Question

Music for Humans and Humpback Whales

As researchers conclude in Science, the love of music is not only a universal feature of the human species, but is also deeply fixed in complex structures of the human brain, and is far more ancient than previously suspected.

In the articles that discuss the field of bio-musicology, the study of the biological basis for the creation and appreciation of music, researchers present various evidence to, show that music-making is at once an original human "business", and an art form with skillful performers throughout the animal kingdom.

The new reports stress that humans hold no copyright on sound wisdom, and that a number of nonhuman animals produce what can rightly be called music, rather than random sound. Recent in-depth analyses of the songs sung by humpback whales show that, even when their organ would allow them to do otherwise, the animals converge on the same choices relating to sounds and beauty, and accept the same laws of song composition as those preferred by human musicians, and human ears, everywhere.

For example, male humpback whales, who spend six months of each year doing little else but singing, use rhythms (节奏) similar to those found in human music and musical phrases of similar length—a few seconds. Whales are able to make sounds over a range of at least seven octaves (八度音阶), yet they tend to move on through a song in beautiful musical intervals, rather than moving forwards madly. They mix the sounds like drums and pure tones in a ratio (比例) which agrees with that heard in much western music. They also use a favorite technique of human singers, the so-called A-B-A form, in which a theme is stated, then developed, and then returned to in slightly revised form.

Perhaps most impressive, humpback songs contain tunes that rhyme. "This suggests that whales use rhyme in the same way we do: as a technique in poem to help them remember complex material," the researchers write.

1.The underlined words "converge on" in Paragraph 3 probably means__________.

A. tend towards B. refer to

C. turn into D. put forward

2.Which of the following shows the advanced musical ability in humpback whales?

A. They can remember complex material.

B. They can create pleasing patterns of music.

C. They can make sounds like drums continuously.

D. They can sing along with rhythms of western music.

3.What is the main idea of the article?

A. Animals are able to compose and enjoy music like humans.

B. Human beings borrow ideas in music from humpback whales.

C. Humpback whales are skillful performers in the animal kingdom.

D. Music-making it an ancient activity of both humans and animals.

4.The main purpose of the passage is to __________.

A. argue and discuss B. inform and explain

C. compare and advertise D. examine and assess

Answer 1