Humans may share a “musical grammar”

難詞探意

1. bop /b?p/ n. 博普舞會

2. ethnographic /?eθn??ɡr?f?k/ adj. 人種志的

3. vocal /?v??kl/ adj. 嗓音的；發聲的

4. annotate /??n?te?t/ v. 給……加評注

5. notation /n???te??n/ n. （數學、科學和音樂中的）符號；記號

6. anthropologist /??nθr??p?l?d??st/ n. 人類學家

7. algorithm /??lɡ?r?eem/ n. 算法

預讀思考

1. Do you know the story between Liu Zhengfeng and Qu Yang in Jin Yong's novel The Legendary Swordsman（《笑傲江湖》）? Why did they develop deep friendship?

2. What is a musical grammar likely to mean in the text?

No matter where you are, abopis a bop.Whether a melody makes people get up and dance, comforts their hearts, or calms them down to sleep, similar rhythms and tones make music a universal language. Now, there might be science to back it up.

A team of researchers find that not only is music universal， but also that similar songs are used in similar contexts around the world, according to a study published in the journal Science.

To better understand the similarities in music that could provide insight into its biological roots, the researchers focused on music with lyrics. They started by looking atethnographicdescriptions of music in 315 cultures worldwide, all of which featuredvocalmusic, before analyzing musical recordings from 60 well-documented cultures.

The team used a combination of methods，including machine learning, expert musicologists and 30,000 amateur listeners from the United States and India，to analyze a public database of music. In one part of the study, online amateur listeners were asked to categorize random music samples as lullabies, dance songs, healing songs,folk songs， or love songs. Dance songs were the easiest to catch. In other parts of the study, the music samples wereannotatedby listeners and translated into a musical staff, which is a form of musicalnotationin Western cultures. When this data was fed to a computer, it was able to tell different kinds of songs apart at least twothirds of the time.

“Basically, the team found that humans share a ‘musical grammar’,” explains the study's lead author Samuel Mehr, a psychologist at Harvard University. “Music is built from similar, simple building blocks the world over,” he says.

“Music is something that has confusedanthropologistsand biologists since Darwin,” says Luke Glowacki, an anthropologist at Pennsylvania State University and a co-author on the paper. “If there were no underlying principles of the human mind, there would not be these regularities.”

Critics have questioned the use of machine learningalgorithmsand Western notation because of the biases that come with both. Ethnomusicologist Elizabeth Tolbert of John Hopkins'Peabody Institute, who wasn't involved in the study, says that the research team “may be overinterpreting their results” by searching for common patterns in such a diverse variety of music.

Co-author Manvir Singh, a cognitive and evolutionary anthropologist at Harvard University, says that the music database is open-access.“We'd be glad for anyone to test our conclusions using an alternative method,” he says.

閱讀自測

1. What makes music a universal language according to paragraph 1?

A. The function of music. B. The melody of music.

C. Similar rhythms and tones. D. Touching lyrics and voices.

2. What is the function of the underlined sentence in paragraph 3?

A. To provide more information. B. To explore more about music.

C. To describe the process vividly. D. To make the research convincing.

3. What kind of songs are easiest to understand in the research?

A. Folk songs. B. Love songs.

C. Dance songs. D. Healing songs.

4. Which word can best describe the research according to paragraph 8?

A. Creative. B. Doubtful.

C. Beneficial. D. Thoughtful.

文本探究

探究視角1：語言學習

Ⅰ. 文本填空

1. Now, there might be science to ________it ________（證明；證實）.

2. A team of researchers find that not only is music universal but also that similar songs_________(use) in similar contexts around the world, according to a study _________(publish) in the journal Science.

3. To better understand the similarities _________music that could provide insight_________ its biological roots, the researchers focused _________music with lyrics.

4. The team used a ______ (combine) of methods, including machine learning, expert musicologists and 30,000 amateur listeners from the United States and India,_________ (analyze) a public database of music.

5. In other parts of the study, the music samples were annotated by listeners and translated into a musical staff,_________is a form of musical notation in Western cultures.

6. If there _________(be) no underlying principles of the human mind, there would not be these regularities.

7. Ethnomusicologist Elizabeth Tolbert of John Hopkins' Peabody Institute, who wasn't_________(involve) in the study, says that the research team “may be over-interpreting their results” by searching for common patterns in such a diverse variety of music.

8. We'd be glad for anyone to test our conclusions _________（use） an alternative method.

Ⅱ. 與“音樂”相關的表達

1. bop 博普舞會

2. melody 旋律

3. comfort sb's hearts 安慰心靈

4. calm sb down 使人平靜下來

5. similar rhythms and tones 相似的節奏和音調

6. a universal language 通用語言

7. be used in similar contexts around the world 在世界各地類似的情況下使用

8. focus on music with lyrics 關注有歌詞的音樂

9. feature vocal music 以聲樂為特色

10. musical recordings 音樂記錄

11. online amateur listeners 線上的業余聽眾

12. dance songs 舞曲

13. healing songs 治愈系歌曲

14. folk songs 民歌

15. love songs 情歌

16. a form of musical notation 一種音樂符號的形式

17. building block 組成部分

18. a musical grammar 音樂語法

19. underlying principles of the human mind 人類思想的潛原則

20. a diverse variety of music 多種多樣的音樂

探究視角2：語篇分析

音樂是人類的共同語言，世界各地的音樂風格不同，但都能撫慰心靈，解去疲乏，振作精神。音樂具有這些共同功能的原因是什么呢？科學家們又對此進行了哪些研究？他們的研究有什么新的發現呢？ 能被廣為接受嗎？

本文是一篇說明文， 文章對音樂能成為人類共同語言這一現象進行了說明。 說明時，采用研究案例來說明和解釋文章的主題，使用研究案例時，文章先給出了研究結果，緊接著介紹研究的過程，結果和引起的質疑。

Structure Paragraph（s） Main idea（s）Topic Para. 1 Similar rhythms and tones make music a universal language.Phenomenon Para. 2 Music is universal and similar songs are used in similar contexts around the world.Process Para. 3～Para. 4●The researchers observed ethnographic descriptions of music in 315 cultures worldwide.●Online amateur listeners were asked to categorize random music samples.●The music samples were annotated by listeners and translated into a musical staff.●The computer told different kinds of songs apart.Finding&reason Para. 5●Humans share a “musical grammar”.●Music is built from similar, simple building blocks the world over.Opinions Para. 6～Para. 8●The regularities of music being a universal language have something to do with underlying principles of the human mind.●Critics have raised doubt about the use of machine learning algorithms and Western notation.●The music database is open-access.

探究視角3：文化拓展

《呂氏春秋·本味》 中記載了伯牙與鐘子期的故事：“伯牙善鼓琴,鐘子期善聽。 伯牙鼓琴,方鼓琴而志在太山,鐘子期曰：‘善哉乎鼓琴，巍巍乎若太山! '少選之間，而志在流水,鐘子期又曰：‘善哉乎鼓琴，湯湯乎若流水! ' 鐘子期死,伯牙破琴絕弦,終身不復鼓琴，以為世無足復為鼓琴者。 ”

高山流水遇知音，伯牙子期千古傳，可見音樂具有神奇的魔力。 言語文字可以作偽，可琴簫之音卻是心聲，做不得假。

古往今來，音樂作為一門世界語言，得到了人們無限的贊美：

Music is a good medicine for mental illness.

音樂是醫治思想疾病的良藥。

He who understands music can be free from all worldly troubles.

領悟音樂的人，能從一切世俗的煩惱中超脫出來。

When you are happy, you listen to music. When you are sad, you begin to understand the lyrics.

快樂的時候，你聽的是音樂。 難過的時候，你開始懂得了歌詞。

Those who really love music and appreciate music in their hearts are good people.

真正喜愛音樂且打心里欣賞音樂的人都是好人。

Music drifted past my ears like a letter from a postman that didn't belong to me.

音樂從我耳邊飄過，就像郵差送來一封不屬于我的信。

Music contains such a pleasant and inspiring force.

音樂中蘊藏著如此悅耳的催人奮進的力量。

Music is the only universal language.

音樂是唯一的宇宙通用的語言。

Exercise your body with sports and cultivate your soul with music.

用體育鍛煉身體，用音樂陶冶靈魂。

Without music, life is a mistake.

如果沒有音樂，生活就是一個錯誤。

One day life will leave, but music can go beyond it.

有一天生命會離開，但音樂可以超越這一切。

Music makes a nation more noble.

音樂使一個民族的氣質更高貴。

Music is a language, which can accurately reflect the spiritual qualities of individuals and people.

音樂是一種語言，它能確切地反映個人和人民的精神品質。

●寫作實踐

假定你是李華。 最近，你準備給Crazy English雜志主題為“My music story”的征文投稿。 請你根據以下要點寫一篇150詞左右的征文。內容要點：

1. 我最喜歡的音樂類型及原因；

2. 我與音樂的故事。

注意：

1. 詞數150左右；

2. 開頭和結尾已給出，不計入總詞數。

Dear Editor-in-chief of Crazy English,

Yours,

Li Hua