Doctors have known for a long time that extremely loud noises can cause hearing damage or loss．The noise can be the sound of a jet airplane or machines in factories of loud music or other common sound at home and at work．A person only needs to hear the noise for little more than one second to be affected．
An American scientist has found that using aspirin （阿斯匹林） increase the temporary （暂时的）hearing loss or damage from loud noise．He did an experiment using a number of students at a university who all had normal hearing．He gave them different amounts of aspirin for different periods of time, then he tested their hearing ability．He found that students who were given four grams of aspirin a day for two days suffered much greater temporary hearing loss than those who did not use aspirin．The hearing loss was about two times as great．
The scientist said millions of persons in the U．S．use much larger amounts of aspirin than were used in his experiment．He said these persons face a serious danger of suffering hearing loss from loud noise．
1．Doctors have long known that__________．
A．one may lose his hearing when he hears a terribly loud noise．
B．one may become deaf when he hears a loud noise．
C．loud noises can cause damage to the hearing of the young people only
D．common sounds at home are not harmful to the ear
2．This passage suggests that one’s hearing________．
A．will be damaged even if he has heard a loud noise for only little more than one second
B．will be damaged even if he has heard a loud noise less than one second
C．will not be damaged if he has heard a loud noise for only little more than one second
D．will not be damaged if he has little more than one second to get ready
3．One conclusion you can draw from the passage is that aspirin________．
A．makes hearing damage from loud noise worse
B．should never be taken more than four grams
C．can damage one’s hearing when it is given more than four grams daily
D．always increases hearing loss by two times
4．Millions of Americans are in danger of suffering hearing loss because they__________．
A．take too much aspirin            
B．often take air trips
C．like listening to loud music       
D．have too much loud noises at home and at work
5．The American scientist did his experiment in order to find ________．
A．how much aspirin would affect a person’s hearing
B．how much aspirin should be given in the treatment of the patients with hearing damage from loud noise
C．whether aspirin would increase the temporary hearing damage from loud noises
D．whether the people who had hearing damage should use aspirin

A recent Auburn University study provides some real numbers to back a theory we’ve all known was true for some time—planting a shade tree near your home reduces energy bills significantly in the spring and summer months. The study, conducted in Auburn,
Alabama, included 160 homes with different levels of shade. Each home’s energy usage was monitored and compared to other houses with similar energy— using patterns, size, type of cooling system, etc. Here are some highlights from the study:
Houses with trees on the west side of their home had a “much lower power bill”.
Older homes had the most shade coverage, because people did not use to rely on air conditioning as much to keep them cool.
Children under age 12 consume the most power in a home as they watch television, play games and frequently leave lights on.
Fall and early winter are the perfect seasons to plant a tree. This time of year many nurseries（苗圃）are trying to reduce their inventory of trees heading into the winter, so you may find a deal on trees easily to plant around your lot.
While you have the spade out, consider planting a tree near your outside air conditioning unit. The shade will keep the unit cooler and help it operate more efficiently. Be sure to plant far enough from the unit to allow proper airflow, and account for the tree’s growth over time.
It actually hurts to watch the trees being knocked over when land developers plan neighborhoods because trees could provide much needed shade to new homeowners, reducing their electric bill and the amount of energy they consume. Hopefully this study, and more like it in the future, will encourage developers and builders to plan around trees as much as possible to offer homeowners a shaded lot.
1．What does the passage mainly tell us?
A．A new study about planting trees.
B．Planting trees to reduce your power bill.
C．Houses with trees on the west side.
D．Don't cut trees down when planning neighborhoods.
2．The underlined word "inventory" in Paragraph 5 is closest in meaning to ________.
A．invention        B．volume      C．list          D．type
3．According to the passage, ____ might spend more energy cost.
A．houses with trees on the west side of their home
B．older houses with the most shade coverage
C．houses with different levels of shade
D．houses with the children under age 12
4．Which is NOT the benefit of planting a tree near the outside air conditioning unit?
A．The shade will keep the unit much cooler.
B．The shade helps the unit operate more efficiently.
C．The trees stops the unit having proper airflow.
D．The shade prevents the sunlight from shining on the unit.
5．What can we learn from this study?
A．The study is carried out by the students at Auburn University, Alabama.
B．While planning new neighborhoods, developers often cut down the trees there.
C．Houses with trees on the east side of their house had a lower power bill.
D．The study will prevent developers and builders from planning more trees.

Disease, poverty, hate, love—Charles Dickens’ stories opened his readers eyes to the most important themes of his age. Two hundred years on, his stories still speak volumes across the world, proving that Dickens’ legacy(遗产) was far greater than just “great literature”
February 7 marks the 200^th anniversary of the writer’s birthday. To mark this date, BBC writer Alex Hudson listed six things Dickens gave the modern world. Let’s take a look at two of them.
A white Christmas
Dickens is described as “the man who invented Christmas”—not the religious festival, but the cultural aspects that we associate with the festive season today. In the early 19^th century, Christmas was barely worth mentioning, according to critic and writer Leigh Hunt. The committee which ran the Conservative Party even held ordinary business meetings on Christmas Day – unthinkable in the West nowadays, when everyone but the most necessary workers takes at least three days off.
Many people believe that Dickens’ popular descriptions of the festive period became a blueprint for generations to come. In his classic novel, A Christmas Carol, he not only put forward the idea of snow at Christmas, but also painted a picture of glowing warmth –“ home enjoyments, affections and hopes”.
In his biography of Dickens, Peter Ackroyd wrote: “ Dickens can be said to have almost single-handedly created the modern idea of Christmas.”
“Dickensian” poverty
Dickens was one of the first to take an honest look at the underclass and the poor of Victorian (the period during British Queen Victoria’s reign from 1837 to 1901) London.
He helped popularize the term “red tape” to describe situations where people in power use needless amounts of bureaucracy（官僚作风） in a way that particularly hurts the weaker and poorer members of society.
“Dickensian” has now become a powerful word for describing an unacceptable level of poverty. In 2009, when the president of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers in the UK wanted to talk about deprivation in some areas of Britain, she did not use words like “terrible” or “horrific”, but rather described it as “life mirroring the times of Dickens”. 
【小题1】What is the main idea of the article?

Disease, poverty, hate, love－Charles Dickens’ stories opened his readers eyes to the most important themes of his age. Two hundred years on, his stories still speak volumes across the world, proving that Dickens’ legacy（遗产） was far greater that just “great-literature”. February 7 marks the 200th anniversary of the writer’s birthday. To mark this date, BBC writer Alex Hudson listed six things Dickens gave the modern world. Let’s take a look at two of them.

A White Christmas

Dickens is described as “the man who invented Christmas” － not the religious festival, but the cultural aspects that we associate with the festive season today. In the early 19th century, Christmas was barely worth mentioning, according to critic and writer Leigh Hunt. The committee which ran the Conservative Party even held ordinary business meetings on Christmas Day－unthinkable in the West nowadays, when everyone but the most necessary workers takes at least three days off. Many people believe that Dickens’ popular descriptions of the festive period became a blueprint for generations to come. In his classic novel, A Christmas Carol, he not only put forward the idea of snow at Christmas, but also painted a picture of glowing warmth－“home enjoyments, affections and hopes”. In his biography of Dickens, Peter Ackroyd wrote: “Dickens can be said to have almost single-handedly created the modern idea of Christmas.”

“Dickens” poverty

Dickens was one of the first to take an honest look at the underclass and the poor of Victorian London. He helped popularize the term “red tape” to describe situations where people in power use needless amounts of bureaucracy(官僚作风) in a way that particularly hurts the weaker and poorer members of society.

“Dickensian” has now become a powerful word for describing an unacceptable level of poverty. In 2009, when the president of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers in the UK wanted to talk about poverty in some areas of Britain, she did not use words like “terrible” or “horrific”, but rather described it as “life mirroring the times of Dickens”.

1.The article is mainly about          .

2.Why is Dickens’ called “the man who invented Christmas”?

3.We can learn from the passage that          .

4.What can we infer from the passage?

Disease, poverty, hate, love—Charles Dickens’ stories opened his readers eyes to the most important themes of his age. Two hundred years on, his stories still speak volumes across the world, proving that Dickens’ legacy(遗产) was far greater than just “great literature”
February 7 marks the 200^th anniversary of the writer’s birthday. To mark this date, BBC writer Alex Hudson listed six things Dickens gave the modern world. Let’s take a look at two of them.
A white Christmas
Dickens is described as “the man who invented Christmas”—not the religious festival, but the cultural aspects that we associate with the festive season today. In the early 19^th century, Christmas was barely worth mentioning, according to critic and writer Leigh Hunt. The committee which ran the Conservative Party even held ordinary business meetings on Christmas Day – unthinkable in the West nowadays, when everyone but the most necessary workers takes at least three days off.
Many people believe that Dickens’ popular descriptions of the festive period became a blueprint for generations to come. In his classic novel, A Christmas Carol, he not only put forward the idea of snow at Christmas, but also painted a picture of glowing warmth –“ home enjoyments, affections and hopes”.
In his biography of Dickens, Peter Ackroyd wrote: “ Dickens can be said to have almost single-handedly created the modern idea of Christmas.”
“Dickensian” poverty
Dickens was one of the first to take an honest look at the underclass and the poor of Victorian (the period during British Queen Victoria’s reign from 1837 to 1901) London.
He helped popularize the term “red tape” to describe situations where people in power use needless amounts of bureaucracy（官僚作风） in a way that particularly hurts the weaker and poorer members of society.
“Dickensian” has now become a powerful word for describing an unacceptable level of poverty. In 2009, when the president of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers in the UK wanted to talk about deprivation in some areas of Britain, she did not use words like “terrible” or “horrific”, but rather described it as “life mirroring the times of Dickens”. 
【小题1】What is the main idea of the article?