If music makes you smarter and exercise helps you to think, surely exercising to music can turn you into an intelligent person.
A team of scientists from Ohio State University did experiments on 33 volunteers who were getting better from heart disease following operation. They found that people who exercised while listening to Italian musician Antonio Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons” did much better on language ability tests than without music.
“Facts suggest that exercise improves the learning ability of people with heart disease,” said the psychologist Charles Emery, who led the study. “And listening to music is thought to enhance understanding. We just wanted to put the two results together,” he added.
The volunteers said they felt better emotionally and physically after working out with or without the music. But their improvement on the test doubled after listening to music during exercise. Scientists have proved that music can be good for health, education and well-being. It helps reduce stress, sadness and nervousness; encourages relaxation or sleep; wakes up the body and improves memory and thoughts.
In medical fields, music is used widely for patients who have had head hurts before and after operation. “The Four Seasons” was used because of its moderate tempo（舒缓的节拍）and positive results in earlier research. “Exercise seems to cause positive changes in the nervous system(神经系统) and these changes may have a direct result on learning ability,” Emery said.
Scientists have been studying the results of music on understanding since the early 1950s. By 2000, psychologists were using Mozart’s music, especially his violin pieces, to help children with speech disorders. Mozart was chosen because his music is not overexciting and has clear structures. A study showed students who listened to Mozart went on to score higher marks in an intelligence test. With important exams drawing near, your parents will not probably allow you to listen to music. But perhaps now you have good reasons to argue with them.
【小题1】The underlined word enhance can be replaced by .A．impressB．improveC．provideD．produce【小题2】The text mainly tells us that .A．music and exercise lead to relaxation or sleepB．33 volunteers work on music in medical fieldsC．exercising to music makes people healthy and bright D．scientists give suggestions on choosing music to exercise to【小题3】It can be learned from the last paragraph that .A．you are supposed to follow your parents’ wordsB．students should not listen to music before examsC．you have some good reasons to exercise to musicD．music might help you to get higher grades in tests【小题4】Which of the following statements is true?A．Exercise seems to cause negative changes without music.B．Exercise reminds people with head hurts of what they’ve learned.C．Scientists often use Mozart’s music, for it is not too exciting.D．“The Four Seasons” is used to help children with speech disorders.B
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(答案→)B
解析：本文主要介绍了多听音乐可以提高我们的学习能力，可以让我们更健康，有聪明，说明了音乐的重要作用。
【小题1】B 推理题。根据本段第一句“Facts suggest that exercise improves the learning ability of people with heart disease,”说明音乐可以提高那些患病的人的学习能力，说明And listening to music is thought to enhance understanding.中的enhance是指提高，增强的意思。故B正确。
【小题2】C 主旨大意题。根据本文的主题段第一段If music makes you smarter and exercise helps you to think, surely exercising to music can turn you into an intelligent person.说明多听音乐会让我们更聪明更有能力。故C项正确。
【小题3】D 细节题。根据文章倒数3,4行A study showed students who listened to Mozart went on to score higher marks in an intelligence test.说明多听音乐可能让人在智力测试中得到高分，说明D项正确。
【小题4】C 细节题。根据最后一段3,4行Mozart was chosen because his music is not overexciting and has clear structures.说明他的音乐不是很过度兴奋而且节奏感很强，故C正确。