Question

【題目】 If you ever have the desire to break out into song—in the shower，in the car，maybe at your neighbor's karaoke night—you should embrace it whole—heartedly. This ancient art not only makes you feel good，it can also improve your well-being，reduce your feelings of pain，and even extend your life.

Using your voice to sing，rather than simply carryout a conversation，offers unique benefits because singing affects our bodies. Also，studies link singing with a lower heart rate，decreased blood pressure and reduced stress according to Patricia Preston-Roberts，a music therapist（治療專家）. （1）

Singing，particularly in a group，seems to benefit the elderly particulartly well. As part of a three一year study examining how singing affects the health of those fifty-five and older，a Senior Singers Chorus was formed by the Levine School of Music in Washington.D.C. The seniors involved in the chorus，as well as seniors in two separate arts groups about writing and painting，showed significant health improvements compared to those in the control groups（對照組）. Obviously，the arts groups reported thirty fewer doctors' visit，fewer eyesight problems，less depression，and less need for medication. （2）

Even lead researcher Dr.Gene D.Coben，director of the Center on Aging at George Washington University，was surprised at how big an effect the seniors' arts participation had on their health. Coben said，“The average age of all the subjects was eighty. This is higher than life expectancy. So，if an effect were to be achieved，one would ordinarily expect to see less decline（下降）compared to the control group. The fact that there was so much improvement in many areas was the surprising factor.” （3） The seniors also noticed health improvements and they reported feeling better both in daily life and while singing.

The part of the brain that works with spech is diferent from the part that processes music.“People seem to enjoy doing something jointly with other people. There are a lot of facts that being socially involved is good for people with dementia（老年癡呆）.” Ballard said.

The arts are showing up as a treatment tool in hospitals across the country. （4） If you are thinking of volunteering，singing at a hospital may be a good choice—not only for the patients，but also for yourself.

【1】Why was Coben surprised at the results of the study？

A. The study was not expensive as expected.

B. Arts acted as a treatment tool in hospitals.

C. People's health in the arts group improved greatly.

D. The seniors themselves noticed health improvements.

【2】What is the author's attitude towards arts？

A. Doubtful.B. Positive.

C. Negative.D. Worried.

【3】Where should the following sentence be put？

“She uses song to help patients who suffer from a variety of problems.”

A. （1）B. （2）

C. （3）D. （4）

【4】What would be the best title for the passage？

A. How to Avoid Getting Dementia.

B. How Seniors Live a Healthy Life.

C. How to Keep Our Brains Healthy.

D. How Singing Improves Your Health.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】C

【2】B

【3】A

【4】D

【解析】

本文是一篇議論文。主要內(nèi)容是論證歌唱有助于身體健康，并且作者提供了大量的論證來證明歌唱是如何提高身體健康的。

【1】推理判斷題。根據(jù)第四段的Even lead researcher Dr.Gene D.Coben，director of the Center on Aging at George Washington University，was surprised at how big an effect the seniors' arts participation had on their health.以及The seniors also noticed health improvements可知，老年人參與藝術(shù)與他們的健康有很大的影響，Dr.Gene D.Coben表示非常驚訝，并且老年人都注意到了健康狀況的改善，因此推斷讓Coben 吃驚的是藝術(shù)團(tuán)體中的人們的健康狀況有了很大的改善。故選C。

【2】推理判斷題。根據(jù)第一段的This ancient art not only makes you feel good，it can also improve your well-being，reduce your feelings of pain，and even extend your life. 這種古老的藝術(shù)不僅能讓你感覺良好，它還可以改善你的健康，減少你的疼痛的感覺，甚至延長壽命�？赏浦�，作者對待藝術(shù)的態(tài)度是積極的，故選B。

【3】推理判斷題。根據(jù)文章第二段的Also，studies link singing with a lower heart rate，decreased blood pressure and reduced stress according to Patricia Preston-Roberts，a music therapist. 根據(jù)一位音樂治療師Patricia Preston-Roberts，研究把唱歌和降低心率、降低血壓、減少壓力連接起來，故可知此處she指代音樂治療師，她用歌曲來幫助患有各種疾病的病人。與 上文內(nèi)容聯(lián)系緊密，故選A。

【4】主旨大意題。通讀全文以及根據(jù)第二段主旨句Using your voice to sing，rather than simply carryout a conversation，offers unique benefits because singing affects our bodies.第三段主旨句Singing，particularly in a group，seems to benefit the elderly particularly well.第四段的was surprised at how big an effect the seniors' arts participation had on their health.第五段的The part of the brain that works with speech is different from the part that processes music.可知，本文著眼于論證歌唱有助于身體健康，并且作者提供了大量的論證來證明歌唱是如何提高身體健康的，故D項(xiàng)能夠概括文章大意，故選D。