It is difficult for a teacher to decide whether to allow students to listen to music in the classroom. Every time students need to write an essay or work on a problem, they say, “Can I put my headphones on? I think better that way.” But is that really true? Does music help concentrate?
Research offers little to back up the idea that listening to music improves concentration. In one small study, 133 students performed reading tasks while listening to either light music, hip hop, or no music at all. Students who performed the reading tasks in silence scored the highest. Music with a higher intensity (强度) like hip hop was more distracting and had a bad effect on task performance.
Volume (音量) plays a more important role than the type of music. The study found that the louder the music, the worse the performance in concentration. The type of music didn’t matter. Data from the study showed once again that silence was the best environment to improve concentration.
However, music has a positive effect on work performance. Studies have showed that listening to music leads to positive changes in mood, as well as creativity. In fact, in music-listening cultures, which students are certainly part of, there’s actually a change in mood when the music is taken away.
It’s hard to convince my students that music doesn’t help with their concentration. Taj, a senior told me, “I wouldn’t be able to concentrate if I were listening to music and trying to read. However, when I write, I feel like music helps me concentrate deeply. I don’t have writer’s block. It’s easy for me to put my words on paper.”
“Maybe not with reading, but when it comes to math, listening to music certainly helps,” Danela told me. “You could actually be singing along with what you’re listening to and doing well in math.”
32. What does the underlined word “distracting” in paragraph 2 probably mean?
A.Making it difficult for someone to concentrate. |
B.Causing great excitement. |
C.Making someone want to do something. |
D.Making someone feel frightened. |
33. What can we learn from the small study?
A.Students do well in reading tasks while listening to music. |
B.Music can’t improve people’s mood and creativity. |
C.Different types of music lead to different performances. |
D.The volume of music affects concentration. |
34. What do Taj and Danela have in common?
A.They believe music doesn’t help concentrate. |
B.They use music to help with their paper-writing. |
C.They can’t focus on reading while listening to music. |
D.They don’t listen to music while doing math problems. |
35. Which of the following can be the best title for the text?
A.Should Students Listen to Music? | B.Does Music Help Concentration? |
C.Is Music Related to Reading? | D.Can Music Change Mood? |