There are plenty of things to be gained from going abroad: new friends, new experiences, new stories. But living in another country may come with a less noticeable benefit, too. Some scientists say it can also make you more creative.

Writers and thinkers love travelling abroad. Ernest Hemingway, for example, drew inspiration for much of his work from his time in Spain and France. Aldous Huxley, the author of Brave New World, moved from the U. K. to the U. S. in his 40s to branch out into screenwriting. Mark Twain, who sailed around the coast of the Mediterranean in 1869, wrote in his travelogue Innocents Abroad that travel is "fatal to prejudice and narrow-mindedness."

In recent years, psychologists and neuroscientists have begun examining more closely what many people have already learned: that spending time abroad may have the potential to affect mental change. In general, creativity is related to how the brain is wired. Neural pathways are sensitive to change: New sounds, smells, language, tastes, sensations, and sights spark different synapses in the brain and may have the potential to revitalize the mind.

“Foreign experiences increase both cognitive flexibility and depth and imperativeness of thought, 55 says Adam Galinsky, the author of numerous studies on the connection between creativity and international travel. Cognitive flexibility is the mind's ability to jump between different ideas, a key component of creativity. But it's not just about being abroad, Galinsky says: "The key critical process is multicultural engagement, immersion, and adaptation. Someone who lives abroad and doesn't engage with the local culture will likely get less of a creative boost than someone who travels abroad and really engages in the local environment. " In other words, going to Cancun for a week on spring break probably won't make a person any more creative. But going to Cancun and living with local fishermen might.

The researchers also found that the more countries the executives had lived in, the more creative the lines tended to be — but only up to a point. Those who had lived and worked in more than three countries, the study found, still tended to show higher levels of creativity than their peers who had worked in a smaller number of foreign countries. The authors assumed that those who had lived in too many countries hadn’t been able to properly immerse themselves culturally and they were bouncing around too much. "It gets back to this idea of a deeper level of learning that's necessary for these effects to occur, " Galinsky says.

Of course, although a new country is an easy way to leave a "social comfort zone the cultural engagement associated with cognitive change doesn't have to happen abroad. If a plane ticket isn't an option, try taking the subway to a new neighborhood. Sometimes, the research suggests, all that's needed for a creative boost is a fresh cultural scene.

【小题1】The examples of the three writers in Paragraph 2 are to ________.

A．show how travelling abroad inspires one's brain

B．explain the creative benefits of international travel

C．illustrate prejudice and narrow-mindedness can harm creativity

D．discuss why writers and thinkers tend to be more open-minded

【小题2】It can be learned from Paragraph 3 that ________.

A．neural pathways are birthplaces of creativity

B．creativity is responsible for revitalizing the mind

C．creativity can be developed by changes of the environment

D．neural pathways allow different synapses to work efficiently

【小题3】What is the key critical process according to Galinsky?

A．The deep involvement with foreign culture.

B．Travelling abroad for a relatively longer period.

C．The mind's ability to jump between different ideas.

D．Living in the foreign country instead of just travelling there.

【小题4】Which of the following could be the most suitable title for the passage?

A．Leave your social comfort zone

B．For a more creative mind, travel

C．Put down your work and go to your neighborhood

D．For an artistic inspiration, go to more foreign countries