单选题 The sense of sound is one of our most important means of knowing what is going on around us. Sound has a waste product, too, in the form of noise. Noise has been called unwanted sound. Noise is growing and it may get much worse before it gets any better.
Scientists, for several years, have been studying how noise affects people and animals. They are surprised by what they have learned. Peace and quiet are becoming harder to find. Noise pollution is a threat that should be looked at carefully.
There is a saying that it is so noisy that you can"t hear yourself think. Doctors who study noise believe that we must sometimes hear ourselves think. If we don"t, we may have headaches, other aches and pains, or even worse mental problems.
Noise adds more tension (紧张) to a society that already faces enough stress.
But noise is not a new problem. In ancient Rome, people complained so much about noise that the government stopped chariots (四轮马车) from moving through the streets at night!
Ways of making less noise are now being tested. There are even laws controlling noise. We cannot return to the "good old days" of peace and quiet. But we can reduce noise—if we shout loudly enough about it.

单选题 Why are scientists surprised by the findings in their noise study? ______

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[解析] 本文是说明文，作者主要介绍了目前严重困扰大众生活的一种污染——噪声。科学家的研究发现噪声已经成为不可小视的威胁。本文介绍了噪声对人类的危害以及解决这种危害的必要性。文章指出噪声给社会增加了紧张，也提到了古罗马人控制噪音的例子，并说明人们现在正在试验减少噪声的方法。
根据文章第二段的第二三句话“They are surprised by what they have learned. Peace and quiet are becoming harder to find. (对于自己的发现他们感到震惊，安静越来越难以找到。)”得出结果“让那些科学家吃惊的是想在这个世界寻找安静越来越困难”，等同于选项A的含义：这个世界变得越来越嘈杂。而选项B含义为：科学家已经得知噪声是一种污染。选项C的含义为：噪声是人类不需要的废物。选项D的含义为：人们以前不知道噪声的危害。以上都不是让科学家吃惊的原因。故选择A。

单选题 What may happen if we cannot hear ourselves think? ______

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[解析] 根据文章第三段得出。噪声使人们不能正常的思考，并会造成头疼等精神疾病。“mental problem”指的就是“mind may be harmed”故答案选择C。而A，B，D中所描述的后果不是人类不能倾听自己的思维而造成的。

单选题 When the writer says we cannot return to the good old days, he means that ______.

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】[解析] 该题的考点是确定句子的含义。作者认为我们不能回到过去那种(安静)的好日子，根据这句话的含义，可分析并推断该原因是现代社会很难得到安静。所以选择B项。而A含义为：我们的社会越来越糟糕。C含义为：过去的时光比现在快乐。D含义为：我们不可能像过去一样的去解决噪声问题。这些文章中都没有提及。

单选题 From the last sentence of the passage we can learn that ______.

A、 we can put noise under control if we take effective measures
B、 sometimes we have to shout loudly so that others can hear us
C、 shouting is a chief cause of noise pollution nowadays
D、 it is important to warn people of the danger of noise pollution

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】[解析] 本题要求考生理解文章的最后一句话，故答案应该从这个句子来分析：“But we can reduce noise—if we shout loudly enough about it. ”该句中的“shout”是关键词，它不是指大叫而是指噪声的危害性。故答案为D。A项文章中没有提及，而B，C是对于“shout”的字面理解，并没有把它和上下文联系到一起理解。

单选题 Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A、 Only recently did people realize the harmful effect of noise.
B、 Noise pollution is the worst kind of pollution we suffer from.
C、 People are now trying to find ways to make noise as low as possible.
D、 The writer thinks that it is almost impossible for people to avoid noise.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[解析] 该题要求判断四个选项哪个是正确的。选项A可以在第四段得知，自从古罗马，人们就已经知道噪声是有危险的污染，所以排除A。选项B的含义为：噪声是人类遭受到的最严重的污染，而文章中没有这样说明。选项D说明人类无法解决噪声污染问题与最后一段前两句“Ways of making less noise are now being tested. There are even laws controlling noise. ”含义不符合。同样从这句话可以得知人类正在努力寻找解决噪声的方法，故与选项C符合。