Compared to the other parts of the body, our ears don't ask for much. They don't need to be brushed once a day like your teeth. But they need some special care, especially if you like listening to music with earphones. Maybe your mum or dad has told you, "Turn that down before you go deaf!" Well, they are quite right. Loud noise might cause hearing loss for a short time or even forever. Think that earphones are a good way to escape from tour parents' eyes? Well. It may not be as good a way as you expect. American doctors have studied a group of 44,000 people who used earphones more than 15 hours per week. The doctors found that 37,000 of them were getting hearing problems. If you use earphones for too long a time, your ears might feel painful. You could also lose your hearing for the rest of your life. So don't wear your earphones too long. Use them less than one hour a day. Want sharp hearing? Don't forget to do the following: Try to stay away from places where there is too much noise, like a disco. If you have to go, wear earplugs. 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???" when you are older. If you want sharp hearing, you should _ . A) have your ears specially trained B) often wear earplugs and clean out the earwax C) take good care of your ears D) choose what you listen to carefully
C
When Callie Rogers won almost 1.9 million pounds on the lottery at 16, she hoped it would help her put her troubles behind her. The teenager came from a broken home, had dropped out of school and was living in local authority care. Rogers, from Cumbria, England, won the National Lottery in 2003. Then she began spending her money wildly, buying four homes for her family, flash cars and designer clothes, partying and having some cosmetic surgery. Two weeks after her win, she married and had two children. But then she spent 250 000 pounds on cocaine and suffered depression. Earlier this year she lost the right to take care of her children because of her mental state. She became addicted to drugs and attempted suicide three times as her life unraveled. She says the money brought her only misery. Now she is down to her last 100,000 pounds, she has never been happier. Now 22, she said: "Just a few months ago I was taking too many drugs and hated myself. I simply did not want to live any more. But now I have a new man and am finally becoming the woman I want to be. And it's only after I've spent most of my fortune that this has finally happened." "I need to get my act together and make my kids proud, and for the first time I really do think that's possible." She credits her new boyfriend with giving her the stable home life she has always longed for and she now hopes to go to college and eventually become a counselor. "After all I've experienced, I think I have a lot of advice to offer," she said. What caused Rogers to change and start a new life? A) The loss of money B) Her bitter past C) Her husband and children D) Her new boyfriend
D
Q: A sure way to destroy your chances of learning how to write skillfully is to believe that writing is a "natural gift" rather than a learned skill. People with such an attitude think that they are the only ones for whom writing is unbearably difficult. They feel that everyone else finds writing easy or at least tolerable. Such people often say, "I'm not any good at writing" or "English was not one of my good subjects." They imply that they simply do not have a talent for writing while others do. The result of this attitude is that these people try to avoid writing, and when they do write, they don't try their best. Their writing fails chiefly because they believe that they don't have the "natural talent" needed to write. Unless their attitude changes, they probably will not learn how to write effectively. A realistic attitude about writing must build on the idea that writing is a skill. It is a skill like driving, typing, or cooking; and, like any skill, it can be learned. If you have the determination to learn, you will develop your writing skills by practicing extensively. Many people find it difficult to do the active thinking that clear writing demands. It is frustrating to discover how much of a challenge it is to transfer thoughts and feelings from one's head onto a sheet of paper. But writing is not an automatic process: We will not get something for nothing -- and we should not expect to. For almost everyone, skillful writing comes from hard work -- from determination and sweat. The good news is that the skill of writing can be mastered, and if you are ready to work, you will learn what you need to know. It can be inferred from Para. 1 that _ . A) "natural gift" is the determining factor in one's success B) diligence can result in success C) a person without "natural gift" is sure to fail in writing D) attitude determines what one will be
A: D
*Question*
About six years ago I was eating lunch in a restaurant in New York City when a woman and a young boy sat down at the next table. I couldn't help overhearing parts of their conversation. At one point the woman asked: "So, how have you been?" And the boy--who could not have been more than seven or eight years old--replied, "Frankly, I've been feeling a little depressed lately." This incident stuck in my mind because it confirmed my growing belief that children are changing. As far as I can remember, my friends and I didn't find out we were "depressed", that is, in low sprits, until we were in high school. Undoubtedly a change in children has increased steadily in recent years. Children don't seem childlike anymore. Children speak more like adults, dress more like adults and behave more like adults than they used to. Whether this is good or bad is difficult to say, but it certainly is different. Childhood as it once was no longer exists. Why? Human development is based not only on born biological states, but also on patterns of access to social knowledge. Movement from one social role to another usually involves learning the secrets of the new status. Children have always been taught adult secrets, but slowly and in stages: traditionally, we tell sixth graders things we keep hidden from fifth graders. In the last 30 years, however, a secret-revelation machine has been installed in 98 percent of American homes. It is called television. Television passes information to all viewers alike, whether they are children or adults. Unable to resist the temptation, many children turn their attention from printed texts to the less challenging, more vivid moving pictures. Communication through print, as a matter of fact, allows for a great deal of control over the social information to which children have access. Reading and writing involve a complex code of symbols that must be memorized and practiced. Children must read simple books before they can read complex materials. Traditionally, a child is supposed to learn about the adult world _ . A) through connection with society B) gradually and under guidance C) naturally without being taught D) through watching television
**Answer**
B