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 is 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 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】 B
【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。由文中第二段我们知道科学家们几年来一直研究噪音对人们及动物的影响。接下来，作者又说，噪音是一种污染，我们应该认真对待。选项A颠倒了因果顺序。选项C也不是科学家们的发现。选项D文章中没有涉及此项内容。选项B(因为他们意识到噪音也是一种污染)符合作者的写作意图，所以正确的答案为8。
单选题 What may happen if we cannot hear ourselves think?
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。If we don"t, we may have headaches, other aches and pains, or even worse mental problems所以正确答案为C。
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] 推理题。We cannot return to the "good old days" of peace and quiet(我们不能回到那些安静祥和的旧时光)，所以作者应该指的是以前没有现在这么吵闹。所以答案为B。
单选题 From the last sentence of the passage we can learn that ______.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[解析] 推理题。But we can reduce noise—we shout loudly enough about it很明显，作者在这里运用了修辞手法。选项A(只要我们采取积极的措施，我们就能控制噪音)符合作者意思，所以正确的答案为A。