题目内容
difficulty the task is of , I think , they will overcome.
A. Wherever B. Whichever C. However D. Whatever
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 researchers 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 researchers 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.Wong,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 |
About ten years ago when I was an undergraduate in college in New York, I was working as a practice student at my University's Museum of Natural History. One day while I was working at the cash register in the gift shop, I saw an elderly couple come in with a little girl in wheelchair.
As I looked closer at this girl, I saw that she was seated on her chair. I then realized she had no arms or legs, just a head, neck and the trunk of the human body. She was wearing a little white dress with the patterns of red roses and yellow dots.
As the couple wheeled her up to me I was looking down at the register. I turned my head toward the girl and gave her a wink(眨眼示意). As I took the money from her grandparents, I looked back at the girl, who was giving me the most beautiful, largest smile I have ever seen
All of a sudden her handicap was gone and all I saw was this beautiful girl, whose smile just melted me and almost instantly gave me a completely new sense of what life is all about. I immediately felt full of hope and confidence. She took me, a poor, unhappy college student, into her world, a world of smiles, love and warmth.
That was ten years ago, but I still remember it clearly as if it happened just yesterday. I'm a successful business person now and whenever I get down and think about the troubles of the world, I think about that little girl and the remarkable lesson about life that she taught me.
【小题1】What was the writer a decade ago?
A.A worker working in a university. |
B.A teacher teaching in a college. |
C.A clerk working in a museum. |
D.A university student who had not yet taken a degree. |
A.Life difficulty. | B.Troublesome problem. |
C.Failure in work. | D.Physical disability. |
A.She felt full of hope. |
B.She was filled with confidence. |
C.She felt unhappy because of poverty. |
D.She felt life was beautiful. |
A.A Disabled Girl. | B.A Disabled Girl’s Smile. |
C.Full of Hope. | D.Full of Confidence. |