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 ancientthan 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 copy right on sound wisdom, and that a number of nonhuman animals produce what can rightly be called music, rather than random sound. Recentin-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 ofsong 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 areable 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 thesounds like drums and pure tones in a ratio (比例) which agrees with that heard in much western music. They also usea 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 tohelp them remember complex material," the researchers write.

    Few laws are so effective that you can see results just days after they take effect. But in the nine days since the federal cigarette tax more than doubled-to $1.01 per pack-smokers have jammed telephone "quit lines" across the country seeking to kick the habit.

    This is not a surprise to public health advocates. They've studied the effect of state tax increases for years, finding that smokers, especially teens, are price sensitive. Nor is it a shock to the industry, which fiercely fights every tax increase.

    The only wonder is that so many states insist on closing their ears to the message. Tobacco taxes improve public health, they raise money and most particularly, they deter people from taking up the habit as teens, which is when nearly all smokers are addicted. Yet the rate of taxation varies widely.

    In Manhattan, for instance, which has the highest tax in the nation, a pack of Marlboro Light Kings cost $10.06 at one drugstore Wednesday. In Charleston, S.C., where the 7-cent-a-pack tax is the lowest in the nation, the price was $4.78.

    The influence is obvious.

    In New York, high school smoking hit a new low in the latest surveys-13.8%, far below the national average. By comparison, 26% of high school students smoke in Kentucky. Other low-tax states have similarly depressing teen-smoking records.

    Hal Rogers, Representative from Kentucky, like those who are against high tobacco taxes, argues that the burden of the tax falls on low-income Americans "who choose to smoke".

    That's true. But there is more reason in keeping future generations of low-income workers from getting hooked in the first place. As for today's adults, if the new tax drives them to quit, they will have more to spend on their families, cut their risk of cancer and heart disease and feel better.

    The popular TV program Readers has prompted more people in China to practice reading aloud in booths(亭) set up in big cities across the country．

    As the latest TV show to help people's love for literature recover, CCTV program Readers invites people from all walks of life to read aloud their favorite poems，essays and books，or even personal letters they wrote to their loved ones．Just as the weekly show has been well-received，its reading booths, equipped with professional recording devices and cameras，have become instant hits．

    A crowd of more than 200 people were pictured lining up outside the Shanghai Library at 11 a.m. on March 4 — the first day of the booth's opening to the public in Shanghai. The deadline for registrations was brought forward to 2 p.m. instead of the scheduled 5:30 p.m., as the number of waiting readers continued to grow. Some waited more than nine hours for a try-out in the booth, according to library management．

     “There is an old photo in the late 1970s capturing people lining up outside the Shanghai Library before it opens. If that was a spring of reading in Shanghai, now I think another spring has arrived again.” library manager Zhou Deming, told the Shanghai-based The Paper．

    The reading booth is the only one of its kind in the city of economic center at the moment, but more are expected to be put into use in the coming months, according to the library's website．

    The Readers program has also led to booths in other cities including Beijing, Hangzhou, Guangzhou and Xi'an to appeal to more people to read and share their life stories．

    With the recent boom of culture-themed TV shows such as Readers and Chinese Poetry Competition，some are optimistic that this will help the country love literature and reading again in general．

    The guzheng is a traditional Chinese musical instrument. It belongs to the zither（齐特琴）family of string instruments. It is the parent of many musical instruments of some other countries.

    The guzheng should not be confused with the guqin, another ancient Chinese zither but without bridges. Now the guzheng is zither with movable bridges and usually 21 strings, although it can have from 15-25 strings. The guzheng's strings were formerly made of silk, though most players used metal strings by the 20^th century. Since the mid-20^th century most performers use steel strings. The guzheng has a large resonant cavity（共振腔）.

    The guzheng has existed since the Warring States Period and became especially popular during the Qin dynasty. The number of strings on the guzheng has always fluctuated. There were as few as 6 to as many as 23 strings during the Tang dynasty. The earliest record of the guzheng belonged to the historian Sima Qian. Until 1961, the common guzheng had 16 strings, although by the mid-20^th century 18-string guzheng were also in use. In 1961, Xu Zhenggao, together with Wang Xunzhi, introduced the first 21-string guzheng after two years of research and development. In 1960, they also invented the “S-shaped” left string rest, which was quickly adopted by all guzheng makers and is still used today. This curve allows for greater ease in tuning the strings and, combined with strings of different thickness, allows for greater resonance in both the deeper and the higher pitch（音调）ranges. The 21-string guzheng is the most commonly used one, but some traditional musicians still use the 16-string one.

    As we all know, friendship is important in our daily life. A friend can give us help and share our difficulties and happiness. But how to make friends is still difficult to some of us. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

Be friendly to others. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} You should try to make a stranger feel at home wherever he happens to be. Think more of others than of yourself and never judge a person by his look and clothes.

    Be reliable. If you and your friend agree to meet somewhere, don't be late. If you're not going to make it on time or make it at all, call them as soon as you realize it. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Be someone that people know they can depend on.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Listen carefully to what people say, remember important details about them （their names, their likes and dislikes）, ask questions about their interests, and just take the time to learn more about them.

    Encourage your friends. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} A friend to all is a friend to none. Never make fun of or laugh at your friends in front of others. You should come to support them.

A.  Be a good listener.

B.  When you say you'll do something, do it.

C.  A true friend always gives courage to his friends.

D.  Never leave your friend when he is in trouble.

E.  The following information can give you some tips.

F.  Smile at others and you are sure to get a smile in return.

G.  He will remain with them in both good as well as bad times.

    The wife-carrying World Championship has been celebrated in a small town in central Finland since 1992. In 1992, the people of the town decided to restart some long-forgotten traditions. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} He was said to only accept men as members of his gang who proved their worth in challenges. At that time, it was also a common practice to steal women from neighboring villages.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} A large number of competitors, people, and journalists from Finland to Canada attend the Wife-carrying World Championship every year.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} The Wife-carrying World Championship is held on a 253.3 meters long official track. The track has two dry obstacles and a water obstacle, about a meter deep. The wife to be carried may be your own, or your neighbor's. The minimum weight of the wife to be carried is 49 kg. If she is less than 49kg, the wife will be given a heavy bag to carry. Each time a competitor drops his wife, that couple will be fined 15 seconds. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Alongside with the Wife-carrying World Championship, there is also a team competition. The distance is the same but three men in the team carry the wife in turns. At the exchange point the carrier has to drink official “wife-carrying drink.” Then he may continue the race. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    While the Wife-carrying World Championship is being held, there are bands playing music, a wife carrying dance and other forms of entertainment.”

A. There are a few basic rules.

B. People everywhere hold the event.

C. A special prize is awarded to the team.

D. Do you know how these traditions restarted?

E. This event is becoming increasingly popular.

F. The winner is the couple who complete the course in the shortest time.

G. Back in the late 1800s, there was a robber called Rosvo-Ronkainen in that area.