If using your voice is difficult, then you know what dysphonia is. The more common name for this disorder is hoarseness. Experts say about one in three people will become hoarse at some point in their lives. Infections, smoking and using your voice too much, too loudly or just incorrectly can all cause hoarseness. It happens more commonly in women, children, the elderly and those who use their voice a lot in their jobs. Experts say hoarseness costs several billion dollars a year in lost productivity from people missing work. Now, doctors have the first treatment guidelines from the American Academy of Otolaryngology -Head and Neck Surgery Foundation. The new guidelines recognize that most eases are not serious and go away within a few days. But hoarseness can also be a sign of something worse. Doctor Richard Rosenfeld helped develop the guidelines. He calls for attention to the fact that hoarseness is not just a symptom. It occurs as a result of something underlying which can be potentially serious. "If you have hoarseness with tobacco or alcohol use, that would be a significant risk factor for cancer or other problems of the throat that could be serious. If you have any sort of a mass or growth in your neck at the same time, that would be very suspicious. The same is true if hoarseness begins after an accident, or injury. Or if you are also losing weight for no reason. Or if you are trying to rest your voice but it keeps getting worse. "he says. If hoarseness continues or the cause is unknown, doctors should perform an examination called a laryngoscopy. This is done in the doctor's office to look down the throat at the voice box and vocal chords. The guidelines urge doctors not to use other imaging methods like CT or MRI scans until they have done this. The guidelines also suggest ways to avoid getting hoarse. Drink lots of water. Avoid tobacco smoke and other irritants. And for people who use their voices a lot, like singers or professional speakers, get voice training and use an amplifier.
单选题
Which is not the cause of hoarseness?
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】文章第一段第四句“Infections, smoking and using your voice too much, too loudly or just incorrectly can all cause hoarseness.”讲明了喉咙嘶哑的一般原因，其中B项中的“drinking”后文中有提到；而接下来的一句“It happens more commonly in women, children, the elderly and those who use their voice a lot in thei rjobs.”则交代的是易得喉咙嘶哑症的有哪几类人，并没有明确说明A项所说为导致喉咙嘶哑的原因之一。故不属于原因的选A。
单选题
What is the main point of the first treatment guidelines from the American Academy of Otolaryngology- Head and Neck Surgery Foundation?
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】从第二段第二句“The new guidelines recognize that most cases are not serious and go away within a few days. But hoarseness can also be a sign of something worse.”可以得出B、D两项不论本身说法对错，都不属于题目所问“the first treatment guidelines”的内容范畴，所以可以先排除；A、C两项的观点都是正确的，但题目问的是“main point”，所以权衡下来应该选C。
单选题
Which is not a suspicious syndrome that implied your hoarseness could be serious?
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】文章第二段最后几句“If you have any sort of a mass or growth in your neck at the same time, that would be very suspicious. The same is true if hoarseness begins after an accident or injury. Or if you are also losing weight for no reason. Or if you are trying to rest your voice but it keeps getting worse.”描述了几种情况来说明如果喉咙嘶哑时伴有这样一些症状，你的身体则可能存在潜在的危险。根据文意我们可以得出C项的“gaining weight”有误，应该是“losingweight”才对。故不是可疑症状的应该选C。
单选题
What is the best explanation of the word "laryngoscopy" in the third paragraph?
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】从文章最后一段开头“……doctors should perform an examination called a laryngoscopy. This is done in the doctor's office to look down the throat at the voice box and vocal chords.”两句中可以知道这个单词的意思肯定是跟喉咙有关的一种检查，先排除B项“一种治疗方案”；而文章后面一句“The guidelines urge doctors not to use other imaging methods like CT or MRI scans until they have done this.”，作者说这个指导意见鼓励医生先用“laryngoscopy(喉镜检查)”再用“CT or MRI scans”，所以它们不是相同的检查方式，排除A；C项所说文中并没有提及，所以只有D项是文中出现的最好的解释了。
单选题
For avoiding getting hoarse, the guidelines suggest the singers or professional speakers
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】从文章最后几句“The guidelines also suggest ways to avoid getting hoarse. Drink lots of water. Avoid tobacco smoke and other irritants. And for people who use their voices a lot, like singers or professional speakers, get voice training and use an amplifier.”中可以首先排除没有提到的D项；其他几项都有提及，但仔细看这段话会发现A、C两项的内容是针对一般人提出的预防建议，只有B项才是对题目中歌手和职业演讲者所提的建议之一。故选B。