About 16 million
people in the United States have lost some of their hearing. About two million
others are extremely or completely deaf. They cannot hear speech or most other
sounds in their everyday life, even with a hearing aid to make sounds
louder. There are several kinds of hearing loss. The first kind
results from disease or injury to the outer or middle part of the ear. The
damage prevents sound waves from reaching the inner ear. Usually, this form of
hearing loss is not extreme. And a hearing aid or medical treatment can often
restore hearing. A second kind of hearing loss involves the nerves (神经). It is
caused by damage to the inner ear. A loud noise or disease may destroy some of
the tiny nerve cells that carry sound. People suffering this kind of damage may
lose the ability to hear some sounds, high or low. The third kind of deafness is
called a central hearing loss. It is caused by damage to the hearing nerves
leading to the brain or in the brain itself. Deafness is the
most common bodily disability (残疾) in America. Often nothing can be done to stop
it. But many cases can be prevented. One simple thing is responsible for most
hearing loss. That one thing is noise. Telephone bells, loud
music, machines. In industrial countries, especially, these things
make the world very noisy. Studies have shown that old men in quiet African
villages have much better hearing than young people in America. Other sources of
deafness. include accidents, drugs and illnesses.
单选题
What kind of hearing loss mentioned in the passage is the most
serious?
A. The first kind.
B. The second kind.
C. The third kind.
D. None.
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] (见第2段)
丧失了听力，对于一个人来说，就是有了残疾(disability)。无论哪种形式的失聪，都是严重的(serious)。题目要求在A)、B)、C)三个选项中择出最严重的一种(the most serious)。选择时需要将三种进行比较。
the first kind(见5—8行)并非完全丧失听力，而且适当的助听器或药物治疗有可能帮助恢复听力。
the second kind(见8—2行)仅仅使患者丧失了对某些声音的听觉能力。
但the third kind(见12—14行)是中枢听觉能力的丧失。是因大脑听觉神经遭到破坏而引起的。这种失聪应该是最严重的，故C)项应为答案。
D)none可能有人认为这三种情况都不够严重而选择D)项为答案。注意：题目里有一个定语“mentioned in the passage”限定了讨论问题的范围是本文提到过的。
单选题
Hearing loss caused by damage to ______ can often be restored.
A. the outer ear
B. the inner ear
C. the nerves
D. the brain
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】[解析] (见5—8行)
单选题
Which of the following is NOT a source of deafness?