大多数人都喜欢听音乐，虽然不同的人喜欢的音乐类型可能不一样。那么，音乐是怎么吸引我们的呢？
Why pop music makes us feel good
by Rory Sullivan
Have you ever wondered why certain pop songs just make you feel so good? Researchers studying the question found that the right combination of uncertainty and surprise is what gives listeners the most pleasure.
researcher /rɪˈsɜːtʃə(r)/ n. 研究者（由research加上表示人的后缀-er）
combination /ˌkɒmbɪˈneɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 组合（由combine加后缀-ation变成名词）
uncertainty /ʌnˈsɜːt(ə)nti/ n. 不确定性
listener /ˈlɪs(ə)nə(r)/ n. 听的人（由listen加上表示人的后缀-er）
The study, published in the journal Current Biology last week, involved an analysis of 80,000 chords in 745 pop songs from the US Billboard "Hot 100" chart between 1958 and 1991. The researchers used a machine-learning model to quantify（量化） the level of uncertainty and surprise of these chords, and then asked 39 adult volunteers to rate how pleasurable they found each series of chords.
publish /ˈpʌblɪʃ/ v. 发表
journal /ˈdʒɜːn(ə)l/ n. 期刊
analysis /əˈnæləsɪs/ n. 分析
chord /kɔːd/ n. 和弦
Billboard 是美国的音乐排行榜
chart /tʃɑːt/ n. 排行榜
level /ˈlev(ə)l/ n. 水平、数量
volunteer /ˌvɒlənˈtɪə(r)/ n. 志愿者
rate /reɪt/ v. 评价、打分
pleasurable /ˈpleʒ(ə)rəb(ə)l/ adj. 令人愉快的（由pleasure加后缀-able变成形容词）
series /ˈsɪəriːz/ n. 一系列（单数和复数都是series）
They found two things: participants derived greater pleasure when they were relatively certain what would happen next but then were surprised by an unexpected chord progression. However, the same number of participants found it pleasant when they were uncertain as to what would follow, and then the subsequent chords were more familiar to them.
participant /pɑːˈtɪsɪp(ə)nt/ n. 参与者
derive /dɪˈraɪv/ v. 获得、得到
relatively /ˈrelətɪvli/ adv. 相对而言
progression /prəˈɡreʃ(ə)n/ n. 进展、前进
uncertain /ʌnˈsɜːt(ə)n/ adj. 不确定的、拿不准的（由certain加上表示否定的前缀un-）
subsequent /ˈsʌbsɪkwənt/ adj. 随后的、之后的
"It is fascinating that humans can derive pleasure from a piece of music just by how sounds are ordered over time," Vincent Cheung, the lead researcher on the paper from the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Germany, said in a statement.
fascinating /ˈfæs(ə)neɪtɪŋ/ adj. 极其有趣的
order /ˈɔːdə(r)/ v. 排序
over time 随着时间的推移
paper /ˈpeɪpə(r)/ n. 论文
statement /ˈsteɪtmənt/ n. 陈述、说明
"Songs that we find pleasant are likely those which strike a good balance between knowing what is going to happen next and surprising us with something we did not expect. Understanding how music activates our pleasure system in the brain could explain why listening to music might help us feel better when we are feeling blue."
strike a balance /ˈbæl(ə)ns/ 保持平衡
activate /ˈæktɪveɪt/ v. 激活（由active加后缀-ate变成动词）
blue /bluː/ adj. 忧郁的、悲伤的
Cheung said that pleasure in music is linked to expectancy. Previous studies had looked into the effects of surprise on pleasure, but he and his colleagues' study also focused on the uncertainty of listeners' predictions. Humans are "continuously generating a prediction of what's going to happen next and trying to update these predictions" – and this is no different when it comes to music, he added.
link /lɪŋk/ v. 联系
expectancy /ɪkˈspekt(ə)nsi/ n. 期待、盼望
focus on 聚焦于
prediction /prɪˈdɪkʃ(ə)n/ n. 预测（由predict加后缀-ion变成名词）
continuously /kənˈtɪnjuəsli/ adv. 连续不断地（由continuous加后缀-ly变成副词）
generate /ˈdʒenəreɪt/ v. 产生
update /ʌpˈdeɪt/ v. 更新
The findings may help improve artificial musical algorithms（算法） and could help composers write music or predict musical trends. "The idea is that hopefully as a scientist analyzing these patterns of pleasure in humans, you can somehow work out where music can go next," said Peter Harrison, a researcher at Queen Mary University, London, who worked on the project.
artificial /ˌɑːtɪˈfɪʃ(ə)l/ adj. 人工的、人造的
composer /kəmˈpəʊzə(r)/ n. 作曲家（由compose加上表示人的后缀-er）
analyze /ˈæn(ə)laɪz/ v. 分析
pattern /ˈpæt(ə)n/ n. 模式
work out 算出
project /ˈprɒdʒekt/ n. 项目
As part of the same experiment, the researchers also used brain imaging to locate the areas of the brain reflected in musical pleasure. They found the regions involved were the amygdala（杏仁体）, the hippocampus（海马体） and the auditory（听觉的） cortex（大脑皮层）, which process emotions, learning and memory, and sound, respectively.
imaging /ɪˈmɪdʒɪŋ/ n. 计算机成像
locate /ləʊˈkeɪt/ v. 定位
reflect /rɪˈflekt/ v. 反映
process /ˈprəʊses/ v. 处理
emotion /ɪˈməʊʃ(ə)n/ n. 情绪、情感
respectively /rɪˈspektɪvli/ adv. 分别
Cheung added that another part of the brain, the nucleus accumbens – which processes reward expectations – was perhaps responsible for "directing our attention towards the music so that we will try to find out what will happen next."
expectation /ˌekspekˈteɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 预期（由expect加后缀-ation变成名词）
responsible /rɪˈspɒnsəb(ə)l/ adj. 负责的
direct /dɪˈrekt/ v. 使…指向
（如果您发现某些行的最后一个单词被分成两半了，请把您使用的浏览器升级到最新版本就能正常显示了。）
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