Is there a connection between music and language? According to recent studies, the answer is yes: Music helps develop certain language abilities in the brain.
A study from Northwestern University shows that playing a musical instrument can improve a person's hearing ability. As a part of the study, two groups of people listened to a person talking in a noisy room. The people in the first group were musicians, while those in the second group had no musical training. The musicians were found to be able to hear the talking person more clearly.
Musicians hear better, says study leader Nina Kraus, because they learn to pay attention to certain sounds. For example, when the violinists play in an orchestra（管弦乐队）, they must listen closely to what they are playing and ignore(忽视)the other sounds. In this way, musicians can hear certain sounds better, even in a room with lots of noise.
Gotfried Schlaug, a doctor at Harvard Medical School, works with stroke(中风)patients.
Because of their illness, these people cannot say their names, addresses, or other information normally However, they can till sing. Dr. Schlaug was surprised to find singing words helped his patients finally speak. Why does this work? Schlaug isn't sure. Music seems to be able to make different parts of the brain active, including the bad parts. In some way, this helps patients use those parts of the brain again.
So music is not only enjoyable, but also good for us in many other ways. Playing an instrument or singing, says Nina Kraus, can help us do better in school and keep our brain sharp as we get older.
24. What were the people in the first group asked to do in the study of Northwestern University?
A. Listen to different kinds of music. B. Make some noise in an empty room.
C. Give the second group musical training. D. Find out what the talking person was saying.
25. The writer uses the example of violinists in Paragraph 3 to explain________.
A. how musicians play in an orchestra B. how musicians ignore certain sounds
C. why musicians have better hearing ability D. why musicians are not afraid of loud noise
26. Gottfried Schlaug helps his stroke patients speak by________.
A. playing music for them B. getting them to sing words
C. teaching them to play instruments D. joining the bad parts of their brain
27. What is the main purpose of the passage?
A. To introduce different ways of playing music.
B. To give some advice about making our brain active.
C. To show the relationship between music and language abilities.
D. To share the results of recent studies on treating stroke patients.
【文章大意】本文谈论的是音乐和语言之间的联系。结果表明，演奏乐器可以提高一个人的听力能力，甚至能帮助一个生病的人变得更好。
24.D【解析】细节理解题。根据第二段“The people in the first group were musicians, while those in the second group had no musical training. The musicians were found to be able to hear the talking person more clearly. 第一组是音乐家，而第二组没有受过音乐训练。音乐家们被发现能更清楚地听到说话的人。”，可知第一组的人被要求找出谈话的人在说什么，故选D。
25.C【解析】细节理解题。根据第三段“For example…In this way, musicians can hear certain sounds better, even in a room with lots of noise. 例如，当小提琴手在管弦乐队中演奏时，他们必须仔细倾听他们正在演奏的东西，而忽略其他声音。这样，音乐家可以更好地听到某些声音，即使是在一个有很多噪音的房间里。”，可知作者用小提琴手的例子来解释为什么音乐家有更好的听力，故选C。
26.B【解析】细节理解题。根据倒数第二段“Dr. Schlaug was surprised to find singing words helped his patients finally speak.”，可知Gottfried Schlaug通过让中风患者唱歌来帮助他们说话，故选B。
27.C【解析】细节理解题。根据第一段“According to recent studies, the answer is yes: Music helps develop certain language abilities in the brain. 根据最近的研究，答案是肯定的：音乐有助于培养大脑的某些语言能力。”，可知这篇文章的主要目的是说明音乐与语言能力的关系，故选C。