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.”

1.What attitude do most American grown-ups have towards music lessons? _________

A. Uninterested        B. Approving                       C. Doubtful                          D. Uncertain

2.The underlined word“optical”in Paragraph 2 probably means       .

A. visual                      B. colorful                           C. traditional                       D. serious

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

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

 

The universities are schools of education and research but the main reason for their existence is not in the knowledge taught to the students or in the opportunities for the economic or social ___50___ resulting from the research findings.

The true function of a university is that it keeps the ___51___ between knowledge and the real life. It unites the students with ordinary life in a ___52___ way. The university passes on information, but it ___53___ the information imaginatively. Imagination is the driving force for the society’s future development.  Students’ imagination is the very ___54___ every university should protect and encourage. A university which ___55___ to do so has no reason for existence. With imagination, knowledge is not only knowledge: it includes all possibilities. It’s no longer a ___56___ on students’ memory. It’s food for thought and ___57___ for creative inventions.

Imagination is not ___58___ knowledge. Instead, it is a way leading to more knowledge. It works by thoroughly studying the current knowledge and then exploring every possibility about the knowledge. In the exploration, new knowledge ___59___. Imagination enables men to construct a new vision of the world and it adds ___60___ to life through endless possibilities. Imaginative people are restless all along.

Youth is imaginative and if the university can help preserve this precious wealth, the power of imagination can ___61___ change the world. Besides, it should also be made clear that imagination won’t be most effective without necessary experience.  The problem of the current world is that those who are imaginative have only little experience ___62___ those who are experienced have weak imaginations. The ___63___ left for the universities is to hold together these two factors for the whole human race to ___64___ greater development and happiness.

1.                A.problem        B.development    C.life  D.inquiry

 

2.                A.connection      B.attraction       C.difference D.tradition

 

3.                A.technical       B.difficult         C.creative  D.basic

 

4.                A.supposes       B.conveys        C.expects   D.weighs

 

5.                A.spirit           B.goods          C.message  D.theory

 

6.                A.tries           B.pretends        C.fails  D.means

 

7.                A.burden         B.treasure        C.schedule  D.science

 

8.                A.result          B.material        C.cost D.figure

 

9.                A.superior to      B.familiar with     C.separate from  D.strict with

 

10.               A.takes shape     B.steps in         C.sets off    D.speeds up

 

11.               A.proof          B.excitement      C.greed D.seed

 

12.               A.temporarily     B.carefully        C.reluctantly D.finally

 

13.               A.because        B.unless          C.while D.until

 

14.               A.sympathy       B.solution        C.condition  D.purpose

 

15.               A.require        B.fix             C.imagine   D.achieve

 

 

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