Millions of youngsters across Europe could suffer permanent hearing loss if they listen to MP3 players at too high a volume for more than five hours a week, EU scientists warned Monday.
The scientists’ study, requested by the European Commission, argued against the concept of “leisure noise,” saying children and teenagers should be protected from increasingly high sound levels. “There has been increasing concern about exposure from the new generation of personal music players which can reproduce sounds at very high volumes without loss of quality,” the Commission, the EU’s executive department, said in a statement.
Risk for hearing damage depends on sound level and exposure time. However, more and more young people have been exposed to the significant threat that leisure noise posed(造成) to hearing in the past decade. Commission experts estimate that between 50 and 100 million people listen to portable (便携式的) music players on a daily basis. If they listened for only five hours a week at more than 89 decibels (分贝), they would already go beyond EU limits for noise allowed in the workplace, they said. But if they listened for longer periods, they would risk permanent hearing loss after five years.
The scientists calculated the number of people in that risk category at between 5 and 10 percent of listeners, meaning up to 10 million people in the European Union. Sales of personal music players have increased in EU countries in recent years, particularly of MP3 players. Commission experts estimate unit sales between 184 and 246 million for all portable audio devices just over the last four years, of which MP3 players range between 124 and 165 million.
Loud mobile phones also came under fire. “I am concerned that so many young people who are frequent users of personal music players and mobile phones at high volume levels, may be unknowingly damaging their hearing,” said Meglena Kuneva, the EU’s consumer affairs official in her statement.
1. What could cause hearing damage according to the text?| A．Increasing concern about personal music players. |
| B．The sales of all portable audio devices. |
| C．Sounds at very high volumes from music players. |
| D．The use of mobile phones of poor quality. |
| A．Ban the use of portable music players. |
| B．Reduce the number of young users. |
| C．Never use personal music players in the workplace. |
| D．Use music players by the limit of time and volume. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Negative. | C．Favorable. | D．Indifferent. |
| A．Turn Your MP3 Players Down! |
| B．No More Sales, No More Threat! |
| C．Enjoy Music, Enjoy Life! |
| D．Fill in Your Leisure Time with Entertainment! |
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【推荐1】When John was growing up, other kids felt sorry for him. His parents always had him weeding the garden, carrying out the garbage and delivering newspapers. But when John reached adulthood, he was better off than his childhood playmates. He had more job satisfaction, a better marriage and was healthier. Most of all, he was happier, far happier.
These are the findings of a 40-year study that followed the lives of 456 teenage boys from Boston. The study showed that those who had worked as boys enjoyed happier and more productive lives than those who had not. “Boys who worked in the home or community gained competence and came to feel they were worthwhile members of society,” said George Vaillant, the psychologist who made the discovery. “And because they felt good about themselves, others felt good about them.”
Vaillant’s study followed these males in great detail. Interviews were repeated at ages 25, 31 and 47. Under Vaillant, the researchers compared the men’s mental-health scores with their boyhood-activity scores. Points were awarded for part-time jobs, housework, effort in school, and ability to deal with problems.
The link between what the men had done as boys and how they turned out as adults was surprisingly manifest. Those who had done the most boyhood activities were twice as likely to have warm relations with a wide variety of people, five times as likely to be well paid and 16 times less likely to have been unemployed. The researchers also found that IQ and family social and economic class made no real difference in how the boys turned out. Working — at any age — is important. As Tolstoy once said, “One can live magnificently in this world if one knows how to work and how to love, to work for the person one loves and to love one’s work.”
1. What do we know about John?| A．He enjoyed his career and marriage. | B．He had few childhood playmates. |
| C．He received little love from his family. | D．He was envied by others in his childhood. |
| A．a description of personal values and social values |
| B．an analysis of how work was related to competence |
| C．an example for parents’ expectations of their children |
| D．an explanation why some boys grew into happy men |
| A．recording the boys’ effort in school | B．evaluating the men’s mental health |
| C．comparing different sets of scores | D．measuring the men’s problem solving ability |
| A．Common but abstract. | B．Normal but annoying. |
| C．Clear and definite. | D．Sudden and rapid. |
【推荐2】Understanding where you fall in the American economic class system isn't as simple as pulling out a calculator or looking at a pay stub（存根）. Numerous forces shape individuals' economic class and their views on where they rank alongside other Americans. When asked how they identify their social class, 72% of Americans said they belonged to the middle or working classes, according to a 2020 survey from Gallup.
One objective way some researchers divide individuals into economic classes is by looking at their income. From that data, they split earners into different classes such as poor, lower-middle class, middle class, upper-middle class and wealthy. The income cutoffs that divide those income ranges can change from year to year and between methodologies, but here's a sense of where they stand, according to recent data. Another factor that individuals may use to determine class is educational attainment, with people who have postsecondary degrees linking their class placement to those degrees. Your location also has a major impact on how you feel you stack up class-wise. "Making $l20,00 per year is a lot different in small-town Indiana than it is in New York City," says Frank Newport, senior scientist at Gallup. Admittedly, larger economic trends may also impact how people view their class rank. In recent years, economic trends such as high rates of inflation, waves of employee resignations, struggling small businesses and other effects of the coronavirus pandemic have impacted how people view their class rank.
Unfortunately, recent class-related data, which is from 2019,don't take into consideration the economic damage caused by the pandemic, and we won't see the impact until 2022 or later. Whether you're considered middle class depends on more than just your income or the balance of your bank account. And where you fall in the American economic class system may not stay consistent throughout your life, or even from year to year, experts say. For example, a law student may earn a modest amount of $20,000 per year, currently placing her in the low-income class, but her educational attainment and future earnings will most likely push her income and class placement to a higher level down the road.
So where do you place in the American economic class system? You can look at income, education, marital status, location, family history, gut instinct and a host of other factors to find out where you fall. But the bottom line is this: Finding the answer is more complex than just looking at a number.
1. What can we know from the text?| A．The majority of Americans are quite content with their class ranks. |
| B．All the various factors must work together to decide economic classes. |
| C．Recent class-related data hasn't been collected because of the pandemic. |
| D．Determining individuals' economic class is more complicated than thought. |
| A．The different classes of American society. | B．The different aspects that determine class. |
| C．The different attitudes of experts to class. | D．The different demands made for each class. |
| A．To show a law student should be placed in the low-income class. |
| B．To advocate readers to show sympathy to law students. |
| C．To provide some advice on how to become a middle class. |
| D．To prove a person's class rank is unlikely to be always the same. |
| A．A travel magazine. | B．A cultural review. | C．A news report. | D．A feature story. |
【推荐3】Plants don't bleed red and scream the way antelopes (羚羊)do when lions bite them, but they often die all the same if they can't defend themselves. A study by researchers at Missouri and the University of British Columbia proves that plants not only know when they're being eaten,but that they can tell several different insects apart even when they cat at the same time.
Appel and her coauthors-Jack Schultz, a University of Missouri researcher who led the study, and Joerg Bohlmann, a University of British Columbia researcher who performed genetic (基因的) studies, along with six others-planted Arabidopsis seeds in a lab and allowed them to grow to a size that caterpillars (毛毛虫)and worms love. Then they let the insects eat the plants. Plants lose water and tissue and, worse, might get infected (感染)with some sort of bacteria, but generally they live to see another day.
The researchers found that the plants produced chemicals that gave them the unpleasant smells to drive the insects away. Moreover, there were different genetic responses to each worm, showing that the plant actually knew what was eating them.
The study, financed by the National Science Foundation and published in the journal Frontiersin Plant Science, wasn't carried out for charity. Arabidopsis is an important plant that can bring in a lot of money for farmers.
This could allow agriculturalists who grow and design cash crops to give them the skills to drive off farm pests (害虫).“If we want to grow plants that can keep insects away,” Appel said, we might as well find out how they respond to different insects that feed on them.
1. What is the best title of this text?| A．Plants can know which insects are eating them |
| B．New plants help farmers earn more money |
| C．Scientists found a new way to grow plants |
| D．Scientists found plants could protect themselves |
| A．By changing their genes. | B．By producing special chemicals. |
| C．By loosing water and tissue. | D．By telling who is eating them. |
| A．Plants have different genetic reactions. |
| B．Plants produce the same chemicals. |
| C．Plants have skills to drive off farm pests. |
| D．Plants can tell several different insects apart. |
| A．protect a rare plant from dying out | B．deal with pests |
| C．to design a new kind of insect | D．raise money for charity |
【推荐1】Researchers recently offered the most complete examination yet of the history of penguins. They said penguins came from a common ancestor shared with a group of seabirds like albatrosses. Penguins first developed the ability to dive, and then lost the ability to fly as they adapted to water.
The earliest-known penguin is called Waimanu manneringi, from New Zealand. It is believed to have lived 61 million years ago. Penguins live mainly in the southern hemisphere. The Galapagos penguin is the only one found north of the equator. Daniel Ksepka of the Bruce Museum in Greenwich, Connecticut, is the co-writer of the study that was published in Nature Communications. Ksepka noted that penguins are appealing animals. He added that they are interestingly charming creatures. Apart from their funny upright posture, they love, they fight, and they steal, making it really easy to imagine them having all the same motivations as people.
The study proposes that changes in world temperatures and in major ocean currents have been important drivers of penguin evolution. Theresa Cole is the study’s lead writer. Cole said the research found a number of genes likely involved in physical changes known as adaptations.
Such adaptations include gene transforms that shift the way penguins see the world. Penguins’ vision is more sensitive toward the blue end of the color spectrum(光谱). Blue light goes more deeply into the ocean than light at the red end of the spectrum. Genes that help birds detect salty and sour tastes are active in penguins. But genes that help detect bitter and sweet tastes become inactive. Those may no longer be needed as penguins find food in cold, salty water and usually swallow the whole fish. Penguins show changes in their wing ones and a reduction of their flight feathers. Penguins also have reduced air spaces in the bone and the ability to store more oxygen in their muscles for long dives.
1. What does the underlined word “hemisphere” in paragraph 2 mean?| A．Deep ocean. | B．Earth’s pole. |
| C．Half globe. | D．Large land. |
| A．Penguins’ habitats. | B．Penguins’ appearances. |
| C．Penguins’ characters. | D．Penguins’ behaviors. |
| A．Physical changes from gene transforms. | B．Changes of geographical environment. |
| C．Interactions with human beings. | D．Competitions with other animals. |
| A．How penguins survive by adaptions. | B．Why penguins change their body. |
| C．How penguins are unique. | D．What damages penguins’ genes. |
【推荐2】All eyes were on Jack Ma. The chairman of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. left his position on Teachers’ Day from leading the e-commerce (电子商务) giant he founded 20 years ago.
“I still have lots of dreams to go after.” Ma wrote in an open letter last year to announce his parting. “The world is big, and I am still young, so I want to try new things.”
The 55-year-old businessman showed that he was ready for new things by arriving at his farewell party dressed up like a rock star.
In fact, his rags-to-riches (白手起家的) story is a good example of doing something different. Visiting the United States in 1995, Ma saw the internet and had the idea of setting up his own trading website. In 1999, he founded Alibaba with a group of friends in a shared apartment, struggling for years to get it off the ground. With all the challenges, the company slowly brought e-commerce to China.
Although his success has inspired a number of Chinese tech businessmen, Ma pointed out that the key is having a dream. “It’s the dreams that keep us full of confidence and never afraid of setbacks (挫折).” Ma said in a video posted on Sept 9.
Now the experienced businessman is looking to focus on education. What can he offer? “I’m not going to teach English; I’m not going to teach business. But I’m going to teach young people how to face challenges.” he told Bloomberg News.
Skilled sailors were never made on calm waters. As Ma said, “Today is cruel. Tomorrow is crueler. But the day after tomorrow is beautiful.”
1. What can we infer according to Paragraph 4?| A．Jack Ma was born in a rich family. |
| B．Jack Ma had the idea of setting up his own trading website in 1999. |
| C．Jack Ma founded Alibaba alone. |
| D．Jack Ma went through challenges to found Alibaba. |
| A．Dreams can guide us to further our education. | B．Dreams can give us confidence and courage. |
| C．Dreams can push us to set up new businesses. | D．Dreams can lead us to offer more to society. |
| A．How to operate business. | B．How to learn English. |
| C．How to face challenges. | D．How to set up a website. |
| A．Practice makes perfect. | B．Confidence is the key to success. |
| C．Skilled sailors like calm waters. | D．We should face challenges bravely. |
But there’s a new application that just may. Today, the VALK Foundation, a Dutch group that’s a partnership between KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and the University of Leiden, launches the app in the US. The VALK Foundation was one of the first centers for research and fear-of-flying treatment in the world and is the organizer of three world conferences on fear of flying.The foundation said the app, called Flight App VALK, is the first scientifically-developed, web-based treatment for people who suffer from mild to moderate fear of flying.
“The fear of flying application we have created aims to transfer all of the knowledge we have developed through our program into a mobile application that will help ease travelers’ fears,” said Dr. Lucas van Gerwen, director of the VALK Foundation. Dr. van Gerwen is also a psychologist and professional pilot with more than 30 years experience.
The foundation said up to 30% of adults are fearful fliers. The Flight App is designed to help relax passengers before and during flights by educating users about flight safety and turbulence. It explains the sounds and sensations they can expect during departure, flight and landing. And, if a passenger’s flight stress reaches a panic level, they press a special panic button which provides audio and written information to help decrease stress levels. Most importantly, the Flight App can be used during the flight in the airplane mode. Once downloaded, the program does not require Internet connection in the air.
1. By saying the words at the beginning of the passage, people are expected to ______.
| A．decrease their fear of flying |
| B．get rid of their doubt about plane |
| C．have a good time on their flight journey |
| D．use some medicine to cure their fear of flying |
| A．help passengers experience the fear of flying |
| B．help relax passengers before and during flights |
| C．treat people who suffer from mild fear of flying |
| D．teach people the basic knowledge of taking flight |
| A．is a group focusing on psychology on the flight |
| B．was the first center to do research into fear of flying |
| C．organize the world conferences on fear of flying annually |
| D．focuses on researching and offering treatment on fear of flying |
| A．Many adults are suffering from fear of flying |
| B．It’s convenient for people to use the Flight App |
| C．Many planes will be installed with the Flight App. |
| D．The Flight App can decrease stress levels effectively |
| A．Culture | B．Entertainment | C．Technology | D．Education |
