Is there a connection between music and language? According to recent studies, the answer is yes: {#blank#}1{#/blank#}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.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}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.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}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.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}Why does this work? Schlaug isn't sure. Music seems to make different parts of the brain work, including the damaged (损坏的) parts. This might help patients to use that part of the brain again.

    Music improves concentration (注意力), memory, listening skills, and our overall language abilities.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}Playing an instrument or singing can help us do better in school and keep our brain sharp (敏锐的) as we get older. Music is not only enjoyable, it's also good for us in many other ways.

    Bobsledding (雪橇运动) is a fast and exciting winter sport. A bobsled has a two-person team or a four-person team and it goes at about 100 kilometers an hour. When a bobsled team goes down the course, the other teams wait and watch. Then each team tries to go down faster than the others. Each team can try several times. In the end, the fastest team wins the. prize.

    This is a true story about a bobsledder, Eugenio Monti from Italy. The year was 1964. The place was the bobsled course at the Olympic Games in Innsbruck, Austria. The two best teams were Eugenio Monti's Italian team and Tony Nash's British team. After their first two runs, these two teams were equal (同等的). Then the Italians made their third run, and it was the fastest of all. The British team got ready for their third run, but suddenly a bolt (螺栓) on their bobsled broke. The British bobsled could not go down.

    When Monti heard this, he took a bolt from his bobsled and sent it to the British team. The British team put the bolt on their bobsled. They went down very fast and won. The British team got the gold medal (金牌), but everyone talked about Monti. They called him a great sportsman. He also got a special prize, the 1964 International Fair Play Trophy ( 国际公平竞赛奖杯). Many people think this trophy is a greater prize than a gold medal. It was new then, but now it is given every year to a great sportsman or sportswoman.

    Mike and Peter are good friends. They are students. Mike's birthday is in the eleventh month of the year. Peter's birthday is on October 1st. Mike likes playing basketball, but Peter likes playing soccer. Mike often wears spots shoes to play basketball. He likes white spots shoes. Mike's birthday is coming. Peter goes to a sports store with his friend, Bill. At last, they buy a pair of white sports shoes for Mike. When Mike sees the shoes, he is very happy.

    Where did you go this summer vacation? Perhaps you have visited some top universities. If so, you are not alone.

    This summer vacation, thousands of people from across the country traveled to famous universities like Tsinghua University, Peking University and Fudan University. For example, about 6,000 visitors visited Tsinghua University every day on vacation. Most of them were junior high school students and senior high school students with their parents.  With more and more people coming to these universities, it usually took many hours to enter them.

    "Tsinghua University opens to the visitors at 8:30 am." a guard (保安) told China Daily. "However, many people start to wait in line at3 to 4 am. If people come at 6 o'clock, it may be too late and they can only enter in the afternoon.

    "University tourism" is popular because of the long histories and special cultures of these famous universities. Also, many parents hope their children can learn something more from the trip and study harder after that.

    "I brought my son here as soon as I finished my job," Mrs. Zhang, a mother of a 14-year-old boy, told China Daily. "And I hope my son will go into a top university in the future."

The Art of Paper

    Chen Zijiang is a paper cutting expert whom I interviewed for my article on Chinese Art. Paper-cutting is something that he learned to do from an early age.

    "It is a Chinese folk art with a long history," Mr. Chen told me, "Paper cuts of animals have been found in tombs. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}" He added that by the Southern Song Dynasty, paper-cutting had become an important part of everyday life.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}They are paper cuts for decoration, for religious purposes (宗教目的) and for design patterns.

    Paper cuts for decoration are often seen, on windows and gates. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}They are also used on presents. A present for parents whose child has recently been born might show a paper cut of children, for example. Paper cuts which show the Chinese character for double happiness are often used to celebrate weddings.

    Paper cuts for religious purposes are often found in temples{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    The third kind of paper cuts are these used to make patterns on clothing. They are also sometimes used to decorate jewelry (珠宝) boxes. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}.