20071108

The "Mozart Effect" ― Fact or Fiction?　by Levi King

Recently, the idea that listening to classical music can increase intelligence, especially in babies, has caught the attention of the media, researchers, and parents around the globe. In the early 1990s, researchers from France and the US published articles that said listening to Mozart for 10 minutes temporarily improved performance on IQ tests and challenging tasks. As a result, the media quickly began reporting on the "Mozart effect."
In 1997, Don Campbell patented the term and published a book about this interesting phenomenon. Campbell claimed that classical music could improve health and memory, counteract mental and physical disorders, and reduce stress and depression. He soon followed with The Mozart Effect for Children, as well as CDs and products for parents of young children. Today, a wide selection of similar products is available, including Baby Mozart and Baby Bach, two bestselling DVDs in the popular Baby Einstein series. There are even music players specially designed for expectant mothers to wear on their tummies. This way, babies can listen to classical music before they''re even born.
However, there is some doubt surrounding the Mozart effect. Parents question whether it is a proven reality or just a fad designed to make money. Frances H. Rauscher, a psychologist and author of one of the original studies, is skeptical. Much of the original research pointed to temporary improvements on specific tasks. She believes these findings have been incorrectly portrayed as a general increase in intelligence. "I don''t think it can hurt," Rauscher said. Yet she added that parents may still want to think twice before spending a fortune trying to make a genius out of their baby.

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1.
In 1997, Don Campbell claimed that classical music benefits people's health and memory, counteract mental and physical disorder, and reduce stress and depression. He specially emphasize that the classical music can increase the babies's intelligence. Some people agree the point, but the other are not.

2.
a.
skeptical
temprarily
b.
conteract
follow with
point to
think twice
bestselling
incorrectly
inspire

3.
Accroding to the artical, we can think the possibility of the point. Can the classical music actually inspire the intelligence? How can you prove that it is not an idea to attract more people to but their products? If it is true, it means we just can use the classical music to let our babies be smrter?