(2020·上海浦东新区高三第二次统测)
Maths and Music
An excellent way to kill a conversation is to say you are a mathematician.Tell others you are also a musician, however, and they will be hooked.Although there are obvious similarities between mathematical and musical activity, there is no direct evidence for the kind of magical connection many people seem to believe in.
I'm partly referring here to the “Mozart effect”， where children who have been playing Mozart compositions are supposedly more intelligent, including at maths, than other children.It is not hard to see why such a theory would be popular: we would all like to become better at maths without putting in any effort.But the conclusions of the experiment that expressed the belief in the Mozart effect were much more modest.If you want your brain to work better, you clearly have to put in hard work.As for learning to play the piano, it also takes effort.
Surely a connection is quite reasonable.Both maths and music deal with abstract structures, so if you become good at one, then it is likely that you become good at something more general that helps you with the other.If this is correct, it would show a connection between mathematical and musical ability.It would be more like the connection between abilities at football and tennis.To become better at one, you need to improve your fitness and coordination (协调)．That makes you better at sport and probably helps with the other.
Abstract structures don't exist only in maths and music.If you learn a language then you need to understand its abstract structures like grammar.Yet we don't hear people asking about a connection between mathematical and linguistic (语言的) ability.Maybe this is because grammar feels mathematical, so it wouldn't be surprising that mathematicians were better at learning grammar.Music, however, is strongly tied up with feelings and can be enjoyed even by people who know little about it.As such, it seems different from maths, so there wouldn't be any connection between the two.
Let's see how we solve problems of the “A is to B as C is to D” kind.These appear in intelligence tests but they are also important to both music and maths.Consider the opening of Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (小夜曲)．The second phrase (小节) is a clear answer to the first.The listener thinks: “The first phrase goes upward and uses the notes of a G major chord (和弦); what would be the corresponding phrase that goes downward and uses the notes of a D7？” Music is full of puzzles like this.If you are good at them, expectations will constantly be set up in your mind.The best moments surprise you by being unexpected, but we need the expectations in the first place.
语篇解读：本文是一篇议论文。文章谈论的是数学和音乐之间的关系。虽然数学活动和音乐活动之间有明显的相似之处，但并没有直接证据证明许多人似乎相信的那种神奇联系。
12．What does the author say about “Mozart effect”？
A．The goal of it was not carefully thought about.
B．The findings from it gave people wrong information.
C．The interest people showed in it was unexpected.
D．The way it was carried out proved to be ineffective.
解析：选B　细节理解题。根据第二段中“But the conclusions of the experiment that expressed the belief in the Mozart effect were much more modest.If you want your brain to work better, you clearly have to put in hard work.As for learning to play the piano, it also takes effort.”可知，作者说“莫扎特效应”的研究结果给人们提供了错误的信息。故选B。
13．The author mentioned football and tennis in paragraph 3 to show that ________.
A．football and tennis are played in a similar way
B．certain skills may be developed through practice
C．music and maths have something in common
D．abstract structures bring benefits to various fields
解析：选C　推理判断题。根据第三段中“Both maths and music deal with abstract structures, so if you become good at one, then it is likely that you become good at something more general that helps you with the other.If this is correct, it would show a connection between mathematical and musical ability.It would be more like the connection between abilities at football and tennis.”可知，作者在第三段提到足球和网球是为了说明音乐和数学有一些共同之处。故选C。
14．We can infer from paragraph 4 that ________.
A．language seems more like maths than music does
B．language is less appealing to learners
C．mathematicians are good at music learning
D．the structure of language is easier to learn than that of music
解析：选A　推理判断题。根据第四段中“Maybe this is because grammar feels mathematical, so it wouldn't be surprising that mathematicians were better at learning grammar.Music, however, is strongly tied up with feelings and can be enjoyed even by people who know little about it.As such, it seems different from maths, so there wouldn't be any connection between the two.”可知，语言看起来更像数学而不是音乐。故选A。
15．What does the writer intend to state in the last paragraph?
A．How music differs from maths.
B．Why musicians possess mathematical abilities.
C．Why Mozart is so highly considered by mathematicians.
D．How abstract thinking applies to both music and maths.
解析：选D　写作意图题。根据第四段前半部分的描述以及最后一段中“Music is full of puzzles like this.”可知，作者在最后一段的主要目的是展示抽象思维如何应用于音乐和数学。故选D。