Unit 8
Birth of Bright Ideas
Background Information:
Richard Wagner(1813-1883):
He was the greatest composer of
German opera, made a major addition to
the nature of opera through his writings
about and the creation of music drama.
His works include “The Ring of the
Nibelung”, a set of four operas based on
historical German stories
Background Information:

La Spezia
It is an industrial port and Italy’s chief naval station in
northwest Italy. Wagner visited here in 1853 when he
left his exile in Switzerland to which he had escaped
during World War II.

Henri Poincare (1854-1912): a great French
mathematics and theoretical science professor at the
Sorbonne (University of Paris), had a highly original
influence on the development of pure and applied
mathematics. He also worked on functions that changed
celestial mechanics, helped pioneer algebraic topology
and co-discovered the special theory of relativity.
Background Information:

Descartes, Rene (1596-1650): a famous French

Cogito ergo sum is Latin for “I think; therefore, I
philosopher, mathematician and scientist, was one of
the most influential thinkers in history. He is considered
the founder of both modern philosophy and analytic
geometry. During his life, established ideas were being
challenged, so he tried to develop a way to reach the
truth. He based his theory that the world is made up of
mind and matter on a concept that came to him in a
dream.
exist”, a key point in Descartes’ philosophy. He claimed
that the only thing anyone can be certain of is that s/he
thinks and therefore, s/he exists. The “I” is the mind
which can exist without being extended so that it can in
principle survive the death of the body.

Text Structure Analysis:

Part One (Paras.1-3):


Part
Two (Para 4-6):
Introduction—establish
an argument
Examples
support
Part
Threeto
(Para
7): the argument
Creative thoughts depend on what was
The author presents three different ways
Conclusion:
unknown becoming known. This is easily seen
of forming
big ideas:
Wagner’s
consciousis
In
creative
thought,
the
unconscious
in the famous creative people.
mind
knew nothing
about the process
responsible
for the production
of new of idea
forming
while
Poincare’s
conscious
mind
organized
forms
from relatively
disorganized
observed
elements.the process of idea forming in the
unconscious and Descarte’s dream enabled
him to make an important discovery.
Summary of the Text
Good Ideas come from the
unconscious mind or brain activity
usually not controlled by us. It is
easiest to examine it in the great
creative personalities.
Words and Expressions
form an idea
sleep on
occur
 glow with
 depend on
 in some degree
 the more …,
the more …
 be occupied with
 without; within



seek for
as though
take shape
 at work
 contrary to
 fill sb. With
(a feeling)
 responsible for



1. form an idea: begin to have an idea and
develop it




(Para.1)
1
.
idea,
L
We can also say “to form an
an opinion,
a judgment, a plan or even a personality”.
He found it hard to form an original opinion.
他觉得要有独到的见解并非易事。
I know them both well enough to form my
own judgment.
我对他们都非常了解，足以自己独立判断。
2. sleep on: leave sth. undecided and
unattached until later time
将某事拖到明天， 推迟对某事作出决定；放放再说 (Para.1)

Let me sleep on your proposal and tell you
the decision later.
让我考虑考虑你的建议，再把决定告诉你们。

Just sleep on it before making any decisions.
不急于做决定，还是明天再说吧。

You should not always sleep on a problem.
3. occur: come to mind



(Para. 2)
The idea never occurred to me.
我从未想到过这个主意。
It suddenly occurred to him that this was
something he should never do.
他突然想到这种事情他根本就不应该做。
4. They burst into the mind, glowing
with the heat of creation. (Para.2)
Meaning: These ideas come to the mind
suddenly and show clearly they are good,
creative ideas.
glow with: show redness or heat with

feelings, etc.
My father’s face glowed with satisfaction
when he saw my school report.
父亲看到我的成绩单，脸上露出了满意的神情。
5. Creative thought depends on what was
unknown becoming known. (Para.2)
Meaning: Creative thought comes if one can
change what was unknown into something that
is known.
depend on: happen according to; count on
 The success of the factory depends on the
workers.
工厂的成功取决于工人的工作。


Depending on how much he sells, his earnings
will increase.
他收入的增加取决他能卖出多少。
6. in some degree: to the limit of,
somewhat


(Para.3)
Production of fruit and vegetables has
also risen in varying degrees.
水果和蔬菜的产量也有了不同程度的增长。
He was not in the slightest degree
interested.
他一点也不感兴趣。
7. …the more highly insightful the person,
the sharper and more dramatic the signals
become.
(Para.3)




Meaning: If the person is more insightful, then
the signals become sharper and more obvious.
the more …, the more …
The sooner you start, the more quickly you
will finish the task.
你开始得越早，完成得就越快。
The more you know, the more modest you
become.
你懂得越多，就越谦虚。
8. be occupied with :
be busy with sth.


(Para. 4)
She was occupied with the cleaning of the
big house.
她正忙于打扫那幢大房子。
If one is too occupied with courting to
mind his main business, he stands little
chance of success.
一个人如果忙于谈情说爱而无暇顾及自己的主业，那
么他将很难取得成功。
9. …could not sleep for noise without
and fever within…
(Para.4)
Both “without” and “within” are used as adv.,
meaning “outside” and “inside”
More examples:
 The dog remained shaking without.
狗在门外发抖。


The building for sale. Enquires within.
此房出售，咨询请进！
He looked calm without, but anxious within.
他外表看起来很镇静，但内心却很焦急。
10. seek for : make a search for; look for
(Para. 4)


He has been seeking for a new place to live for
several months, but he has not found anything
he can afford.
他几个月来一直在找一个新住处，但还没有找到一处价格上
他能承受得起的地方。
She had been seeking for a new partner for her
business for a long time before finally finding
one.
长期以来她一直在寻找生意上的新伙伴，最终如愿以偿。
11.as if: (often followed by a clause in
subjunctive mood 虚拟语气) (Para. 4)


Why is she looking at me as though she
knew me? I have never seen her before in
my life.
为什么她老看着我，好像认识我似的？我可从未见过
她呀。
She looks almost as if she were drunk.
她看上去像是喝醉了。
12. take shape: (Para.4)
=develop or start to appear in such a way that it
becomes fairly clear what its final form will be 成形；
初具规模

The new building is beginning to take shape.
新大楼已初具规模。


After several days’ discussion, their project began
to take shape.
经过几天的讨论，他们的项目框架开始形成了。
The plan is beginning to take shape in my mind
这个计画在我脑子里逐渐有了眉目.
13. at work: having an effect; in
operation
(Para.5)


The report suggested that the same
direction was at work in political affairs.
报告表明在政治事务方面也存在同样的倾向。
It is important to understand the powerful
economic and social forces at work
behind their actions.
重要的是要懂得在这些措施之后经济和政治力量所起
的强大作用。
14. spend (time) doing sth.: pass the
time doing sth. (para 5)


He spent an hour each day exercising.
他每天花1小时运动。
Now more and more city adults spend
their free time trying to improve
themselves at school or college.
现在城市里越来越多的成年人利用业余时间到学校或
大学去充电。
15. contrary to: opposite to


(Para.5)
He passed the examination, contrary to
what I expected.
他考试及格了，这出乎我的预料。
Contrary to all advice, he gave up his job
and left for the south.
他不听任何劝告，辞了工作，去了南方。
16. When morning came, he had
established the existence of one class of
Fuchsian functions. (Para.5)



The word “come” is not only used to talk
about a person’s or an animal’s action but
also an event or time.
The time has come for us to move on.
我们该继续前进了。
Success comes after many failures.
经过多次失败之后，才会获得成功。
18. fill sb. with (a feeling):
make sb. Have or experience


(Para.6)
I admired my father and his work filled me
with curiosity.
我敬慕我的父亲，我对他的工作充满了好奇。
What netizens said filled him with anger.
网民的话使他十分生气。
17. …in the world of books, in the world on
men. (Para.6)
World: a particular area of human activity

the world of money
金融界

the book world
出版界

the world of sports
体育界

the scientific world
科学界
22. responsible for: being the cause of sth.
(Para.7)

He still felt responsible for her sudden
death.
他仍然感到她的突然死亡是他造成的。


He insisted that his solid foundation was
responsible for his present success.
他坚持认为他今天的成功归功于他扎实的基础。
Questions for discussion:
1. Where do good ideas come from according
to the author? What does “the unconscious”
mean to psychologists?
2. What devices have been employed in the
text?
3. What state was Richard Wagner in when he
arrived at the hotel?
4. What does the Wagner story tell us?
5. What point do you see in the example of
Descartes?
Writing
Colleges Have Opened Their Doors Wider
Please write a composition on the
above topic. You should write at least 120
words and base your composition on the
outline given in Chinese below:
1. 高校扩招是一件好事。
2. 高校扩招会带来的一些问题。
3. 我的观点。