为什么你年轻时听的音乐会有持久的影响？

Generations of music lovers say music was so much better when they were younger. They can’t all be right—or maybe they are？

“It’s not that music was better when we were younger; it’s music that elicits strong emotions，” said Dr. Rita Aiello， a music psychologist at New York University who examines how people process music and how music and memories shape each other. “Music is an extremely powerful cue for remembering what has happened before in our lives，” she said.

But why does music hold such power？ “Music is episodic，” said Dr. Robert Cutietta， a professor of music at the University of Southern California. “If you look at an artwork or something， you can look at it and leave. Music is over time. There’s a part of our brain called episodic memory—that’s where it goes.”

Cutietta， who was born in 1953， cited the work of the Beatles and conductor Leonard Bernstein as his favorites. Those artists helped shape his musical tastes as a teenager. This attachment to your identity may be why you feel less of a connection to contemporary music as you grow older.

What if you think of the 1970s and 1980s as the holy grail of “real music，” even though all decades contain good and bad songs？ It may be because you’re remembering the artists， songs and albums that were meaningful to you and forgetting the ones that weren’t. “There are circumstances that made certain songs particularly meaningful to you and the memories of those circumstances will come back as you listen to the songs，” Aiello said. Those meaningful songs still resonate with you， Cutietta said， eclipsing the forgettable ones.

“Every era has horrible songs that became huge hits，” Cutietta said. “They’re still there somewhere in our memory， but we choose not to pull those up. Naturally， we’re going to pull up the songs we like.”

（材料选自CNN网站，有删改）

1. Why do people think music was better when they were young？

A. Music helped them remember things they enjoyed.

B. Music made them appreciate what happened in their life.

C. Music was a powerful cue for people they got together with.

D. Music reminded them what happened when they were young.

2. What does paragraph 3 tell us？

A. The value of music.

B. The magic of music.

C. The logic of music’s power.

D. The effect of music’s power.

3. What can be inferred from paragraph 4？

A. Leonard Bernstein was popular in the 1970s.

B. Leonard Bernstein’s favorite was the Beatles.

C. Cutietta was attached to contemporary music.

D. Cutietta influenced by artists became a conductor.

4. What does Cutietta agree with？

A. Bad news had wings.

B. Practice makes perfect.

C. Art is long and life is short.

D. Every man has his hobbyhorse.

1. D。解析：细节理解题。材料第二段的最后一句提到“音乐是一个极其有力的提示，可以让我们回忆起以前生活中发生过的事情”。由此可知，人们觉得年轻时的音乐好听是因为这些音乐跟他们的过去有联系，能让他们想起过去发生的事情，故选D。

2. C。解析：主旨大意题。材料第三段的最后两句提到“音乐是随着时间推移的。我们的大脑中有一部分叫作情节记忆，它就在那里”。由此可知，材料第三段告诉我们音乐为什么有魔力的底层逻辑，故选C。

3.A。解析：推理判断题。材料第四段的第一句和第二句提到“库蒂埃塔出生于1953年，他最喜欢披头士乐队和指挥家莱昂纳德·伯恩斯坦的作品。这些艺术家在他十几岁时帮助他塑造了他的音乐品味”。由此可知，库蒂埃塔出生在1953年，他的青少年时期应该是在1970年左右，那么他喜欢的莱昂纳德·伯恩斯坦应该是在1970年左右流行的，故选A。

4. D。解析：推理判断题。材料最后一段的第一句提到“每个时代都有一些可怕的歌曲成为热门歌曲”。这说明萝卜青菜各有所爱，故选D。