Is there a connection between music and language? According to recent studies, the answer is yes: Here, we look at two examples.
A recent study by researcher Kraus shows that playing a musical instrument can improve a person's hearing ability.
The people in the first group were musicians, while those in the second group had no musical training. The musicians were able to hear the talking person more clearly.
Think about violinists in an orchestra ( 管 弦 乐 团 ). When the violinists play with the group, they hear their own instrument and many others, too. But the violinists must listen closely to what they are playing, and pay no attention to the other sounds. In this way, musicians are able to focus on certain sounds, even in a room with lots of noise.
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 still sing. Why does this work? Schlaug isn't sure. Music seems to make different parts of the brain work, like the damaged (损坏的) parts. This might help patients to use that part of the brain again.
Music improves attention, memory, listening skills and our general language abilities. Playing an instrument or singing can help us do better in school and keep our brain active as we get older. Music is not only enjoyable, but it's also good for us in many other ways.
A. It can even help sick people get better.
B. Music improves certain language abilities in the brain.
C. The violinists develop their memories by playing the violin.
D. Musicians hear better because they learn to pay attention to certain sounds. E. Schlaug was surprised to find that singing words helped his patients to speak.
F. In his study, two groups of people listened to a person talking in a noisy room.
