PTE考生目前最大的问题之一就是练习题缺乏。除了有限的基本官方书（PLUS，Testbuilder，OG）之外就没有题了。很多英语基础不是很扎实的同学很难找到练习材料。悉尼文波PTE雅思培训学校专门为澳洲，尤其是悉尼、墨尔本的PTE考生准备了适合PTE听力阅读练习的科学60秒。各位PTE同学可以练习PTE听力中的summarise spoken text和PTE口语中的retell lecture，记笔记技巧和复述。下面开始：
60秒科学:Making Music for Monkey Minds_科学美国人
A study in the journal Biology Letters finds that music based on monkey’s own calls has similar effects on them that human music has on us. Cynthia Graber reports
Music is known to make us happy, or calm, or sad. But do other animals respond to dulcet tones, as well? In studies, our primate cousins prefer silence to our music. But maybe we were playing the wrong tune.
Psychologist Charles Snowdon and musician David Teie teamed up to show that South American monkeys called cotton–top tamarins do respond to music: their own. The study was published in the journal Biology Letters.
With actual monkey calls in mind (MONKEY SOUNDS) Teie composed monkey music. (THREAT MUSIC) That tune was based on calls signifying anxiety. This one represents a happy, safe condition. (CALMING MUSIC) Snowdon played the compositions to tamarins. They became agitated hearing the threat song. And the more upbeat music put them in a mellow mood.
Much of what we communicate does depend on tone, not just words. This study suggests that what Snowdon calls the musical elements of speech has a deep evolutionary history. Just goes to show that music can “soothe a savage breast”—as long as it’s species appropriate.
—Cynthia Graber
