【题目】 Do you like music? Do you often listen to it at loud volumes? You should know that this habit is bad for your hearing, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Over 1 billion young people are at risk of hearing loss due to listening to loud noise for long periods of time, WHO said. Listening to music or watching a TV show at loud volumes can harm your hearing.
The United Nations has standards for safe listening. It is not safe to listen to sounds that are louder than 85 decibels for eight hours or 100 dB for 15 minutes. The sound of a busy road is about 85 dB and the sound of a rock concert can be about 100 dB.
Loud noise is harmful to the inner ear. Most of us are born with about 16,000 hair cells in our inner ears. These cells detect sounds. However, listening to loud noise for a long time can make these cells work too hard and cause some of them to die. This is what causes hearing loss.
Some people might think that their music isn’t all that loud. But this can depend on where you are. For example, if you are in a noisy place like the subway, you might turn up your music too loud without realizing it. Later, when you listen to it at the same volume in a quiet place, you might feel uncomfortable.
WHO said the “safe level” for most sound is below 80 decibels for up to 40 hours a week. A level of 80 decibels is nearly the same as the noise of a subway.
Word Bank:
decibel n. (dB 分贝) inner ear 内耳detect vt. 探测
【1】According to the story, WHO suggests that it is NOT safe to _____.
A.listen to music every dayB.watch TV for over an hour
C.listen to loud sounds for a long timeD.go to a rock concert
【2】The sound level of a busy road is about _____.
A.80 dBB.85 dBC.100 dBD.115 Db
【3】Why can listening to loud music cause hearing problems?
A.Because it puts our brains under great pressure.
B.Because it can cause hair cells in the inner ear to die.
C.Because it prevents our ears from resting.
D.Because it allows people to get used to listening to loud sounds.
【4】What does the fifth paragraph tell us?
A.People love to listen to loud music.
B.It’s reasonable to listen to loud music in some places.
C.People are likely to listen to music on the subway.
D.People don’t always realize how loud their music is.