In this section there are four passages followed by 20 questions or unfinished statements, each with four suggested answers marked A. B, C and D. Choose the one that you think is the correct answer.

TEXT D

Humans are the only species in the world to use language for communication. Humans axe not, however, the only species to make music. Other animals that use music include some primates, dolphins and whales, birds (of course) , and even mice. Using a parsimonious approach—in which researchers deriving evolutionary trees select the one that requires the fewest changes—song must have preceded language in humans. In other words, we made melody before we developed the capacity to use words.

While this hypothesis has not yet been proven, the evidence for it is certainly persuasive. According to one researcher, only two steps are needed to develop the ability to sing: a capacity to make repetitive vocal patterns and the ability to control exhalation from the chest while making different sounds in a single breath. Take a deep breath and exhale while making the notes for “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. ” Chimpanzees cannot do that, but we can.

There are at least two additional steps required, however, to move from the melody of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” to the words. The human brain also had to evolve the capacity for syntax—he arrangement of words in a sentence —and for word vocabulary. While many animals make repetitive vocal patterns with controlled exhalations, only humans have the wiring in the brain that allows production of language in a reproducible and learnable pattern. According to the rule of parsimony, that relationship means that the ability for song developed first, and the ability to communicate with spoken language evolved later, arising only once in the history of life on Earth.

One argument for the idea that changes in pitch and tone preceded production of words is the combination of tone and words in some tonal languages, such as Chinese dialects. In Mandarin, for I example, the word “ma” can be pronounced with a high lone or a low tone and can mean either “mother” or “horse. ” depending on which tone is used. It is possible that humans communicated only with tones before incorporating tones with words. Support for this idea comes from the fact that music is universal among human cultures, and mothers and babies typically communicate with one another in sing-song voices. Babies can understand and appreciate pure, harmonious melody by the age of 4 months, suggesting that an appreciation for the harmonious elements of song is hardwired in the human brain.

Indeed, studies show that the human brain has the structures for processing music through both hemispheres. Brain imaging has demonstrated that what goes in the ears is first processed in the auditory cortex, consisting of groups of cells that lie just above the ears. From there, pitch, melody, and rhythm perception is processed in the brain’ s right hemisphere (at least in people who are right-handed) , and the left hemisphere senses frequency and intensity. And music is so universal in its effects in the brain that both hemispheres must be used to determine the meter (i. e. , three-beat or four-beat units) . The motor cortex also lights up significantly when a person listens to music, even if the person is not moving. Thus, the human brain processes music as it relates to movement even when the body is still. From the information, it would seem that music processing is deep-seated and widespread in the human brain. Movement is also a form of communication, so the combination of melody and music could have made for increased communication complexity before the advent of language.

And music’ s effects do not stop with the brain. Humans have such an ancient association with music that listening to it can produce beneficial physical effects. In intensive-care units that play soft music, patients need less medication to stabilize blood pressure. Infants in intensive care gain weight faster and stay for shorter periods if tire unit plays soft music or if their mothers or the nurses hum to them. And music during mealtimes in nursing homes with Alzheimer’ s patients reduces altercations among the residents.