Question 22 is based on the recording you have just heard.

听力原文

    (22) [Why do old people dislike new music?] As I’ve grown older, I often hear people my age say things like, “They just don’t make good music like they used to.” Why does this happen? Luckily, psychology can give us some insights into this puzzle. Musical tastes begin to crystallize as early as age 13 or 14. By the time we’re in our early 20s, these tastes get locked into place pretty firmly.

    (23) [In fact, studies have found that by the time we turn 33, most of us have stopped listening to new music.] Meanwhile, popular songs released when you’re in your early teens are likely to remain quite popular among your age group for the rest of your life. There could be a biological explanation for this. As there’s evidence that the brain’s ability to make subtle distinctions between different chords, rhythms, and melodies deteriorates with age, so to older people, newer, less familiar songs might all sound the same.

    (22) [But there’re maybe some simpler reasons for older people’s aversion to new music.] (24) [One of the most researched laws of social psychology is something called the “mere exposure effect”, which in essence means that the more we’re exposed to something, the more we tend to like it.] This happens with people we know, the advertisements we see, and the songs we listen to. When you’re in your early teens, you probably spend a fair amount of time listening to music or watching music videos. Your favorite songs and artists become familiar, comforting parts of your routine. For many people over 30, job and family obligations increase. So there’s less time to spend discovering new music. Instead, many will simply listen to old familiar favorites from that period of their lives when they had more free time.

    Of course, those teen years weren’t necessarily carefree. They’re famously confusing, which is why so many TV shows and movies revolve around high school turmoil. Psychology research has shown that (25) [the emotions that we experience as teens seem more intense than those that come later. And we also know that intense emotions are associated with stronger memories and preferences. Both of these might explain why the songs we listen to during this period become so memorable and beloved.] So there’s nothing wrong with your parents because they don’t like your music. Rather, it’s all part of the natural order of things.

22. What does the speaker mainly discuss in this talk?（讲话者在演讲中主要讨论了什么？）

解析：A。在录音开头，讲话者提出问题：老年人为什么不喜欢新的音乐？在录音中间，讲话者点明了演讲的主题，即上了年纪的人对于新音乐的反感（older people’s aversion to new music），并探讨了出现这种反感的其他原因。由此可知，整篇演讲都是围绕着老年人对于新音乐的反感这一话题展开，因此正确答案为A。

错项排除：录音中提到，心理学指出，在人们20岁出头的时候，他们的音乐品味就已经根深蒂固了（these tastes get locked into place pretty firmly），由此可知老年人的音乐品味是相对固定的，而非不断变化的，故B项错误。C项利用录音中出现的insights设置干扰，但录音中说的是心理学可以给我们一些关于这个难题的深刻见解，这些见解并非针对好音乐的特点，故排除C项。录音开头提到，一些人认为现在创作出来的音乐不如以前了，讲话者随后探讨了出现这种想法的原因，可知新音乐质量下降并不是事实，只不过是人们的主观感受，而且这也不是演讲主要讨论的内容，故排除D项。