2014職稱英語理工類新增文章（B級）：閱讀判斷第十篇

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　　第十篇：The Biology of Music

　　Humans use music as a powerful way to communicate. It may also play an important role in

　　love. But what is music, and how does it work its magic? Science does not yet have all the

　　answers.

　　What are two things that make humans different from animals? One is language, and the other is music. It is true that some animals can sing ( and many birds sing .better than a lot of people). However,the songs of animals, such as birds and whales, are very limited. It is also true that humans, not animals ,have developed musical instruments.

　　Music is strange stuff. It is clearly different from language. However, people can use music to communicate things -- especially their emotions. When music is combined with speech in a song, it is a very powerful form of communication. But, biologically speaking, what is music?

　　If music is truly different from speech, then we should process music and language in different parts of the brain. The scientific evidence suggests that this is true.

　　Sometimes people who suffer brain damage lose their ability to process language. However, they don't automatically lose their musical abilities. For example, Vissarion Shebalin, a Russian

　　composer, had a stroke in 1953. It injured the left side of his brain. He could no longer speak or

　　understand speech. He could, however, still compose music until his death ten years later. On the

　　other hand, sometimes strokes cause people to lose their musical ability, but they can still speak and understand speech. This shows that the brain processes music and language separately.

　　By studying the physical effects of music on the body, scientists have also learned a lot about how music influences the emotions. But why does music have such a strong effect on us? That is a harder question to answer. Geoffrey Miller, a researcher at University College, London, thinks that music and love have a strong connection. Music requires special tale

　　ent, practice, and physical ability. That's why it may be a way of showing your fitness to be someone's.mate. For example, singing in tune or playing a musical instrument requires fine muscular control. You also need a good memory to remember the notes. And playing or singing those notes correctly suggests that your hearing is in excellent condition. Finally ,when a man sings to the woman he loves (or vice versa), it may be a way of showing off.

　　However ,Miller's theory still doesn't explain why certain combinations of sounds influence our emotions so deeply. For scientists, this is clearly an area that needs further research.

　　注釋：

　　1.It is also true that humans，not animals，have developed musical instruments：人研制出了樂器，而動物則不能。develop：研制，例如：Scientists are developing new drugs to treat cancer.科學(xué)家們正在研發(fā)新藥用以治療癌癥。

　　練習(xí)：

　　1. Humans,but not animals, can sing.

　　A Right

　　B Wrong

　　C Not mentioned

　　2. People can use music to communicate their emotions.

　　A Right

　　B Wrong

　　C Not mentioned.

　　3. We use the same part of the brain for music and language.

　　A Right

　　B Wrong