Acting out Metaphors Encourages Creative Thinking
It happens in schools, offices, and boardrooms everywhere: someone working on a project hits a mental block. A boss or teacher might resort to a metaphor like “think outside the box” or “put two and two together,” encouraging a creative solution to the problem. As it turns out, this isn’t just abstract advice. According to an upcoming issue of Psychological Science, literally working outside of a box or putting two halves of something together just might help those creative juices start flowing again.
Since physical metaphors regarding creativity are so common and appearing in several different languages, a group of researchers hypothesized that they may extend beyond mere metaphors. Their study indicates that acting out metaphors literally can affect how our minds work.
In the first part of the study, the researchers asked 102 undergraduates to perform a Remote Associates Test (RAT), in which the subjects were given three seemingly unrelated words and asked to come up with a word that relates to each one. For example, the subject might be given “measure,” “worm,” and “video,” and the correct response would be “tape.”
The participants were divided into three groups; one group was asked to perform this task while sitting inside a 5’ by 5’ cardboard box, another group sat outside the same box, and those in the third group performed the task without a box in the room at all. None of the participants knew the hypothesis behind the study; they were merely told it was an experiment on different working environments.
There was no difference in performance between those inside the box and those with no box at all. However, the participants that were seated outside the box did much better on the RAT than the other two groups. Apparently, something about literally “thinking outside the box” encourages creativity.
A second experiment looked at another well-known piece of advice: to “put two and two together” to come up with an answer. In the study, 64 subjects were divided into two groups. The first group had to perform a RAT while joining halves of cut paper cards from piles on each side of a desk. The second group performed a similar task, but only had to move card halves from one side of a desk to the other side. Those “putting two and two together” by uniting the two halves of the cards did far better on the RAT than those that were merely moving the cards from one pile to another.
So, acting out metaphors linked to creativity really can help us think creatively. In fact, it does more than let us access the knowledge we presently have; it encourages us to come up with new, unique and creative ideas. Next time you’re stuck on a problem, take a minute to ponder—or even act out—your favorite metaphor, and you might happen upon a great solution.【正确答案】：
TOPIC OUTLINE
I. INTRODUCTION (PARAS. 1 -2)
A. USE OF METAPHORS FOR CREATIVE SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMS
B. THESIS: ACTING OUT METAPHORS LITERALLY CAN AFFECT HOW OUR MINDS WORK.
II. RESEARCHERS' EXPERIMENTS (PARAS. 3-6)
A. FIRST EXPERIMENT OF “THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX”
1. PARTICIPANTS PERFORMING RAT INSIDE, OUTSIDE OR WITHOUT A BOX
2. BETTER PERFORMANCE OF PARTICIPANTS SITTING OUTSIDE A BOX 
B. SECOND EXPERIMENT OF “PUTTING TWO AND TWO TOGETHER”
1. PARTICIPANTS PERFORMING RAT WHILE UNITING OR MOVING CARD HALVES
2. BETTER PERFORMANCE OF PARTICIPANTS UNITING CARD HALVES
III. CONCLUSION: ACTING OUT METAPHORS ENCOURAGING CREATIVE THINKING (PARA. 7) 
【题目解析】：句子提纲的步骤： 第一步：确定文章主题（题目多是主题） 第二步：确定中心论点（多在首段出现） 第三步：总结各段段落大意 第四步：整理全文提纲本文为一篇说明文，介绍了一个证明“隐喻影响思维方式”的研究。第1-2段介绍了隐喻的出现场景，最后一句话是主旨句：隐喻影响思维方式。I. Introduction (Paras. 1 -2) A. Use of metaphors for creative solutions to problems B. Thesis: Acting out metaphors literally can affect how our minds work.第3-6段详细介绍了两次实验。II. Researchers' experiments (Paras. 3-6) A. First experiment of “thinking outside the box” 1. Participants performing RAT inside, outside or without a box 2. Better performance of participants sitting outside a box B. Second experiment of “putting two and two together” 1. Participants performing RAT while uniting or moving card halves 2. Better performance of participants uniting card halves最后一段总结全文，得出结论：隐喻确实能够影响思维方式。（本段第一句话是主旨句）III. Conclusion: Acting out metaphors encouraging creative thinking (Para. 7)