武漢科技大學(xué)外國(guó)語學(xué)院《620外國(guó)語專業(yè)綜合》歷年考研真題匯編（含部分答案）

目錄

2005年武漢科技大學(xué)336外國(guó)語專業(yè)綜

合考研真題（含答案）

2005年武漢科技大學(xué)336外國(guó)語專業(yè)綜

合考研真題（參考答案）

2006年武漢科技大學(xué)336外國(guó)語專業(yè)綜

合考研真題（含答案）

2006年武漢科技大學(xué)336外國(guó)語專業(yè)綜

合考研真題（參考答案）

2007年武漢科技大學(xué)336外國(guó)語專業(yè)綜

合考研真題（含答案）

2007年武漢科技大學(xué)336外國(guó)語專業(yè)綜

合考研真題（參考答案）

2008年武漢科技大學(xué)636外國(guó)語專業(yè)綜

合考研真題（含答案）

2008年武漢科技大學(xué)636外國(guó)語專業(yè)綜

合考研真題（參考答案）

2009年武漢科技大學(xué)636外國(guó)語專業(yè)綜

合考研真題（含答案）

2009年武漢科技大學(xué)636外國(guó)語專業(yè)綜

合考研真題（參考答案及評(píng)分標(biāo)準(zhǔn)）

2010年武漢科技大學(xué)636外國(guó)語專業(yè)綜

合考研真題

2012年武漢科技大學(xué)620外國(guó)語專業(yè)綜

合考研真題（含答案）

2012年武漢科技大學(xué)620外國(guó)語專業(yè)綜

合考研真題（參考答案）

2013年武漢科技大學(xué)620外國(guó)語專業(yè)綜

合考研真題（A卷）（含答案）

2013年武漢科技大學(xué)620外國(guó)語專業(yè)綜

合考研真題（A卷）（參考答案）

2013年武漢科技大學(xué)620外國(guó)語專業(yè)綜

合考研真題（B卷）（含答案）

2013年武漢科技大學(xué)620外國(guó)語專業(yè)綜

合考研真題（B卷）（參考答案）

2014年武漢科技大學(xué)620外國(guó)語專業(yè)綜

合考研真題（A卷）（含答案）

2014年武漢科技大學(xué)620外國(guó)語專業(yè)綜

合考研真題（A卷）（參考答案）

2015年武漢科技大學(xué)620外國(guó)語專業(yè)綜

合考研真題（A卷）（含答案）

2015年武漢科技大學(xué)620外國(guó)語專業(yè)綜

合考研真題（A卷）（參考答案）

2016年武漢科技大學(xué)620外國(guó)語專業(yè)綜

合考研真題（A卷）（含答案）

2016年武漢科技大學(xué)620外國(guó)語專業(yè)綜

合考研真題（A卷）（參考答案）

2005年武漢科技大學(xué)336外國(guó)語專業(yè)綜合考研真題（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年武漢科技大學(xué)336外國(guó)語專業(yè)綜合考研真題（參考答案）

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)

當(dāng)今社會(huì)科技進(jìn)步日新月異，但是人們的思想道德水平卻日益敗壞。人

類不斷開發(fā)新技術(shù)如電腦，手機(jī)，微電子，空間探索等以便讓我們的生

活更加舒適愉快。但是社會(huì)好像每前進(jìn)一步，我們的精神生活就倒退一

步。我們自私、狹隘，不僅不愿分享科技成果，還千方百計(jì)阻礙他人進(jìn)

步，好像總也長(zhǎng)不大的孩子。我們正在為科技進(jìn)步付出精神生活倒退的

代價(jià)。

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年武漢科技大學(xué)336外國(guó)語專業(yè)綜合考研真題（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