Have you ever wondered where your taste in music comes from? Have you ever been surprised that you actually don’t enjoy Justin Bieber’s latest hit but you do enjoy this oldie by Led Zeppelin?

And what if it’s actually possible to make someone like a piece of music, or a candy bar, or a brand?

Check out: Man Suddenly Enjoys Johnny Cash After Deep Brain Stimulation

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Listen

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Glossary

• marketeer – a person who works in or advocates a particular type of market
• frontier – the extreme limit of understanding or achievement in a particular area
• obsessive-compulsive disorder
• solely – not involving anyone or anything else; only
• urge  – a strong desire or impulse
• reluctance – unwillingness or disinclination to do something

 Think about it

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Answer the questions below.

• What kind of magic solution have the marketeers wished for for years?
• What was the reason why the man started enjoying Johnny Cash’s music?
• What was Mr. B treated for?
• Does the result of the study suggest you can make people like things for good?

Practice makes perfect

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Fill in the blank spaces with the missing words. Use ONE word per blank space.

For years, music industry marketeers ________ wished for a magic solution ________ how to sell people particular bands, singers, or songs. “If only there ________ a way to just make everyone like someone’s music,” they must ________ thought to themselves. Now it turns out that there might be—as long as the artist ________ question is Johnny Cash.

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Fill in the blank spaces with the correct forms of the words in CAPITAL LETTERS.

 The ________ TREAT worked, with Mr. B referring appearing “new and improved” after just six weeks, but over the following six months, an ________ EXPECT side effect emerged: Mr. B became a Cash fan. It started with accidental ________ EXPOSE to the song “Ring of Fire,” but the report states that, from that point on, he “kept listening simply and solely to Johnny Cash and bought all his CDs and DVDs.”

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Fill in the blank spaces with the words in bold.

with    –    inside    –    out    –    into    –    for (x3)

So, does this mean that deep brain stimulation can turn anyone ________a Cash fan? The jury is still ________ on that one. Neurosurgeon Ali Rezai told The Guardian that it’s possible that Mr. B always had the urge ________ Cash ________ him, and the stimulation simply allowed him to realize it ________ the first time. “Whereas before, his severe anxiety meant he was not able to connect ________ music,” Rezai explained, “afterwards it could become rewarding ________ him. His brain wasn’t functioning normally before.

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