LISTEN. Do you hear the sound of birds outside, a car going by, your favorite music? (A)Because of  your ears, you can hear it clearly.
March 3 is International Ear Care Day. This year, the theme for the day is “Ear care can avoid hearing loss (丧失)”.
The World Health Organization(WHO) reports that there are 360 million people in the world with disabling (使伤残) hearing loss. At least half of all cases of hearing loss are avoidable through healthy ear care practices.
Protecting yourself from loud noise is a key part of ear care. Nowadays, (B) it is very common for people to listen to music with headphones on while traveling to school or work. Experts suggest a 60:60 rule: listen to your music at 60 percent of the maximum (最大值的) volume for no more than 60 minutes a day.
Cleaning your ears is a basic step to take care of your ears. Do you clean your ears with cotton buds or fingernails? Think again. These things can push earwax (耳垢) deeper into your ear, and hurt your ear canal (耳道). The ear is a self-cleaning organ and does not require active cleaning,(C)        the WHO. If the wax makes you (D)         , you can ask a doctor to deal with it.
Take care of your ears when you are swimming. You can use earplugs.  Dry your ears with a towel afteru(耳塞) to stop water getting into your ears. swimming or having a bath. (E) If you feel there is water inside your ear, shake your head a little bit to help get the water out.
Top things to know about earphones
Here are some helpful tips to guide you to using earphones in the right way.
1. (F) What kind of earphones you wear is important for your hearing. Choose over-the-ear headphones. This type can block out (挡住) background noise and allow you to have the volume lower. In-the-ear headphones are less effective (有效的) at blocking out background noise.
2. Some children like sharing earphones with their friends. But when you have only one earphone, you may naturally turn the volume up. Instead of (G)       earphones, get a splitter (分线器). This lets you connect two sets of earphones. This way, you can protect your own hearing as well as your friend’s.
3. Want to know if your earphones are at a safe volume? Ask people (H)       near you if they can hear your music. If they can, it’s a sign that your hearing is being damaged. Turn the volume down until other people can no longer hear it.
任务一：从方框中选择单词并用适当的形式填入D、G、H处

The world has many beautiful sounds. We can hear the songs of birds and the laugh of people. We can listen to the cool music and news reports. And it’s all because of our ears! They bring us a world of sounds.
But some people can’t hear any sound at all. Some are born deaf. Others can hear well in their childhood, but too many loud sounds hurt their ears later on.
Many people in China can’t hear ordinary sounds clearly. A large number of them are children. Most of them are born with good hearing. But six children of every 1,000 have hearing problems when they are born. And if a child has hearing problems, he or she usually will also have some learning problems at school.
A lot of things can cause hearing problems. For example, too much earwax is not good for our hearing. And noise louder than 85 decibels (分贝) can hurt our ears and make us lose our hearing for a short time or even for ever.
Hearing is important for all of us. So we should do our best to give our ears special care. Don’t forget to do the following:
● Try to stay away from places with too much noise. If you have to go, wear earplugs. A pair of good earplugs can cut the noise by 30 decibels.
● When swimming, remember to put earplugs into your ears to stop water from getting in.
● Never put anything sharp into your ears. If you think you have too much earwax, ask your mum or dad to help you clean it out.
Keep these things in mind! Then you won’t be saying “WHAT? WHAT?” when you are older.
【小题1】What does the underlined word “earwax” mean in the passage?