D．The author and her mother.

　　答案　D

　　解析　代词指代题。联系前一句"I think back to my own mother..."我想起了我自己的母亲。可知此处代词指的是作者自己和她的母亲。故选D。

　　B

　　As is true in all cultures，Americans first hear music in the context of family life.Much of that music comes from the records on the family radio or television，and this "canned" music is especially important in developing children's musical taste.People often say they were very strongly influenced by the kind of music they heard before they were old enough to have their own records or choose the station on the family radio.There is usually some live music in the family as well.

　　Many mothers and grandmothers sing lullabies(催眠曲)，for example.These can be important since in America，as elsewhere，lullabies not only lull a baby to sleep but promise，praise and teach cultural values.Sometimes lullabies are the only songs in a foreign language that American children with strong ethnic(种族的)backgrounds hear，since people often fall back on old，familiar languages for intimate(亲密的)songs.

　　Another important family context is the automobile，where families learn songs and sing together on weekends and vacations.This is not as surprising as it appears，for the family car has become one of the basic centres of family experience，and it is one of the important places where the families gather for an extended period of time without outside disturbance.The family used to have to choose between making their own music in the car and being force­fed by the radio，but the invention of automobile cassette recorders and eight­track playback machines allows a family to have more control over what they hear when they drive.

　　24．The music children first hear is important in ________．

　　A．shaping their likes and dislikes in music

　　B．learning language

C．developing their mind