Now Hear This
What do former American president Bill Clinton and rock musician Pete Townshend have in common? Both men have hearing damage from exposure to loud music, and both now wear hearing aids as a consequence. As a teenager, Clinton played saxophone in a band. Townshend, who has the more severe hearing loss, was a guitarist for a band called the Who. He is one of the first rock musicians to call the public's attention to the problem of hearing loss from exposure to loud music.
Temporary hearing loss can happen after only 15 minutes of listening to loud music. One early warning sign is when your ears begin to feel warm while you listen to music at a rock concert or through headphones. One later is that an unusual sound or a ringing is sometimes produced in your head after the concert.
"What happens is that the hair cells in the inner ear are damaged, but they're not dead," says a physician and ear specialist Dr. Sam Levine. According to Dr. Levine, if you avoid further exposure to loud noise, it's possible to recondition the cells somewhat. However, he adds, "Eventually, over a long period of time, hair cells are permanently damaged." And this is no small problem.
What sound level is dangerous? According to Dr. Levine, regular exposure to noise above 85 decibels (分贝) is considered dangerous. The chart below offers a comparison of decibel levels to certain sounds. Here's another measurement you can use. If you're at a rock concert and the music is so loud that you have to shout to make yourself heard, you' re at risk for hearing loss. That's when wearing protective devices such as earplugs becomes critical.
The facts are pretty frightening. But are rock bands turning down the volume? Most aren't. "Rock music is supposed to be loud," says drummer Andrew Sather. "I wouldn't have it any other way. And neither would the real fans of rock. "
Continued exposure to loud music and the failure to wear earplugs can lead to deafness, according to Dr. Levine. He states, "There's no cure for hearing loss. Your ears are trying to tell you something. That ringing is the scream of your hair cells dying. Each time that happens, more and more damage is done. "
| Levels of Common Noises Normal conversation 50 — 65 dB Food blender 88 dB Jet plane flying above a person standing outside 103 dB Rock band during a concert 110 — 140 dB |
From Paragraph 1, we can learn that .
| A．loud music is a major cause of hearing loss |
| B．famous people tend to have hearing problems |
| C．teenagers should stay away from school bands |
| D．the problem of hearing damage is widely known |
In Paragraph 3, the underlined word "recondition" means .
| A．not to be seen |
| B．to fill with sound |
| C．to become larger in size |
| D．to make good again |
The purpose of the chart at the end of the article is to show .
| A．a list of harmful sounds |
| B．the effect of rock concerts |
| C．the noise levels of familiar sounds |
| D．relationship between daily activities and hearing loss |
Which of the following statements will Dr. Sam Levine probably agree?
| A．When your ears feel warm, your hair cells are dead. |
| B．Drummer Andrew Sather gives good advice. |
| C．Many are taking the risk of losing hearing. |
| D．Doctors know how to cure hearing loss. |
“Where is Papa going with that ax (斧子)?” said Fern to her mother as they were setting the table for breakfast.
“Out to the hoghouse,” replied Mrs. Arable. “Some pigs were born last night.”
“I don’t see why he needs an ax,” continued Fern, who was only eight.
“Well,” said her mother, “one of the pigs is a runt (发育不良的小动物). It’s very small and weak. So your father has decided to do away with it.”
“Do away with it?” shouted Fern. “You mean kill it?”
“Don’t shout, Fern!” she said. “Your father is right. The pig would probably die anyway.”
Fern pushed a chair out of the way and ran outdoors. The grass was wet and the earth smelled springtime. Fern’s shoes were wetting by the time she caught up with her father.
“Please don’t kill it! It’s unfair,” she said.
Mr. Arable stopped.
“Fern,” he said gently, “you will have to learn to control yourself.”
“This is a matter of life and death, and you talk about controlling myself.” Tears ran down her cheeks and she took hold of the ax and tried to pull it out of her father’s hand.
“Fern,” said Mr. Arable, “I know more about raising a group of pigs than you do. A weak pig makes trouble.”
“But it’s unfair,” cried Fern. “The pig couldn’t help being born small. If I had been very small at birth, would you have killed me?”
Mr. Arable smiled. “Certainly not,” he said, looking down at his daughter with love. “But this is different. It’s a pig.”
“There is no difference,” replied Fern. What puzzled Fern at the beginning?
| A．Why her father refused to eat breakfast. | B．If the hoghouse was big enough for many pigs. |
| C．How pigs were born at night. | D．What his father would do with an ax. |
Why couldn’t Fern control herself?
| A．Because she was afraid of killing a pig. | B．Because the pig was treated unfairly. |
| C．Because she loved pet pigs very much. | D．Because her father was rude to her. |
According to the passage, Fern’s father thought that ______.
| A．it was natural for pigs to be born small | B．he couldn’t afford to have so many pigs |
| C．a weak pig needed more attention | D．he was troubled by raising a weak pig |
It can be inferred from the passage that Fern was _________.
| A．kind-hearted | B．brave | C．shy | D．patient |
Narasimha Das is on his way to feed 169,379 hungry children. Das is in charge of a kitchen in Vrindaban. The town is about a three-hour drive from India’s capital, New Delhi. Das gets to work at 3:00 a.m. Thirty workers are already working to make tens of thousands of rounds of bread. It will be brought to 1,516 schools in and around Vrindaban.
A Growing Problem
Going to school is difficult for more than 13 million children in India. They must go to work instead, or go hungry. That’s why India began the Mid-Day Meal Scheme, the largest school-lunch program in the world. A free lunch encourages children to come to school and gives them the energy they need for learning. The program began in the 1960s.
The kitchen in Vrindaban is run by the Akshaya Patra Foundation. It is one of the lunch program’s biggest partners. “Just $11.50 can feed one child for an entire year,” said Madhu Sridhar, president of the Akshaya Patra Foundation.
Lunch Is Served!
The Akshaya Patra food truck arrives at Gopalgarh Primary School. Since the program started, the number of underweight children has gone down. The children get foods they need — as long as they finish what’s on their plates.The kitchen in Vrindaban supplies food to _____.
| A．the poor | B．the old |
| C．college students | D．school children |
Why is it difficult for children to go to school in India?
| A．Because there are not enough teachers. |
| B．Because there are not enough schools. |
| C．Because they have to work to make money. |
| D．Because their parents refuse to send them to school. |
Which of the following about the Mid-Day Meal Scheme is NOT true?
| A．It is run by Narasimha Das. |
| B．It has been carried out for about 50 years. |
| C．It is to encourage children to go to school. |
| D．It is the largest school-lunch program in the world. |
Justin Bieber used to be an ordinary Canadian boy, but his life totally changed in 2008. With his great musical talent, this seventeen-year-old boy has become a superstar in the music industry.
Justin Drew Bieber was born in 1994 in Stratford, Ontario and was raised by his single mother. Bieber learned to play musical instruments when he was very young. In 2007, he took part in a local singing competition in his hometown, and he did it just for fun. He never took singing lessons before but surprisingly he placed second in the competition. Then, with the help of his mother, he uploaded (上传) videos of him singing on a website and they successfully attracted the attention of thousands of viewers. His videos got popular through word of mouth and some of them have received up to 10,000,000 views.
Justin Bieber would have never gotten a career in the music business without his videos. Scooter Braun, a former marketing executive (主管) of So So Def Recordings, had watched Bieber’s videos and he was impressed by the boy’s talent. Braun then contacted Bieber and he flew the boy into Atlanta seven months after the first video was posted. Bieber showed his talent in singing as well as his ability in playing musical instruments. He then got a record deal.
In 2009, Justin Bieber released (发行) his first single “One Time” while he was recording the debut album (首张专辑). The single “One Time” tells a story about love. This song had success not only in Canada and the US, but also in the international market. Then he released his debut album “My World 2.0” in 2010 and the song “Baby” became the lead single. This album successfully entered the Top Ten Charts in seven countries. In June 2010, he started his first world tour in Hartford, Connecticut. One month later, he started recording his second album.Justin Bieber’s career in music began to take off when _____.
| A．he met with Scooter Braun |
| B．he released his debut album |
| C．he won second place in a competition |
| D．his singing videos were uploaded to a website |
It can be inferred from the text that Justin Bieber _____.
| A．owed his success to good luck |
| B．showed a gift for music when he was young |
| C．is the youngest superstar ever in the music industry |
| D．released his debut album with the help of Scooter Braun |
What do we learn about Justin Bieber’s “One Time” according to the text?
| A．It is about love and was released in 2010. |
| B．It attracted the world’s attention after released. |
| C．It successfully entered the Top Ten Charts in seven countries. |
| D．It is the lead single of his debut album “My World 2.0”. |
What is the best title for the text?
| A．Justin Bieber’s journey to success |
| B．Lucky boy — Justin Bieber |
| C．What made Justin Bieber a singer? |
| D．Secrets of Justin Bieber’s success |
Parents and kids today dress alike, listen to the same music, and are friends. Is this a good thing? Sometimes, when Mr. Ballmer and his 16-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, listen to rock music together and talk about interests they both enjoy, such as pop culture, he remembers his more distant relationship with his parents when he was a teenager.
“I would never have said to my mom, ‘Hey, the new Weezer album is really great. How do you like it?’” says Ballmer. “There was just a complete gap in taste.”
Music was not the only gulf. From clothing and hairstyles to activities and expectations, earlier generations of parents and children often appeared to move in separate orbits.
Today, the generation gap has not disappeared, but it is getting narrow in many families. Conversations on subjects such as sex and drugs would not have taken place a generation ago. Now they are comfortable and common. And parent—child activities, from shopping to sports, involve a feeling of trust and friendship that can continue into adulthood.
No wonder greeting cards today carry the message, “To my mother, my best friend.”
But family experts warn that the new equality can also result in less respect for parents. “There’s still a lot of strictness and authority on the part of parents out there, but there is a change happening,” says Kerrie, a psychology professor at Lebanon Valley College. “In the middle of that change, there is a lot of confusion among parents.”
Family researchers offer a variety of reasons for these evolving roles and attitudes. They see the 1960s as a turning point. Great cultural changes led to more open communication and a more democratic(民主的) process that encourages everyone to have a say.
“My parents were on the ‘before’ side of that change, but today’s parents, the 40-year-olds, were on the ‘after’ side,” explains Mr. Ballmer. “It’s not something easily done by parents these days, because life is more difficult to understand or deal with, but sharing interests does make it more fun to be a parent now.”The underlined word gulf in Para.3 most probably means _________.
| A．interest | B．distance | C．difference | D．separation |
Which of the following shows that the generation gap is disappearing?
| A．Parents help their children develop interests in more activities. |
| B．Parents put more trust in their children’s abilities. |
| C．Parents and children talk more about sex and drugs. |
| D．Parents share more interests with their children. |
The change in today’s parent-child relationship is _________.
| A．more confusion among parents |
| B．new equality between parents and children |
| C．1ess respect for parents from children |
| D．more strictness and authority on the part of parents |
By saying “today’s parents, the 40-year-olds, were on the ‘after’ side.” the author means that today’s parents _________.
| A．follow the change |
| B．can set a limit to the change |
| C．fail to take the change seriously |
| D．have much difficulty changing their ideas |
When I was a child, I often dreamed of the time when I could leave home and escape to the city. We lived on a farm, in the winter especially, we were quite cut off from the outside world. As soon as I left school, I packed my bags and moved to the capital. However, I soon discovered that my life has its _______ too.
One big disadvantage is money. It costs so much to go out, not to mention basics like food and housing. Another disadvantage is pollution. I suffer from asthma(哮喘), and the air is so that I am afraid to go outside. Then there is the problem of traveling round. Although I have a car, I seldom use it because of the traffic jams. One choice is to go by bicycle, but that can be quite dangerous.
Of course there are advantages. First, there is so much to do in the city, whatever your tastes in culture or entertainment(娱乐活动). Besides, there are wonderful jobs and greater chances of moving to a more important job or position. Finally, if you like shopping, the variety of goods is very surprising --- and , what is more, shops are often only a short walk away.
Is life better then, in the city? Perhaps it is , when you are in your teens(十几岁)or twenties. However, as you get older, and especially if you have small children, the peace of the countryside may seem preferable. I certainly hope to move back there soon.Which of the following words can be put into the blank in the first paragraph?
| A．dangers | B．adventures | C．problems | D．fun |
What was the writer always thinking about when he was a child?
| A．Staying on the farm. | B．Moving to the countryside. |
| C．Leaving home for the city. | D．Running away from the school. |
Which of the following is true about the writer?
| A．He is very old now. | B．He is in good health. |
| C．He prefers driving a car. | D．He lives in the city now. |
In the passage, the writer tries to __________.
| A．express his opinions about way of life | B．describe his life in the countryside |
| C．an interest in the outside world | D．persuade the reader to live in the city |
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