Learning to play a musical instrument can change your brain. A US review has found that musical training can improve speech and foreign language skills.

  Although it was suggested in the past that listening to Mozart's music or other classical mu?sic make you smarter, there has been little evidence to show that music can boost brain power.

  But a data-driven review by Northwestern University has pulled research together that links between musical training and learning can affect skills including language,speech,memory,at?tention and even vocal emotion.

  Researcher Nina Kraus said the data strongly suggested that the neural(神经中枢的) connec?tions made during musical training also prepared the brain for other aspects of human communi?cation.

  "The effect of musical training suggests that music is a resource that tones(增强) the brain for auditory(听觉的) fitness and thus requires society to re-examine the role of music in encoura?ging individual development.”the researchers said in their study.

  Kraus said learning musical sounds could improve the brain's ability to adapt and change and also enable the nervous system to provide constructive patterns that are important to learn?ing.

  The study,published in Nature Reviews Neuroscience, showed the improvement of re?search in recent years focusing on the effect of musical training on the nervous system which could have strong impact on education.

  The study found that playing an instrument prepares the brain to choose what is related in the complex process that may involve reading or remembering a score,timing issues and coordi?nation(协 调) with other musicians.

  "A musician's brain selectively enhances information -bearing elements in sound," Kraus said in a statement. The study also reviewed literature showing, for example, that musicians are more successful than " non-musicians in learning to connect sound patterns for a new language with words.

(   ) 1. The passage is mainly about        .

   A.researches on musical instruments

   B.the study of music

   C.the effect of classical music

   D.the benefit of musical training

(   ) 2. It was believed but hasn't been proved that listening to classical music could

   A.boost your intelligence

   B.improve your speech abilities

   C.develop the ability to learn languages well

   D.make you feel happy

(   ) 3. According to the study,musicians are better at learning a foreign language because

   A.they are better at remembering a score.

   B.they are more sensitive to changes

   C.they are better at connecting sounds with words in a foreign language D,they can cooperate better with others

(   ) 4. Which field might the study have a great effect on?

A. Arts   B. Education   C. Music   D. Medicine

 One of my Chinadialogue colleagues in Beijing recently bought a Philips energy-saving light bulb to replace a standard one. He was happy with his choice. It may have cost 30yuan (just under US $4. 50) ―ten times the price of a filament(灯丝) bulb―but he wanted to save energy as part of his low-carbon lifestyle. And according to the shopkeeper, he would save,in the long run,much more than the 30yuan he was spending.

  Yet only one month later,his expensive light bulb blew up,before he had saved even a small part of the purchase price. Will he stick to his high-cost, low-carbon lifestyle?

China's environmental organizations have started to advocate low-carbon lifestyles and the decrease of carbon footprints to help fight against climate change. But they have overlooked one fact;in China, low-carbon living comes at a high cost.

  It means buying energy-saving bulbs and appliances, and environmentally friendly building materials and daily goods. Cost can no longer be the only standard for purchases. An energy-saving and environmentally friendly product is more expensive than a standard alternative― whether it's a simple light bulb or the house it shines. For average consumers, even buying an ordinary bulb is a huge burden. How can we persuade ordinary people to choose an energy-saving residence? This is not a trend they can afford to follow;perhaps this fashion is only for the rich.

  Most consumers today do not cause huge carbon dioxide (C02) emissions. Their responsi?bility lies not in choosing a low-carbon lifestyle today, but in avoiding a high-carbon life in the future. The principle of "common but differentiated responsibility"―a basis of sustainable de?velopment―can be applied here as well.

  In China, low-carbon living still is resisted by a lack of social infrastructure(基础设施) .E-ven if your salary allows you to make that choice,nobody is there to help you accomplish it.

  Consider energy-saving homes. You need to find out whether or not the developer has used natural materials wherever possible;how effective the insulation(纟色缘物、隔热物) is;and what the green credentials of installed equipment are. You can read up a little, but you'll still be luck to avoid being puzzled by the developers' marketing. Many so-called energy-saving buildings are nothing of the sort,and some are even more energy-hungry than the average home―as Li Taige warned in his article "Energy-efficient buildings? Not always",on Chinadialogue last August. 

(   ) 1. What may probably be the best title of this passage?

   A.To purchase a cheap bulb―your wise alternative.

   B.To choose an energy-saving residence―a must of your life

   C.To learn a low-carbon lifestyle―each citizen's responsibility

   D.To learn a low-carbon lifestyle―a promising but difficult purpose (   ) 2. Why did the writer's colleague get an energy-saving light bulb?

   A.He wanted to save some money.

   B.He wanted to use a more powerful light bulb.

   C.He was asked to do so by some organizations.

   D.He wanted to try learning his low-carbon lifestyle. 

(   ) 3. We can infer from the passage that .

   A.Using energy-saving bulbs and appliances is a fashion.

   B.It's difficult for most Chinese to try to learn a low-carbon lifestyle.

   C.Not all citizens have the same responsibility―learn a Sow-carbon lifestyle.

   D.Most Chinese families cannot afford to purchase an energy-saving residence 

(   ) 4. What is the writer's attitude towards the low-carbon lifestyle?

   A. infomative and entertaining   B. supportive but cautious

   C.  negative but wise   D. positive and active

 Donald had his own difficulties in sleeping that night. Not just because of the bright lights of the shelter or people's constant voices, it was the happening repeatedly nightmare that caused him to stay awake,to fear sleep. Donald was back in his small house. He did his best to ignore the howling winds outside his window. Yet he could not turn out the fearful whimpers(鸣咽) of his little dog,or the uncomfortable sounds of his mother anxious in her room next door,unable to sleep through the storm despite her insistence they would be all right.

  Donald did not want his mother to be upset,but on some level,he was glad to hear she was awake. It meant he was not alone in the dark. Though he was 12 ,until recently it was im?possible for Donald to fall asleep unless his mother lay down by his side.

  Suddenly there was a crash. Their living room window is shattered(打碎) by 125 milean-hour winds. Troy rushed to Donald and sat anxiously on the edge of his bed. He did his best to calm his mother, and she had to comfort him. Soon water was seeping(渗入) into the single floor house. Quickly it rose from ankle level to leg level. At Donald's insistence, they pushed their way through the water―now chest high―toward the front door. When they fought their way into the living room,water rose to their chins.

  It was a struggle for the boy and mother to stay afloat. In a total panic,desperate to hold

on to something,Troy caught a curtain rod(杆) .She was breathing hard,shouting that she couldn't swim.

  Donald called out, "Mom!Hold on!" Just then Donald also caught a floatable wood board. 

(   ) 1. The passage is mainly about .

   A.how a storm happened and caused damage

   B.how a mother and son experienced a storm

   C.how a mother and son survived a storm

   D.how a son helped his mother in a storm

(   ) 2. All of the following mentioned in the story except        .

   A. the rising water   B. the broken window

   C.  the lucky dog   D. the noisy environment

(   ) 3. Which phrase can describe Troy's feelings at the beginning of the storm most suitably? 

A. In excitement.   B. In calm.   C. In anxiety.   D. In despair.

(   ) 4. From the text it can be inferred that        .

   A.neither Donald nor his mother slept that night

   B.at the beginning Troy refused to leave their house

   C.Troy must be rich because she had a tall building

   D.Donald was too young to help his mother

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