武汉科技大学外国语学院《620外国语专业综合》历年考研真题汇编（含部分答案）

目录

2005年武汉科技大学336外国语专业综

合考研真题（含答案）

2005年武汉科技大学336外国语专业综

合考研真题（参考答案）

2006年武汉科技大学336外国语专业综

合考研真题（含答案）

2006年武汉科技大学336外国语专业综

合考研真题（参考答案）

2007年武汉科技大学336外国语专业综

合考研真题（含答案）

2007年武汉科技大学336外国语专业综

合考研真题（参考答案）

2008年武汉科技大学636外国语专业综

合考研真题（含答案）

2008年武汉科技大学636外国语专业综

合考研真题（参考答案）

2009年武汉科技大学636外国语专业综

合考研真题（含答案）

2009年武汉科技大学636外国语专业综

合考研真题（参考答案及评分标准）

2010年武汉科技大学636外国语专业综

合考研真题

2012年武汉科技大学620外国语专业综

合考研真题（含答案）

2012年武汉科技大学620外国语专业综

合考研真题（参考答案）

2013年武汉科技大学620外国语专业综

合考研真题（A卷）（含答案）

2013年武汉科技大学620外国语专业综

合考研真题（A卷）（参考答案）

2013年武汉科技大学620外国语专业综

合考研真题（B卷）（含答案）

2013年武汉科技大学620外国语专业综

合考研真题（B卷）（参考答案）

2014年武汉科技大学620外国语专业综

合考研真题（A卷）（含答案）

2014年武汉科技大学620外国语专业综

合考研真题（A卷）（参考答案）

2015年武汉科技大学620外国语专业综

合考研真题（A卷）（含答案）

2015年武汉科技大学620外国语专业综

合考研真题（A卷）（参考答案）

2016年武汉科技大学620外国语专业综

合考研真题（A卷）（含答案）

2016年武汉科技大学620外国语专业综

合考研真题（A卷）（参考答案）

2005年武汉科技大学336外国语专业综合考研真题（含答案）

SectionOne

ADVANCEDENGLISH(70%)

I.Explaineachofthefollowingculturalfiguresortermsbriefly:(15%)

1．BlackHumor

2．NiccoloMachiavelli

3．TenCommandments

4．MalthusianPopulationTheory

5．TheGreatDepression

II.Identifythefiguresofspeechinthefollowingsentences:(10%)

1．AlltheperfumesofArabiawillnotsweetenthislittlehand.

2．Goodbreedingconsistsinconcealinghowmuchwethinkofourselves

andhowlittlewethinkoftheotherperson.

3．Empireofferedafewmenasourceofprofit,manymenasenseof

missionand,totheanonymouseverymanofEurope’sslums,asenseofpride.

4．Graypeacepervadedthewilderness-ringedArgentinaBayin

Newfoundland.

5．Theyoungmoonliesonherbacktonightasisherhabitinthetropics,and

as,Ithink,issuitableifnotseemlyforavirgin.

III.Vocabulary(20%)

1．Explainthemeaningofthefollowingprefixesorsuffixesasitalicizedin

thefollowingwords:

a)Pseudoclassics

b)ultraviolet

c)forecast

d)dictatorship

e)fleshy

2．Writeoutthefullformsofthefollowingshortenings,acronymsorblends:

a)Radar

b)MIT

c)flu

d)Stagflation

e)quake

IV.ReadingComprehension(25%)

IntellectualAdvancementandEmotionalDegeneration

Amazing,howaconversationthatstartsoutonaninnocentnote,can

suddenlyzoomintosomethingasin-depthashumanityandthereasons

behinditsperformance.Theotherdayafriendofminementionedthefact

thatmanyoftheadvantagesthatwenowtakeforgranted,suchaspersonal

computers,cellularphones,andmanymoreminiaturizedelectronic

equipment,arethedirectresultsofoureffortstoputamanonthemoonin

thesixties.Myfriendwasthereforequitedisturbedbyvariousgroups’

currentoppositiontowardspaceexploration.

Myresponsetohisaggravationwasthatmaybetheseopposinggroups

considerthatthereisstillsomuchtobecleanedupamongstourselves,and

thatwecouldusepartofthehumongouscapitalinvestedinspaceexploration

toprotectourenvironment,fundtheeconomicallylessfortunateonesonour

ownearth,andreducefamine.(1)

Thispromptedtheconversationinthedirectionofshortsightedness.My

friendconcludedthatwe,humanbeings,areinconsideratecreatures,unable

tointeractwithhonestyandintegrity,incapableoftoleratingdifferences

withoutinstitutionalizingthem,andinepttowardhavingprideforour

individualityratherthanforthegroupwehappentobepartof.Hestatedthat

humanityseemstodwellinaneverlastingstageofinfancy,impotenttorise

towardmaturity.(2)

Thisreallyfueledmypipe.Ideclaredtomyfriend—andthismayoffend

somereadersevenmoreatfirstimpulse—thathiscrywasnothingnew,for

humanityhasaherd-likementality,whichmayexplainthesuccessof

institutionssuchasthechurchthroughoutmanycenturies.Mostofusarestill

group-thinkersratherthanindividualconcluders.(3)Weseemtobe

incapableofobtainingastatewheremassiveprogressiskey.Toomanyofus

willtryeverythingtopreventothersfromgettingahead.Insteadofbecoming

inspiredbytherunnersamongus,wedoeverythinginourpowertoslow

themdown.Backstabbingandbadmouthingarethereforeprimaryskillsin

manyacorporateenvironment.Theconceptofspiritualityintheworkplaceis

abeautifulone,butohsohardtorealizegivenourjustdescribedtendencies.

Weareinsearchforleadership,butourhumanleadershavetheirownsetof

flaws,forthehumanraceisafallibleone.Andthismay,then,bethe

explanationforourneedtofindabove-humanleaders,whichvarious

religionsnamedifferently,sothatwecangainsomesatisfactionfromthose.

Abriefoverviewofourhistoryteachesusthat,indeed,wemadeprogressin

ourinventionsinordertoincreasetheeasewithwhichwemovethroughlife.

Weinventedheatingequipment,coolingdevices,transportationtools,mass

communicationcontrivances,variousresearchcomponentstoexploreour

ownworldandwhateverisoutsideofit,andnumerousothercogs.

But,unfortunately,itseemsthateverytimethequalityofourlifeprogresses,

ourmentalityregresses.Atthesametimethatwedevelopourgreat

inventions,wealsocultivatemaster-skillsinmakingeachother’slife

impossible.(4)Worse:werefusetomaketheprogressweobtaininonepart

ofourplanetavailabletootherparts,therebydirectlycontradictingour

religiousteachingsthatweareallbrothersandsisters,andthatweshould

sharewithoneanother.Thebarebonedtruthis,thatwedon’ttrustone

another,and,sadlyenough,don’thaveanyreasonto!Manyauthorsand

philosophershavestateditbefore:ourspeciesismovingatadazzlingspeed

towardself-destruction.Weseemtotakeprideinfindingourselvesinthis

downwardmentalspiral.Ormaybewejustdeliberatelykeepourselvesblind

forthistruth.

Butregardlesswhichoneoftheabovedescribedapproachesyouperceiveas

thetruth;weshouldseriouslystartwonderingifourraceisemotionallynot

developinginareversedway.(5)Perhapsourancientancestors,intheir

unthinkablyprimitiveways,werethemostperfectonesinemotional

intelligence.Andperhaps,then,thepriceforintellectualadvancementis

emotionaldegeneration.

Soundslikedoomthinking?Ifyouthinkso,justconsideryourwork-

environment.Lookaroundyouthenexttimeyou’rethere.Evaluateyour

colleagues,supervisors,andsubordinates.Considerwhatyourgutfeeling

tellsyouaboutthem.Doyoutrustallofthem?Totally?Orareyouoneofthe

manymembersofourworking-classwhorealizethattherearenumerous

ones,outsideourcircleofacquaintances,butalsoinsideofit,whoare

impatientlywaitingtotakeourplaceshouldweevenslightlystumble?

1．Paraphrasetheunderlinedsentencesorpartsinthearticle.

2．WriteasummaryofthepassageinChinese(wordlimit:150words)

SectionTwo

LINGUISTICS(50%)

I.Definethefollowingterms:(20%)

1．Stress

2．Semanticchange

3．Senserelations

4．Sociolinguistics

5．TheCo-operativeprinciple

II.Whatare“selectionalrestrictions”?Whatroledotheyplayin

transformationalgrammar?(15%)

III.HowdoesHallidayrelatethefunctionsperformedbylanguagetoits

structures,orsystems?(15%)

SectionThree

LANGUAGETEACHING(30%)

I.Whatissyllabus?Listthemajorfactorsinsyllabusdesign.(10%)

II.Somestudentsfeelpuzzled,saying“Ihavebeentoldtolearnlinguistics,

butIdon’tseeanyrelationbetweenlinguisticsandEnglishlearning.”Can

youexplaincontributionsoflinguisticstotheresearchinlanguagelearning?

(20%)

2005年武汉科技大学336外国语专业综合考研真题（参考答案）

SectionOne

ADVANCEDENGLISH(70%)

I.Explaineachofthefollowingculturalfiguresortermsbriefly:(15%)

1．BlackHumor

AtermderivedfromBlackComedy.Itsorigincanbetracedbackto

Shakespeare’stime.Butnowthetermisusuallyusedtorefertosome

Western,especiallyAmericanPost-WorldWarIIwriters.Itisakindof

desperatehumor,laughterattragicthings.Inthemeaninglessworld,man’s

fateisdecidedbyincomprehensiblepowers.Wecandonothingbutlaugh.

2．NiccoloMachiavelli

Italianpoliticianandauthor,whosenameisnowsynonymouswithcunning

andcynicalstatecraft.InhismostimportantpoliticalworksThePrinceand

Discourses,hediscusseswaysinwhichrulerscanadvancetheinterestsof

theirstates(andthemselves)throughanoftenamoralandopportunitist

manipulationofotherpeople.

3．TenCommandment

IntheOldTestamentorHebrewBible,thelawsgivenbyGodtotheIsraelite

leaderMosesonMountSinai,engravedontwotabletsofstone.Theyare:to

havenoothergodsbesidesJehovah;tomakenoidols;nottomisusethe

nameofGod;tokeeptheSabbathholy;tohonorone’sparents;notto

commitmurder,adultery,ortheft;nottogivefalseevidence;nottobe

covetous.TheyformthebasisofJewishandChristianmoralcodes.

4．MalthusianPopulationTheory

AtheoryonpopulationproposedbyThomasRobertMalthus(1766-1834),an

Englisheconomistandcleric.Itarguedforpopulationcontrol,since

populationsincreaseingeometricratio,andfoodonlyinarithmeticratio.

Thistheorysawwar,famineanddiseaseasnecessarychecksonpopulation

growth.

5．TheGreatDepression

TheGreatDepressionistheperiodalsocalledRecessionortheSlumpduring

theearly1930s,whenworldwideeconomiccollapseprecipitatedcommercial

failureandmassunemployment.StartingintheUSAin1929,whenshare

pricesfellsodisastrouslythatcausedinternationalrepercussionsthatledto

Roosevelt’sNewDeal(1934).

II.Identifythefiguresofspeechinthefollowingsentences:(10%)

1．AlltheperfumesofArabiawillnotsweetenthislittlehand.(Hyperbole)

2．Goodbreedingconsistsinconcealinghowmuchwethinkofourselves

andhowlittlewethinkoftheotherperson.(Antithesis)

3．Empireofferedafewmenasourceofprofit,manymenasenseof

missionand,totheanonymouseverymanofEurope’sslums,asenseofpride.

(Climax)

4．Graypeacepervadedthewilderness-ringedArgentinaBayin

Newfoundland.(Transferredepithet)

5．Theyoungmoonliesonherbacktonightasisherhabitinthetropics,and

as,Ithink,issuitableifnotseemlyforavirgin.(Personification)

III.Vocabulary(20%)

1．Explainthemeaningofthefollowingprefixesorsuffixesasitalicizedin

thefollowingwords:

a)Pseudoclassics(falseorimitation)

b)ultraviolet(extremelyorbeyond)

c)forecast(beforeorfront)

d)dictatorship(statusorcondition)

e)fleshy(fulloforcoveredwith)

2．Writeoutthefullformsofthefollowingshortenings,acronymsorblends:

a)Radar(radiodetectingandranging)

b)MIT(MassachusettsInstituteofTechnology)

c)Flu(influenza)

d)Stagflation(stagnationinflation)

e)Quake(earthquake)

IV.ReadingComprehension(25%)

1．Paraphrasetheunderlinedsentencesorpartsinthearticle.

(1)Wehumanbeingsshouldputpriorityonmoreurgentneedslike

environmentprotection,povertyandfamineratherthanluxuriousspace

exploration.

(2)Hisopinionisthathumanityremainstobeaninfantunabletogrowupas

adult.

(3)Mostofusaremerefollowersofpublicopinionwithoutanyideaofour

own.

(4)Wemakegreatprogressandbreakthroughsintermsofscienceand

technology,butatthesametimewecreateasocietyoutofharmony.

(5)Nomatterwhichabove-mentionedideayouagreeto,itishightimeforus

toaskourselvesifwearereallyonthewayofemotionaldegeneration.

2．WriteasummaryofthepassageinChinese(wordlimit:150words)

当今社会科技进步日新月异，但是人们的思想道德水平却日益败坏。人

类不断开发新技术如电脑，手机，微电子，空间探索等以便让我们的生

活更加舒适愉快。但是社会好像每前进一步，我们的精神生活就倒退一

步。我们自私、狭隘，不仅不愿分享科技成果，还千方百计阻碍他人进

步，好像总也长不大的孩子。我们正在为科技进步付出精神生活倒退的

代价。

SectionTwo

LINGUISTICS(50%)

I.Definethefollowingterms:(20%)

1．Stress—referstothedegreeofforceusedinproducingasyllable.Itisone

ofthesuprasegmentalfeaturestodistinguishmeaninginEnglish,including

bothwordstressandsentencestress.Abasicdistinctionismadebetween

stressedandunstressedsyllables,theformerbeingmoreprominentduetoan

increaseinloudness,lengthorpitch.

2．Semanticchange—Semanticchangeplaysaveryimportantrolein

wideningthevocabularyofalanguage.Therearethreekindsofsemantic

changes,namelybroadening,narrowingandmeaningshift.Classshiftand

folketymologyalsocontributetochangeinmeaning.

E.g.bird—youngbird—anykindofbird(broadening)

Girl—youngpersonofeithersex—youngwoman(narrowing)

Bead—prayer—asmall,ball-shapedpieceofitem

Engineer—noun—verb

3．Senserelations—Senseisthesemanticrelationsbetweenonelinguistic

unitandanother.Itisconcernedwiththeintra-linguisticrelations,different

fromreferencewhichisabouttherelationbetweenalinguisticunitanda

non-linguisticentityitrefersto.Generallyspeaking,therearethreekinds:

samenessrelation(synonymy),oppositenessrelation(antonymy)and

inclusivenessrelation(hyponymy)

4．Sociolinguisitics—aninterdisciplinarystudyoflanguageuse,attemptsto

showtherelationshipbetweenlanguageandsociety,tobemorespecific,the

structuralthingsandtheirusesinasocioculturalcontext.Therearetwo

approachesinsociolinguistics:macro-sociolinguisticsandmicro-

sociolinguistics.

5．CooperativePrinciple—ageneralprincipleproposedbyH.P.Grice

whichallparticipantsareexpectedtoobserve.Thereare4maxims:

A)quantity—makeyourcontributionasinformativeasrequired;donotmake

yourcontributionmoreinformativethanisrequired.

B)Quality—donotsaywhatyoubelievetobefalse,donotsaythatfor

whichyoulackadequateevidence.

C)Relation—berelevant.

D)Manner—avoidsobscurityofexpression,avoidambiguity,bebrief,and

beorderly.Whentheprinciplesareviolated,ourlanguagebecomeindirect

withimplications.

II.Whatare“selectionalrestrictions”?Whatroledotheyplayin

transformationalgrammar?(15%)

Transformationalgrammarisconcernedwithsyntax.ButChomskydid

attempttodealwithmeaning.Selectionalrestrictions:restrictionson

selectionofNPsspecifiedbysubcategorizationrulesE.g.:Verbseliciting

emotion(e.g.,scare,frighten,disgust,etc.)aretransitiveandsorequirean

objectNP(subcategorizationrule).ButNPmustbesomethingthatcan

experienceanemotionE.g.;scare[V+NP[animate]]Iscaredthewall.

However,sensesviolatingselectionrestrictionsarenotconsideredwhen

thereisanothersensethatsatisfiestherestrictions.Forexample,in“Idrink

port,’’thenoun“port’’isunambiguouslyinterpretedasakindoffortified

wine,eventhoughitalsohassensesmeaningaharbor,andtheleftsideofa

ship.Selectionrestrictionsareneededtopredictthosecasesinwhich“…

somesentenceshavenosense,eventhoughtheirindividualwordsare

meaningful.”Suchrestrictionsontheselectionofnounswithverbsmight

preventanumberoffigurativeusagesinthelanguage.Forthisreason,many

linguistswouldratherdiscussthisissueunderthetopicofsemanticsrather

thansyntax.

III.HowdoesHallidayrelatethefunctionsperformedbylanguagetoits

structures,orsystems?(15%)

InHalliday’sview,therearethreestructures,orsystems,correspondingto

thethreefunctionsofideational,interpersonalandtextual.Theideational

functionisrealizedasthetransitivitysystemintheclauseasarepresentation

ofexperience,inwhichtherearesixprocesses:material,mental,relational,

behavioral,verbalandexistentialprocesses.Actor,theso-calledlogical

subject,isanimportantparticipantinthematerialprocesses.The

interpersonalfunctionisrealizedasthemoodsystemintheclauseasan

exchange,whichisdividedintothetwomajorpartsofMoodandResidue.

AndsubjectisoneofthetwopartsofMood,theotherpartbeingthefinite

verbaloperator.Thetextualfunctionisrealizedasthethematicstructureof

theclauseasamessage.ThetwomainconstituentshereareThemeand

Rheme,theformerbeingthepointofdepartureofthemessage,orthe

concernoftheclause,whilethelatteristhepartinwhichtheThemeis

developed.

SectionThree

LANGUAGETEACHING(30%)

I.Issyllabusthesamewithcurriculum?Listthemajorfactorsinsyllabus

design.(10%)

Syllabusistheplanningofacourseofinstruction.Itisadescriptionofthe

coursecontent,teachingproceduresandlearningexperiences.Curriculum,

thoughusedinterchangeablysometimes,isusedbroadlytoincludethings

likelearninggoals,objectives,contents,processes,resourcesandmeansof

evaluationplannedforstudentsbothinandoutoftheschool.Themajor

factorsinsyllabusdesignareparticipantsselection,processandevaluation.

Participantshererefertobothteachersandlearners.Thedesignerissupposed

tospecifythecharacteristicsofthelearnersandteachersandselect

individualswhomatchthosespecificationsthroughentranceexamination.

Processisoneinwhichthedesigneridentifythearrangementofcontent,

preparationofmaterials,selectionofteachingmethodologyandtechniques

andmeansofcourseevaluation.Evaluationistofindoutwhetherandtowhat

degreethelearnershavereachedtheteachingobjectives.Evaluationofboth

kinds(internalandexternal)providesfeedbacktothewholetraining

program.

II.Somestudentsfeelpuzzled,saying“Ihavebeentoldtolearnlinguistics,

butIdon’tseeanyrelationbetweenlinguisticsandEnglishlearning.”Can

youexplaincontributionsoflinguisticstotheresearchinlanguagelearning?

(20%)

Languageisalwaysthere,andwemakeuseofitautomatically,oftenwithout

anyconsciouseffort.However,alanguageisanextremelycomplex,highly

abstract,andinfinitelyproductivesystemlinkingmeaningswithsounds.The

goaloflinguisticsistodescribelanguagesandtoexplaintheunconscious

knowledgethatallspeakershaveoftheirlanguage.Asforeignlanguage

learners,wewillfindanunderstandingoflanguageishighlyimportantin

offeringinsightstoEnglishlearningasabasicsourceofinformationforthe

developmentoftheories,explanations,andmethods.Putitsimple,linguistics

cancontributetotheresearchinlanguagelearningbyprovidingmore

accurateinformationaboutwhatlanguageisinthefirstplace.Language

learningresearchersareconcernedwithhowteachersshouldteachand

learnersshouldlearn.Butthequestionsofwhattoteachandwhattolearn

shouldbeansweredfirst.Linguisticscertainlyhasanimportantrolein

answeringthesequestions.Besides,applyinglinguisticanalysistothe

descriptionofthelanguageproducedbylanguagelearnerscanalsofacilitate

ourunderstandingofhowlearnersactuallylearnlanguage.

2006年武汉科技大学336外国语专业综合考研真题（含答案）

SectionOne

ADVANCEDENGLISH(70%)

I.Explaineachofthefollowingculturalfiguresortermsbriefly:(15%)

1．MarkTwain

2．OscarWilde

3．HermanWouk

4．TheSadYoungMen

5．Exposition

II.Exemplifythefollowingeachfigureofspeechwithasentence:(10%)

1．Synecdoche

2．Antithesis

3．RhetoricalQuestion

4．Alliteration

5．Onomatopoeia

III.Vocabulary(20%)

Choosetherightwordfromthelistgivenbelowforeachblankandchange

theformifyouthinkitisnecessary.

Inhispoetry,W.B.Yeatsoftenpraisedritualandceremonyascivilized

qualities,withoutwhichrealcivilization,(1),couldnotexist.Strangely,

evenasachildinasmalltowninTexas—whereYeatshimselfwasquite

unknown,I’msure—Ialsowasgiventoritualandceremony,asthissmall

incident(2).Ihadadog,aredcockernamedIrma,whohadcometousasa

bitchinheat,pursuedbya(3)ofmongrels—andthusacquiredby

serendipity,justasIhadacquiredother(4),includingmythreegreyhounds.

ThatfirstdayIshelteredherinmybarn.Latershegave(5)tofiveblack

hounds,whosetailsweduly(6)withsharpscissors,asbefittedeven

factitiouscockers.Butonesummerday,

(7)Imusthavebeenalloftwelve,Irmametasad(8):Istartedupthe‘47

Studebaker,poppedforward—andoversomething.ItwasIrma.Irmawas

dead.Soweneededafuneral(9)herstatusanddignity.BeforelongIhad

(10)upmybrothersandtwoofmycousins,andwehadneatly(11)Irma,

madeawoodencross,andleft—withashovel,aBible,andmybatteredold

trumpet—forHiddenValley,afew(12)_______outoftown.Our

Studebakerstuttereddowndirtroads,untilwecame(13)toourdestination.

Thenwe(14)outaholeunderthecottonwoodtreeonthebankofadry

(15);afterthatwegentlyloweredIrma’sbox,andwithdignifiedceremony

passedtheshovelaseachofus,tearlessbutsolemn,(16)dirtovertheold

box.Bibleinhand,IturnedtoEcclesiastestoreadofthegenerationthat(17)

awayandthegenerationthatcomesinitsplace.Then,finally,(18),I

broughtthetrumpettomylips.Athin,quivering,off-keytune(19)_____

overIrma’sgraveasthecrosswasdrivenhome.Weknew,withchildish

certainty,thatIrmarestedatpeaceinHiddenValley(20).

IV.ReadingComprehension(25%)

HowtoChangeYourPointofView

Dr.EdwardJennerwasbusytryingtosolvetheproblemofsmallpox.After

studyingcaseaftercase,hestillfoundnopossiblecure.Hehadreachedan

impasseinhisthinking.Atthispoint,hechangedhistactics.Insteadof

focusingonpeoplewhohadsmallpox,heswitchedhisattentiontopeople

whodidnothavesmallpox.Itturnedoutthatdairymaidsapparentlynevergot

thedisease.(1)Fromthediscoverythatharmlesscowpoxgaveprotection

againstdeadlysmallpoxcamevaccinationandtheendofsmallpoxasa

scourgeintheWesternworld.

Weoftenreachanimpasseinourthinking.Wearelookingataproblemand

tryingtosolveitanditseemsthereisadeadend.Itisontheseoccasionsthat

webecometense,wefeelpressured,overwhelmed,inastateofstress.We

strugglevainly,fightintosolvetheproblem.

Dr.Jennerhowever,didsomethingaboutthissituation.Hestoppedfighting

theproblemandsimplychangedhispointofview—fromhispatientstodairy

maids.Picturetheprocessgoingsomethinglikethis:supposethebrainisa

computer.Thiscomputerhasabsorbedintoitsmemorybankallyourhistory,

yourexperiences,yourtraining,yourinformationreceivedthroughlife;andit

isprogrammedaccordingtoallthisdata.Tochangeyourpointofviewyou

mustreprogramyourcomputer,thusfreeingyourselftotakeinnewideasand

developnewwaysoflookingatthethings.DrJenner,ineffect,by

reprogramminghiscomputer,erasedtheoldwayoflookingathissmallpox

problemandwasfreetoreceivenewalternatives.

That’sallverywell,youmaysay,buthowdoweactuallydothat?

DoctorandphilosopherEdwarddeBonohascomeupwithatechniquefor

changingourpointofviewandhecallsitLateralThinking.

ThenormalWesternapproachtoaproblemistofightit.(2)Thesaying,

“Whenthegoinggetstough,thetoughgetsgoing,”istypicalofthis

aggressiveattitudetowardproblem-solving.Nomatterwhattheproblemis,

orthetechniquesavailableforsolvingit,theframeworkproducedbyour

Westernwayofthinkingisfight.DrdeBonocallsthisverticalthinking;the

traditional,sequential,Aristotelianthinkingoflogic,movingfirmlyfromone

steptothenext,liketoyblocksbeingbuiltoneontopoftheother.Theflaw

is,ofcourse,thatifatanypointoneofthestepssnotreached,oroneofthe

toyblocksisincorrectlyplaced,thenthewholestructurecollapses.Impasse

isreached,andfrustration,tension,feelingsoffighttakeover.

Lateralthinking,Dr.deBonosays,isanewtechniqueofthinkingabout

things—atechniquethatavoidsthisfightaltogether,andsolvestheproblem

inanentirelyunexpectedfashion.

InoneofSherlockHermes’scases,hisassistant,Dr.Watson,pointedoutthat

acertaindogwasofnoimportancetothecasebecauseitdidnotappearto

havedoneanything.SherlockHolmestooktheoppositepointofviewand

maintainedthatthefactthedoghaddonenothingwasutmostsignificance,

foritshouldhavebeenexpectedtodosomething,andonthisbasishesolved

thecase.

Lateralthinkingsoundssimple.Anditis.Onceyouhavesolvedaproblem

laterallyyouwonderhowyoucouldeverhavebeenhunguponit.(3)Thekey

ismakingthatvitalshiftinemphasis,thatsidesteppingoftheproblem,

insteadofattackingithead-on.

Dr.A.A.Bridger,psychiatristatColumbiaUniversityandinprivatepractice

inNewYork,explainshowlateralthinkingworkswithhispatients.“Many

peoplecometomewantingtostopsmoking,forinstance,”hesays.“Most

peoplefailwhentheyaretryingtostopsmokingbecausetheywinduptelling

themselves,‘No,Iwillnotsmoke;no,Ishallnotsmoke;no,Iwillnot;no.I

cannot…’It’satightandwhathappensisyouendupsmokingmore.”

“Soinsteadoflookingattheproblemfromtheoldwaysofno,andfighting

it,Ishowthemawholenewpointofview—thatyouareyourbody’s

keeper,andyourbodyissomethingthroughwhichyouexperiencelife.(4)If

youstoptothinkaboutit,there’sreallysomethinghelplessaboutyourbody.

Itcandonothingforitself.Ithasnochoice,itislikeababy’sbody.You

beginthenawholenewwayoflookingatit—‘Iamnowgoingtotakecareof

myself,andgivemyselfsomerespectandprotection,bynotsmoking.’

“ThereisaJapaneseparableaboutadonkeytiedtoapolebyarope.The

roperubstightagainsthisneck.Themorethedonkeyfightsandpullsonthe

rope,thetighterandtighteritgetsaroundhisthroat—untilhewindsupdead.

Ontheotherhand,assoonashestopsfighting,hefindsthattheropegets

slack,hecanwalkaround,maybefindsomegrasstoeat.That’sthesame

principle:Themoreyoufightsomethingthemoreanxiousyoubecome—the

moreyou’reinvolvedinahadpattern,themoredifficultitistoescapepain.

“Lateralthinking,”Dr.Bridgergoeson,“issimplyapproachingaproblem

withwhatIwouldcallanEasternflankingmaneuver.Youknow,whenaZen

archerwantstohitthetargetwithabowandarrow,hedoesn’tconcentrateon

thetarget,heconcentratesratheronwhathehasinhishands,sowhenhelets

thearrowgo,hisfocusisonthearrow,ratherthanthetarget.Thisiswhatan

Easternflankingmaneuverimplies—insteadofapproachingthetarget

directly,youapproachitfromasidewayspointofview—laterallyinsteadof

vertically.”

“Ithinktheanswerliesinthatdirection,”affirmsDr.Bridger.“Takethe

situationwheresomeoneisinacrisis.TheChinesewordforcrisisisdivided

intotwocharacters,onemeaningdangerandtheothermeaningopportunity.

Weinthewesternworldfocusonlyuponthe‘danger’aspectofcrisis.(5)

Crisisinwesterncivilizationhascometomeandanger,period.Andyetthe

wordcanalsomeanopportunity.Letusnowsuggesttothepersonincrisis

thatheceaseconcentratingsouponthedangersinvolved