In the United States, most children begin attending school when they are five years old．Public education is free and most children go to school near their homes．School in these early years is fun．The children learn to read and write．But they also play games and go on trips．There is no reason at such an early age for them to hit the books．

　　The situation changes as children become older．The subjects become more difficult．Students must learn about world history, algebra(代数), and the life sciences．Tests become more common．Pressure is growing to hit the books, study hard, and advance．However, most serious students only really begin hitting the books for long hours when they reach high school．

　　High school students who hope to continue their education at a college or university must take a special test called the S-A-T．The test has two parts．The first part tests the student’s ability with numbers and mathematical skills．The second part tests the student’s ability with the English language．

　　The S-A-T test is very important．A high school student who gets a high score on the two parts of the test has a good chance to enter a top American college．For this reason, many students hit the books for months to prepare for the S-A-T．

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阅读理解

　　One in five US 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％ 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 problems-up 50％ since the first survey．

　　Hearing loss is very common in the elderly, another researcher of the study 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"．

　　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．" ③

　　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．

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阅读理解

　　In 1974, after filling out fifty applications, going through four interviews, and winning one offer, I look what I could get － a teaching job at what I considered a distant wild area：western New Jersey．My characteristic optimism was alive only when I reminded myself that I would be doing what I had wanted to do since I was fourteen－teaching English．

　　School started, but I felt more and more as if I were in a foreign country．Waa this rural area really New Jersey? My students a week off when hunting season began．I was told they were also frequently absent in late October to help their fathers make hay on the farms．I was a young woman from New York City, who thought that “Make hay while the sun shines” just meant to have a good time．

　　But, still, I was teaching English．I worked hard, taking lime off only to eat and sleep．And then there was my sixth-grade class－seventeen boys and five girls who were only six yean younger than me．I had a problem long before I knew it．I was struggling in my work as a young idealistic teacher．I wanted to make literature come alive and lo promote a love of the written word．The students wanted to throw spitballs and whisper dirty words in the back of the room．

　　In college I had been taught that a successful educator should ignore bad behavior．So I did, confident that, as the textbook had said, the bad behavior would disappear as I gave ray students positive attention．It sounds reasonable, but the text evidently ignored the fact that humans, particularly teenagers, rarely seem reasonable．By the time ray boss, who was also ray taskmaster known to be the strictest, most demanding, most quick to fire inexperienced teachers, came into the classroom to observe me, the students exhibited very little good behavior to praise．

　　My boss sat in the back of the room．The boys in the class were making animal noises, hitting each other while the girls filed their nails or read magazines．I just pretended it all wasn't happening, and went on lecturing and tried to ask some inspiring questions．My boss, sitting in the back of the room, seemed to be growing bigger and bigger．After twenty minutes he left, silently．Visions of unemployment marched before my eyes．

　　I felt mildly victorious that I got through the rest of class without crying, but at my next free period I had to face him．I wondered if he would let me finish out the day．I walked to his office, took a deep breath, and opened the door．

　　He was sitting in his chair, and he looked at me long and hard．I said nothing．All I could think of was that I was not an English teacher; I had been lying to myself, pretending that everything was fine．

　　When he spoke, he said simply, without accusation, “You had nothing to say to them．”

　　“You had nothing to say to them," he repeated．“No wonder they're bored．Why not get to the meal of the literature and stop talking about symbolism．Talk with them, not at them．And more important, why do you ignore their bad behavior?” We talked．He named ray problems and offered solutions．We role-played．He was the bad student, and I was the forceful, yet, warm, teacher．

　　As the year progressed, we spent many hours discussing literature and ideas about human beings and their motivations．He helped me identify my weaknesses and my strengths．In short, he made a teacher of me by teaching me the reality of Emerson's words：“The secret to education lies in respecting the pupil．”

　　Fifteen years later I still drive that same winding road to the same school．Thanks to the help I received that difficult first year, the school is my home now．

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