Unit 10

How to Cultivate “EQ”

Background Information:

EQ: The expression “emotional intelligence” is used

to indicate a kind of intelligence that involves the ability to perceive, assess and positively influence one’s own and other people’s emotions. 

Intelligence is the “ability to adapt effectively to the environment, either by making a change in oneself or by changing the environment or finding a new one”. According to this definition, being intelligent entails much more than having strong cognitive abilities—the kind of abilities that are typically measured by an intelligence test. 

Background Information:

Daniel Goleman: He is a psychologist who for many years

reported on the brain and behavioral sciences for The New York Times, Dr. Goleman previously was a visiting faculty member at Harvard.His book, Emotional Intelligence (1995), argues that human competencies like self-awareness, self-discipline, persistence and empathy are of greater consequence than IQ in much of life, that we ignore the decline in these competencies at our peril, and that children can—and should—be taught these abilities.    

Background Information:

IQ: IQ is an abbreviation for “intelligence quotient”,

a measure of a person’s intellectual ability in relation to that of the rest of the population. It is expressed as the ratio of mental age to actual age, multiplied by 100, and is based on the scores achieved in an intelligence test. The two most important scales for measuring IQ are the Standford-Binet test and the Weschler test. The distribution of IQ scores is more-or-less Gaussian, that is to say it follows the bell curve. 

Modern ability tests produce scores for different areas (e.g. language fluency, three-dimensional thinking, etc.), with the summary score being the most meaningless. It is much more useful to know which are the strengths and weaknesses of a person than to know that he/she beats n percent of the populace in some “general intelligence” measure. Two persons with vastly different ability profiles may score the same IQ, but may exhibit different affinity to a given task, or may not be valued equally intelligent by other people. 

IQ scores are sometimes taken as an objective measure of intelligence, and since intelligence is notoriously difficult to define, the definition “intelligence is what the IQ test measures” has been seriously proposed. However, IQ tests encode their creator’s beliefs about what constitutes intelligence. What various cultures dub “intelligence” differs. Most people also think that creativity plays a significant role in intelligence; creativity is almost unmeasurable by tests. 

The modern field of intelligence testing began

with the Stanford-Binet test. It is worth noting

that Alfred Binet, who created the IQ test in

1904, was aiming to identify students who could

benefit from extra help in school: his assumption

was that lower IQ indicated the need for more

teaching, not an inability to learn.

The following numbers apply to IQ scales.

below 80: special schooling is encouraged 90 – 110: average above 125: “highly gifted”. above 150: genius.

Text Structure Analysis:

Part One (Para. 1-3): According to some new research, EQ,

compared with IQ, renders businessmen more adaptable and more able to succeed. Under the changing pressure of the market, therefore, it is the hot ticket for business success.

Part Two (Para. 4-8):

Since EQ is the key to business success, four skills are listed for individuals to cultivate it.

Part Three (Para. 9-12):

It is possible to cultivate EQ through the improvement of four adaptive skills. So long as you have a discipline for practicing the skills, it is actually easier than overcoming a drug habit.

Part Four (Para. 13):

Without EQ, academic training alone is worth less and less.

The new research shows that EQ may be crucial for business success. To cultivate our EQ, our effort should be aimed at improving four adaptive skills: raising consciousness; using imagery; considering and reconsidering events to choose the most creative response to them; and integrating the perspectives of others. As long as we keep at such effort, we can make it, for they are based on our knowledge about the mechanisms of the mind. In effect, without EQ, IQ alone is worth little.

Summary of the Text

Words and Expressions

a sixth sense sort through cultivate aim at on purpose set aside perspective nothing less than trigger curriculum

He had a sixth sense that the train was going to crash.

他有一种直觉，这列火车将发生车祸。

A sixth sense warned her that he was deliberately trying to infuriate her.

一种直觉在警告她：他是故意在激怒她。

1. a sixth sense: an ability to know sth. without using the five senses of sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste （ Para. 1 ）

2. sort through: look for sth. among a lot of similar things, esp. when one arranges these things in order (Para. 3)

She found the ring while sorting through some clothes.

她在整理衣服的时候发现了那枚戒指。

In the age of information explosion, it is wealth itself to sort through masses of sources and sort out the needed.

在信息爆炸的时代，能从大量信息中找出所需信息，这本身就是财富。

3. cultivate: v. try to acquire or develop a relationship, an attitude, etc. (Para. 4)

They cultivated the virtues of hard work and celebrated the advantages of competition.

他们培养勤奋学习的美德，并且宣扬竞争的好处。

Throughout his life he cultivated and maintained the confidence of his African colleagues.

他毕生致力于帮助他的非洲同事们培养和保持信心。

4. aim at: intend or plan to do or achieve sth. (Para. 5)

The government’s campaign is aimed at influencing public opinion.

政府开展这场运动的目的是为了影响公众舆论。

We are aiming at a higher production level. 我们的目标是提高生产水平。

5. on purpose: intentionally, not accidentally (Para. 5)

He went there on purpose to see what had happened.

他特地去那儿看一下发生了什么事。

Did you hurt him by accident or on purpose? 你是无意还是故意伤害他的？

6. set aside: save sth. for a special purpose (Para. 6)

We try and set aside a bit of money every month.

我们试着每月省下一点钱。

Some villas had several rooms set aside just for sleeping in.

有些别墅有好几间房留出来作卧室。

7. perspective: n. a particular way of considering sth. (Para. 8)

Her attitude lends a fresh perspective to the subject.

她的态度提供了看待这一问题的一个新视角。

The battle is of great significance when viewed in the perspective of the progress of the war.

从战争进展的角度来看，那次战役意义重大。

8. nothing less than: the phrase is used to emphasize how great or extreme sth. is (Para. 8)

His negligence was nothing less than a crime. 他的疏忽简直就是犯罪。

Their dream was nothing less than a revolutionary project.

他们的梦想简直就是一项革命性的工程。

9. trigger: v. cause (sth.) to start (Para. 10)

Some people find that certain foods trigger their headaches.

有些人发现某些食物会引起他们头痛。

It may trigger off a wave of protests throughout the country.

这可能会引发全国性的抗议浪潮。

10. curriculum: n. the group of subjects studied in a school, college, etc. (Para. 13)

They are planning to redesign their college curriculum.

他们正在计划重新设计学院课程。

Is Russian on the curriculum at your school? 你们学校课程设置中有俄语吗？

Questions for Discussion:

1. What must a business do to survive?

2. What is your own argument about EQ? Do you think that EQ can be developed?

Writing:

Diagnoses of the Problem with Sb./Sth.

1. 某人 / 事中存在的问题是 ······

2. 根据问题的特征说明其成因。

（因果关系说明文）

写作模式（ 1 ）

1) A preliminary diagnosis of sb./sth. can find that sb./sth. is cursed/troubled mainly with the problem of... 2) As his/its specific symptoms, he/it is subject to…, apt to…, and therefore almost always at the mercy of... 3) A deeper probe/research/insight into the problem, however, can reveal something worthy of our careful consideration.

写作模式（ 2 ）

4) To the best of my insight/knowledge/

understanding, he/it is the product of... ( 成因说明 I) 5) It turns out that... 6) …, for example,

… while… 7) He/It is also a good mirror of… (

成因说明 II) 8) He/It reflects faithfully, but in

expanded dimensions,… 阐述 )

写作模式（ 3 ）

9) And above all, he/it is the victim of... ( 成因说明 III) 10) According to the experts

concerned,… 11) As a result of this,… 12)

Clearly, an effective cure/remedy for the

problem rests/lies much with…

Writing Assignment ： Diagnoses of the Problem with the

College Student

1) 我国大学生中存在的主要问题是 ······ 2 ）根据问题的特征说明其成因。