You have probably heard of the Mozart effect. It’s the idea that if children or even babies listen to music composed by Mozart, they will become more intelligent. A quick Internet search reveals plenty of products to assist you in the task. Whatever your age there are CDs and books to help you taste the power of Mozart’s music, but when it comes to scientific evidence that it can make you more clever, the picture is more mixed.
The phrase “the Mozart effect” was made up in 1991, but it was a study described two years later in the journal Nature that sparked real media and public interest about the idea that listening to classical music somehow improves the brain. It is one of those ideas that sound reasonable. Mozart was undoubtedly a genius himself; his music is complex and there is a hope that if we listen to enough of it ,we’ll become more intelligent.
The idea took off, with thousands of parents playing Mozart to their children, and in 1998 Zell Miller, the Governor of the state of Georgia in the US, even asked for money to be set aside in the state budget so that every newborn baby could be sent a CD of classical music. It was not just babies and children who were exposed to Mozart’s music on purpose, even an Italian farmer proudly explained that the cows were played Mozart three times a day to help them to produce better milk.
I’ll leave the debate on the impact on milk yield to farmers, but what about the evidence that listening to Mozart makes people more intelligent? More research was carried out but an analysis of sixteen different studies confirmed that listening to music does lead to a temporary improvement in the ability to handle shapes mentally, but the benefits are short-lived and it doesn’t make us more intelligent.
1.What can we learn from paragraph 1?
A. Mozart composed many musical pieces for children.
B. Children listening to Mozart will be more intelligent.
C. There are few products on the Internet about Mozart’s music.
D. There is little scientific evidence to support Mozart effect.
2.Why did many people believe in the idea of Mozart Effect?
A. Because a study described it in the journal Nature.
B. Because Mozart himself was a genius.
C. Because Mozart’s music is enjoyable.
D. Because Mozart’s music makes people relaxed.
3.The underlined sentence in paragraph3 suggests that .
A. people were strongly against the idea
B. the idea was accepted by many people
C. Mozart played an important part in people’s life
D. the US government helped promote the idea
4.What is the author’s attitude towards the Mozart effect?
A. FavorableB. ObjectiveC. DoubtfulD. Positive
5.What would be the best title for the passage?
A. Listening to Mozart , necessary? B. What music is beneficial?
C. What is the Mozart effect? D. To be or not to be?
During the last fifteen years of my mother's life she suffered with Alzheimer's disease (老年痴呆). Until then she had been a bright, cheerful woman deeply interested and involved in the world around her. I would go home to visit her in Virginia and she would look at me in a puzzled way and ask, “Who are you?” I would answer, “I'm your son.” “Where do you live?” She would ask. “In California”, I would tell her. “Isn't that interesting,” she would say, “I have a son in California.”
She seemed simply forgetful and confused at the beginning of the disease, but later on she would go through periods of intense anxiety. She would pace through the house she had lived in most of her life crying uneasily that she wanted to go home. Or she would leave home and wander away if she were unattended for a short time.
Hoping to please her and put her mind at ease I would take her for a drive, visiting sites where she had lived as a child. In the yard of the hillside house in Shipman I sat in the car and admired the view of the old oaks and long green lawn. I pictured my mother there was a little girl playing with the pet lamb she had been so fond of. I looked to her for some response. She shook her head and said, “I want to go home.”
Over the years I have decided that what my mother was calling home was not a place, but a time. I suspect it was a time when she was much younger, when her children were still underfoot, when her husband was still vigorous and attentive.
Watching my mother's suffering set me wondering where I would have gone in mind if someday I couldn’t find home and wanted to go there. In this family we tend to be long-lived and we grow fuzzy (糊涂的) minded as the years go by. At eighty I have already noticed some alarming symptoms. My doctor says the forgetfulness is only natural and that it comes with age. Still the fear of Alzheimer's is haunting there. Someday if and when I become even more cloudy minded than I am now, unable to drive and unable to tell you where "home" is, my dear son, I expect I will ask you to take me home, I know you will do your best to find the place I need to be. I leave these notes for your guidance.
1.What's the main idea of the first two paragraphs?
A. The author’s mother suffered with serious Alzheimer's disease.
B. The author’s mother forgot who’s his son.
C. The author didn’t know how to cure his mother.
D. The author’s mother couldn’t find her home.
2.What is not the symptom of the author’s mother ?
A. cheerful B. confused C. forgetful D. uneasy
3. What’s the meaning of the underlined word “pictured”?
A. photographed B. appeared C. described D. painted
4.What can you infer from the third paragraph?
A. The author care much about his mother.
B. The author’s mother was fond of pet lambs.
C. The author saw a little girl playing with a pet lamb.
D. The author’s mother didn’t like her usual home.
5.What’s the best title of the passage?
A. Take Mother Home.
B. Everyone will suffer with Alzheimer's disease.
C. A story about a son and a mother.
D. Where Is Home?
Many years ago ,l was working at my job at a community college when a homeless woman came in. She began as she lay on one of the sofas in the student rest room. , she wasn't well. Without thinking too much I went next door to the Student Affairs office where I knew I could find in the Lost and Found box. I up a set of clothing and went back to my office, I heard a colleague calling me. She told me that I should not this person, as it would only lead to her wanting more help. I refused her and went back to help the woman, my co-worker's warning .
Two weeks later, while I was working, a very cute elderly man entered my and asked to speak with me in private. Curiously, l gave him my full and he told me that he had happened to hear my with the co-worker about helping the woman. He wanted me to know that it was always okay to help people and that was why he wanted to give me a for $1,000. I burst into tears, because I needed the money at the time, but also because I had never been in such a way for helping someone!
We soon became good and 10 years later he called me up suddenly and told me he wanted to help me my first home! He giving me $120,000 as part payment for my dream house in my home town. I asked him why he wanted to give me such a large amount of money and he said it was because I was a " giver" and that I it ! To make a long story short, l was able to buy the perfect little home for myself, all because one day I did not to help a homeless woman.
1.A. smiling B. talking C. shouting D. coughing
2.A. Luckily B. Clearly C. Strangely D. Sadly
3.A. clothes B. books C. food D. medicine
4.A. gave B. turned C. gathered D. made
5.A. while B. when C. how D. why
6.A.ignore B. disturb C. value D. help
7.A. advice B. request C. plan D. offer
8.A. more than B. rather than C. regardless of D. apart from
9.A. home B. office C. classroom D. dormitory
10.A. energy B. love C. care D. attention
11.A. disagreement B. discussion C. fight D. quarrel
12.A. young B. old C. sick D. wealthy
13.A. support B. check C. tip D. promise
14.A. anxiously B. eagerly C. hardly D. really
15.A. recognized B. measured C. taught D. praised
16.A. colleagues B. competitors C .partners D. friends
17.A. build B. buy C. rent D. repair
18.A. came out B. ended up C. carried on D. resulted in
19.A. deserved B. wanted C. needed D. enjoyed
20.A. fear B. fail C. hesitate D. attempt
--- You hate Lee, don't you?
---______I just think he is a bit annoying.
A. That's right B. Not exactly C. By all means D. Never mind
---Are you free now? I’ve got something to tell you.
--- Ok, ______ you make your story short.
A. so long as B. even if C. now that D. in that case
The equipment for disabled people should be ______ easy reach in public places.
A. within B. near C. beyond D. around
