1. Find English equivalents for the following words and expressions.

Шаг за шагом, постепенно; отказаться от привычных способов мышления; решать проблемы нетрадиционно; усваивать новый материал лучше; засесть в памяти (в голове); поощрять креативное мышление.

2. Give Russian equivalents for the following words and expressions.

To begin with a clear slate; to discover unusual paths; to retain one’s creativity; to interact constructively with others; to influence a child’s creative thinking; to share interesting information; to experience firsthand.

3. Make an appropriate choice.

1. According to the text the most creative solutions arise when

1. people use habitual ways of thinking and established approaches

2. people abandon established approaches and habitual ways of thinking

3. people use both conventional and unconventional ways of thinking

2. Boys and girls whom teachers and parents help to discover unusual paths will

1. grasp new material better

2. forget the material soon

3. not be ready to make the intuitive leaps

3. The author thinks that one of the strategies of learning is

1. to involve negative emotions in the process of learning

2. to create special atmosphere in the classroom

3. to take children out of classroom atmosphere to make learning fim

4. The word “enrich” in line 1 nearly means (the second § from the bottom)

1. enhance

2. improve

3. build

5. The author mentions all of the following ways to encourage creative thinking EXCEPT

1. making visits to experts in various fields or inviting them to schools

2. using offbeat perspectives

3. exposing children to cultural resources outside the home, such as art and natural history museums

Text 7 stereotypes

A stereotype is a set of characteristics believed to be shared by all members of a social category. A stereotype is a special kind of schema that may be based on almost any distinguishing feature, but is most often applied to sex, race, occupation, physical appearance, place of residence, and membership in a group or organization. When our first impressions of people are governed by a stereotype, we tend to infer things about them solely on the basis of their social category and to ignore facts about individual traits that are inconsistent with the stereotype. As a result, we may remember things about them selectively or inaccurately, thereby perpetuating our initial stereotype. For example, with a quick glance at almost anyone, you can classify that person as male or female. Once you have so categorized the person, you may rely more on your stereotype of that gender than on your own perceptions during further interactions with the person.

Stereotypes can easily become the basis for self-fulfilling prophecies. One study paired college-aged men and women who were strangers and arranged for each pair to talk by phone. Before the call, each male was given a snapshot, presumably of the woman whom he was about to call. In fact, the snapshot was a randomly selected photo of either an attractive or unattractive woman. Attractiveness carries with it a stereotype that includes sociability and social adaptness.

The males in the experiment therefore expected the attractive partners to display these qualities and the unattractive partners to be unsociable, awkward, and serious. These expectations produced radically different behavior in the men. Those who believed they were talking to an attractive woman were warm, friendly, and animated; in response, the women acted in a friendly, animated way. The other men spoke to their partners in a cold, reserved manner. In

response, the women reacted in a cool, distant manner. Thus, the stereotype took on a life of its own as the perceptions of the men determined their behavior, which in turn subtly forced the women to conform to the stereotype.

Recent studies indicate that sorting people into categories is not automatic or inevitable. People are more likely to apply stereotyped schemata in a chance encounter than in a structured, task-oriented situation (such as a classroom or the office); more likely to pay attention to individual signals than to stereotypes when they are pursuing a goal; and consciously or unconsciously suppress stereotypes that violate social norms. For example, a man who has operated according to stereotyped schemata may expect women in gender-typed role, such as a nurse or secretary or his wife, to be warm and gentle, but not hold these expectations toward women he meets in his work life or in their professional roles (as lawyers, executive, or telephone repair person).