Imagine going to your doctor with frequent headaches. Your doctor takes a prescription pad(药方) and writes a word on it. The word isn't “aspirin”, it's “Mozart”.
The idea isn't so far-fetched. Many kinds of music can stir(激发) the imagination and produce strong feelings. Scientists have found Mozart's music to be remarkable in its ability to calm its listeners.
Many amazing cases have been known to use Mozart as a healing aid. For example, a tiny newly-born baby named Krissy, who weighed just 1.5 pounds at birth, was on total life support. Doctors thought she had little chance of survival. Her mother insisted on playing Mozart for Krissy, and thinks it saved her daughter's life. Krissy lived, but she was very small for her age and slower than the average child. At the age of four, she showed an interest in music and her parents gave her violin lessons. To their astonishment, Krissy was able to play musical pieces from memory that were far beyond the ability of an average four-year-old. Playing music helped her improve in all areas of her life.
And there are other stories. Officials in Washington State report that new arrivals from Asia learn English more quickly when they listen to Mozart. Even animals respond to Mozart. In France, cows listening to Mozart give more milk.
Why Mozart, rather than Bach or the Beatles? Any kind of music can have an effect on some people. But Mozart has more balance. It isn't too fast or too slow; it's just right. Don Campbell, who wrote a book called“The Mozart Effect”, says, “It's like food. A hot spicy meal will affect you differently than a sweet dessert. And while you might love these foods, they aren't good for you to eat every day. You need simple, nutritious (营养的) food on a steady basis. That's the way Mozart is. It's like a nutritionally balanced meal that does good to your body."
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Choose the best answer:
1. Scientists find Mozart's music has a special effect on _________ .
A. stirring people's imagination
B. curing certain illnesses
C. increasing the growth of a newly-born baby
D. calming down its listeners
2. From the third paragraph, we can conclude that if she had not listened to Mozart, Krissy _________ .
A. would have died
B. would not have been so gifted in music
C. would have stayed in hospital longer
D. would have stopped growth
3. Which of the following is not true about the effect of Mozart's music?
A. It can help people learn foreign languages more easily.
B. It can help people sleep more peacefully.
C. It can make cows give more milk.
D. It can be used as medicine.
4. The author mentioned Don Campbell and his book _________ .
A. as a good support to his own idea
B. to show the relationship between food and music
C. to give some new explanations about Mozart's music
D. to ask people to listen to Mozart more
参考答案：1.D 2.A 3.B 4.A
