We live in a noisy world. Young and old alike are troubled by sounds over which we may have little or no control: car and house alarms, motorcycles, loudspeakers, even movie previews.

We attend rock concerts, weddings, parties and sports events at which the music is so loud that you can hardly hear the person sitting next to you. At home, televisions, stereos and computer games are often turned up so loud that listeners cannot hear a doorbell or a telephone.

As if environmental noise were not enough, now we surround children with noisy toys and personal listening devices that can permanently damage their hearing. A series of studies conducted in 2002 indicated that even moderate (缓和的) background noise can interfere with how they learn language. In fact, children in classrooms on the noisy side of a school had lower reading scores than those whose classes were on the quiet side.

Noise-induced (噪音诱发的) hearing loss can come about in two ways: from a brief exposure to a very loud noise or from consistent exposure to moderate-level noise. Thus, there is much concern about the lasting effects of MP3 players that are turned up loud enough to block out surrounding sound, like street noise. An MP3 player at maximum volume produces about 105 decibels（分贝）— 100 times as severe as 85 decibels, where hearing damage begins.

So, before buying noise-making toys, parents would do well to listen to how loud they are. If the item comes with a volume control, monitor its use to make sure it is kept near the lowest level. Consider returning gifts that make loud noises, or disable the noise-making function. Children who play computer games and stereo equipment should be warned to keep the volume down. Most iPads have a control that allows parents to set a maximum volume.

Avoid taking children to loud action movies. If you do go and the sound seems deafening, ask the management to turn down the volume or insist on your money back.

The League for the Hard of Hearing urges parents to encourage participation in quiet activities, like reading, doing puzzles, making things with construction toys, playing educational computer games, drawing and painting, and visiting libraries and museums.

Noise And Children’s Hearing
Fact about noise	We live in a world of noise which   1.    people and is free of   2.   .
The  3.   that noise causes	We find it hard to hear others in a noisy   4.  .
Noisy toys and personal listening devices can permanently     5.   children’s hearing.
Two  6.  of noise-induced hearing loss	People are  7.  to loud noise for short time or to moderate-level noise for long time.
Advice for parents	They should pay attention to how   8.   the noise-making toys are and the returning gifts.
They shouldn’t   9.   their children to loud action movies.
They should encourage their children to  10.   in quiet activities.

 

The expression “down to earth” means being open and honest. It is easy to get on with some one who is down to earth. A down-to-earth person is the opposite of someone who acts important or proud.
Down-to-earth people could be important members of society. But they do not consider themselves to be better than others who are less important. A person who is filled with his own importance and pride is said to“ have his nose in the air”.
Americans use another expression that is similar in some ways to down to earth. The expression is“ both feet on the ground”. Someone with both feet on the ground is a person with a good understanding of reality. He may have dreams, but he does not allow them to have influence on his understanding of what is real.
The opposite kind of person is one who “has his head in the clouds”. Someone with his head in the clouds is a person whose mind is not on what is happening in real life. Such a person may be called a day-dreamer.
When we have both our feet on the ground, and when we are down to earth, we do not have our noses in the air. We act honestly and openly to others. Our lives are like the ground below us---solid and strong.
【小题1】A down-to-earth person could be _____.

A．social and proud	B．good and opposite
C．real and important	D．strong and changeable

【小题2】The expression “has one’s nose in the air” means ______.

A．扬眉吐气

B．目中无人

C．瞻前顾后

D．装模作样

【小题3】If you only consider your own importance, _____.

A．you’ll think you are better than others

B．your life will be like the solid and strong ground

C．you’ll be hated by down-to-earth people

D．your life will be filled with love.

【小题4】If you want to understand what is real in life, you have to ____.

A．get along with other people easily

B．learn from those who are down to earth

C．be a good dreamer with quick mind

D．have your head in the clouds.

【小题5】This passage mainly talks about ______.

A．the use of some expressions

B．dreams and achievements

C．the lifestyle of honest people

D．honest and understanding

There is no doubt that mothers play an important leading role in the lives of their children. But what about a father's role? I believe that fathers play just as important a role as mothers.

Fathers give us support. They are the shore（岸）we swim to when our arms and legs feel increasingly tired. They are the strength we rely on （依靠）as we take our first steps into the world. Fathers can be gentle and powerful, but they probably have the simplest love we ever know.

_______, the father is their first hero and possibly the only man they will ever feel comfortable loving.

For daughters, the father is the first man they admire and the first man whose eyes shine with happiness when they look at them. He is the first man to fall in love with them.

For mothers, the father of our children is the person we can believe in to watch over the babies as closely as we would. We are protectedin the knowledge of their love. A father is the person on the planet with whom we can do whatever we want ... one who will be just as interested and never feel bored in the face of our devotion.

Without fathers, we wouldn't be mums. I would like to thank them from all our hearts for this honor and for being our partners in the business of raising children.

1.From the passage, we can know the writer is a_______.

A．father            B．mother           C．son              D．daughter

2.Which of the following can be put on the line in the third paragraph?

A．For parents.       B．For families.        C．For others.        D．For sons.

3.According to the passage, we can know that__________ .

A．fathers' love is different from mothers'

B．fathers are always simple and strong

C．fathers can look after their babies better

D．fathers are more important than mothers

4.The best title for the passage is_______.

A．Father, I love you                       B．Fathers are our heroes

C．The importance of fathers                 D．Fathers and mothers

 

When something goes wrong，it can be very satisfying to say，“Well, it’s so-and-so’s mistake.”or “I know I’m late，but it’s not my mistake；the car broke down.”It is probably not your mistake，but once you form the habit of blaming somebody or something else for a bad situation，you are a loser You have no power and could do nothing that helps change the situation. However, you can have great power over what happens to you if you stop focusing on whom to blame and start focusing on how to remedy the situation. This is the winner’s key to success.
　Winners are good at dealing with problems. For example, if you were late because your car broke down, maybe you need to have your car checked more regularly. Or, you might start to carry the useful phone numbers with you, so you could call for help when in need. For another example, if your colleague(同事) causes you problems on the job for lack of responsibility or ability, find ways of dealing with his irresponsibility or inability rather than simply blame the person. Ask to work with a different person, or don’t depend on the person. You should accept that the person is not reliable and find creative ways to work successfully regardless of how your colleague fails to do his job well.
　　This is what being a winner is all about-creatively using your skills and talents so that you are successful no matter what happens. Winners don’t have fewer problems in their lives; they have just as many difficult situations to face as anybody else. They are just better at seeing those problems as challenges and opportunities to develop their own talents. So, stop focusing on “whose mistake it is.” Once you are confident about your power over bad situations, problems are just stepping stop on for success.
【小题1】According to the passage, winners___________ .
A. have responsible and able colleagues
B. meet with fewer difficulties in their lives
C deal with problems instead of blaming others.
D. blame themselves instead of others
【小题2】The underlined word remedy in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to__________ .

A．避免

B．接受

C．改善

D．考虑

【小题3】When your colleague brings about a problem, you should______________.

A．find a better way to deal with the problem

B．blame him for his lack of responsibility

C．tell him to find the cause of the problem

D．ask a more able colleague for help.

【小题4】Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

A．A Winner’s Secret.	B．A Winner’s Problem.
C．A Winner’s Opportunity.	D．A Winner’s Achievement.

When people find something valuable and return it to its owner, they are often given a reward. This is because the person not only found what was lost but also spent time   46  its owner or taking it to the police station.
There was once a young boy   47  found a woman’s purse in a shopping centre. Inside the purse there   48  some money and the woman’s driving license. Her name and   49  were printed on the license, so the boy knew where she lived. That evening he went to her house and   50  her door. When she opened it, he said, “ I found your purse,” and handed it to her.
“Thank you very much,” she said. She opened her purse and took out all the money. She wanted to give the boy a small reward,   51  there were only bills of ＄20 in the purse and she thought that $ 20 was too   52  to give the boy. “ I’m sorry,” she said, “ but I don’t have any small    53  to give you.”
The boy said, “That’s all right,” and he went away.
A few days later he found   54  woman’s purse. It also had her driving license in it, so he knew where she lived. He went to her house and said “ I found your purse,” and handed it to her.
“Thank you very much, “ she said. She opened her purse and took out all her money.
“That’s   55   ” , she said, “ Before I lost my purse I had a $100 bill and a $20 bill in it. Now I have a $100 bill, a $10 bill and two $5 bills.”
“Yes,” the boy said, and smiled.
【小题1】A. to find                           B. finding                        C. find
【小题2】 A. who                                B. whose                        C. which
【小题3】A. is                              B. were                            C. was
【小题4】A. e-mail                              B. address                       C.age
【小题5】A.cut down                               B. knocked on                  C. broke into
【小题6】A. so                             B. but                                 C. or
【小题7】A. little                                 B. few                             C. much
【小题8】A. change                                B. menu                              C. purse
【小题9】A .another                                B. the other                         C. other
【小题10】A interesting                            B. exciting                              C. strange