According to a new study in the Journal of Educational Psychology, high school students who take music courses seem to be (intelligent) in math,

science and English exams than their non-music peers(同龄人).

"The students who learned to play  musical instrument in primary school and continued playing in high school not only (perform) better in exams, were about one school year ahead of their non-music peers in their English, math and science skills.

The results were made according to(they) exam grades," said the study's main researcher.

Over 112, 000 studentscompleted their 12th-grade study in Columbia School between 2012 and 2015 took part in the study.

Students who take at least one instrumental music course (see) as students taking music. Music (course) require instrumental music experience, including concert band, piano, jazz band, vocal jazz and so on. The researchers have found that skills learned in instrumental music can have a good influence the students' learning at school.

A student has to learn to read musical notation(乐谱) and develop eye-hand. mind coordination(协调), listening skill, and team skills for playing in a team. All those learning experiences will without doubt play a role in (develop) the learner's learning ability.

He goes to the movies with me .

Stop motion movies

Stop motion is a special type of movie-making. It uses real objects—instead of drawings—to tell a story. The story characters can be people, animals, or even everyday objects. You can make them out of clay(黏土)or just use some small toys.

Give it a try, and be creative! Get your parents and friends together and show your film!

Today, I am going to talk about my favorite movies. I like to watch movies very much. I like foreign films more than Japanese films, because I like to study foreign languages. I watch movies with English subtitles, and they are good for me to learn English.

Do you know the film titled “Big Fish”? That is my favorite movie. The story is a human drama, and I can seethe love between the father and the son. And the story is not only a human drama, but also a fantasy(幻想作品). It is the most beautiful story that I have ever seen. When I watch this movie, I feel my heart warming.

Not only foreign films, I also like the films made by Hayao Miyazaki. He is one of the most famous Japanese animators(动画片绘制者) in the world. Every film that he made has some messages to the world. For example, he said“ stop deforestation(滥伐森林)”in a film titled Princess Mononoke(幽灵公主). And men characters that appear in every film are all cool and good-looking. Also I can feel love in all films made by Hayao Miyazaki. He got an Academy Award in 2003 for the great film titled Spirited Away(千与千寻). That was the greatest achievement for him. But he always says that he never wants to be a veteran(经验丰富的人).

I am very impressed by his words. And what the biggest point of his movie is that everyone can enjoy the story. To watch the movies is a very good habit for us. Movies give us many impressions and knowledge. I want to watch a lot of movies through my life.

When people discover that I work as a film and TV extra(临时演员)， they always ask me the same questions: Emily, is it easy to get work? Isn't it boring? Do you get to meet famous actors? Does it pay well? My answers are pretty standard as well: Yes, sometimes, once in a while, and… kind of. The life of an extra is both more interesting and more boring than you might imagine.

Extras, who play the people in crowds, on streets, or in the background of indoors scenes, can come from all walks of life. Unlike many extras, I'm a trained actor. I do get real speaking roles, but work can be hard to come by if you're not a popular star. I'm registered(注册) with an agency that deals only with extras, so I get calls all the time. The agency explains who I'll be—someone in a crowd, a member of a jury, a clerk—and tells me where to go. Call time is usually bright and early, so I try to get to bed at a reasonable hour.

Sometimes being an extra is a "hurry up and wait" job. In my first extra role, I was one of a group of office workers who come out of a building just as a car explodes(爆炸) in the street. We waited for hours for the scene to be shot, and then went in and out of the building about fifty times, trying to act terrified by an explosion which was not real. Then we had lunch, changed clothes, and spent the afternoons as customers in a department store.

It may sound like I don't enjoy the work, but I do. Being part of the background in a convincing(令人信服的) way is challenging, and being on a film or TV set is always fascinating. A lot of famous actors don't even notice the extras, but the ones who do make the job a lot of fun for everyone. As for the money, it's nothing compared to what the big actors make, but it pretty much pays the bills. And, as a bonus, I've beaten my high scores on all my phone games, thanks to all the time I spend sitting around, waiting for something to happen.

Is there a connection between music and language? According to recent studies, the answer is yes: Here, we look at two examples:

A recent study by researcher Kraus shows that playing a musical instrument can improve a person's hearing ability. The people in the first group were musicians, while those in the second group had no musical training. The musicians were able to hear the talking person more clearly.

Think about violinists in an orchestra(管弦乐团). When the violinists play with the group, they hear their own instruments and many others, too. But the violinists must listen closely to what they are playing, and pay no attention to the other sounds. In this way, musicians are able to focus on certain sounds, even in a room with lots of noise.

Schlaug, a doctor at Harvard Medical School, works with stroke(中风) patients. Because of their illness, these people cannot say their names, addresses, or other information normally. However, they can still sing. Why does this work? Schlaug isn't sure. Music seems to make different parts of the brain work, including the damaged(损坏的) parts. This might help patients to use that part of the brain again.

Music improves concentration(注意力)，memory, listening skills, and our overall language abilities. Playing an instrument or singing can help us do better in school and keep our brain sharp(敏锐的) as we get older. Music is not only enjoyable; it's also good for us in many other ways.

A. It can even help sick people get better.

B. Music helps people solve some hearing problems.

C. Music improves certain language abilities in the brain.

D. Musicians hear better because they learn to pay attention to certain sounds.

E. Schlaug is surprised to find that singing words help his patients to speak.

F. In his study two groups of people listened to a person talking in a noisy room.