2010
Muzak
The next time you go into a bank, a store, or a supermarket, stop and listen. What do you hear? 71 It's similar to the music you listen to, but it's not exactly the same. That's becau this music was especially designed to relax you, or to give you extra energy. Sometimes you don't even realize the music is playing, but you react to the music anyway.
Quiet background music ud to be called "elevator (电梯) music" becau we often heard it in elevators. But lately we hear it in more and more places, and it has a new name "Muzak". About one-third of the people in America listen to "Muzak" every day. The music plays for 15 minutes at a time, with short paus in between. It is always more lively between ten and eleven in the morning, and between three and four in the afternoon, when people are more tired. 72
If you listen to Muzak carefully, you will probably recognize the names of many of the so
ngs. Some musicians or songwriters don't want their songs to be ud as Muzak, but others are happy when their songs are chon. Why? 73
Music is often played in public places becau it is designed to make people feel less lonely when they are in an airport or a hotel. It has been proven that Muzak doeswhat it is designed to do. Tired office workers suddenly have more energy when they hear the pleasant sound of Muzak in the background. 74 Supermarket shoppers buy 38 percent more groceries.
75 . They say it's boring to hear the same songs all the time. But other people enjoy hearing Muzak in public places. They say it helps them relax and feel calm. One way or another, Muzak affects everyone. Some farmers even say their cows give more milk when they hear Muzak!
A. Some people don't like Muzak.
B. The music gives them extra energy.
C. Music is playing in the background.
D. Factory workers produce 13 percent more.
E. Muzak tends to help people understand music better.
F. They get as much as $4 million a year if their songs are ud.
G. Muzak is played in most of the big supermarkets in the world.
2011
Public speaking and critical thinking
What is critical thinking? To a certain degree, it’s a matter of logic(逻辑)—of being able to spot weakness in other people’s argument and to avoid them in your own, it also includes related skills such as distinguishing fact from opinion and asssing the soundness of evidence.
In the broad n, critical thinking is focud, organized thinking—the ability to e clearly their relationships among ideas. 71 The greatest thinkers, scientists and inventors have often taken their information that was readily available and put it together differently to produce new ideas that, too, is critical thinking.
72 As the class goes on, for example, you will probably spend a good deal of time organizing your speeches. While this may em like a purely mechanical(机械的) exerci, it is cloly connected with critical thinking. If the structure of your speech is loo and confud, chances are that your thinking is also disordered and confud. If, on the other hand, the structure is clear, there is a good chance your thinking is too. Organizing a speech is not a matter of arranging the ideas you already have. 73
What is true of organization is true of many aspects of public speaking. 74 As you work on expressing your ideas in clear, accurate language, you will improve your ability to think clearly and accurately. 75 As you learn to listen critically to speeches in class. You will be better able to asss the ideas of speakers in a variety of situations.
If you take full advantage of your speech class, you will be able to develop your skills as critical thinker in many circumstances. This is one reason public speaking has been regarded as a vital part of education since the days of ancient Greece.
A. Rather, it is an important part of shaping the ideas themlves.
B. This may em like a lot of time, but the rewards are well worth it.
C. It may also help you to know that there is no such thing as a perfect speech.
D. It has often been said that there are few new ideas in the world, only reorganized ideas.
E. If you are wondering what this has to do with your public speaking class, the answer is quite a lot.
F. The skills you learn in your speech class can help you become a more effective thinker in a number of ways.
G. As you study the role of evidence and reasoning in speechmaking ,you will e how they can be ud in other forms of communication as well.
