Our love of music and appreciation of musical harmony (和聲) 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 (一系列的) musical training and tested their ability to hear combinations (組合) 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 couldn’t recognize the notes, they found the notes dissonant. This finding put an end to centuries of theories claiming (聲稱) that physical functions of the ear determine what we find attractive.

The study found that trained musicians were much more sensitive (敏感的) 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 (培養(yǎng)) 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 (證實) this finding, they trained 19 non-musicians to find the notes of a random (隨機的) selection of western chords. Not only did the participants’ ability to hear notes improve rapidly; the chords they had learnt sounded more pleasant—regardless of (不論) 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(觀看者),” a researcher said.

1.According to the passage, why do people sometimes find foreign music quite unpleasant?

A． Because they don’t like the person playing the music.

B． Because they have no talent for music at all.

C． Because they have no idea about how to listen.

D． Because they hear music too often.

2.The underlined word “dissonant” in Paragraph 3 probably means ___________.

A. informal B. unpleasant

C. inspiring D. unfamiliar

3.Although non-musicians were less sensitive to music, they can still _______.

A． find the beauty of chords without training

B． enjoy the beauty of music when played by musicians

C． be trained to like particular music

D． make friends with real musicians

4.What is the best title for the passage?

A． Improve Your Brain By Listening to Music

B． You Can Be a Musician Without Being Trained

C． Music Can’t be Taught

D． Love of Music Is Not Natural But Nurture

練習(xí)冊系列答案
相關(guān)習(xí)題

科目：高中英語 來源：2016年高考英語一輪復(fù)習(xí)新人教版選修1第3單元檢測英語試卷（解析版） 題型：七選五

根據(jù)短文內(nèi)容，從短文后的七個選項中選出能填人空白處的最佳選項。選項中有兩項為多余選項。

Different Cultures

The cultures of the East and the West really distinguish each other a lot. 1.

The origin of the eastern cultures is mainly from two countries: China and India. Both of the two cultures are developed by rivers-the Yellow River in China and the Hindu River in India. 2.

When the two mother rivers gave birth to the Eastern culture, another famous culture was brought up on the Mesopotamian Plain-the Mesopotamian Civilization. This civilization later on developed into the cultures of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. 3. Like the Chinese culture, the European culture also crossed waters. When the British settled down in America, their culture went with them over, the Atlantic Ocean. So the American culture doesn't distinguish from the European culture a lot。

4. Take the language system for example. In the East, most languages belong to the pictographic language while the Western languages are mostly based on the Latin system Other causes like human race difference counts as well. But what's more. due to the far distance and the steep .areas between the East and West, the two cultures seldom communicate until recent centuries. So they grew up totally in their own ways with almost no-interference（干擾） from the other.

The differences are everywhere. 5. But different cultures make the world of 21st century more colorful. The cultural gap should not be the obstacle (障礙) to the civilization of human being. It ought to be the motivation of our going farther.

A. Let us work together to keep a variety of culture.

B. One important thing is to learn about other cultures.

C. And these two are well-known as the base of the European culture.

D. At the same time, some other differences add to the cultural differences.

E. This is because the culture systems are two separate systems on the whole.

F. They helped the two cultures develop for centuries and form their own styles.

G. They are obvious and affect people's ways of thinking and their views of the world.

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：2016年高考英語一輪復(fù)習(xí)新人教版選修4第4單元檢測英語試卷（解析版） 題型：完形填空

閱讀下面短文，從短文后所給各題的四個選項（A、B、C和D）中，選出可以填入空白處的最佳選項，并在答題卡上將該項涂黑。

If you want your life to stand for peace and kindness, it’s helpful to do kind, peaceful things. One of my favorite ______ to do this is by developing my own helping rituals（習(xí)慣）. These little acts of ______ are opportunities to be of service and reminders of how good it feels to be kind and ______.

We live in a rural area of the San Francisco Bay Area. Most of what we see is ______ nature.One of the ______ to the beauty is the litter that some people throw out of their windows as they are ______ on the rural roads. One of the few ______ to living in the rural areas is that public services, such as litter collection, are less ______ han they are closer to the city.

A helping ritual that I practice ______ with my two children is picking up litter in our surrounding area. We’ve become so accustomed to doing this that my ______ will often say to me in pleasant voices, "There's some litter, Daddy, ______ the car!" And if we have______, we will often pull over and pick it up. It may seem strange, but we actually ______ it. We pick up litter in parks, on sidewalks, practically anywhere. Once I even saw a (n) ______ icking up litter close to where we live. The man whom I didn’t know smiled at me and said, "I ______ saw you doing it, and it seemed like a good idea."

Picking up litter is only ______ of an endless supply of possible helping rituals. You might like holding a door open for people, visiting and ______ lonely elderly people in nursing homes, or shoveling snow off someone else’s driveway. Think of something that seems effortless ______ helpful. It’s worthwhile, personally rewarding, and sets a good example. Your acts of kindness can ______ others to do the same things. And everyone ______ from this.

1.A. things B. activities C. ways D. places

2.A. kindness B. education C. instruction D. amusement

3.A. polite B. curious C. challenging D. helpful

4.A. dirty B. beautiful C. different D. simple

5.A. explanations B. answers C. changes D. weaknesses

6.A. running B. walking C. driving D. jumping

7.A. reasons B. disadvantages C. principles D. Days

8.A. available B. important C. satisfying D. dangerous

9.A. generally B. casually C. regularly D. deliberately

10.A. friends B. parents C. colleagues D. Children

11.A. stop B. start C. repair D. speed

12.A. faith B. time C. money D. material

13.A. enjoy B. need C. see D. get

14.A. cleaner B. neighbor C. adult D. stranger

15.A. seldom B. often C. never D. First

16.A. many B. that C . one D. all

17.A. comforting B. respecting C. treating D. teaching

18.A. just B. yet C. still D. even

19.A. force B. inform C. encourage D. remind

20.A. remembers B. involves C. suffers D. benefits

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：2016年高考英語一輪復(fù)習(xí)新人教版選修1第3單元練習(xí)英語試卷（解析版） 題型：單項填空

The reason I have to go is my mother is ill in bed.

A. why...why B. why...because

C. that...because D. why...that

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：2015-2016學(xué)年海南海南中學(xué)高一下期末考試英語卷（解析版） 題型：單句改錯

單句改錯

錯誤涉及一個單詞的增加、刪除或修改。按以下要求進行修改：

1）增加：在缺詞處加一個漏詞符號（∧），并在此符號下面寫出該加的詞；

2）刪詞：把多余的詞用斜線（\）劃掉；

3）修改：在錯的詞下畫一條橫線，并在該橫線下面寫出修改后的詞。

注意：1、每處錯誤及修改均僅限一詞;

2、凡答題不符合規(guī)定要求的計零分！

1.Thanks for the scientist’s hard work, Shenzhou Ⅻ was successfully sent up.

2.Yesterday I noticed a little girl caught steal in the shop.

3.The teacher, with 6 girls and 8 boys of her class, were visiting a museum when the earthquake struck.

4.General speaking, one can build up his strength as he grows older but not too old.

5.In a sports team each player has a clear role, and there are few occasions where members are confused or uncertain about their roles.

6.He devoted all his free time to play the piano.

7.Go down this street and then turn right at the first crossroad.

8.They cut up the trees and built some tall buildings to sell at a high price.

9.The boy’s father died of AIDS last December, left the family in great trouble.

10.I’d appreciate if you could let me know in advance whether or not you will come.

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：2015-2016學(xué)年貴州思南中學(xué)高二下第二次月考英語卷（解析版） 題型：語法填空

閱讀下面材料，在空白處填入適當(dāng)?shù)膬?nèi)容（不多于3個單詞）或括號內(nèi)單詞的正確形式。

1. (spend) too much time online can increase your risk of catching 2. cold or the flu，scientists have warned.

Those with greater levels of Internet addiction are more likely to give in to illness 3. those who spend fewer hours online.

Researchers believe the reason lies 4. the fact that people with an Internet addiction are more lonely，and as a result have 5. (weak) immune(免疫)systems.

They said the lack of interaction with other people and less time ___6.____(spend) outside exposing themselves to germs(細菌)played a role.

Past studies also have 7. (find) people who spend more time online experience greater sleep problem,have 8. (bad) eating habits, do less exercise and tend to smoke and drink more alcohol.

These 9. (behave) can harm their immune system and increase chances of getting diseases.

Professor Phil Read said, “We found that the impact of the Internet on people's health was independent of other factors，like depression，sleep problem，and loneliness， 10. are associated with high levels of Internet use and also with poor health.

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：2015-2016學(xué)年廣東三校高一下期末聯(lián)考英語卷（解析版） 題型：書面表達

假設(shè)你是李華，將參加主題為"Let's Ride Bicycles"的英語演講比賽。請撰寫一份演講稿，主要內(nèi)容包括：

1.目前汽車帶來的空氣污染和交通堵塞等問題；

2.騎自行車的益處，如節(jié)能環(huán)保、有利健康等。

參考詞匯：低碳生活（low-carbon life）；節(jié)能（energy saving）

注意：

1. 詞數(shù) 100 左右；

2. 可以適當(dāng)增加細節(jié)，以使行文連貫；

3. 開頭語已為你寫好。

Good morning, everyone,

I am Li Hua. The topic of my speech is "Let's Ride Bicycles".

________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________

Thank you!

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：2015-2016學(xué)年甘肅天水一中高一下期末英語卷（解析版） 題型：閱讀理解

The principles about applying for jobs have altered greatly lately. In the past, people preferred a hand­written application letter. However, nowadays it is becoming more and more common to apply for a job through the Internet. You can find information on the Internet about how to apply for jobs. Information can be found about how to fulfill your application letter, the clothes that you should wear and how to carry out the interview itself.

The importance of body language is often mentioned, but doesn't always get the attention it deserves. After all, before a word has even been spoken, your body language will have already given people their first impression of you. Additionally, your body language will also give out a lot more information. Based on your body language it can be seen if you are self-confident. It can also show if you are a busy or a quiet type and it helps give an impression of whether you are speaking truthfully or not. Body language can show how enthusiastic you are and if you are a nice person, someone who will take his work seriously, but also someone who has a sense of humor and can enjoy a joke from time to time. The members of the application committee will ask you questions, but your answers won't only be oral. The committee will not only pay attention to what you say, but also to how you say it! Body language will determine first if it “clicks”， and sometimes all it takes is just a few seconds. Everybody uses body language, but it takes place mostly at a subconscious (下意識的) level. Using body language appropriately, you can definitely increase your chances of getting a job.

1.What kind of people is the text mainly meant for?

A．Interviewers B．Job­hunting people

C．Employers D．Lay­off workers

2.We can learn from the first paragraph that________.

A．hand­written letters are not used in finding a job

B．the more expensive clothes interviewees wear, the better

C．body language is more important than spoken words

D．the Internet is of significance in applying for a job

3.Using body language well in a job interview will probably ________.

A．get rid of the interviewers' prejudice

B．determine what position one will get

C．increase the possibility to get the wanted job

D．help one remove nervousness

4.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Those using body language are usually confident.

B．Body language is often used on purpose in job hunting.

C．Body language is a mirror to reflect one's personality.

D．People enjoying jokes are preferred in a job interview.

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：2015-2016學(xué)年湖南衡陽一中高一下期末考試英語卷（解析版） 題型：閱讀理解

When he was driving home one evening on a country road, he saw an old lady, stranded(拋錨的) on the side of the road. He stopped in front of her car and got out. Even with the smile on his face, she was worried. He looked poor and hungry. He knew how she felt. He said’ “I am here to help you, madam. Why don’t you wait in the car where it’s warm? By the way, my name is Joe.”

She had a flat tire(輪胎). Joe crawled under the car, changed the tire. But he got dirty and his hands hurt. She could not thank him enough and asked him how much she owed him. He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back, the next time she saw someone who needed help, she could give that person the help they needed, and Joe added, “And think of me.”

She drove off. A few miles down the road the lady saw a small restaurant. She went in. The waitress had a sweet smile, and was nearly eight months pregnant(懷孕) The old lady wondered how someone like her who seemed poor could be so kind to a stranger. Then she remembered Joe. After the lady finished her meal, the waitress went to get her change from a hundred-dollar bill. But she stepped right out the door.

When the waitress came back, she noticed something written on a napkin(餐巾), “I am helping you because someone once helped me. If you really want to pay me back, here ‘s what you do--Do not let the chain of love end with you.”

That night when she got home, she was thinking about the money and what the lady had written. She and her husband needed money with the baby due (預(yù)產(chǎn)期)next month. She knew how worried her husband was, and as he lay sleeping next to her, she whispered, “Everything’s going to be all right. I love you, Joe.”

1.When Joe stopped to help the lady, she _______.

A. became excited B. refused his offer

C. was afraid to be hurt D. thanked him

2.Why did the lady leave the restaurant without getting her change?

A. She forgot it.

B. She wanted to give the waitress some help.

C. She would get it later.

D. She wanted to help Joe.

3.We can learn from the text that____________.

A. Joe’s boss fired him.

B. Joe’s wife was the waitress.

C. Joe worked as a driver.

D. Joe had an unhappy marriage.

4.By telling the story, the writer tries to show that_______.

A. helping others made oneself happy.

B. a happy family depends on a happy marriage

C. poverty is not a threat to a happy marriage.

D. kindness can be spread

查看答案和解析>>

同步練習(xí)冊答案