Unit 5 Music
一、阅读理解
A
Pain and sadness are things most of us have experienced， or probably will. After all， they are part of human life and we need them at least one time to become fully adult. But there is no question that the experience can be disastrous.
But research shows there are pathways through the heartache. Listening to sad music is a major one. It can help you begin to feel joy and hopefulness again. That may sound conflicting. A recent study from Germany found listening to sad music could bring a feeling of empathy（同感） and a desire to connect with others. That， itself， is a psychological recovery. It draws you away from concentrating on your life， and possibly towards helping others in need of comfort.
Another study， from the University of Kent， found that when people were experiencing sad
ness， listening to music that was "beautiful but sad" could improve their moods. In fact， it did so when people first consciously embraced（欣然接受） their awareness of the situation causing their sadness， and then began listening to sad music. That is， when they believed that sad music might help， they found that it did.
These findings are linked with other studies that show embracing your sad situation — accepting reality as it is — quickens your recovery and growth. In short， acknowledging your negative experience brings you hope — another seeming paradox. For example， research from Cornell University， which was published in PsychologicalScience， found that embracing discomfort about a life experience or new situation and viewing it as a step towards growth and change provided motivation to find a pathway through it.
As Winston Churchill said， "If you’re going through hell， keep going." That discomfort points you towards creating a plan and taking new action. It fuels hope.
本文是说明文。研究发现，听悲伤的音乐可以帮助人们重新感受喜悦和希望，激活同理心和与他人联系的欲望。
【词语积累】　disastrous adj.极糟糕的，灾难性的，完全失败的　pathway n.途径，行动路线　conflicting adj.冲突的，矛盾的　face up to sth.敢于面对，勇于正视（困难或不快之事）
【熟词生义】　fuel 常用义：n.燃料　文中义：v.助长，刺激，增加，加强
【长难句解读】　Another study，from the University of Kent,found
                介词短语作定语
that(when people were experiencing sadness),listing to music (that was “beautiful but
that引导的宾语从句，其中包含一个when引导的时间状语从句和that引导的定语从句
sad”) could improve their moods.
译文：另一个来自肯特大学的研究发现，伤心时听优美但悲伤的音乐能改善心情。
1. What message is conveyed in paragraph 1？
A. Life is not all roses.
B. Misfortunes never come alone.
C. Every coin has two sides.
D. Enough is better than too much.
解析　C　推理判断题。由第一段中的"they are part of human life and we need them ...the experience can be disastrous"可知，痛苦和悲伤是人类生活的一部分，我们至少需要经历一次这些来成长，但是毫无疑问，这些经历可能会是毁灭性的。由此可知，痛苦和悲伤既有好的一面，也有不好的一面，故C项切题。
2. What did research find about listening to sad music？
A. It can relieve a broken heart.
B. It is likely to help people feel confident.
C. It reminds people of the sufferings.
D. It keeps people in the state of concentration.
解析　A　细节理解题。由第二段中的"But research shows ... feel joy and hopefulness again"可知，研究发现度过心痛期的方法有很多，听悲伤的音乐就是其中一个重要的方法，故选A项。
3. Which of the following best explains "paradox" in paragraph 4？
A. Barrier.    B.Contradiction.
C. Prediction.    D. Tendency.
reaction纯音乐解析　B　词义猜测题。由画线词前的"embracing your acknowledging your negative experience brings you hope"可知，欣然接受现实可以加快你的恢复和成长。简而言之，承认你的负面经历会给你带来希望。再结合画线词前的"another"及第二段中的"That may sound conflicting"可知，画线词的含义与conflicting的同属一个范畴。由此可推断，paradox应表达"自相矛盾（的情况）"的意思，故选B。
4. Why does the author mention Churchill’s word？
A. To show the power of famous sayings.
B. To persuade people to wake up to reality.
C. To explain the necessity of motivation.
D. To encourage people to face up to difficulties.
解析　D　推理判断题。由倒数第二段中的"embracing discomfort about a life experience ... find a pathway through it"可知，欣然接受某种生活经历或新情况带来的不适，并将其视为迈向成长和改变的一步，会为你提供走出不适的动力。最后一段表明：这种不适会让你制订一个计划并采取新的行动。它能激发希望。再结合丘吉尔的话可知，此处提到丘吉尔的话应是为了鼓励人们要接受现实，直面困境，勇往直前。综上可知，本题选D。
B
Playing a rhythm-based（基于韵律的） game using musical instruments for eight weeks helps non-musicians become better at remembering recently seen faces； that is， their short-term memory for non-musical tasks improves.
There have been several studies showing that musicians tend to have better short-term memory than non-musicians when it comes to music-related tasks. It is less clear whether the benefit carries over to non-musical tasks or to non-musicians who are learning to play an instrument， and how the change might actually be seen in the brain.
Theodore Zanto at the University of California， San Francisco thinks the benefit will continue to exist. He and his colleagues randomly arranged for a group of 47 non-musicians to play either a tablet-based musical rhythm training game， which is similar to learning to hit a drum in time with a teacher， or a word search game for eight weeks. At the start and end of the eight weeks， participants took a short-term memory test to measure their ability to remember a face they saw seconds before. Only the group who played the rhythm training game showed an improvement on their initial scores.

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