An estimated 80 percent of American adults think music lessons, though at times
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An estimated 80 percent of American adults think music lessons, though at times boring and challenging in the eyes of some kids, improve children’s ability to learn or their performance in school . They say that the satisfaction for learning to play a new song helps a child express creativity.
Researchers at Harvard University, however, have found that there’s one thing musical training does not do. Samuel Mehr, the leading researcher of the new study, said it is wrong to think that learning to play a musical instrument improves a child’s intellectual development. The evidence comes from studies that measured the mental ability of two groups of 4-year-olds and their parents. One group attended music class; the comparison group went to a class that places importance on the optical arts-arts that can be seen.
“We found no evidence for any advantage on any of these tests for the kids participating in these music classes,” said Mehr.
Samuel Mehr says researchers have carried out many studies in an effort to learn whether musical training can make children smarter. Only one study seems to show a small percentage increase in IQ, intellectual scores among students after one year of music lessons.
He does not believe that IQ is a good measure of a child’s intelligence. Therefore, the researchers in his study compared how well children in the musical training group did on mental processing tasks, then the results were compared to those of children who did not take lessons.
Music lessons may not offer children a fast easy way to gain entry to the best schools later of their life, but the training is still important.
Mr Mehr notes that the works of writer William Shakespeare are not taught , so the children will do better in physics. He says Shakespeare is taught because it is important for cultural reasons.“And I don’t think music needs to be any different than that.”
小题1:What attitude do most American grown-ups have towards music lessons? _________| A．Uninterested | B．Approving | C．Doubtful | D．Uncertain |
小题2:The underlined word“optical”in Paragraph 2 probably means .| A．visual | B．colorful | C．traditional | D．serious |
小题3:According to Samuel Mehr, _________ .| A．many studies show that music training can improve IQ | | B．IQ is a good measure of a child’s intelligence | | C．music can enable a child to go to a better school | | D．music should be taught for cultural reasons |
小题4:The study shows that .| A．early music training has negative effects | | B．musical lessons should be stopped at school | | C．musical training doesn’t improve kids’ intelligence | | D．playing musical instrument makes kids more creative |
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答案
小题1:B
小题2:A
小题3:D
小题4:C |
解析
试题分析：文章介绍了一个研究结果，这个研究表明音乐训练不能提高孩子的智力，但是这并不意味着音乐课就不重要。
小题1:细节题：从文章第一段的句子：An estimated 80 percent of American adults think music lessons, though at times boring and challenging in the eyes of some kids, improve children’s ability to learn or their performance in school可知大多数美国人对音乐课的态度是赞同的，选B
小题2:猜词题：从第二段的句子：the comparison group went to a class that places importance on the optical arts-arts that can be seen.可知optical是visual“视觉的”意思，选A
小题3:细节题：从文章最后一段的句子：He says Shakespeare is taught because it is important for cultural reasons.“And I don’t think music needs to be any different than that.可知根据Samuel Mehr所说因为文化的原因，应该教音乐, 选D
小题4:主旨题：从文章第二段的句子：Samuel Mehr, the leading researcher of the new study, said it is wrong to think that learning to play a musical instrument improves a child’s intellectual development.可知这个研究表明音乐训练不能提高孩子的智力，选C。 |
举一反三
Boys at the top of the pecking order(长幼次序) either by birth or because their older brothers died score higher on IQ tests than their younger brothers.
Norwegian researchers now report that it’s a matter of what they call social rank in the family that gives the first born the highest scores or, if the first born had died young, the next oldest.
Kristensen and Bjerkedal studied the IQ test results of 241,310 Norwegian men drafted(征兵) into the armed forces between 1967 and 1976. All were aged 18 or 19 at the time.
The average IQ of first-born men was 103.2, they found second-born men averaged 101.2, but second-born men whose older brother died young scored 102.9. And for third-borns, the average was 100.0. But if both older brothers died young，the third-born score rose to 102.6.
The findings provide “evidence that the relation between birth order and IQ score is dependent on the social rank in the family and not birth order as such.” they concluded.
It’s an issue that has been hotly discussed since at least 1874,when Sir Francis Galton reported that men in noticeable positions tended to be firstborns more often than would have been statistically (统计) expected.
Since then, several studies have reported higher intelligence scores for firstborns, while other analyses have questioned those findings and the methods of those reports.
“These two researchers prove that how study participants(参与者) were raised, not how they were born, is what actually influences their IQs,” said Sulloway, an American professor, who was not part of the research team.
“The elder child pulls ahead,” he said, “perhaps as a result of learning gained through the process of tutoring younger brothers and sisters”.
“The older child benefits by having to organize and express its thoughts to tutor youngsters”, he said, “while the later born children may have no one to tutor.”
小题1:According to Norwegain researchers’ finding, which of the following is linked to boys’ IQ?| A．Birth order | B．Position in the family | | C．Parents’ social rank | D．Educational experience |
小题2:What does the sentence “It’s an issue that has been hotly discussed” underlined in Paragraph 6 mean? | A．Many people take interest in IQ study. | | B．IQ study has gone further and further. | | C．Many people do research on boys’ IQ. | | D．Opinions are divided on the conclusion. |
小题3:According to Kristensen and Bjerkedal’s test results, parents can make youngsters smarter by ________.| A．treating them as the oldest child | | B．teaching them as the oldest child | | C．talking to them as much as possible | | D．encouraging them to express thoughts |
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Relax. He is the same little boy you loved yesterday. I smiled trying to hold back the tears. “No, he isn’t. Yesterday I dreamed he would be an astronaut. Today I am hoping he will learn to talk.”
It was like some sort of cosmic joke. I could still recall the day that determined my fate. It was October in Ottawa and the summer breezes had given way to the autumn rainfall of leaves. The snow would begin soon. The crispness (清爽) of coming frost was in the air. My casually mentioning Wyatt’s behavior to Dr. Martin aroused his worries. He started asking me questions about Wyatt’s activities speech pattern and emotions. I still see clearly in my mind the cleanness of the room and all its belongings when the doctor turned to me and said, “He almost sounds autistic (自闭) .”
I couldn’t face that picture in my mind. I had to run to get away from this all too painful place that was reminding me of what was to be my child’s life-being strange.
I could not remember how many times I told myself, “This is normal. He is a little boy who is not talking yet,” when my asking questions met with his blank-eyed response in a restaurant; how many times I would tell myself, “He loves to play on his own for hours at a time and he never gets into trouble,” when Wyatt was playing games that no one else could imagine, let alone join in while other boys in the park were playing together or in small groups played around a sand pail(桶) or toy truck. My life was changing direction. So was Wyatt’s.
I started to hide Wyatt from my friends and neighbor especially from a good friend. It was too painful to let others know about my boy acting strange.
It was a Thursday afternoon and I found one half of a great pair of kitchen scissors was missing. They were unbelievably sharp and could be taken apart so they could be washed or the blades (刀片) sharpened. I knew Wyatt had taken the missing blade.
“Wyatt,” I began as patiently as I could, “Do you see this?” I held up the blade. “Do you know what this is?”
Wyatt put a bunch of Fruit Loops in his mouth. No response.
“Wyatt!” I forced eye contact with him. “Where are the other scissors? See these.” I showed him the half pair.
He smiled big. Ate Fruit Loops. Turned the TV on and off. Still no response.
I didn’t know what to do. It was really hard. “Wyatt,” I tried once more, “Mommy wants these scissors. Can you go get them for Mommy? It will make Mommy so happy if you bring me the scissors.”
“Watch Spongebob.” Wyatt asked as he slid down from his kitchen stool and ran off, leaving me shaking my head and wondering in exactly which way this situation was going to end badly.
Five minutes later, I turned my head to see Wyatt coming downstairs, his favorite doll in one hand, the missing half pair of kitchen scissors in the other. I immediately ran over and took it from him.
“Wyatt!” I hugged him. “Thank you for bringing me the scissors! Good job! You did it! These scissors need to stay in the kitchen. These are Mommy’s scissors!”
Wyatt laughed, looked at me straight in the eye and said, “Mommy so happy!”
I came close to tears. A realization dawned on me that he was the best gift I had ever gotten even though he was not as normal as other children. And why did I hide him from others as if he were some dark and terrible secret. No! He was my pride. It was a long, hard battle to get him to this point, expressing his wants and needs without turning to violence in embarrassment. With love and patience I have found the beautiful, happy boy who would teach me more about life.
And that is the solution.
小题1:From the first part of the story we can get to know that the son’s problem was _______ to the mother. | A．a heavy blow | B．a white lie | | C．an unforgettable lesson | D．a ridiculous experience |
小题2:Why could the mother recall the day so clearly when the doctor told her his son’s illness? | A．the questions the doctor asked puzzled her. | | B．the cleanness of the doctor’s room stuck her | | C．His son’s illness was beyond her wildest expectation. | | D．The sudden change of weather left her a deep impression. |
小题3:According to the passage, which of the following indicates that Wyatt is not normal?| A．He never gets into trouble | | B．He responds with blank eyes. | | C．He plays with others for hours. | | D．He likes watching TV programmes. |
小题4:Wyatt brought the missing half of the scissors back to his mother because ____________.| A．his mother forced him to do that | | B．he could get his favorite doll in reward | | C．he intended to delight his mother | | D．he realized that the sharp blade would cause danger |
小题5:What seems to be the solution at the end of the passage?| A．Never hiding Wyatt from normal kids. | | B．Turning to violence in disappointment occasionally. | | C．Making Wyatt a kind and joyful boy with great care. | | D．Helping Wyatt learn to talk and become an astronaut. |
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Two new studies suggest that modern running shoes could increase the risk of injuries to runners.
One study involved sixty-eight healthy young women and men who ran at least twenty-four kilometers a week. The runners were observed on a treadmill machine (跑步机). Sometimes they wore running shoes. Other times they ran barefoot (赤脚).
Researchers from the JKM Technologies company in Virginia, the University of Virginia and the University of Colorado did the study.
They found that running shoes create more stress that could damage knees, hips and ankle joints than running barefoot. They observed that the effect was even greater than the effect reported earlier for walking in high heels.
The study appeared in the official scientific journal of The American Academy of Physical Medicine.
The other study appeared in the journal Nature. It compared runners in the United States and Kenya. The researchers were from Harvard University in Massachusetts, Moi University in Kenya and the University of Glasgow in Scotland.
They divided the runners into three groups. One group had always run shoeless. Another group had always run with shoes. And the third group had changed to shoeless running.
Runners who wear shoes usually come down heel first. That puts great force on the back of the foot. But the study found that barefoot runners generally land on the front or middle of their foot. That way they ease into their landing and avoid striking their heel.
Harvard’s Daniel Lieberman led the study. He says the way most running shoes are designed may explain why those who wear them land on their heels. The heel of the shoe is bigger and heavier than other parts of the shoe, so it would seem more likely to come down first. Also, the heel generally has thick material under it to soften landings.
But the researchers do not suggest that runners immediately start running barefoot. They say it takes some training. And there can be risks, like running when your feet are too cold to feel if you get injured.
The study was partly supported by Vibram, which makes a kind of footwear that it says is like running barefoot. The findings have gotten a lot of attention. But the researchers say there are many problems in the way the press has reported in their paper. So they have tried to explain their findings on a Harvard Website.
小题1:What’s the main idea of the passage?| A．Walking in high heels could cause less serious effects than running barefoot. | | B．Two new discoveries encourage people to run in high heels. | | C．Running in shoes is partly good to runners. | | D．Two new studies prove running without shoes is beneficial to runners in most cases. |
小题2:Which part of our body could be injured if we run in running shoes?| A．Toes. | B．Hips. | C．Feet. | D．Legs. |
小题3:What can we learn from the passage?| A．The way that we run by landing on the front or middle of our foot could avoid damaging our heel. | | B．We should start running barefoot in no time. | | C．Running in modern running shoes could cause more serious effects than running in high heels. | | D．We won’t be injured if we run barefoot. |
小题4:What is the writer’s attitude towards the use of the modern running shoes?| A．Persuasive. | B．Negative. | C．Objective. | D．Supportive. |
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Our love of music and appreciation of musical harmony is learnt and not based on natural ability, a new study by University of Melbourne researchers has found. The researchers said previous theories about how we appreciate music were based on the physical functions of sound, the ear itself and a born ability to hear harmony.
The study shows that musical harmony can be learnt, and it is a matter of training the brain to hear the sounds. So if you thought that the music of some foreign culture (or Jazz) sounded like the crying of cats, it’s simply because you haven’t learnt to listen by their rules.
The researchers used 66 volunteers with a range of musical training and tested their ability to hear combinations of notes(音符) to determine if they found the combinations familiar or pleasing. They found that people needed to be familiar with combinations of notes. If they found the notes unfamiliar they also found the sound unpleasant. This finding put an end to centuries of theories claiming that physical functions of the ear determine what we find attractive.
The study found that trained musicians were much more sensitive to unpleasant notes than non-musicians. When they couldn’t find the note, the musicians reported that the sounds were unpleasant, while non-musicians were much less sensitive. This shows the importance of training or nurturing(培养) the brain to like particular sound of combinations of notes, like those found in jazz or rock.
Depending on their training, a strange chord(和弦) sound was pleasant to some musicians, but very unpleasant to others. This showed us that even the ability to hear a musical note is learnt.
To confirm this finding, they trained 19 non-musicians to find the notes of a random selection of western chords. Not only did the participants’ ability to hear notes improve rapidly, afterward they reported that the chords they had learnt sounded more pleasant -- regardless of how the chords were played.
The question of why some combinations of musical notes are heard as pleasant or unpleasant has long been debated. “We have shown in this study that for music, beauty is in the brain of the beholder(观看者)”, a researcher said.
小题1:According to the study, people find foreign music quite unpleasant because_____.| A．they hear the music much too often | | B．they don’t like the person playing it | | C．they have no idea about how to listen | | D．they have no born musical ability at all |
小题2:Although non-musicians were less sensitive to music, they can still_____.| A．be trained to like particular music | | B．make friends with real musicians | | C．find the beauty of chords without training | | D．enjoy the beauty of music when played by musicians |
小题3:The 19 non-musicians were trained in order to show_____.| A．the brain likes particular combinations of notes | | B．not a strange note was pleasant to all musicians | | C．how the chords were played was very important | | D．people’s ability to hear a musical note can be learnt |
小题4:What is the main idea of the passage? | A．Love of musical harmony can’t be taught. | | B．Love of music is not natural but nurtured. | | C．Listening to music can improve your brain. | | D．You can be a musician without being trained. |
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When Hurricane Phailin hit India in late 2013, it became the largest storm to strike the subcontinent in over a decade. The storm affected more than 12 million people in India and neighboring countries, and damaged or destroyed many houses. However, good news is that cleverly-designed beach house created by architect Ray Huff can survive such strong winds and storm waves.
Located on the shore of an Indian island, Huff’s award-winning cube-shaped beach house was built to replace one smashed to pieces by Hurricane Phailin.
Huff pointed out that many houses built along shoreline were poorly constructed, and enforcement(执行) of building codes wasn’t strict. After Phailin’s attack, all new shoreline houses are required to meet stricter, better-enforced codes. The new beach house should be able to stand a Category 3 hurricane with peak winds of 179 to 209 kilometers per hour.
At first sight, Huff"s house looks anything but hurricane-proof. Its redwood shell makes it resemble “a large party lantern” at night, according to one observer. But looks can be misleading. The house’s wooden frame is reinforced(加固) with long steel rods to give it extra strength.
To further protect the house from hurricane damage, Huff raised it 2.7 meters off the ground on pilings---long columns of wood anchored(固定) deep in the sand. Pilings might appear insecure, but they are strong enough to support the weight of the house. They also balance the house above storm waves. The pilings allow the waves to run under the house instead of running into it. “These swells of water come ashore at great speeds and cause most of the damage done to beach-front buildings,” said Huff.
Huff designed the wooden pilings to be partially hidden by the house’s ground-to-roof shell. “The shell masks the pilings so that the house doesn’t look like it’s standing with its pant legs pulled up,” said Huff. In case of a storm wave, the shell should break apart and let the waves rush under the house, the architect explained.
小题1:After Hurricane Phailin, new houses built along shore line are required_____. | A．to be easily reinforced | | B．to look smarter in design | | C．to meet stricter building standards | | D．to be designed in the shape of cubes |
小题2:The award-winning beach house is quite strong because____. | A．it is made of redwood | | B．it is in the shape of a shell | | C．it is strengthened by steel rods | | D．it is built with wood and stones |
小题3:Huff raised the house 2.7 meters off the ground on wooden pilings in order to _____. | A．support the weight of the house | | B．allow the waves to run through the house | | C．anchor stronger pilings deep in the sand | | D．prevent water from rushing into the house |
小题4:The main function of the shell is_____.| A．to give the house a better appearance | | B．to strengthen the pilings of the house | | C．to protect the wooden frame of the house | | D．to slow down the speed of the swelling water |
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