Listen! What can you hear? You may hear many different sounds．Some of those sounds may be noise．Noise is loud or unwanted sounds．

Noise call be caused by many kinds of machines，such as motor cycles，jet planes and tractors．And，to some people，rock bands can also brining noise．

What happens to people who live near noisy machines or use them for a long time? Doctors find that these people have trouble sleeping．But，most importantly，constant（持续的）loud noise can cause a loss of hearing．

Scientists use a unit of measure（度量）called decibel（分贝）to measure the loudness of a sound．The sound of a computer，for example，measures 35 decibels．Talking measures between 40 and 65 decibels．Sounds from traffic and from some rock bands can measures over 120 decibels．Noise at this high level causes the greatest hearing loss．

1．Noise can be caused by all the following except ________ according to the passage．

A．rock bands           B．tractors                C．jet planes                D．computers

2．“Decibel” is a ________．

A．unit that measures sound                          B．kind of noise

C．machines that makes very loud noise            D．person who hates noise

3．According to the passage，loud noise can ________．

A．help people sleep better                             B．make people work longer

C．make people deaf                                       D．make people happy and excited

4．Which of the following is TRUE?

A．Going to a concert is bad for our cars．

B．Not all sounds are noise．

C．The loudest noise comes from traffic and rock bands．

5．What's the main idea of this passage?

A．Noise pollution can be a serious problem．   B．Rock bands are noisy．

C．The way to measure noise．                        D．How to stop noise pollution．

　　Ava was ill. She went to see a doctor. The doctor asked her to 1 her tongue（舌头）, and then he said, “OK. You can put your tongue back now. There's 2 wrong with you, but I'm afraid you have a problem: you never take 3 .”

　　“But, doctor,” Ava said, “I don't think so.”

　　“Don't 4 me what you think,” the doctor said, “I see a lot of people 5 you. None of them get any exercise. They sit in offices all day and in front of the TV in the evening. You must walk quickly for at least 20 minutes a day.”

　　“Doctor, you don't understand.” Ava said, “I take enough exercise every day.”

　　“I don't want to 6 any excuse（借口）,” the doctor said, “You must find time 7 exercise. If you don't, you will get 8 and have health problems.”

　　“But I walk every day,” Ava said.

　　“Oh, yes, and I know what kind of walking that is. You walk 9 meters to the bus stop from your house, from the bus stop to your office, and from your office to your dining-room for lunch and back. That's not a real（真正的）walk. I'm talking about a walk by the lake or in the park for 20 minutes every day.”

　　“Would you please 10 me, doctor?” Ava said, “I'm a postwoman. I walk for nearly（几乎）seven hours every day.”

　　For a moment the doctor was silent（无言的）, then he said, “Can I see your tongue again?”

One Sunday morning the Whites went to the park．They got home very late．Father opened the front door and they all went into the house．It was very dark, so mother turned on（打开）the light．On the way to their bedroom, mother said, “Listen, John! I can hear someone in the bedroom．”They all stood quietly outside the bedroom door．They could hear the voice in the room．

“You’re right,” father said．“There are two men in it．They are talking．”Then he shouted, “Who is there?” But no one answered．Father opened the door quickly and turned on the light．The room was empty．Then father found something and laughed．The radio was on! “I forgot to turn it off this morning,” father said．

（  ） 1．The Whites got home__________．

       A．in the morning     B．in the evening    C．at noon   D．in the afternoon

（  ） 2．They stood quietly outside the bedroom because____________．

       A．they didn’t want to walk into the bedroom．

       B．they were afraid to go into the bedroom．

       C．they were listening to the music．

       D．they heard someone talking in the bedroom．

（  ） 3．Father shouted but no one answered because_________．

       A．there was no one in the bedroom      B．the men in the room couldn’t hear

       C．his voice wasn’t loud               D．father stood too far away

（  ） 4．The radio worked__________．

       A．a day     B．a night       C．two days       D．many days

（  ） 5．They went into the room and found the voice came from________．

       A．the radio  B．two men      C．themselves     D．the TV

When you read an article you will understand and remember it better if you can work out how the writer has put the ideas together．Sometimes a writer puts ideas together by asking questions and then answering them．For example，if the article is about groundhogs（土拨鼠），the set of questions in the writer’s head might be：
What does a groundhog look like？
Where do groundhogs live？
What do they eat？…
In the article，the author might answer those questions．
Sometimes an author writes out her questions in the article．These questions give you signals．They tell you what the author is going to write next．Often an author has a question in her head but she doesn’t write it out for you．You have to work out her question for yourself．Here’s a sample reading for you to practice this method.
Earthworms
Do you know how many kinds of earthworms there are？There are about 1800 kinds in the world！ They can be brown，purple，green．They can be as small as 3 cm long and as large as 3 m long．
The best time to see earthworms is at night，especially a cool，damp night．That’s when they come up from their burrows（地洞）to hunt for food．Earthworms don’t like to be in the sun．That’s because they breathe through their skin，and they can’t breathe if their skin gets too dry．Earthworms must come out of the earth if it rains a lot，because they can't breathe in their flooded burrows．What a dangerous life！
Earthworms don't have eyes，so how can they tell when it's dark？ They have special places on their skin that are sensitive to light．These spots tell whether it’s light or dark．If you shine a flashlight on an earthworm at night，it will quickly disappear into the ground．
Earthworms don't have ears either，but they can hear by feeling movements in the earth．If you want to hear like an earthworm，lie on the ground with your fingers in your ears．Then have a friend stamp his or her feet near you．This is how earthworms feel birds and people walking，and moles digging，near them．
Earthworms are useful．Farmers and gardeners like having lots of earthworms in their land because the worms help to make better soil when they dig．That digging keeps the soil loose and airy（通风的）．In one year earthworms can pile up as much as 23,000 kg of castings in an area about the size of a football field．
【小题1】What’s the purpose of reading Earthworms?

When you read an article you will understand and remember it better if you can work out how the writer has put the ideas together．Sometimes a writer puts ideas together by asking questions and then answering them．For example，if the article is about groundhogs（土拨鼠），the set of questions in the writer’s head might be：

What does a groundhog look like？

Where do groundhogs live？

What do they eat？…

In the article，the author might answer those questions．

Sometimes an author writes out her questions in the article．These questions give you signals．They tell you what the author is going to write next．Often an author has a question in her head but she doesn’t write it out for you．You have to work out her question for yourself．Here’s a sample reading for you to practice this method.

Earthworms

Do you know how many kinds of earthworms there are？There are about 1800 kinds in the world！ They can be brown，purple，green．They can be as small as 3 cm long and as large as 3 m long．

The best time to see earthworms is at night，especially a cool，damp night．That’s when they come up from their burrows（地洞）to hunt for food．Earthworms don’t like to be in the sun．That’s because they breathe through their skin，and they can’t breathe if their skin gets too dry．Earthworms must come out of the earth if it rains a lot，because they can't breathe in their flooded burrows．What a dangerous life！

Earthworms don't have eyes，so how can they tell when it's dark？ They have special places on their skin that are sensitive to light．These spots tell whether it’s light or dark．If you shine a flashlight on an earthworm at night，it will quickly disappear into the ground．

Earthworms don't have ears either，but they can hear by feeling movements in the earth．If you want to hear like an earthworm，lie on the ground with your fingers in your ears．Then have a friend stamp his or her feet near you．This is how earthworms feel birds and people walking，and moles digging，near them．

Earthworms are useful．Farmers and gardeners like having lots of earthworms in their land because the worms help to make better soil when they dig．That digging keeps the soil loose and airy（通风的）．In one year earthworms can pile up as much as 23,000 kg of castings in an area about the size of a football field．

1.What’s the purpose of reading Earthworms?

A．To show the special life facts of earthworms.

B．To explain the differences from the groundhogs.

C．To put the writer’s idea into real use.

D．To make the readers think more clearly.

2.Which question CANNOT be answered in the passage?

A．How do earthworms help with gardeners?

B．What life are earthworms living with?

C．When may people observe earthworms?

D．Why can human listen like earthworms?

3.How can you understand Earthworms better according to this passage?

A．Read, ask and answer questions in your own head while reading.

B．Read to work out all the questions in the writer’s head while reading.

C．Read and check all the things that are not clear to you again and again.

D．Read for general ideas and discuss or compare with other similar topics.

4.What’s the best title for the passage?

A．One way to help with understanding

B．One way to practice with a new idea

C．One way to learn to be a wise writer

D．One way to be clearer about worms