One billion teenagers and young adults around the world risk losing their hearing by listening to loud music. This is according to the World Health Organization. The U.N. agency is asking young people to turn down the volume to prevent irreversible （不可逆转的）damage to their hearing.

Few things get the blood pumping like good music. Many people believe louder is better if you are listening to rock and roll. But experiencing really loud music, even really good music, can have a serious effect on your hearing.

Dr. Shelley Chadha is a specialist on hearing damage for the World Health Organization. Dr. Chadha says that the cells we use to hear, called sensory cells, can be forever damaged by loud sounds that happen over a long period of time.

But what is an unsafe level of sound?

The WHO says there can be many kinds of unsafe levels of sound. It depends on how loud the sound is and how long you listen to it. Unsafe can mean noise levels of 85 decibels （分贝）for eight hours a day or 100 decibels for just 15 minutes. Dr. Chadha says when the power of sound increases by only three decibels, safe listening time goes down by half.

Dr. Chadha says there are simple measures to protect people from unsafe sound levels. A common sense suggestion is to turn down the volume on your personal audio devices. The WHO also advises young people to limit their use of such devices to less than one hour a day. It reminds people to use their technology to stay safe. Smart phone apps can help to monitor safe listening levels.

The U.N. agency estimates 360 million people suffer hearing loss linked to many causes, including noise, genetic conditions, infectious（传染性） diseases and aging. It notes half of all cases of hearing loss are avoidable.

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1.Loud music is threatening _____of their hearing.

A U.N. agency

B people work with WHO

C young people

D elder adults

解析：选C。C。细节理解题。根据文章第1段第1句话中的teenagers and young adults可知C为正确答案。

2.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to this passage?

A The hearing damaged by loud noise can’t be cured.

B Good music will not hurt people’s hearing.

C Louder music is better than light music to people’s ear.

D Experiencing really loud music is good.

解析：选A。A。推理判断题。根据文章第1段中 irreversible （不可逆转的）damage to their hearing. 可知，这种损伤是不可逆转的；同时，第3段说be forever damaged by loud sounds 这种损伤是永久性的，所以A为正确答案。

3.According to WHO, which is a safe sound?

A noise of higher than 100 decibels

B noise of lower than 85 decibels

C 10 hours’ noise of 85 decibels

D 15 minutes’ noise of 100 decibels

解析：选B。B。细节理解题。 根据文章第5段Unsafe can mean noise levels of 85 decibels可知答案。

4.The underlined word ‘monitor’ in paragraph 6 means_____.

A keep track of

B keep an eye on

C keep within

D keep the same

解析：选C。C。 词义猜测题。keep track of 跟上……的进展，记录；keep an eye on 留意，照看；keep within 保留在……之内；keep the same 保持一样。这里的monitor就应是‘监控’之意，其意为‘帮助你将声音控制在安全范围以内’。

5.What does the U.N. Agency think of the 360 million people suffering hearing loss?

A They are infectious.

B They are becoming old.

C It is because of their genetic conditions.

D Many of them can be prevented.

解析：选D。D。推理判断题。 文章最后一段最后一句It notes half of all cases of hearing loss are avoidable.可知是可以避免的。所以D选项为正确的答案。