Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks.

 Music is universal - it is produced by (46) ______ cultures. Some scientists believe that music came before speech and (47) ______ as a development of mating calls. In fact, there is one theory that the earliest languages were chanted or sung, rather than spoken. Indeed, in some cultures, music is a form of recording history. The Aboriginal Australians, for example, use music as a means to pass on stories of the land and spirits to the next generation. New evidence suggests that music does not just (48) ______ the feel - good factor but it is also good for the brain. A study of intellectually disabled children showed that they could recall more information (49)______ it was given to them in a song than after it was read to them as a story. Researchers also report that people score better on a standard intelligence test after listening to Mozart. The so-called “Mozart effect” has also been supported by findings that rats brought up on Mozart run faster through a complex network of paths or passages, known as a maze. Overall, it seems that in most instances people (50) ______ suffer from any form of mental illness benefit from listening to music.

Music is universal - it is produced by (46) ______ cultures.