LISTEN. Do you hear the sound of birds outside, a car going by, your favorite music? (A)Because of  your ears, you can hear it clearly.
March 3 is International Ear Care Day. This year, the theme for the day is “Ear care can avoid hearing loss (丧失)”.
The World Health Organization(WHO) reports that there are 360 million people in the world with disabling (使伤残) hearing loss. At least half of all cases of hearing loss are avoidable through healthy ear care practices.
Protecting yourself from loud noise is a key part of ear care. Nowadays, (B) it is very common for people to listen to music with headphones on while traveling to school or work. Experts suggest a 60:60 rule: listen to your music at 60 percent of the maximum (最大值的) volume for no more than 60 minutes a day.
Cleaning your ears is a basic step to take care of your ears. Do you clean your ears with cotton buds or fingernails? Think again. These things can push earwax (耳垢) deeper into your ear, and hurt your ear canal (耳道). The ear is a self-cleaning organ and does not require active cleaning,(C)        the WHO. If the wax makes you (D)         , you can ask a doctor to deal with it.
Take care of your ears when you are swimming. You can use earplugs.  Dry your ears with a towel afteru(耳塞) to stop water getting into your ears. swimming or having a bath. (E) If you feel there is water inside your ear, shake your head a little bit to help get the water out.
Top things to know about earphones
Here are some helpful tips to guide you to using earphones in the right way.
1. (F) What kind of earphones you wear is important for your hearing. Choose over-the-ear headphones. This type can block out (挡住) background noise and allow you to have the volume lower. In-the-ear headphones are less effective (有效的) at blocking out background noise.
2. Some children like sharing earphones with their friends. But when you have only one earphone, you may naturally turn the volume up. Instead of (G)       earphones, get a splitter (分线器). This lets you connect two sets of earphones. This way, you can protect your own hearing as well as your friend’s.
3. Want to know if your earphones are at a safe volume? Ask people (H)       near you if they can hear your music. If they can, it’s a sign that your hearing is being damaged. Turn the volume down until other people can no longer hear it.
任务一：从方框中选择单词并用适当的形式填入D、G、H处

The centerpiece of curling(冰壶)is the curling stone. Kays of Scotland has been making curling stones since 1851, when William Kay and his sons Andrew and Thomas set up a workshop in Mauchline, Ayrshire, in southwest Scotland. Kays is still owned by the relatives of the founder, and today it is the only curling stone maker left in Scotland.
Used in a highly competitive sport, the curling stones are made to exact standards. First, stones are sliced and then into round “cheeses”. Finally, the cheeses are shaped and polished into curling stones in a series of steps.
Each stone must weigh 44 pounds. Each must have a maximum diameter (直径) of 36 inches. Polishing is done by hand on a wheel using water, diamond-talcum power, and felt. Finishing the stone’s “running edge” is done entirely by hand with a special kind of paper and a digital measure and magnifying glass (放大镜). Lastly, a handle(把手) is fitted into holes on the top of the stone. Stones are computer-matched into pairs. Sixteen stones----8 pairs----are needed for a game, and since curling game field usually have 6 lanes, each game field needs 96 matched stones!
Kays is a small company, employing less than ten skilled workers. Master craftsman and co-owner James Wyllie is skilled at all phases of curling stone making and is also an enthusiastic curler, as well as active member of Mauchline’s Burns Club, which meets regularly to honor well-known Mauchline residents.
【小题1】What is true about Kays?

If cars had wings, they could fly and that just might happen, beginning in 2011.The company Terrafugia, based in Woburn, Massachusetts, says it plans to make such a car-plane called “Transition”, to customers(顾客) by the end of 2012. “It’s the next ‘wow’ vehicle,”said Terrafugia vice president Richard Gersh. “Anybody can buy a Ferrari, but as we say, Ferraris don’t fly.”
The car-plane has wings that unfold for flying—a process the company says takes one minute-and fold back up for driving. A runway is still needed to take off and land.
The Transition is being marketed more as a plane that drives than a car that flies, although it is both. The company has been working with FAA to meet aircraft regulations, and with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to meet vehicle safety regulations.
The company is aiming to sell the Transition to private pilots as an easier and cheaper way to fly.They say it saves you the trouble from trying to find another mode of transportation to get to and from airports: You drive the car to the airport and then you’re good to go.When you land, you fold up the wings and hit the road. There are no expensive parking fees because you don’t have to store it at an airport—you leave it in the car park at home.
The car-plane is designed to fly under 10,000 feet. It has a maximum take-off weight of 1,430 pounds, including fuel and passengers.
The Transition’s price tag: $194,000, But there may be something else you need to pay, like a radio, transponder or GPS and so on.
So far, the company has more than 70 orders. “We’re working very closely with them, but there are still some remaining steps,” Brown said.
【小题1】We can learn from the first paragraph that _________.

The centerpiece of curling(冰壶)is the curling stone. Kays of Scotland has been making curling stones since 1851, when William Kay and his sons Andrew and Thomas set up a workshop in Mauchline, Ayrshire, in southwest Scotland. Kays is still owned by the relatives of the founder, and today it is the only curling stone maker left in Scotland.

Used in a highly competitive sport, the curling stones are made to exact standards. First, stones are sliced and then into round “cheeses”. Finally, the cheeses are shaped and polished into curling stones in a series of steps.

Each stone must weigh 44 pounds. Each must have a maximum diameter (直径) of 36 inches. Polishing is done by hand on a wheel using water, diamond-talcum power, and felt. Finishing the stone’s “running edge” is done entirely by hand with a special kind of paper and a digital measure and magnifying glass (放大镜). Lastly, a handle(把手) is fitted into holes on the top of the stone. Stones are computer-matched into pairs. Sixteen stones----8 pairs----are needed for a game, and since curling game field usually have 6 lanes, each game field needs 96 matched stones!

Kays is a small company, employing less than ten skilled workers. Master craftsman and co-owner James Wyllie is skilled at all phases of curling stone making and is also an enthusiastic curler, as well as active member of Mauchline’s Burns Club, which meets regularly to honor well-known Mauchline residents.

【小题1 】What is true about Kays?

A. It is a family business.

B. It’s a brand(牌子) of curling stones.

  C. It’s a place in Scotland.

D. It’s the name of a curling stone dealer(业者).

【小题 2】How many curling stones are needed for two games happening at the same time?

  A. 8          B. 16           C. 32           D. 96

【小题 3】What does the underlined word “sliced” mean in Chinese in the second paragraph?

A. 切割    B. 镶嵌         C. 移开        D. 固定

【小题 4】Which of the following statements is NOT RIGHT according to the passage?

A. Kays of Scotland has been curling stone maker for more than 150 years.

B. The weight of each curling stone must be 44 pounds.

C. We use a special machine to polish the curling stone.

D. The workers in Kays are all experienced.

【小题 5】What’s the passage mainly about?

A. The history of curling.

B. How to make a curling stone.

C. The rules of curling.

D. How to become a curling stone maker.