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.”

（材料選自CNN網(wǎng)站，有刪改）

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：細(xì)節(jié)理解題。材料第二段的最后一句提到“音樂是一個(gè)極其有力的提示，可以讓我們回憶起以前生活中發(fā)生過的事情”。由此可知，人們覺得年輕時(shí)的音樂好聽是因?yàn)檫@些音樂跟他們的過去有聯(lián)系，能讓他們想起過去發(fā)生的事情，故選D。

2. C。解析：主旨大意題。材料第三段的最后兩句提到“音樂是隨著時(shí)間推移的。我們的大腦中有一部分叫作情節(jié)記憶，它就在那里”。由此可知，材料第三段告訴我們音樂為什么有魔力的底層邏輯，故選C。

3.A。解析：推理判斷題。材料第四段的第一句和第二句提到“庫(kù)蒂埃塔出生于1953年，他最喜歡披頭士樂隊(duì)和指揮家萊昂納德·伯恩斯坦的作品。這些藝術(shù)家在他十幾歲時(shí)幫助他塑造了他的音樂品味”。由此可知，庫(kù)蒂埃塔出生在1953年，他的青少年時(shí)期應(yīng)該是在1970年左右，那么他喜歡的萊昂納德·伯恩斯坦應(yīng)該是在1970年左右流行的，故選A。

4. D。解析：推理判斷題。材料最后一段的第一句提到“每個(gè)時(shí)代都有一些可怕的歌曲成為熱門歌曲”。這說明蘿卜青菜各有所愛，故選D。