题目内容
A single mistake here could ____ you your life．
A．pay B．take C．spend D．cost
D
Any foreigner who has tried to learn Chinese can tell how hard it is to master the tones required to speak and understand. And anyone who has tried to learn to play the violin or other instruments can report similar challenges.
Now researchers have found that people with musical training have an easier time learning Chinese. Writing in the online edition of Nature Neuroscience，researchers from Northwestern University say that both skills draw on the same parts of the brain that help people discover changes in pitch(音调)．
One of the study’s authors，Nina Kraus，said the findings suggested that studying music “actually tunes our sensory system”．This means that schools that want children to do well in languages should hesitate before cutting music programs，Dr.Kraus said. She said music training might also help children with language problems.
Mandarin(普通话)speakers have been shown to have a more complex encoding(编码) of pitch patterns in their brains than English speakers do. This is because in Mandarin and other Asian languages，pitch plays a central role. A singlesyllable word can have several meanings depending on how it is intoned.
For this study，the res
earchers looked at 20 nonChinese speaking volunteers，half with no musical background and half who have studied an instrument for at least six years.
As they were shown a movie，the volunteers also heard an audio tape of the Mandarin word “mi” in three of its meanings：squint，bewilder and rice. The rese
archers recorded activities in their brain stems to see how well they were processing the sounds. Those with a music background showed much more brain activities in response to the Chinese sounds.
The lead author of the study，Patrick C．M.W
ong，said it might work both ways. It appears that
native speakers of tonal languages may do better at learning instruments.
【小题1】When learning Chinese，a foreigner will find ________.
| A．he has a difficult time learning music at the same time |
| B．he has an easier time learning music at the same time |
| C．it is hard to master the tones required to speak and understand |
| D．it is easy to use the brain to help him discover changes in pitch |
| A．Because there is the same difficulty in learning Chinese and music. |
| B．Because skills to learn the two make use of the same parts of the brain. |
| C．Because music training might help people with language study. |
| D．Because people who do well in Chinese study do well in music. |
| A．created | B．spelled |
| C．seemed | D．pronounced |
| A．Mandarin Speakers Are Smarter than English Speakers |
| B．Skilled Ear for Music May Help Language Study |
| C．Pitch Plays a Central Role in Chinese Learning |
| D．Schools Need to Develop Music Programs |
Twenty years ago I drove a taxi for a living. One night I went to pick up a passenger at 2:30 AM. When I 21 -，I found the building was dark except for a single light in a ground floor 22
I walked to the door and knocked “Just a minute” answered a weak elderly 23
After a long pause the door opened. A small woman in her eighties stood 24 me by her side was a small suitcase. I took the suitcase to the car and then 25to help the woman. She took my arm and we walked 26 toward the car.
She kept thanking me for my kindness. “It’s nothing” I told her. “I just try to 27 my passengers the way I would want my mother treated.” “Oh you’re such a good man.” She said. When we got into the taxi she gave me an address and then asked“Could you drive 28 downtown”
“It’s not the shortest way” I answered quickly.
“Oh I’m 29 ” she said. “I’m on my way to a hospice临终医院. I don’t have any 30 left. The doctor says I don’t have very long.”
I quietly reached over and 31 the meter计价器.
For the next two hours we drove through the city. She 32 me the building where she had once worked the neighborhood where she had lived and the furniture shop that had once been a ballroom where she had gone 33 as a girl.
Sometimes she’d ask me to slow down in front of a 34 building and would sit staring into the darkness saying nothing.
At 35 she suddenly said” I’m tired. Let’s go now.”
We drove in silence to the 36 she had given me. “How much do I 37 you” she asked. “Nothing.” I said. “You have to make a living” she answered. “Oh there are other 38 ” I answered. Almost without thinking I 39 and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly. Our hug ended with her remark“You gave an old woman a little moment of joy.”
I walked into the 40 morning light. Behind me, a door shut. It was the sound of the closing of a life.
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