单选题
Sending your children to piano or violin lessons in a bid to boost their academic achievement is a waste of money, according to scientists. Although research has shown that youngsters who take music lessons are more likely to be 27 of their class, psychologist Glenn Schellenberg claims this link is 28 . Instead, improved academic performance may be because brighter children from privileged 29 are more likely to learn an instrument, rather than music classes helping to boost their 30 . 'Music may 31 you a bit, but it's also the case that different children take music lessons,' said Professor Schellenberg of the University of Toronto, who added that parents' education was the most influential 32 on musicality. 'Children who take music lessons come from families with higher incomes, they come from families with more 33 parents, they also do more extracurricular (课外的) activities, they have higher IQs, and they do better at school.' In tests on 167 children who played the piano or other instruments, they found their answer to personality tests could 34 how likely it was for them to continue their music lessons. Those who were more outgoing and conscientious were more likely to continue to play. 'We were 35 by the fact that kids who take music lessons are particularly good students, in school they actually do better than you would predict from their IQ, so 36 something else is going On,' Professor Schellenberg told the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) annual conference in Boston. 'So we thought that personality might be the personality.' A. backgrounds B. change C. decrease D. displayed E. educated F. emotional G. factor H. fortunately I. intelligence J. misleading K. motivated L. obviously M. predict N. status O. top
问答题
【正确答案】O
【答案解析】空前的likely to be和空后的of their class提示，本空应填名词，作表语。本段第1句提到，送孩子去上音乐班试图提高他们的学习成绩是浪费金钱的表现，空格所在的让步状语从句意为：尽管有研究表明，学音乐的孩子更可能在班上______。结合选项可知，O. top(＜排名＞首位，＜位居＞第一)符合语义，故为答案。 [参考译文] 科学家们称，为了提高孩子们的学习成绩而把他们送去学弹钢琴或拉小提琴，纯属浪费金钱。尽管有研究表明，学音乐的孩子更可能在班上名列前茅，但心理学家格伦·舍伦贝格指出，将两者联系在一起有误导性。 然而事实上，更优秀的学习成绩可能是因为来自优越的家庭背景的孩子更聪明、更可能去学习乐器，而并非学音乐有助于提高他们的智力。 来自多伦多大学的舍伦贝格教授说：“音乐也许能让你有些改变，但是实际情况是，学音乐的孩子本身就不同。”他补充说，父母的教育是影响音乐才能的最重要因素。“上音乐班的孩子来自收入更高的家庭，他们的父母受教育的程度更高，他们参加的课外活动也更多，而且他们的智商也更高，在学校的成绩也更好。” 研究人员在对167名弹钢琴或演奏其他乐器的孩子进行的性格测试中发现，可以从孩子们的回答中预测出他们继续学习音乐的可能性。那些性格更外向、更认真的孩子更可能继续演奏乐器。 舍伦贝格教授在波士顿举行的美国科学促进会年会上说：“我们因为上音乐班的孩子在校表现特别好这一事实而受到鼓舞，而实际上这些孩子在学校的学习成绩超过他们的智商让人所产生的预期，所以，显然还有其他一些因素在起作用。因此，我们认为这一影响因素可能是性格。”