Many people enjoy listening to sad music. Why? A new study by Japanese researchers, published in the open-access journal Frontiers in Psychology, reveals sad music might actually evoke positive emotions.Kawakami and colleagues, from Tokyo University of the Arts and the RIKEN Brain Science Institute, asked 44 volunteers, including both musicians and non-specialists, to listen to two pieces of sad music and one piece of happy music. Each participant was required to use a set of keywords to rate both their perception of the music and their own emotional state.The sad pieces of music included Glinka’s “La Séparation” in F minor and Blumenfeld’s “Sur Mer” in G minor. The happy music piece was Granados’s Allegro de Concierto in G major. To control for the “happy” effect of major key, they also played the minor-key pieces in major key, and vice versa.The researchers explained that sad music evoked contradictory emotions because the participants of the study tended to feel sad music to be more tragic, less romantic, and less joyful than they felt themselves while listening to it. “In general, sad music induces sadness in listeners, and sadness is regarded as an unpleasant emotion. If sad music actually evokes only unpleasant emotion, we would not listen to it,” the researchers wrote in the study. “Music that is perceived as sad actually induces romantic emotion as well as sad emotion. And people, regardless of their musical training, experience this conflictive emotion to listen to the sad music,” added the researchers.Also, unlike sadness in daily life, sadness experienced through art actually feels pleasant, possibly because the latter does not pose an actual threat to our safety. This could help people to deal with their negative emotions in daily life, concluded the authors. “Emotion experienced by music has no direct danger or harm unlike the emotion experienced in everyday life. Therefore, we can even enjoy unpleasant emotion such as sadness. If we suffer from unpleasant emotion evoked through daily life, sad music might be helpful to alleviate negative emotion,” they added.1. Which of the following statements is true about the study?A) The study intends to prove different music has different usage.B) More than forty participants are involved in the study. C) Musicians and amateurs are the main research targets.D) Participants are asked to write articles about their feelings.2. It can be inferred from Para. 3 that ________.A) there are always more pieces of sad music than happy musicB) happy music is often played in G majorC) sad music should be played in minor keyD) “La Séparation” was played in major key in the study 3. The “contradictory emotions” in Para. 4 may refer to ________.A) tragic feelings as well as sad feelingsB) sad feelings as well as unpleasant feelingsC) sad feelings as well as romantic feelings D) pleasant feelings as well as joyful feelings4. What’s the function of sad music according to the study?A) Sad music can help people feel less unpleasant. B) Sad music can make people enjoy negative emotions.C) Sad music can remind people of actual threat in life.D) Sad music can create romance in daily life.5. What is the best title for this passage?A) Sad music, sadness in life.B) Different music reflecting different life attitudes.C) Introduction of sad music and happy music.D) Why do people enjoy listening to sad music?

Many people enjoy listening to sad music. Why? A new study by Japanese researchers, published in the open-access journal Frontiers in Psychology, reveals sad music might actually evoke positive emotions. Kawakami and colleagues, from Tokyo University of the Arts and the RIKEN Brain Science Institute, asked 44 volunteers, including both musicians and non-specialists, to listen to two pieces of sad music and one piece of happy music. Each participant was required to use a set of keywords to rate both their perception of the music and their own emotional state. The sad pieces of music included Glinka’s “La Séparation” in F minor and Blumenfeld’s “Sur Mer” in G minor. The happy music piece was Granados’s Allegro de Concierto in G major. To control for the “happy” effect of major key, they also played the minor-key pieces in major key, and vice versa. The researchers explained that sad music evoked contradictory emotions   because the participants of the study tended to feel sad music to be more tragic, less romantic, and less joyful than they felt themselves while listening to it. “In general, sad music induces sadness in listeners, and sadness is regarded as an unpleasant emotion. If sad music actually evokes only unpleasant emotion, we would not listen to it,” the researchers wrote in the study. “Music that is perceived as sad actually induces romantic emotion as well as sad emotion. And people, regardless of their musical training, experience this conflictive emotion to listen to the sad music,” added the researchers. Also, unlike sadness in daily life, sadness experienced through art actually feels pleasant, possibly because the latter does not pose an actual threat to our safety. This could help people to deal with their negative emotions in daily life, concluded the authors. “Emotion experienced by music has no direct danger or harm unlike the emotion experienced in everyday life. Therefore, we can even enjoy unpleasant emotion such as sadness. If we suffer from unpleasant emotion evoked through daily life, sad music might be helpful to alleviate negative emotion,” they added.1. Which of the following statements is true about the study?A)  The study intends to prove different music has different usage.B)  More than forty participants are involved in the study. C)  Musicians and amateurs are the main research targets.D)  Participants are asked to write articles about their feelings.2. It can be inferred from Para. 3 that ________.A)  there are always more pieces of sad music than happy musicB)  happy music is often played in G majorC)  sad music should be played in minor keyD)  “La Séparation” was played in major key in the study 3. The “contradictory emotions” in Para. 4 may refer to ________.A)  tragic feelings as well as sad feelingsB)  sad feelings as well as unpleasant feelingsC)  sad feelings as well as romantic feelings D)  pleasant feelings as well as joyful feelings4. What’s the function of sad music according to the study?A)  Sad music can help people feel less unpleasant. B)  Sad music can make people enjoy negative emotions.C)  Sad music can remind people of actual threat in life.D)  Sad music can create romance in daily life.5. What is the best title for this passage?A)  Sad music, sadness in life.B)  Different music reflecting different life attitudes.C)  Introduction of sad music and happy music.D)  Why do people enjoy listening to sad music?