新视野大学英语第三版综合教程2

Unit 1Learning the art of critical thinkingA. There is nothing more practical than sound thinking. No matter what your circumstance or goals, no matter where you are, or what problems you face, you are better off if your thinking is skilled. As a manager, leader, employee, citizen, lover, friend, parent - in every realm and situation of your life -good thinking pays off. Poor thinking, in turn, inevitably causes problems, wastes time and energy, and engenders frustration and pain.B. Critical thinking is the disciplined art of ensuring that you use the best thinking you are capable of in any set of circumstances. The general goal of thinking is to "figure out the lay of the land" in any situation we are in. We all have multiple choices to make. We need the best information to make the best choices.C. It is important to realize that serious study of thinking, serious thinking about thinking, is rare. It is not a subject in most colleges. It is seldom found in the thinking of our culture. But if you focus your attention for a moment on the role that thinking is playing in your life, you may come to recognize that, in fact, everything you do, or want, or feel is influenced by your thinking.D. To make significant gains in the quality of your thinking you will have to engage in a kind of work that most humans find unpleasant, if not painful - intellectual work. Yet once this thinking is done and we move our thinking to a higher level of quality, it is not hard to keep it at that level. Still, there is the price you have to pay to step up to the next level. One doesn't become a skillful critic of thinking overnight, any more than one becomes a skillful basketball player or musician overnight. To become better at thinking, you must be willing to put the work into thinking that skilled improvement always requires.E. This means you must be willing to practice special "acts" of thinking that are initially at least uncomfortable, and sometimes challenging and difficult. You have to learn to do with your mind "moves" analogous to what accomplished athletes learn to do (through practice and feedback) with their bodies. Improvement in thinking, in other words, is similar to improvement in other domains of performance where progress is a product of sound theory, commitment, hard work, and practice. Consider the following key ideas, which, when applied, result in a mind practicing skilled thinking. These ideas represent just a few of the many ways in which disciplined thinkers actively apply theory of mind to the mind by the mind in order to think better.1. Clarify your thinking.F. Our own thinking usually seems clear to us, even when it is not. But vague, ambiguous, muddled, deceptive, or misleading thinking are significant problems in human life. If we are to develop as thinkers, we must learn the art of clarifying thinking, of pinning it down, spelling it out, and giving it a specific meaning. Here's what you can do to begin. When people explain things to you, summarize in your own words what you think they said. When you cannot do this to their satisfaction, you don't really understand what they said. When they cannot summarize what you have said to your satisfaction, they don't really understand what you said. Try it. See what happens.2. Stick to the point.G. Be on the lookout for fragmented thinking, thinking that leaps about with no logical connections. Start noticing when you or others fail to stay focused on what is relevant. Focus on finding what will aid you in truly solving a problem. When someone brings up a point (however true) that doesn't seem pertinent to the issue at hand, ask, "How is what you are saying relevant to the issue" When you are working through a problem, make sure you stay focused on what sheds light on and, thus, helps address the problem. Don't allow your mind to wander to unrelated matters. Don't allow others to stray from the main issue. Frequently ask: "What is the central question Is this or that relevant to it How"3. Question questions.H. Most people are not skilled questioners. Most accept the world as it is presented to them. And when they do question, their questions are often superficial or "loaded". Their questions do not help them solve their problems or make better decisions. Good thinkers routinely ask questions in order to understand and effectively deal with the world around them. They question the status quo. They know that things are often different from the way they are presented. Their questions penetrate images, masks, fronts, and propaganda. Their questions make real problems explicit and discipline their thinking through those problems. If you become a student of questions, you can learn to ask powerful questions that lead to a deeper and more fulfilling life. Your questions become more basic, essential, and deep.4. Be reasonable.I. One of the hallmarks of a critical thinker is the disposition to change one's mind when given good reason to change. Good thinkers want to change their thinking when they discover better thinking. They can be moved by reason. Yet, comparatively few people are reasonable. Few are willing to change their minds once set. Few are willing to suspend their beliefs to fully hear the views of those with which they disagree. How would you rate yourself ?J. The extent to which any of us develops as a thinker is directly determined by the amount of time we dedicate to our development, the quality of the intellectual practice we engage in, and the depth, or the lack thereof, of our commitment to becoming more reasonable, rational, successful persons.1. Critical thinking is a kind of art that can be trained to guarantee that you use the best thinking you can in no matter what kind of circumstances.2. If other people are not satisfied with your summary of what they said, it means you have problems understanding what they said.3. Good thinking is the most useful thing.4. You may find that your thinking influences whatever you do, or want, or feel, if you consider for a moment the role thinking plays in your life.5. Most people are unwilling to suspend their beliefs and seriously listen to others' opinions with which they don't agree.6. Intellectual work, though unpleasant for most people, can help us make great achievements in the quality of our thinking.7. Most people think that the world is just what it looks like.8. In order to avoid thinking fragmentedly, you need to concentrate on finding the key factors that help to solve the problem.9. Critical thinkers will change their minds when there are good reasons to do so, which is one of the typical features of them.10. The process of learning to train your mind is similar to the process of athletes learning to train their bodies.1- 5: BFACI6-10: DHGIE