Question

Are you listening to pop songs but not learning to play a musical instrument? The idea of practising the piano or violin every day under your parents' watchful eyes is bad enough, not to mention all the playtime you'll lose. But you will change your mind if you know that musical training can make you smarter, especially if you start young.

In 1993, an experiment (实验)showed that college students who listened to 10 minutes of Mozart music before taking an IQ test scored better. This is what's known as the "Mozart effect"(莫特效应).Although scientists later found that it wasn't IQ that had been improved, but temporary (暂时的)reasoning (推理)ability, this study still got them thinking―if simply listening to music can bring good effects, what would playing an instrument do to brain development?

Now researchers at an American university have got the answer. They studied a group of college students―some of them had received musical training in their school years while others had not. Looking at their brain waves, researchers discovered those with musical training were better at picking out single pitches (音高) from a noisy background. And this was true even if the lessons had ended years ago. This ability is connected to language-based learning—for example, reading. When people learn to read, they need to have good working memory, the ability to recognize 识别) speech sounds (语音)and make sound-to-meaning connections. While a musical instrument is being played, each of these things really seems to be strengthened (加强).

But the researchers also said that there is no one best way to use these findings. Different instruments, different teaching methods, different schedules—parents need to find what works best for the child, and children should try to enjoy themselves and their lessons. After all, music is about pleasure, instead of being just a tool.

(    )1. "Mozart effect" proves that listening to music improves_______________ .

A.   people's lives

B.   people's IQ

C.   people's temporary reasoning ability

D.   people's ability to play musical instruments

(    )2. People with musical training are better at__________  .

A. Maths    B. communicating     C. reading       D. drawing

(    )3. According to the article, playing a musical instrument can't strengthen________________ .

A.   working memory

B.   the ability of making sounds

C.   the ability of recognizing different speech sounds

   D.   the ability of connecting different sounds with their meanings
(   )4. The article is mainly about_____________ .

      A.   the connection between musical training and getting a high mark

B.   how musical training improves people's IQ

C.   a new reseach about the long-term benefits (好处)of early music lessons

D.   how to use music training to improve children's abilities

Answer 1

1-4 CCBC