American scientists say musical training seems to improve communication skills. They found that developing musical skills involves the same process in the brain as learning how to speak. The scientists say that could help children with learning disabilities.
Nina Kraus is a neurobiologist (神经生物学) at Northwestern University in Illinois.  She says musical training involves putting together different kinds of information.  She says the process involves hearing music, looking at musical notes, touching an instrument and watching other musicians. She says the process is not much different from learning how to speak.  Both involve different senses.
Professor Krauss says musical training and learning to speak each make us think about what we are doing. She says speech and music pass through a structure of the nervous system called the brain stem. The brain stem controls our ability to hear. 
Until recently, experts have thought the brain stem could not be developed or changed.  But Professor Krauss and her team found that musical training can improve a person's brain stem activity. Their study was reported in the Proceedings in the National Academy of Sciences. 
The study involved individuals with different levels of musical ability. They were asked to wear an electrical device that measures brain activity. The Individuals wore the electrode (电极) while they watched a video of someone speaking and a person playing a musical instrument -- the cello. Professor Krauss says cellos (大提琴) have sound qualities similar to some of the sounds that are important with speech. 
The study found that the more years of training people had，the more sensitive they were to the sound and beat of the music. Those who were involved in musical activities were the same people in whom the improvement of sensory events was the strongest. 
Professor Kraus says the study shows the importance of musical training to children with learning disabilities. She says using music to improve listening skills could mean they hear sentences and better understand facial expressions

1. 1.

   According to the passage, the new findings about the value of musical training involves ______ aspects

   1. A.
      three
   2. B.
      four
   3. C.
      five
   4. D.
      six
2. 2.

   Which is the correct order of the process of musical training?
   a. touching an instrument                   b. watching other musicians
   c. hearing music                          d. looking at musical notes

   1. A.
      a→b→c→d
   2. B.
      b→c→a→d
   3. C.
      c→d→a→b
   4. D.
      d→a→b→c
3. 3.

   Scientists say musical training could help children _______ in this article

   1. A.
      improve their grades
   2. B.
      with disabilities
   3. C.
      with learning disabilities
   4. D.
      get on well with others
4. 4.

   Professor Krauss says besides musical training, ______ can also let us think about what we are doing

   1. A.
      learning to speak
   2. B.
      hearing ability
   3. C.
      musical ability
   4. D.
      listening skills
5. 5.

   According to the passage we can know that Professor Krauss ______ some experts’ opinion that the brain stem could not be developed or changed

   1. A.
      is in favor of
   2. B.
      disagrees with
   3. C.
      ignores
   4. D.
      thinks highly of

Care your dream

I always have the dream to dance like a beautiful ballerina twirling around and around and hearing people applaud for me. When I was young, I would twirl in the fields of wildflowers that grew in my  1  . For hours I would dance  2 people were watching me.  3  woke me up when I heard a voice saying，I don’t know why you  4 trying to dance. Ballerinas are pretty, slender little girls.  5  , you don’t have the talent to  6 be a ballerina.” I remember how those words paralyzed（使瘫痪）every   7  in my body. I fell to the ground and wept for hours.

We lived in the country by a nearby lake and I would sometimes go there to hide I enjoyed    8    by the water. I would sit there for hours and stare at my   9    . There I was, looked     10    like a pretty ballerina dancer Reflections don’t   11   . Once the waves would come, my reflection was   12    , washed away just like my   13    . I sat there staring at the water, hoping that my reflection would reappear and be    14     .

As I grew older, I began to realize that the dream I had was never   15    , so it slowly died. It’s not that wanted it to die,   16    I allow it to die the day I started listening to the words. “You can’t do it.” When I   17   woke up from many years of dreaming, I realized that you can’t just keep    18 in the wildflowers, you have to move on to the   19    I still go to the lake sometimes and sit there. Looking at my reflection is different now too. When I was young, I looked at how others saw me, now that I am older and  20  ; I look at how God sees me.

1．A．platform               B．backyard            C．interest               D．daydream

2．A．ever since             B．in case                C．as if                   D．even if

3．A．Directors              B．Instructions        C．Awareness          D．Reality

4．A．bother                  B．remind                C．attempt               D．assume

5．A．Meanwhile            B．However             C．Besides               D．Therefore

6．A．yet                       B．ever                   C．thus                 D．still

7．A．struggling             B．feeling                C．performing         D．twirling

8．A．hanging out          B．settling down      C．looking upon       D．diving off

9．A figure                     B．status                 C．image                 D．reflection

10．A．everything          B．nothing               C．something           D．anything

11．A．hide                    B．speak                 C． lie                    D．laugh

12．A．lifted                  B．hidden                C．gone                  D．melted

13．A．childhood           B．emotion              C．thoughts             D．dream

14．A．slender               B．flexible               C．pretty                 D．different

15．A．cared for            B．brought on          C．turned out           D．given up

16．A．so                    B．but                   C．or                       D．and

17．A．instantly            B．occasionally       C．unwillingly          D．eventually

18．A．crying               B．singing             C．dancing              D．running

19．A．stage                B．school               C．crowd                D．garden

20．A．weaker             B．taller                  C．wiser                 D．smarter

    The driver, Mr. Leung, turned on the siren (报警器)  and flashing light, and started speeding towards the nearest hospital, fighting against time. Unfortunately the traffic was busy. From the back of the ambulance, the parents were shouting at him to hurry, since Mary had almost stopped breathing. In front of him he saw some traffic lights, with the red “STOP” light shining. Mr. Leung knew that he had no time to lose, so he drove straight past the traffic lights, looking to his left and right as he did so.

    Coming towards him from his right was a taxi． The driver had the windows up and he was playing his radio．He did not hear the ambulance．The lights were green, so he drove straight on—into the path of the ambulance．

Mr. Leung tried to stop but it was too late．The two vehicles collided(猛撞)．Everyone was shaken but there were no injuries．Mr. Leung looked back to see how little Mary was．He was astonished to see relief(宽慰) instead of fear on the faces of the parents．

    “Look! ” cried Mrs. Yau．“She’s breathing again．”

    “It must have been the collision，”said her husband．“It knocked the food out of her throat．”

The baby’s color was returning to normal，and she was crying in loud but healthy sobs．They were all delighted，and quite forgot about the accident，the taxi, and queues of vehicles all around them．

1．Which of the following is NOT true? The taxi driver drove________.

A．with his radio on

B．past a green light

C．with his windows closed

D．past a red light

2．Which of the following does NOT necessarily suggest that Mr. Leung was driving quickly?

A．“started speeding towards”

B．“fighting against time”

C．“shouting at him to hurry”

D．“no time to lose”

3．To what extent(程度)was the taxi driver to blame for the accident?

A．He was too busy listening to the radio．

B．The noise of the traffic prevented him from hearing the siren．

C．He was not watching the traffic．

D．He was not to blame at all．

4．The best title for the passage is________.

A．Traffic Rules

B．Choking

C．Kind—Hearted Taxi Driver

D．Importance of Vehicles

    The back door of the ambulance was shut and the driver jumped into his seat and started the engine. Inside were two worried parents, Mr. and Mrs. Yau, the mother holding their baby daughter, Mary. The little girl had some food stuck in her throat, and could hardly breathe.

    The driver, Mr. Leung, turned on the siren (报警器)  and flashing light, and started speeding towards the nearest hospital, fighting against time. Unfortunately the traffic was busy. From the back of the ambulance, the parents were shouting at him to hurry, since Mary had almost stopped breathing. In front of him he saw some traffic lights, with the red “STOP” light shining. Mr. Leung knew that he had no time to lose, so he drove straight past the traffic lights, looking to his left and right as he did so.

    Coming towards him from his right was a taxi． The driver had the windows up and he was playing his radio．He did not hear the ambulance．The lights were green, so he drove straight on—into the path of the ambulance．

Mr. Leung tried to stop but it was too late．The two vehicles collided(猛撞)．Everyone was shaken but there were no injuries．Mr. Leung looked back to see how little Mary was．He was astonished to see relief(宽慰) instead of fear on the faces of the parents．

    “Look! ” cried Mrs. Yau．“She’s breathing again．”

    “It must have been the collision，”said her husband．“It knocked the food out of her throat．”

The baby’s color was returning to normal，and she was crying in loud but healthy sobs．They were all delighted，and quite forgot about the accident，the taxi, and queues of vehicles all around them．

1．Which of the following is NOT true? The taxi driver drove________.

A．with his radio on

B．past a green light

C．with his windows closed

D．past a red light

2．Which of the following does NOT necessarily suggest that Mr. Leung was driving quickly?

A．“started speeding towards”

B．“fighting against time”

C．“shouting at him to hurry”

D．“no time to lose”

3．To what extent(程度)was the taxi driver to blame for the accident?

A．He was too busy listening to the radio．

B．The noise of the traffic prevented him from hearing the siren．

C．He was not watching the traffic．

D．He was not to blame at all．

4．The best title for the passage is________.

A．Traffic Rules

B．Choking

C．Kind—Hearted Taxi Driver

D．Importance of Vehicles