A study published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience suggests music could be a low-cost alternative to medicine for people suffering from carsickness, seasickness, or flight nausea. Unlike drugs that often cause side effects like drowsiness (睡意), music offers a safe and personalized way to relieve discomfort, according to Dr Qizong Yue of Southwest University, the corresponding author of the study.​

The research tested 30 young adults who were moderately prone to motion sickness. They wore EEG caps and sat in a driving simulator that induced carsickness. After feeling queasy, each participant was either given one of four music types (joyful, soft, passionate, sad) or asked to rest quietly. A control group stopped the simulator before getting sick to provide baseline EEG readings.​

The results were surprising. Joyful music reduced carsickness by 57.3%, almost as effectively as soft music (56.7%). Passionate music helped 48.3%, while sad music only cut symptoms by 40% — worse than the 43.3% relief from quiet rest. In short, sad songs made people feel more uncomfortable than doing nothing.​

EEG data pointed to the brain’s occipital lobe (枕叶), the region responsible for processing vision, as a key site of change during motion sickness. Participants who reported feeling sick showed reduced complexity in their EEG signals, a marker of disrupted neural activity. The more their discomfort eased, the more their brain activity returned to baseline. Soft music appeared to work by calming tension and increasing alpha brain wave activity, while joyful music may have engaged reward circuits that distracted participants from discomfort. By contrast, sad music likely amplified negative emotion.

Dr Yue advised: “Listen to cheerful or gentle music when feeling motion sick — it may work for air or sea travel too.” However, the study involved only 30 participants, which might limit the generalizability of the findings. Additionally, the research wasn’t conducted in a real-world setting, potentially reducing the ecological validity of the results. More research with larger, diverse groups in real settings is needed, as well as exploring how personal music tastes affect results. Still, the takeaway is clear: skip sad songs and choose uplifting music.

1.1. What advantage does music have over medicine for motion sickness?

A It causes serious side effects.

B It works for every sickness.

C It is free from side effects.

D It is more convenient to use.

解析：选C。C细节理解题。文章第一段明确指出，药物常引起嗜睡等副作用，而音乐“offers a safe and personalized way to relieve discomfort”，即音乐没有副作用。选项A“引起严重副作用”与原文相反；选项B“对每种病都有效”属于以偏概全，文中只讨论晕动病；选项D“更方便使用”属于无中生有，文中未提及。故选C。

2.2. What does the underlined word “queasy” probably mean?

A Unpleasant.

B Unsteady.

C Impatient.

D Uncomfortable.

解析：选D。D词义猜测题。根据上下文，参与者坐在驾驶模拟器中诱发晕车，随后“after feeling queasy”给予音乐或休息来缓解不适。结合后文“discomfort”一词，可知“queasy”指身体不适感。选项A“不愉快的”偏向情绪，不够准确；选项B“不稳定的”和C“不耐烦的”均不符合语境；选项D“不舒服的”最贴近原文意思。故选D。

3.3. What can be inferred about joyful music from the study?

A It likely reduces discomfort by distracting the brain.

B It is the only music that reduces discomfort.

C It works by calming tension and increasing alpha waves.

D It showed no significant improvement.

解析：选A。A推理判断题。文章第四段提到，快乐音乐“may have engaged reward circuits that distracted participants from discomfort”，即通过激活奖赏回路分散注意力来减轻不适。选项B“唯一能减轻不适的音乐”与事实不符（其他音乐也有效）；选项C“通过平静紧张和增加α波”是柔和音乐的作用，属于张冠李戴；选项D“没有显著改善”与数据（减少57.3%）矛盾。故选A。

4.4. What was one limitation of the study?

A The test environment was realistic.

B The sample size was too small.

C The study included too many music types.

D The study’s conclusion applies to all age groups.

解析：选B。B 细节理解题。文章最后一段指出研究局限性：“the study involved only 30 participants, which might limit the generalizability”，即样本量太小。选项A“测试环境真实”与原文“not conducted in a real-world setting”相反；选项C“包含太多音乐类型”文中未视为局限，属于无中生有；选项D“结论适用于所有年龄段”属于过度推理，因为样本仅为年轻人。故选B。