As many as one in five US teenagers have some degree of hearing loss, according to researchers. They say the problem is growing.
“Teenagers really don’t pay attention to how much noise they are exposed to(接触),” Josef Shargorodsky of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston told Reuters. “Often people won’t notice it, but even very little hearing loss may influence language development,” said Shargorodsky, one of the researchers.
The study pared surveys from the early 1990s and the mid-2000s. Each included a few thousand teenagers. In the first survey, about 15 percent of teenagers had some degree of hearing loss. Some 15 years later, that number had risen by a third, to nearly 20 percent.
“This certainly is big news,” said Alison Grimes, an ear doctor. “Hearing loss is very mon in old people,” Grimes said, but she added that it was worrying to see it happen in the younger age group.
In babies and young children, hearing problems are known to slow language development. The science is less clear for teenagers, but it is easy to imagine how being hard of hearing could influence learning, said Grimes.
The reasons for the rise are still unclear. When researchers asked teenagers about noise exposure – on the job, at school or from activities, for example – the teenagers didn’t report any change. But Shargorodsky said that might not be true. “We know from before that it is difficult to ask this age group about noise exposure – they underestimate it.” Few people would call it noise when they listen to music on their MP3 player, for example. “There is a difference between what we think is loud and what is harmful to the ear,” said Grimes.
Although it’s not clear that the MP3 players cause teenagers’ hearing loss, Grimes said it was still a good idea to turn down the sound and take short breaks from listening.
【小题1】The writer advises teenagers .A．to turn the sound down B．to stop using MP3 playersC．to be clear about the problemD．to report the change in hearing loss【小题2】The underlined sentence “they underestimate it” means .A．their love for music prevent them realizing the harmB．their hearing loss is happening without being noticed C．they think music can be taken as noise to some degreeD．they think it’s harmful sometimes although it’s not loud【小题3】Which of the following is true according to the passage?A．Hearing loss may lead to slow language development. B．Hearing loss in old people is as mon as in young people. C．Researchers have already found some causes of hearing loss.D．Teenagers know MP3 is harmful, but they can’t stop listening to it.【小题4】What is the best title for the passage?A．A word short and simpleB．A report by teenagersC．A message loud and clearD．A letter from MP3 usersA
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(答案→)A
解析：
【小题1】细节理解题。结合Grimes said it was still a good idea to turn down the sound and take short breaks from listening可知答案。
【小题2】句意理解题。结合上文可知：当研究者询问青少年在工作上，学校里或者活动时的噪音对身体的危害时，有的青少年没提到什么差别。但是Shargorodsky说那不一定是事实。他说“我们以前就知道问青少年对于噪音的危害是很困难的，因为他们低估了噪音的危害”。由此可知人们习惯了周围的噪音，所以才觉察不到他们的变化。
【小题3】细节理解题。结合hearing problems are known to slow language development. The science is less clear for teenagers, but it is easy to imagine how being hard of hearing could influence learning可知答案。
【小题4】文章标题题。本文主要讲述噪音对孩子们的听力问题的影响的研究，所以C符合。