One in five U.S teenagers have some degree of hearing loss, according to researchers who said the problem is growing, “Teenagers really underestimate how much noise they are exposed to.” Dr, Josef Shargorodsky said. 　①　

The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, compared national survey between the early 1990s and the mid-2000s. In the first survey, about 15 percent of teenagers had some degree of hearing loss. 　② Most of the hearing loss was in one ear only. While it was usually slight, one in 20 adolescents had more pronounced（显著的）problems —up 50 percent since the first survey.

Hearing loss is very common in the elderly, Grimes said, but she added that it was concerning to see it come into the younger age groups. In babies and young children, hearing problems are known to delay language development, which in turn influences performance in other areas. Slight hearing loss, for instance, makes it difficult to distinguish between high-frequency consonants like “s” and “f.”

　③ The science is less clear for adolescents, but it is easy to imagine how being hard of hearing could influence learning, said Grimes. “We know from a lot of data that noisy classrooms are one of the biggest challenges to learning.”

The reasons for the rise are still uncertain. When asked about noise exposure—on the job, from firearms of recreational activities, for instance—the teenagers didn’t indicate any change. But Shargorodsky said, “We knew from before that it is difficult to ask this age group about noise exposure—they underestimate it ” ④　 Although it’s not clear that these devices are to blame, Grimes said it was still a good idea to turn down the volume. But she pointed out the advice would likely fall on deaf ears. She said the American Academy of hearing had also contacted Steve Jobs, the CEO of Apple, about adding a volume limiter on iPods. But they never heard back.

1. In which place should the sentence “Few people would call it noise when they listen to music on their MP3 player, for instance.” be put?

　 A. ①　　　 B. ②　　　　 C. ④　　　　 D. ③

2. What’s the main idea of the third paragraph?

　 A. Hearing loss was very common in the elderly in the country

　 B. The sounds like “s” and “f” are hard to distinguish by babies.

　 C. Babies and teenagers are also facing problems of hearing loss.

　 D. The number of teenagers with hearing problems is decreasing.

3. Which of the following is TRUE?

　 A.. The surveys have been carried out for at least 15 years.

　 B. The reasons of the hearing loss are known to the researchers

　 C. The reasons for the rise are clear to the researchers.

　 D. The results of surveys have been published in a newspaper.

4. The American Academy of hearing contacted the CEO of Apple in order to _______.

A. share the surveys with the CEO of Apple company

B. get more help in financial from the Apple company

C. express warn and threats to the CEO of Apple

D. remind the company to add a volume limiter on iPods

President Barack Obama's speeches are proving a best-seller in Japan -- as an aid to learning English. An English-language textbook, "The Speeches of Barack Obama," has sold more than 400,000 copies in two months, a big hit in a country where few hit novels sell more than a million copies a year.

　　Japanese have a fervor for learning English and many bookstores have a corner dedicated (专门用于) to dozens of journals in the language, many of them now featuring the new U.S. leader's face.

"Speeches by presidents and presidential candidates(候选人) are excellent as listening tools to learn English. Obama's are especially so. His speeches are so moving, and he also uses words such as 'yes, we can,' 'change' and 'hope' that even Japanese people can memorize," said Yuzo Yamamoto of Asahi Press, which produced the best-selling text book.

　　Speeches by George W. Bush and former nominee(提名) John Kerry's four years ago did not have the same interest, however, and nor do those made by Japanese politicians. “We have to turn to a foreign president for someone in whom to place our hopes”, Yamamoto said.

　　The 95-page paperback features Obama's speeches in English from the 2004 Democratic National Convention and during the Democratic Party primaries(初选), in which he defeated Hillary Clinton. They are accompanied by Japanese translations.

　　The 1,050 yen ($12) book, which includes a CD of the speeches, tops the bestseller list on bookseller Amazon's Japanese Website, http://www.amazon.co.jp/. He said lawmakers from Japan's main opposition Democratic Party had bought the book to study Obama's speeches.

　　Following Obama's inauguration(就职典礼), Asahi Press plans to issue a sequel(续集) that includes his inaugural address, as well as President John F. Kennedy's 1961 inaugural speech. It will also feature a reading of President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg address of 1863.

64. Speeches by presidents and presidential candidates are excellent as listening tools to learn English because ________.

the speakers are all great

B. the speakers have high speech skills

C. the language is full of humor

D. the contents are good and the words are easy to catch

Why do Japanese place their hopes in a foreign president?

A. Because they don’t have politicians who have such a positive influence.

B. Because they have the same attitude as the foreign presidents.

C. Because they have never made a political speech.

D. Because they hope to have a foreigner as their leader.

Which is true about “The Speeches of Barack Obama”?

A. It contains all Obama’s speeches .

B. It has 1,050 pages with a CD.

C. It includes his inaugural address.

D. It is an especially popular book in Japan.

Which of the following can best describe the main idea of the passage?

A. Japan speaks highly of Obama president .

B. Japan learns English from Obama speeches textbook .

C. Obama gains his fame from his election speeches.

D. Obama gives Japanese speeches on how to learn English.

（ 共5小题，每小题2分，满分10分 ）

Read the following text and choose the most suitable heading from A-F for each paragraph. There is one extra heading which you do not need.

A.　Goods for auction (拍卖) sales

　　B.　Definition of bidding

　　C.　Way to sell more goods by auction

　　D.　Auction sales in history

　　E.　Brief introduction to auctions

　　F.　Making a larger profit as an auctioneer

61. ______

Auctions are public sales of goods, conducted by an officially approved auctioneer. He asks the crowd assembled in the auction-room to make offers, or “bids”, for the various items on sale. He encourages buyers to bid higher figures, and finally names the highest bidder as the buyer of the goods. This is called “knocking down” the goods, for the bidding ends when the auctioneer strikes a small hammer on a table at which he stands.

62. ______

The ancient Roman probably invented sales by auction, and the English word comes from the Latin auction, meaning “increasing”. The Romans usually sold in this way the goods taken in war. In England in the eighteenth centuries, goods were often sold “by the candle”: a short candle was lit by the auctioneer, and bids could be made while it stayed alight.

63. ______

Practically all goods whose qualities vary are sold by auction. Among these are coffee, skins, wool, tea, furs, silk and wines. Auction sales are also usual for land and property, furniture, pictures, rare books, old china and similar works of art.

64. ______

An auction is usually advertised beforehand with full particulars of the articles to be sold and where and when they can be viewed by potential buyers. If the advertisement cannot give full details, catalogues are printed, and each group of goods to be sold together, called a “lot”, is usually given a number. The auctioneer need not begin with Lot 1 and continue in the order of numbers: he may wait until he notices the fact that certain buyers are in the room and then produce the lots they are likely to be interested in.

65. ______

The auctioneer’s services are paid for in the form of a percentage of the price the goods are sold for. The auctioneer therefore has a direct interest in pushing up the bidding as high as possible. He will not waste time by starting the bidding too low. He will also play on the opponents among his buyers and succeed in getting a high price by encouraging two business competitors to bid against each other.