任务型阅读（共两节，满分35分） All That noise is damaging Children’s Hearing Michel become hooked on headphones in his early teens. He walked in the streets of Brooklyn day after day with his favorite music blasting directly into his ears. By his early 20s, Michel had lost much of his upper-range hearing. The Children’s Hearing Institute reports that hearing loss among children and young adults is rising in the United States, and that one third of the damage is caused by noise. Surrounded By Noise We live in a noisy world. Young and old alike are beset by sounds over which we may have little or no control: power mowers, leaf blowers, snow blowers, cars and house alarms, sirens, motorcycles, Jet Skis, loudspeakers, even movie previews. We attend rock concerts, weddings, parties and sports events at which the music is so loud you can hardly hear the person sitting next to you. At home, televisions, stereos and computer games are often turned up so loud that listeners can not hear a doorbell or telephone. Many “modern ” restaurants have chosen noise enhancement instead of abatement(减轻). Any time you need to shout to be heard by someone near you, your hearing is most likely to be in a decibel(分贝) danger zone. As if environmental noise were not enough, now we surround children with noisy toys and personal listening devices that can permanently damage their hearing. Toys that meet the safety standards of the American Society for Testing and Materials can produce sound up to 138 decibels, as loud as a jet plane taking off. Yet workplace rules require hearing protection for those exposed to noise above 85 decibels. Protecting Young Ears Before buying noisemaking toys, parents would do well to listen to how loud they are. If the toy comes with a volume control, monitor its use to make sure it is kept near the lowest level. Consider returning gifts that make loud noises, disable the noise-making function. Or limit the use of noisy toys to outside play areas. Children who play computer games and stereo equipment should be warned to keep the volume down. Time spent in video arcades, where the noise level can be over 110 decibels, should be strictly limited. Most iPods have a control that allow parents to set a maximum volume. Don’t take children to loud action movies. If you do go and the sound seems deafening, ask the manager to turn down the volume or insist on you money back. Children who play in bands and teenagers who use power tools, gardening equipment or guns should be made to wear hearing protection, available at sporting goods stores. The League for the Hard of Hearing urges parents to encourage participation in quiet activities, like reading, watching family-oriented films, doing puzzles, making thins with construction toys, playing educational computer games, drawing and painting, and visiting librarians and museums. All That noise is damaging Children’s Hearing
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