War or the evils of fascism What highly creative artistic activity produces is not a new generalization that transcends established limits, but rather an aesthetic particular. Aesthetic particulars produced by the highly creative artist extend or exploit, in an innovative way, the limits of an existing form, rather than transcend that form.
This is not to deny that a highly creative artist sometimes establishes a new principle of organization in the history of an artistic field; the composer Monteverdi, who created music of the highest aesthetic value, comes to mind. More generally, however, whether or not a composition establishes a new principle in the history of music has little bearing on its aesthetic worth. Because they embody a new principle of organization, some musical works, such as the operas of the Florentine Camerata, are of signal historical importance, but few listeners or musicologists would include these among the great works of music. On the other band, Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro is surely among the masterpieces of music even though its modest innovations are confined to extending existing means. It has been said of Beethoven that he toppled the rules and freed music from the stilling confines of convention. But a close study of his compositions reveals that Beethoven overturned no fundamental rules. Rather, he was an incomparable strategist who exploited limits — the rules, forms, and conventions that he inherited from predecessors such as Haydn and Mozart, Handel and Bach — in strikingly original ways.
1. The author considers a new theory that coherently relates diverse phenomena to one another to be the _______.
2. The passage states that the operas of the Florentine Camerata are _______.
3. The author regards the idea that all highly creative artistic activity transcends limits with ______.
4. The author implies that an innovative scientific contribution is one that _______.
5. Which of the following statements would most logically conclude the last paragraph of the passage?
问题1选项
A.basis for reaffirming a well-established scientific formulation
B.tool used by a scientist to discover a new particular
C.synthesis underlying a great work of art
D.result of highly creative scientific activity
问题2选项
A.unjustifiably ignored by musicologists
B.not generally considered to be of high aesthetic value even though they are important in the history of music
C.often inappropriately cited as examples of musical works in which a new principle of organization was introduced
D.minor exceptions to the well-established generalization that the aesthetic worth of a composition determines its importance in the history of music
问题3选项
A.deep skepticism
B.strong indignation
C.marked indifference
D.moderate amusement
问题4选项
A.is cited with high frequency in the publications of other scientists
B.does not relegate particulars to the role of data
C.presents the discovery of a new scientific fact
D.introduces a new valid generalization
问题5选项
A.In similar fashion, existing musical forms were even further exploited by the next generation of great European composers.
B.Thus, many of the great composers displayed the same combination of talents exhibited by Monteverdi.
C.By contrast, the view that creativity in the arts exploits but does not transcend limits is supported the field of literature.
D.Actually, Beethoven’s most original works were largely unappreciated at the time that they were first performed.
第1题:D
第2题:B
第3题:A
第4题:D
第5题:A
第1题:
细节事实题。由题干可以定位到文章第一段第七句中Innovative science produces new propositions in terms of which diverse phenomena can be related to one another in more coherent ways.（创造性的科学产生可将各种不同现象用更一致的方式关联起来新的命题），根据句子前后关系知这里的new propositions就是指代前面的“new theory”，故D选项“高度创造性的科学活动的结果”正确。A选项“重申一个公认的科学公式的基础”，不符合文章内容，可排除。B选项“科学家用来发现新事物的工具”，不符合文章内容，可排除。C选项“一个伟大的艺术作品背后的综合”，不符合文章内容，可排除。因此D选项正确。
第2题:
推理判断题。由题干可以定位到第二段中More generally, however, whether or not a composition establishes a new principle in the history of music has little bearing on its aesthetic worth.（然而，一般来说，一部艺术作品是否在音乐历史上创建一种新的原则对其审美价值几乎没有任何影响），接着后面举例提及“如有重要历史意义的佛罗伦萨的卡梅拉塔社歌剧就不被听众或音乐学家认为是伟大的音乐作品”，由此分析知B选项“尽管它们在音乐史上很重要，但通常被认为没有很高的审美价值”正确。A选项“被音乐学家毫无道理地忽视了”，文章没有提到此内容，可排除。C选项“常被不恰当地引用为音乐作品的例子，其中引入了新的组织原则”，文章没有提到此内容，可排除。D选项“一个公认的结论是，作品的美学价值决定了它在音乐史上的重要性”，文章提到，作品确立新原则与审美价值无关。因此B选项正确。
第3题:
观点态度题。由题干可以定位到第—段中的However, the idea that extraordinary creativity transcends established limits is misleading when it is applied to arts, even though it may be valid for the sciences.（然而，这种非凡的创造性活动超越已经建立界限的理念尽管或许适用于科学，但用到艺术上时将会令人误解）及最后一段举贝多芬的“没有推翻基本原则”的例子可知作者的态度是“怀疑态度的”，故A选项“深度怀疑”正确。B选项“强烈愤慨”，文章没有体现作者的态度是愤慨的，B选项可排除。C选项“标志着冷漠”，作者的态度并不是冷漠的，C选项可排除。D选项“适度的娱乐”，不符合文章内容，可排除。因此A选项正确。
第4题:
推理判断题。由题干可以定位到第一段倒数第二句What highly creative artistic activity produces is not a new generalization that transcends established limits, but rather an aesthetic particular.（高度创新的艺术活动产生的不是高度创新的科学活动产生的那种超越已经建立的界限的新的概括，而是一种独特的审美），中的科学活动的“a new generalization”与艺术的“an aesthetic particular”形成对比，由此知D选项“提出一种新的有效的概括”正确。A选项“是否在其他科学家的论文中被高频率引用”，文章没有提到此内容，可排除。B选项“不将细节归为数据的角色”，文章没有提到此内容，可排除。C选项“展示了一个新的科学事实的发现”，文章没有提到此内容，可排除。因此D选项正确。
第5题:
推理判断题。由题干可以定位到文章最后一段，作者首先提到This is not to deny that a highly creative artist sometimes establishes a new principle of organization in the history of an artistic field; the composer Monteverdi, who created music of the highest aesthetic value.（这并不否认，一个富有创造力的艺术家有时会在艺术领域的历史中建立一个新的组织原则；作曲家蒙特威尔第，他创造了具有最高美学价值的音乐），接着作者写到More generally, however, whether or not a composition establishes a new principle in the history of music has little bearing on its aesthetic worth.（然而，更普遍地说，一个作品是否在音乐史上确立了一个新的原则，对它的审美价值几乎没有什么影响），并列举了正反的例子，最后说“仔细的研究发现，被认为颠覆音乐原则而解放音乐的贝多芬其实用显著的创新方式对自己所继承的原则等进行了开发而没有推翻基本的音乐原则”，由这里的行文思路，可以推测最后应该说“对现存的音乐形式或原则进行开发”，再由A选项中的关键词 “exploit开发”、composer “作曲家”分别与最后一段的最后一句中的“exploit”、贝多芬的身份“作曲家”形成对应关系知A选项“同样，现有的音乐形式也被下一代伟大的欧洲作曲家进一步发扬光大”更符合逻辑，故A选项正确。B选项“因此，许多伟大的作曲家都表现出与蒙特威尔第一样的天赋组合”，不符合文章内容，可排除。C选项“与此相反，文学领域支持的观点是，艺术的创造力发挥但不会超越极限”，不符合文章内容，可排除。D选项“事实上，贝多芬的大部分原创作品在第一次演奏的时候大多没有得到赏识”，不符合文章内容，可排除。因此A选项正确。
