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This is Scientific American’s 60-Second Science. I’m Karen Hopkin. This will just take a minute.

On the June 30th podcast, you heard some bad singing. Clearly a lot of people think they can sing, just look at the enormous crowds that show up to audition¹ for American Idol². But how many people can actually stay in key? (Sing, sing a song. Make it simple to last your whole life long...) Scientists think they have an answer, which they presented at the conference on acoustics³ in Paris on July 2nd. In the first part of the study, the researchers stopped people at random⁴ in a Montreal park and asked them to sing Quebec’s anthem⁵. In that park, turns out 40 out of 42 people sounded as good as the pros⁶. That percentage is surprisingly high. Which makes the two people who couldn’t sing especially interesting. why couldn’t they carry a tune⁷? (Happy birthday to you,Happy birthday to you) The researchers repeated the experiment, this time asking people to sing Jingle⁸ Bells. They then tested the bad singers’ ability to listen to some music and identify the sour notes. They found that the off-pitch crooners fall into two classes. Those who simply can not hear that they’re hitting the wrong notes. And those who can tell, but keep singing anyway.

Thanks for the minute, for Scientific American's 60-Second Science. I am Karen Hopkin.

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收听单词发音

1 audition
n.(对志愿艺人等的)面试(指试读、试唱等)
参考例句：
I'm going to the audition but I don't expect I'll get a part.我去试音，可并不指望会给我个角色演出。 At first,they said he was too young,but later they called him for an audition.起初，他们说他太小，但后来他们叫他去试听。

2 idol
n.偶像，红人，宠儿
参考例句：
As an only child he was the idol of his parents.作为独子，他是父母的宠儿。 Blind worship of this idol must be ended.对这个偶像的盲目崇拜应该结束了。

3 acoustics
n.声学，(复)音响效果，音响装置
参考例句：
The acoustics of the new concert hall are excellent.这座新音乐厅的音响效果极好。 The auditorium has comfortable seating and modern acoustics.礼堂里有舒适的座椅和现代化的音响设备。

4 random
adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动
参考例句：
The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。 On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

5 anthem
n.圣歌，赞美诗，颂歌
参考例句：
All those present were standing solemnly when the national anthem was played.奏国歌时全场肃立。 As he stood on the winner's rostrum,he sang the words of the national anthem.他站在冠军领奖台上，唱起了国歌。

6 pros
abbr.prosecuting 起诉；prosecutor 起诉人；professionals 自由职业者；proscenium （舞台）前部n.赞成的意见( pro的名词复数 )；赞成的理由；抵偿物；交换物
参考例句：
The pros and cons cancel out. 正反两种意见抵消。来自《现代英汉综合大词典》 We should hear all the pros and cons of the matter before we make a decision. 我们在对这事做出决定之前，应该先听取正反两方面的意见。来自《简明英汉词典》

7 tune
n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整
参考例句：
He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。 The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

8 jingle
n.叮当声，韵律简单的诗句；v.使叮当作响，叮当响，押韵
参考例句：
The key fell on the ground with a jingle.钥匙叮当落地。 The knives and forks set up their regular jingle.刀叉发出常有的叮当声。