Throughout time, people have loved music for its ability to transport them into a world of rhythm and melody. Recently more and more hospitals and clinics have been tapping into the power of music –not only to comfort patients, but to help cure them as well. Welcome to the world of music therapy(疗法).
After each of the two world wars, musicians visited hospitals and played instruments for injured soldiers suffering from emotional and physical pain. Today's music therapists continue this practice, playing instruments such as guitars and harps to bring comfort to their audiences.
Therapist Eric Mammen encourages his patients at a children’s hospital to participate with him as he plays. During visits with 13-year-old cancer patient Lawrence Garcia, Mammen encourages Garcia to beat on electric drums while he plays the guitar. The therapy won’t cure his cancer, but it does, according to Garcia’s mom, take away much of the boy’s depression(沮丧).
Music therapy can put patients in better moods and ease the symptoms of depression according to the American Music Therapy Association. Other benefits include relieving pain, calming tension, aiding sleep, reducing worry or fear, and easing muscle tension.
Jose Haro personally experienced the benefits of music therapy when he was recovering from heart surgery. During his recovery, he played a piano whose keys lit up, indicating which keys to touch to play along with the background music. Soon he was playing tunes and noticing something strange. “I was searching for my pain.” He says of his experience, “but it was gone.”
While Haro's experience provides an evidence of the power of music to relieve pain, scientific research has proven music also helps patients with Alzheimer's disease and arthritis.
In addition, music therapy helps premature babies. Doctors are tapping into a powerful way to teach premature babies that haven’t yet learned how to suck. Doctors use a device that comforts the babies by playing music when they suck on a pacifier（奶嘴）. Soon the babies learn to suck in return for music, gaining weight faster and going home earlier than those who do not use the device.
Even perfectly healthy people are discovering the power of music to calm and heal. Drum circles attract people who find stress relief in beating out rhythms. While music is not a cure-all, it does make life a little easier.In the first paragraph, the underlined phrase “ tapping into “ can be replaced by “_________”
| A．discussing on | B．looking for | C．showing interest in | D．making use of |
According to the passage, Jose Haro_______________.
| A．went through an obvious effect of music on his recovery |
| B．was asked to play the piano with the background music |
| C．felt no pain in his surgery because of music therapy |
| D．recovered from heart disease completely |
From the passage, we know_________________.
| A．music can prevent people from suffering from arthritis |
| B．Garcia found much comfort in music according to his mom |
| C．musicians cured many soldiers after each of the two world wars |
| D．the more music they listen to, the faster premature babies gain weight |
What is the best title for this passage?
| A．Music to Patient Ears | B．Music Popular in Hospitals |
| C．Musicians Work with Doctors | D．People's life Benefits from Music |
If a husband accuses his wife of missing the bigger picture or the wife says her husband has no eye for detail，there may be more than an element of truth to it.
Scientists have shown that men are better at dealing with distant targets，while women are good at shortrange focusing.
The finding reflects（反映） the way men and women's brains evolved(进化)thousands of years ago. Hunters，usually the men，needed the ability to find targets in far places. Women，on the other hand，had to be_adept_in searching the area immediately within reach for fruits，nuts，berries and roots.
Researchers asked 48 men and women to mark the midpoint of lines on a piece of paper with a laser（激光） pointer. Men were more accurate(准确的)than women when the target was placed at a distance of 100cm or out of reach. When the paper was only 50cm away—within hands' reach—the women did a much better job.
Psychologist Helen Stancey，from Hammersmith and West London College，said，“Evidence already exists that separate pathways in the brain process visual（视觉上的） information from near and far space. Our results suggest that the near pathways is favored in women and the far pathway is favored in men. ”The findings are published online in the British Journal of Psychology.
In a second study，volunteers were asked to carry out the same tasks by using a stick. This time women were much better than men at judging both distances. The finding suggests that the stick provides a focal point(集中点)to help the brain to process distant information as if it is in the near space.What's the function of Paragraph 1?
| A．To tell us the difference between men and women. |
| B．To explain why men see farther than women. |
| C．To tell us what couples often quarrel about. |
| D．To lead to the topic of the passage. |
The underlined part“be adept in”in Paragraph 3 can be replaced by “________”．
| A．be good at | B．get interested in |
| C．be proud of | D．give up |
In the second study，________.
| A．men were proved to be good at dealing with distant targets |
| B．women were proved to be poor at dealing with distant targets |
| C．volunteers were asked to mark the midpoint of lines using a laser pointer |
| D．women did much better than men in judging both short and long distances. |
I was born in Tuckahoe，Talbot Country，Maryland. I have no accurate(准确的)knowledge of my age，never having seen any record containing it. By far the larger part of the slaves know as little of their ages as horses know of theirs，and it is the wish of most masters within my knowledge to keep their slaves thus ignorant(不知情的)．I do not remember having ever met a slave who could tell of his birthday. They seldom come nearer to it than plantingtime，harvesting，springtime，or falltime. A lack of information concerning my own was a source of unhappiness to me even during childhood. The white children could tell their ages，but I could not tell. Why the same right ought to be taken away from me！I was not allowed to ask my master about it. He considered all such questions on the part of a slave improper and impolite. The nearest estimate(估计)I can live makes me now between twentyseven and twentyeight years of age. I come to this，from hearing my master say，some time during 1835，I was about seventeen years old. My mother was named Harriet Bailey. She was the daughter of Isaac and Betsey Bailey，both colored，and quite dark.
My father was a white man. The opinion was also whispered that my master was my father；but of the correctness of this opinion，I know nothing and I have no means to know. My mother and I were separated when I was but an infant—before I knew her as my mother. It is a common custom，in the part of Maryland from which I ran away，to part children from their mothers at a very early age. Frequently，before the child has reached its twelfth month，its mother is taken from it，and hired out on some farm a considerable distance off，and the child is placed under the care of an older woman，too old for field labor.It can be learned from the text that________.
| A．the slaves forgot the exact time when they were born |
| B．the writer didn't know whether his master was his father |
| C．the writer was about twentyseven years old in 1835 |
| D．the writer's mother left him as soon as he was born |
The underlined word “it” in Paragraph 1 refers to________.
| A．their birthday | B．my age |
| C．a record | D．Maryland |
The author was most probably raised________.
| A．by his grandparents |
| B．by an old woman slave |
| C．with his master's support |
| D．together with other children |
How does the writer feel about not knowing his age?
| A．Curious. | B．Unhappy. |
| C．Astonished. | D．Ashamed. |
About the year 1900，a small，darkhaired hot boy named Charlie Chaplin was often seen waiting outside the back entrance of London Theatre.He looked thin and hungry.He was hoping to get work in show business.He could sing and dance；above all，he knew how to make people laugh.But he couldn't get work and so he wandered about the city streets.Sometimes he was sent away to a home for children who had no parents.
But twenty years later this name Chaplin became the greatest，bestknown，and bestloved comedian in the world.Any visitor to the cinema must have seen some of Chaplin's filmstrips (胶片)．People everywhere have sat and laughed at them until the tears ran down their faces.Even people who don't understand English can enjoy Chaplin's films though most of them are silent.It isn't what he says that makes people laugh.His comedy doesn't depend upon words and languages.It depends upon little actions which mean the same thing to people all over the world.Acting out，without words，common human situations play an important part in the dances and plays of many countries.It's a kind of world language.
Chaplin lived most of his life in America and died in Switzerland on Christmas Day,1977，at the age of eightyeight.The world was astonished at the news of the death and burst into sadness.Why was young Chaplin waiting outside the back entrance of the theatre?
| A．Because he had no money to buy a ticket. |
| B．Because he wanted to get a returned ticket. |
| C．Because he wanted to play a part in a play in order to make a living. |
| D．Because he wanted to see the famous actors or actresses after the performance. |
It was ________that made people enjoy his films.
| A．wonderful dialogues | B．the beautiful music |
| C．his funny appearance | D．his own manner of acting |
The reason why Chaplin is regarded as king of comedy is that ________.
| A．his films are most silent |
| B．he knew how to make people laugh |
| C．he could not only act but also write comedies |
| D．he acted out the common human situation best in his comedy |
What's the best title of this passage?
| A．Charlie Chaplin，A Famous Humorous Actor |
| B．Charlie Chaplin，A Worker |
| C．Charlie Chaplin，A Small Boy |
| D．Charlie Chaplin，A Director |
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Email address required to access your account and member benefits online. We will not share your email address with anyone. Click here：www. parents. com/privacy to view our privacy policy.The purpose of the advertisement is ________.
| A．to help parents with their daily life |
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| A．In the newspaper. | B．On a website. |
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A reader subscribed(订阅)Parents® 3 months ago，but now he finds the magazinedissatisfying. What can he do?
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In modern society there is a great deal of argument about competition. Some value it highly, believing that it is responsible for social progress and prosperity. Others say that competition is bad; that it sets one person against another; that it leads to unfriendly relationship between people.
I have taught many children who held the belief that their self-worth relied (依赖) on how well they performed at tennis and other skills. For them, playing well and winning are often life-and-death affairs. In their single-minded pursuit (追求) of success, the development of many other human qualities is sadly forgotten.
However, while some seem to be lost in the desire to succeed, others take an opposite attitude. In a culture which values only the winner and pays no attention to the ordinary players, they strongly blame competition. Among the most vocal are youngsters who have suffered under competitive pressures from their parents or society. Teaching these young people, I often observe in them a desire to fail. They seem to seek failure by not trying to win or achieve success. By not trying, they always have an excuse: “I may have lost, but it doesn't matter because I really didn't try.” What is not usually admitted by themselves is the belief that if they had really tried and lost, that would mean a lot. Such a loss would be a measure of their worth. Clearly, this belief is the same as that of the true competitors who try to prove themselves. Both are based on the mistaken belief that one's self-respect relies on how well one performs in comparison with others. Both are afraid of not being valued. Only as this basic and often troublesome fear begins to dissolve(缓解) can we discover a new meaning in competition.What does this passage mainly talk about?
| A．Competition helps to set up self-respect. |
| B．Opinions about competition are different among people. |
| C．Competition is harmful to personal quality development. |
| D．Failures are necessary experiences in competition. |
Why do some people favor competition according to the passage?
| A．It pushes society forward. |
| B．It builds up a sense of duty. |
| C．It improves personal abilities. |
| D．It encourages individual efforts. |
The underlined phrase “the most vocal” in Paragraph 3 means ______.
| A．those who try their best to win |
| B．those who value competition most highly |
| C．those who are against competition most strongly |
| D．those who rely on others most for success |
What is the similar belief of the true competitors and those with a “desire to fail”?
| A．One's worth lies in his performance compared with others. |
| B．One's success in competition needs great efforts. |
| C．One's achievement is determined by his particular skills. |
| D．One's success is based on how hard he has tried. |
Which point of view may the author agree to?
| A．Every effort should be paid back. |
| B．Competition should be encouraged. |
| C．Winning should be a life-and-death matter. |
| D．Fear of failure should be removed in competition. |