Humans may share a “musical grammar”

2020-06-03谷战峰

疯狂英语·新读写 2020年4期

关键词：鼓琴钟子期伯牙

难词探意

1. bop /bɒp/ n. 博普舞会

2. ethnographic /ˌeθnə΄ɡræfɪk/ adj. 人种志的

3. vocal /΄vəʊkl/ adj. 嗓音的；发声的

4. annotate /΄ænəteɪt/ v. 给……加评注

5. notation /nəʊ΄teɪʃn/ n. （数学、科学和音乐中的）符号；记号

6. anthropologist /ˌænθrə΄pɒlədʒɪst/ n. 人类学家

7. algorithm /΄ælɡərɪðem/ n. 算法

预读思考

1. Do you know the story between Liu Zhengfeng and Qu Yang in Jin Yong's novel The Legendary Swordsman（《笑傲江湖》）? Why did they develop deep friendship?

2. What is a musical grammar likely to mean in the text?

No matter where you are, abopis a bop.Whether a melody makes people get up and dance, comforts their hearts, or calms them down to sleep, similar rhythms and tones make music a universal language. Now, there might be science to back it up.

A team of researchers find that not only is music universal， but also that similar songs are used in similar contexts around the world, according to a study published in the journal Science.

To better understand the similarities in music that could provide insight into its biological roots, the researchers focused on music with lyrics. They started by looking atethnographicdescriptions of music in 315 cultures worldwide, all of which featuredvocalmusic, before analyzing musical recordings from 60 well-documented cultures.

The team used a combination of methods，including machine learning, expert musicologists and 30,000 amateur listeners from the United States and India，to analyze a public database of music. In one part of the study, online amateur listeners were asked to categorize random music samples as lullabies, dance songs, healing songs,folk songs， or love songs. Dance songs were the easiest to catch. In other parts of the study, the music samples wereannotatedby listeners and translated into a musical staff, which is a form of musicalnotationin Western cultures. When this data was fed to a computer, it was able to tell different kinds of songs apart at least twothirds of the time.

“Basically, the team found that humans share a ‘musical grammar’,” explains the study's lead author Samuel Mehr, a psychologist at Harvard University. “Music is built from similar, simple building blocks the world over,” he says.

“Music is something that has confusedanthropologistsand biologists since Darwin,” says Luke Glowacki, an anthropologist at Pennsylvania State University and a co-author on the paper. “If there were no underlying principles of the human mind, there would not be these regularities.”

Critics have questioned the use of machine learningalgorithmsand Western notation because of the biases that come with both. Ethnomusicologist Elizabeth Tolbert of John Hopkins'Peabody Institute, who wasn't involved in the study, says that the research team “may be overinterpreting their results” by searching for common patterns in such a diverse variety of music.

Co-author Manvir Singh, a cognitive and evolutionary anthropologist at Harvard University, says that the music database is open-access.“We'd be glad for anyone to test our conclusions using an alternative method,” he says.

阅读自测

1. What makes music a universal language according to paragraph 1?

A. The function of music. B. The melody of music.

C. Similar rhythms and tones. D. Touching lyrics and voices.

2. What is the function of the underlined sentence in paragraph 3?

A. To provide more information. B. To explore more about music.

C. To describe the process vividly. D. To make the research convincing.

3. What kind of songs are easiest to understand in the research?

A. Folk songs. B. Love songs.

C. Dance songs. D. Healing songs.

4. Which word can best describe the research according to paragraph 8?

A. Creative. B. Doubtful.

C. Beneficial. D. Thoughtful.

文本探究

探究视角1：语言学习

Ⅰ. 文本填空

1. Now, there might be science to ________it ________（证明；证实）.

2. A team of researchers find that not only is music universal but also that similar songs_________(use) in similar contexts around the world, according to a study _________(publish) in the journal Science.

3. To better understand the similarities _________music that could provide insight_________ its biological roots, the researchers focused _________music with lyrics.

4. The team used a ______ (combine) of methods, including machine learning, expert musicologists and 30,000 amateur listeners from the United States and India,_________ (analyze) a public database of music.

5. In other parts of the study, the music samples were annotated by listeners and translated into a musical staff,_________is a form of musical notation in Western cultures.

6. If there _________(be) no underlying principles of the human mind, there would not be these regularities.

7. Ethnomusicologist Elizabeth Tolbert of John Hopkins' Peabody Institute, who wasn't_________(involve) in the study, says that the research team “may be over-interpreting their results” by searching for common patterns in such a diverse variety of music.

8. We'd be glad for anyone to test our conclusions _________（use） an alternative method.

Ⅱ. 与“音乐”相关的表达

1. bop 博普舞会

2. melody 旋律

3. comfort sb's hearts 安慰心灵

4. calm sb down 使人平静下来

5. similar rhythms and tones 相似的节奏和音调

6. a universal language 通用语言

7. be used in similar contexts around the world 在世界各地类似的情况下使用

8. focus on music with lyrics 关注有歌词的音乐

9. feature vocal music 以声乐为特色

10. musical recordings 音乐记录

11. online amateur listeners 线上的业余听众

12. dance songs 舞曲

13. healing songs 治愈系歌曲

14. folk songs 民歌

15. love songs 情歌

16. a form of musical notation 一种音乐符号的形式

17. building block 组成部分

18. a musical grammar 音乐语法

19. underlying principles of the human mind 人类思想的潜原则

20. a diverse variety of music 多种多样的音乐

探究视角2：语篇分析

音乐是人类的共同语言，世界各地的音乐风格不同，但都能抚慰心灵，解去疲乏，振作精神。音乐具有这些共同功能的原因是什么呢？科学家们又对此进行了哪些研究？他们的研究有什么新的发现呢？能被广为接受吗？

本文是一篇说明文，文章对音乐能成为人类共同语言这一现象进行了说明。说明时，采用研究案例来说明和解释文章的主题，使用研究案例时，文章先给出了研究结果，紧接着介绍研究的过程，结果和引起的质疑。

Structure Paragraph（s） Main idea（s）Topic Para. 1 Similar rhythms and tones make music a universal language.Phenomenon Para. 2 Music is universal and similar songs are used in similar contexts around the world.Process Para. 3～Para. 4●The researchers observed ethnographic descriptions of music in 315 cultures worldwide.●Online amateur listeners were asked to categorize random music samples.●The music samples were annotated by listeners and translated into a musical staff.●The computer told different kinds of songs apart.Finding&reason Para. 5●Humans share a “musical grammar”.●Music is built from similar, simple building blocks the world over.Opinions Para. 6～Para. 8●The regularities of music being a universal language have something to do with underlying principles of the human mind.●Critics have raised doubt about the use of machine learning algorithms and Western notation.●The music database is open-access.

探究视角3：文化拓展

《吕氏春秋·本味》中记载了伯牙与钟子期的故事：“伯牙善鼓琴,钟子期善听。伯牙鼓琴,方鼓琴而志在太山,钟子期曰：‘善哉乎鼓琴，巍巍乎若太山! '少选之间，而志在流水,钟子期又曰：‘善哉乎鼓琴，汤汤乎若流水! ' 钟子期死,伯牙破琴绝弦,终身不复鼓琴，以为世无足复为鼓琴者。 ”

高山流水遇知音，伯牙子期千古传，可见音乐具有神奇的魔力。言语文字可以作伪，可琴箫之音却是心声，做不得假。

古往今来，音乐作为一门世界语言，得到了人们无限的赞美：

Music is a good medicine for mental illness.

音乐是医治思想疾病的良药。

He who understands music can be free from all worldly troubles.

领悟音乐的人，能从一切世俗的烦恼中超脱出来。

When you are happy, you listen to music. When you are sad, you begin to understand the lyrics.

快乐的时候，你听的是音乐。难过的时候，你开始懂得了歌词。

Those who really love music and appreciate music in their hearts are good people.

真正喜爱音乐且打心里欣赏音乐的人都是好人。