（海南省2024-2025学年高三下学期学业水平诊断（五）英语试题（含听力））Do you prefer listening to your favorite band while working on a presentation or writing an autobiography? While it’s often thought that having background music on boosts creativity, a new study finds that it actually can do just the opposite.
Researchers from the United Kingdom and Sweden cooperated to examine how people did in a verbal creativity test with various types of music played in the background, compared to how the participants performed while library sounds were being played, as well as in silence.
Thirty young adults — 15 men and 15 women from the University of Lancashire — were observed for the experiments. The participants were shown a series of three words at a time and then asked to add a word to each to create a new word or phrase. For example, someone could be shown the words “point” “stick” and “maker”. A correct answer in this case could be the word “match” for the group.
Meanwhile, the participants would take on the challenge either while in a quiet environment, or while listening to either music with foreign lyrics (歌词), music with familiar lyrics, or instrumental music. The individuals also completed the task with library sounds in the background. In all three cases of the background music, the study found, the participants’ performance in the task was significantly damaged, which wasn’t seen in a quiet setting.
Co-author Dr. Neil MeLatchie said there was strong evidence of damaged performance with background music compared to quiet conditions. Even when the familiar song improved the participants’ mood or they were used to studying with music, creativity was still worsened.
As for why music was so problematic, the authors believe that music disturbs verbal memory. Library sounds in a “steady state” caused far less disturbance than the music, though they did have some influence.
“To conclude, the findings challenge the popular view that music enhances creativity. Instead, they show that music, whether with familiar lyrics or unfamiliar lyrics, consistently disturbs creative performance in insight problem solving,” the authors write.
80．What is the main purpose of the new study?
A．To prove that background music boosts creativity.
B．To find out how different types of music affect mood.
C．To explore the impact of background music on creativity.
D．To match proper music types with different work environments.
81．How is the study carried out?
A．By observing participants’ performance in various sound conditions.
B．By comparing participants’ speed of creating a new word.
C．By analyzing participants’ preference for different music.
D．By judging participants’ reaction to different lyrics.
82．What can we infer from the findings of the study?
A．People should work in a quiet environment.
B．Library sounds are better for creative work.
C．Background music can lift people’s spirits.
D．Familiar music can improve people’s creativity.
83．What can be the best title for the text?
A．Music: A Double-Edged Sword in Creativity
B．Does Background Music Really Boost Creativity?
C．How Does Music Affect Our Mood and Performance?
D．Library Noise: The Role of Enhancing Creativity
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