单选题 When a New Yorker was hiking in Europe, his Swiss friends kept saying 'Listen to that!' But he didn't hear anything. His ears were accustomed to loud city noises and it was days before he was able to notice the sound of a bird. For most of us, silence has become a rare experience. There is background music in restaurants, bars, stores, rest rooms, elevators, and when you are waiting on the telephone. Russell Baker blames 'society's determination to entertain you whether you like it or not.'
People may say they yearn for quiet, but in practice they avoid it. They drive with the car radio turned up, switch on the television when they get home, and exercise while listening to music on headphones. The noise suggests that people have a spiritual problem. They can buy things in stores, but they do not have enough human contact. So they fill their lives with sound.
Sometimes the reason for the noise is primitive. Young men play their car stereos loudly in order to create a personal environment around them. Like animals, they are marking a territory to warn rivals away and to attract a mate.
It may also be true that the brain itself wants excitement just as the stomach insists on food. Unlike in the past, we now have modem technology to supply a constant flood of sounds. This seems extreme. Perhaps we would be better off if we sought periods of silence to provide balance.

单选题 What was the sound that the New Yorker could not hear? ______

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】 根据文章第一段第三句“His ears were accustomed to loud city noises and it was days before he was able to notice the sound of a bird.”可知，纽约人好几天后才能听到乌叫声，即他听不到鸟叫声，故选B。

单选题 Why can't city people hear very well? ______

单选题 Playing a car radio loudly suggests that the person ______.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】 根据文章第二段第三句“The noise suggests that people have a spiritual problem...”可知，那些噪音暗示了人们也许会有精神上的问题，所以把车载音乐开得很大声的人也许也会有这样的问题，故选D。