The world has many beautiful sounds. We can hear the songs of birds and the laugh of people. We can listen to cool music and news reports. And it’s all because of our ears! They bring us a world of sounds.

But some people can’t hear any sound at all. Some are born deaf. Others can hear well in their childhood, nut too many loud sounds hurt their ears later on.

Many people in China can’t hear ordinary sounds clearly. Lots of them are children. Most of them are born with good hearing. But six children of every 1,000 have hearing problems when they are born. And if a children has hearing problems, he or she usually will also have some learning problems at school.

A lot of things can cause fearing problems, like, too much earwax is not good for our hearing. And noise louder than 85 decibels (分贝) can hurt our ears and make us lose our hearing for a short time or even for ever.

Hearing is important for all of us. So we should do our best to give our ears special care. Don’t forget to do the following:

◎ Try to stay away from places with too much noise. 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 parents to help you clean it out.

Keep these things in mind. Then you won’t be saying “WHAT? WHAT?” when you are older.

1.What does the underlined word “earwax” mean in the passage?

A．耳膜             B．耳鸣             C．耳垢             D．耳疾

2.Which of the following is NOT talked by the writer?

A．Illness and hearing problems.              B．people with hearing problems.

C．Ways to protect our ears.                 D．Danger of loud noise.

3.____________ is/are bad for our ears.

A．A little earwax      B．Earplugs           C．All noise          D．Noise louder than 85 decibels

4.The underlined sentence means ___________.

A．When you get older, you know it’s not polite to ask “What?”.

B．When you get older, you still have good hearing.

C．When you get older, you won’t ask questions.

D．When you get older, you will have fewer questions.

Have you ever stayed in a hotel? Most Chinese hotels often provide guests(客人) with things like disposable (一次性的) toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo and slippers. Many guests like the idea because they don’t have to bring their own. But, if you travel to Beijing, remember to bring your own things. Starting from June, some hotels in Beijing will no longer provide guests with these disposables. They want to ask people to use less disposable things.
Many disposable things are made of plastic. People throw them away after only using them once. It is a waste of natural resources (资源) and is very bad for the environment. Do you know, one Chinese person makes as much as 400kg of waste a year! Most of that waste comes from disposable things. In Beijing, people throw away about 19,000 tons of plastic bags and 1,320 tons of plastic lunch bowls every year! Plastic can take between 100 and 400 years to break down. So the less plastic we throw out, the better. So, wherever you travel, bring your own things and use them again and again.
Back at home and school, you can also do something to make our world a better place. Try to do these things in your daily life:  Use cloth shopping bags, not plastic ones. After using a plastic bag, wash it out and let it dry. Then you can use it over and over again. Do not use paper cups. At your school dining-room, use your own bowl and chopsticks instead of disposable ones.
To protect our environment and our home, it is very necessary and important for us to save natural resources.
(  ) 11. Why do many hotels provide guests with some disposable things?
A. Let their guests be convenient during their traveling.
B. Hope their guests use less disposable things.
C. Wish their guests to save money.
D. Want their guests to use more disposable things.
(   ) 12. Some Beijing hotels will no longer provide guests with _________.
A. cheap food and drink    B. disposable things 
C. good service           D. free TV programs
(   ) 13. Which of the following is NOT true?
A. Many disposable things are made of plastic.
B. Throwing disposable things away is a waste of natural resources.
C. Plastic is very bad for the environment.
D. Plastic breaks down easily.
(   ) 14. What can we do to make our world a better place at home and school?
A. Use shopping bags made of plastic.       
B. Do not throw away paper cups.
C. Use disposable plates, bowls and chopsticks.
D. Don’t forget to reuse daily necessities（日用品）.
(   ) 15. We can tell from the story that ________.
A. people don’t like disposable things at all
B. we can’t use paper or plastic bowls at school
C. we should use less plastic things and protect our environment
D. hotels won’t provide disposable things because they want to save money

从方框中选择恰当的选项，补全对话。(有两项多余）
A: Mary, it's your bed time.    1  
B: Oh, Mum!   2    It's Friday evening and it's still early.
A: Yes. Tomorrow we have to get up early to catch the train to your grandpa's.
B:    4   OK, I'll go to bed right now.    3    Oh, Mum, do I have to brush my
teeth before I go to sleep?
A:    5    And don't forget to close the bedroom window.
B: I won't. Good night, Mum!
A: Good night!

People know the dangers of fires. It’s good for a family to learn how to prepare for a fire. Here are sonic suggestions:
Put a smoke a1arm in the house. Smoke from a fire causes the alarm to go off The alarm makes a loud sound. The sound tells everyone to leave the house at once.
Make escape (逃脱) plans. They should know all the ways out of the house. If there is a fire, everyone follows the plan to get out. Part of the plan is to check all the windows to make sure they can be opened easily.
Buy fire extinguishers (灭火器) in the house, Everyone in the family should know how to use them.
Practise for a fire. They do fire practice because they teach children about fire safety. Everyone in. the family should know the following fire rules:
★ Don’t open a hot door! The tire can grow more quickly if you open the door.
★Stay close to the floor! Smoke can be more dangerous than fire, The best air is near the floor because smoke rises.
★What will you do if your hair or clothes start to burn? First, stop! Don’t run! The fire burns faster because of more air. Drop! Fall to the floor. Then roll! Turning over and over will make the fire go out. Put a blanket (毯子) around you to keep air away from the fire that may still be on you.
There are many possible causes for fires. A wise family is ready all the time. If there is a fire, don’t forget to call 119 for help.
【小题1】What does it mean when a smoke alarm rings at home?

If you want to get a new cell phone number, don’t forget to bring your ID(身份证明) with you .
As of September 1, people have to register(注册) with their ID to buy a new cell phone number. You can show your ID card or hukou, but student ID’s won’t work.
If you already have a cell phone number, it is better to register it before 2013.
The new rules are meant to prevent junk messages and fraud(诈骗) through cell phones.
A cell phone user in China on average received 43.3 messages a week in the first half of this year. According to reports, about 12 of those were junk messages.
In a survey, about 74.5 percent of users said they have received fraudulent(诈骗的) messages.
If all people register their cell phone number with ID information, it will be easier for police to find the people behind those messages.
Situations in other countries
Because cell phone are getting more and more popular, many countries have made stricter cell phone rules.
Countries like India, Japan, Australia, and Singapore all ask users to register their ID information.
Ulrich Mller is a German living in Beijing. “In Germany, you have to show your ID when you buy a cell phone card,” he said. “The rules have been there for a long time. Most people know about it.”
Linda van der Horst is a student at Peking University. She said that in the Netherlands(荷兰)，people have to show ID information and bank account(账户) information to buy a cell phone card.
【小题1】What is the passage mainly about?