“Musical training seems to improve communication skills.”, American scientists say. They found that developing musical skills involves the same process in the brain as learning how to speak. The scientists say that could help children with learning disabilities.
Nina Kraus is a neurobiologist at Northwestern University in Illinois. She says musical training involves putting together different kinds of information. She says the process involves hearing music, looking at musical notes, touching an instrument and watching other musicians. She says the process is not much different from learning how to speak. Both involve different senses.
Professor Krauss says musical training and learning to speak make us think about what we are doing. She says speech and music pass through a structure of the nervous system called the brain stem(脑干). The brain stem controls our ability to hear.
Until recently, experts have thought the brain stem could not be developed or changed. But Professor Krauss and her team find that musical training can improve a person's brain stem activity.
The study involved people with different levels of musical ability. They were asked to wear an electrical device that measures brain activity. The people wore the device while they watched a video of someone speaking and a person playing a musical instrument. The study found that the more years of training people had, the more sensitive they were to the sound and beat of the music.
Professor Kraus says the study shows the importance of musical training to children with learning disabilities.
68. The main idea of the passage is .
A. learning how to speak
B. that brain stem is important for speech
C. that musical training people are more sensitive
D. that musical training is important for communication skills
69. Why can musical training improve communication skills? Because .
A. it gives people more knowledge
B. it has a kind of magic
C. it can improve a person’s brain stem activity
D. it can make people speak
70. Which sentence is true according to the text?
A. The brain stem controls our ability to speak.
B. The brain stem has something to do with our ability to hear.
C. People think brain stem can’t be developed.
D. The musical training process is the same with learning how to speak.
71. The underlined word “device” means .
A. a piece of equipment for some experiment B. a piece of furniture for a lab
C. a cell phone D. a headphone