Alec and Stella are in the band at their school. Alec plays the clarinet and Stella plays the flute. “When I first started to play the flute， it sounded terrible！” says Stella. “My family asked me to practice in the garage because they didnt like the noise.”

Alec and Stella have been playing their instruments for a year now so they sound much better. They are learning more difficult music. “Playing in the band with other kids is a lot of fun，” says Alec.

As well as being fun， many scientists say that learning a musical instrument is good for your brain. It helps children with their reading and math skills. It helps them learn to concentrate. Alec thinks that learning the clarinet has helped him at school. “I have to concentrate when Im practicing，” he says. “And now its easier for me to concentrate on my schoolwork.”

Learning music can also help children become more confident. As Stella says， “The first time I played in front of an audience I was scared. But now I really enjoy it.”

亞歷克和斯特拉加入了學(xué)校的樂隊(duì)。亞歷克吹單簧管，斯特拉吹長笛?！爱?dāng)我剛開始吹笛子的時(shí)候，它聽起來很糟糕！”斯特拉說，“我的家人讓我在車庫里練習(xí)，因?yàn)樗麄儾幌矚g我練習(xí)時(shí)的噪音?！?/p>

亞歷克和斯特拉練習(xí)樂器已經(jīng)一年了，所以他們的演奏聽起來好多了。他們正在學(xué)習(xí)更難的音樂?！昂推渌⒆右黄鹪跇逢?duì)里演奏很有趣?！眮啔v克說。

許多科學(xué)家說，學(xué)一門樂器不僅有趣，而且對大腦有好處。它有助于提高孩子們的閱讀和數(shù)學(xué)技能，有助于他們學(xué)會集中注意力。亞歷克認(rèn)為學(xué)習(xí)單簧管對他在學(xué)校的學(xué)習(xí)有幫助。他說：“我練習(xí)的時(shí)候必須集中注意力。而現(xiàn)在我更容易集中注意力學(xué)習(xí)了?！?/p>

學(xué)習(xí)音樂還可以幫助孩子變得更加自信。正如斯特拉所說：“第一次在觀眾面前表演時(shí)，我很害怕。但現(xiàn)在我真的很喜歡?！?/p>

Word Bank

band n. 樂隊(duì)

terrible adj. 拙劣的；令人極不快的

practice v. 練習(xí)；訓(xùn)練

confident adj. 自信的

scared adj. 驚慌的；嚇壞了的