Our love of music and appreciation of musical harmony is learnt and not based on natural ability, a new study by University of Melbourne researchers has found. The researchers said previous theories about how we appreciate music were based on the physical functions of sound, the ear itself and a born ability to hear harmony.

The study shows that musical harmony can be learnt, and it is a matter of training the brain to hear the sounds. So if you thought that the music of some foreign culture (or Jazz) sounded like the crying of cats, it’s simply because you haven’t learnt to listen by their rules.

The researchers used 66 volunteers with a range of musical training and tested their ability to hear combinations of notes(音符) to determine if they found the combinations familiar or pleasing. They found that people needed to be familiar with combinations of notes. If they found the notes unfamiliar they also found the sound unpleasant. This finding put an end to centuries of theories claiming that physical functions of the ear determine what we find attractive.

The study found that trained musicians were much more sensitive to unpleasant notes than non-musicians. When they couldn’t find the note, the musicians reported that the sounds were unpleasant, while non-musicians were much less sensitive. This shows the importance of training or nurturing(培养) the brain to like particular sound of combinations of notes, like those found in jazz or rock.

Depending on their training, a strange chord(和弦) sound was pleasant to some musicians, but very unpleasant to others. This showed us that even the ability to hear a musical note is learnt.

To confirm this finding, they trained 19 non-musicians to find the notes of a random selection of western chords. Not only did the participants’ ability to hear notes improve rapidly, afterward they reported that the chords they had learnt sounded more pleasant -- regardless of how the chords were played.

The question of why some combinations of musical notes are heard as pleasant or unpleasant has long been debated. “We have shown in this study that for music, beauty is in the brain of the beholder(观看者)”, a researcher said.

1.According to the study, people find foreign music quite unpleasant because_____.

A. they hear the music much too often

B. they don’t like the person playing it

C. they have no idea about how to listen

D. they have no born musical ability at all??

2.Although non-musicians were less sensitive to music, they can still_____.

A. be trained to like particular music

B. make friends with real musicians

C. find the beauty of chords without training

D. enjoy the beauty of music when played by musicians

3.The 19 non-musicians were trained in order to show_____.

A. the brain likes particular combinations of notes

B. not a strange note was pleasant to all musicians

C. how the chords were played was very important

D. people’s ability to hear a musical note can be learnt

4.What is the main idea of the passage?

A. Love of musical harmony can’t be taught.

B. Love of music is not natural but nurtured.

C. Listening to music can improve your brain.

D. You can be a musician without being trained.

SHANGHAI：China’s economic center will replace London as the world’s second-largest economic center after New York in 10 years，according to a recent survey conducted by 1aw firm Eversheds．

        The survey，which interviewed 600 senior business decision-makers in the cities of London，Mumbai，New York，Shanghai and the United Arab Emirates，showed that London was facing a challenge（挑战）from Shanghai in terms of its economic role in the world．

    Most of them said New York would continue to hold the top position as the most important economic center．

    According to London-based Eversheds，91 percent of senior businesspeople in Shanghai are confident of their economic future over the next 12 months，mainly based on signs of growth in business，while in London only 22 percent are confident，the lowest figure among the five cities．

    The report showed that 87 percent of business leaders across the world said the crisis （危机）has changed the structure（结构）of the world economy，and the established economic centers of the West face a growing challenge from the new economies of the East．

    China, ahead of the US and Europe，has had signs of a recovery from the economic crisis．In March the Chinese government decided to try to turn Shanghai into an

international economic center by the end of 2020．

    “There's little doubt that Shanghai would become a world's important economic center within the next decade if the Chinese economy will become No 1 or No 2 in the world and because of the growing value of the yuan，said Hubert Tse，managing director and head

of international business at law firm Yuan Tat．

      Shanghai’s becoming a world’s economic center is affected by when the yuan can be exchanged freely and whether effective laws would be put in place, Tse said．

1．Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

      A．Businessmen in London are least confident of their economic future among the five cities surveyed．

      B．The economic development of the established economic centers of the West has slowed down due to the crisis．

    C．Chinese economy will surely become No 1 in the world by the end of 2020．

    D．China has shown signs of recovery from crisis earlier than the US and Europe．

2．All the following will make Shanghai a world's economic center except         ．

      A．Chinese early economic recovery from crisis．

      B．The growing value and free exchange of the yuan．

      C．Effective laws to be made．

      D．Businessmen's confidence in Shanghai．

3．What does the passage mainly deal with?

      A．People are confident in Chinese economy．

      B．Shanghai will become the second-largest economic center instead of London．

      C．New York remains to be the most important economic center．

      D．The structure of the world economy has been changed completely．

Women who want to succeed at work should resist the temptation to act like men, scientists have said. Studies show that ambitious women are often less likely to get ahead than those who show more female characteristics. However, if they try to adapt, promotion comes their way. The findings, which will let assertive (过分自信的) women down, suggest that the best way for a woman to succeed in a man’s world is to act like a lady.
Past research has shown that women with self-confidence and other characteristics linked with successful management can be put aside at work in favor of gentle types. It is thought that while such characteristics are highly praised in men, ambitious women are penalized for not being feminine enough. Instead of being seen as strong managers, ambitious women are in an unfavorable situation.
In one US study, researchers explored personal details from university students applying for a summer job at a bank. A women applicant who attempted to apply for special wages to pay her transport or living costs was three and a half times less likely to get a job offer than a similar male. In fact, this kind of woman was the least likely to get taken on.
The latest study set out to explore what women who are naturally assertive could do to get ahead in the workplace. Eighty young men and women completed surveys about their personality while studying in college. Around eight years later, the researchers got back in touch with them to find out how their careers were going. Some had been promoted five times, others just once or twice. The results showed that ambitious women who stick to their decisions had been promoted less than more feminine groups. But the ambitious women who made a conscious effort to not appear to be threatening by “self-controlling” their behavior had done better than those who had carried on ignoring others’ views.
【小题1】 What does the underlined word “penalized” mean in the second paragraph?

My job was to make classroom observations and encourage a training program that would enable students to feel good about themselves and take charge of their lives. Donna was one of the volunteer teachers who participated in this  16 .

One day, I entered Donna’s classroom, took a seat in the back of the room and  17 . All the students were working  18  a task. The student next to me was filling her page with “I Can’ts.” “I can’t kick the soccer ball.” “I can’t get Debbie to like me.” Her page was half full and she showed no  19  of stopping. I walked down the row and found  20  was writing sentences, describing things they couldn’t do. ks5u

By this time the activity aroused my  21 , so I decided to check with the teacher to see what was going on  22  I noticed she too was busy writing. “I can’t get John’s mother to come for a parents’ meeting.” …… I felt it best not to  23 .

After another ten minutes, the students were  24  to fold the papers in half and bring them to the front. They placed their “I Can’t” statements into an empty shoe box. Then Donna  25  hers. She put the lid on the box, tucked it under her arm and headed out the door.  Students followed the teacher. I followed the students. Halfway down the hallway Donna got a shovel from the tool house, and then marched the students to the farthest corner of the playground. There they began to  26 . The box of “I Can’ts” was placed at the  27  of the hole and then quickly covered with dirt. At this point Donna announced, “Boys and girls, please join hands and  28  your heads.” They quickly formed a circle around the grave.

Donna delivered the eulogy （悼词）. “Friends, we gathered here today to  29  the memory of ‘I Can’t.’ He is  30  by his brothers and sisters ‘I Can’ and ‘I Will’. May ‘I Can’t’ rest in  31 . Amen!”

She turned the students  32  and marched them back into the classroom. They celebrated the  33  of “I Can’t”. Donna cut a large tombstone from paper. She wrote the words “I Can’t” at the top and the date at the bottom, then hung it in the classroom. On those rare occasions when a student  34  and said, “I Can’t,” Donna  35  pointed to the paper tombstone. The student then remembered that “I Can’t” was dead and chose other statement.

 (北京市101中学2009届高三三模)

My job was to make classroom observations and encourage a training program that would enable students to feel good about themselves and take charge of their lives. Donna was one of the volunteer teachers who participated in this    36   .

One day, I entered Donna’s classroom, took a seat in the back of the room and    37   . All the students were working    38    a task. The student next to me was filling her page with “I Can’ts.” “I can’t kick the soccer ball.” “I can’t get Debbie to like me.” Her page was half full and she showed no    39    of stopping. I walked down the row and found    40    was writing sentences, describing things they couldn’t do.

By this time the activity aroused my    41   , so I decided to check with the teacher to see what was going on    42    I noticed she too was busy writing. “I can’t get John’s mother to come for a parents’ meeting.” …… I felt it best not to    43   .

After another ten minutes, the students were    44    to fold the papers in half and bring them to the front. They placed their “I Can’t” statements into an empty shoe box. Then Donna

45    hers. She put the lid on the box, tucked it under her arm and headed out the door.       Students followed the teacher. I followed the students. Halfway down the hallway Donna got a shovel from the tool house, and then marched the students to the farthest corner of the playground. There they began to    46   . The box of “I Can’ts” was placed at the    47    of the hole and then quickly covered with dirt. At this point Donna announced, “Boys and girls, please join hands and    48    your heads.” They quickly formed a circle around the grave.

Donna delivered the eulogy （悼词）. “Friends, we gathered here today to    49    the memory of ‘I Can’t.’ He is    50    by his brothers and sisters ‘I Can’ and ‘I Will’. May ‘I Can’t’ rest in    51   . Amen!”

She turned the students    52    and marched them back into the classroom. They celebrated the    53    of “I Can’t”. Donna cut a large tombstone from paper. She wrote the words “I Can’t” at the top and the date at the bottom, then hung it in the classroom. On those rare occasions when a student    54    and said, “I Can’t,” Donna    55    pointed to the paper tombstone. The student then remembered that “I Can’t” was dead and chose other statement.

36. A. job              B. project                            C. observation               D. course

37. A. checked           B. noticed                     C. watched                   D. waited

38. A. on            B. with                         C. as                            D. for

39. A. scenes         B. senses                      C. marks                      D. signs

40. A. nobody     B. somebody                 C. everyone                  D. anyone

41. A. curiosity      B. suspect                    C. sympathy                 D. worry

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

43. A. insert           B. interrupt                   C. talk                          D. request

44. A. taught          B. shown                      C. forced                      D. instructed

45. A. added          B. wrote                       C. made                       D. folded

46. A. cry              B. pray                         C. dig                           D. play

47. A. back            B. bottom                     C. top                          D. edge

48. A. drop            B. raise                         C. fall                           D. lift

49. A. keep            B. thank                       C. forgive                     D. honor

50. A. remembered B. punished                   C. removed                   D. replaced

51. A. silence         B. heart                        C. peace                       D. memory

52. A. down           B. up                            C. off                           D. around

53. A. birth            B. passing                     C. loss                         D. starting

54. A. awoke         B. reminded                  C. forgot                      D. apologized

55. A. simply         B. hardly                      C. seriously                  D. angrily