单选题
Nobody can be really free from the sound. Whether we live in the middle of a modem city or a faraway village, we are surrounded by sound every day such as the sounds from television and radio, household appliances, and traffic. Sound makes up a part of our life. In fact, most of us can not bear total silence. Sound gives us a sense of safety and brings us joy. Scientific tests have also proved that total silence is a very frightening experience for human beings. A recent report shows that people feel quite lonely without background sound while they are working. The background sound which doesn't change too much may even help people to concentrate. However, sometimes, sound is not helpful and joyful in people's life. Normally, we hear these sounds at safe levels that do not affect our hearing. However, when we are exposed to harmful noise--the sounds that are too loud or loud sounds that last a long time, sensitive structures in our inner ear can be damaged, causing hearing loss. Besides, unpleasant sounds, particularly sudden and uneven ones, may cause fear and anger. Noise is a source of stress, which can lead to tiredness, irritability and headaches. Noise can also raise blood pressure, putting strain on the heart. People living in homes exposed to high levels of road-traffic noise were more likely to report having hypertension, according to a study in Environmental Health. The researchers estimate the noise levels for the addresses of more than 24,000 Swedish. They found that people exposed to an average traffic-noise level above 64 decibels ( slightly louder than a normal conversation) were 52 % more likely than people exposed to 45 decibels of road noise to report having high blood pressure, a key risk factor for heart disease, after removing age, socioeconomic status, and other variables. Noise exposure could cause hypertension by persistently elevating the body's level of stress" hormones. Now we know that noise is harmful to our health, but can we get used to the excessive noise? The answer is NO. If, after long exposure to excessive noise, we stop hearing it -- because we have become deaf!
单选题
From the first and second paragraphs we learn that
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】[命题目的] 此题考查考生对文章细节的理解能力。 [解题要点] 文章首段提出没有人能真正远离声音，声音是我们生活中必不可少的，A项符合文意，为正确答案；B项绝对的安静是小存在的，文章中没有提及，故不选；根据第二段最后一句“The background sound which doesn't change too much may even help people to concentrate.”可知，平缓的背景声音有助于人们集巾精力，故C项错误。根据第二段倒数第二句“A recent report shows that people feel quite lonely without background sound while they are working.”可知，人们工作时，如果没有背景声音，就会感到非常孤独，故D项错误。故正确答案为A选项。
单选题
Which of the following is not caused by noise according to the passage?
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[命题目的] 此题考查考生对文章细节的理解能力。 [解题要点] 根据第三段第三句“However, when we are exposed to harmful noise…causing hearing loss”可知，声音音量太大或者音量大的声音持续过久，我们耳内的敏感组织会受到损害，故排除D项；根据第四段第二句“Noise is a source of stress, which can lead to tiredness, irritability and headaches.”可知，噪音是压力的来源，它可以引起疲倦、易怒和头疼，故排除A和B项，文章没有提到噪音会引发精神病，所以C项为正确答案。
单选题
The text implies that
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】[命题目的] 此题考查考生对文章细节的推断能力。 [解题要点] 文章前两段说声音是我们生活中必不可少的以及声音的种种好处。后几段说声音，主要是噪音对健康的种种影响。由此可推知，选项A正确。根据第四段第三句“Noise can also raise blood pressure, putting strain on the heart.”可见噪音会引起高血压，而和低血压没有关系，故B项错误。根据原文第三段第三句“However…the sounds that are too loud…”可知，音量太高的音乐或者持续太久的高音会影响我们的听力，文中没有涉及流行音乐会影响听力。根据常识，流行音乐如果控制好音量的话，肯定也不会影响听力，故C项错误。由第二段最后一句“The background sound…concentrate.”可知，平缓的背景声音能帮助人们集中精力，但是背景音乐文中没有涉及，如果背景音乐音量太大，即便再悦耳，也是影响人们工作的。D项错误。故正确答案为A选项。
单选题
What can be inferred from the fourth paragraph?
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】[命题目的] 此题考查考生对文章细节的推断能力。 [解题要点] 由第四段第四句“People…high levels of road-traffic noise…hypertension…”可知，在道路交通噪音较大的房屋中居住的人患hypertension的可能性更大。由本段第六句“They found…above 64 decibels…having high blood pressure…”可知，身处平均噪音水平64分贝(交通噪音较大)以上的人群患high blood pressure的可能性比身处道路噪肯45分贝中的人群高。由此可推知，hypertension和high blood pressure意思一样。故D项正确。根据第叫段第六句“They found that people exposed to an average traffic-noise level above 64 decibels (slightly louder than a normal conversation)…”可知，64分贝的音量只是比正常谈话稍微高一点，A项提到64分贝是人类难以忍受的，不符合文意；根据该句中“…having high blood pressure, a key risk factor for heart disease…”可知，高血压才是心脏病的一个主要风险因素，故B项不埘；该句当中只是用64分贝和45分贝时人的影响做对比，并没有叫确表示两者哪一个是正常分贝，C项过于牵强，故正确答案为D项。