第三部分　　阅读理解

　　说明：阅读下列短文，从[A]、[B]、[C]、[D]四个选项中选择一个正确答案。

　　About 16 million people in the United States have lost some of their hearing. About two million others are extremely or completely deaf (聋的). They cannot hear speech or most other sounds in their everyday (每天的，日常的) life, even with a hearing aid to make sounds louder.

　　There are several kinds of hearing loss. The first kind is caused by disease or injury (伤害，毁坏) to the outer (外部的) or middle part of the ear. The damage prevents sound waves (声波) from reaching the inner (内部的，核心的) ear. Usually, this kind of hearing loss is not extreme (极端的). And a hearing aid or medical treatment (处理，治疗) can often restore (恢复) hearing. A second kind of hearing loss has something to do with the nerves (神经). It is caused by damage to the inner ear. A loud noise or disease may destroy some of the tiny nerve cells that carry sound. People suffering this kind of damage may lose the ability to hear some sounds, high or low. The third kind of deafness is called a central hearing loss. It is caused by damage to the hearing nerves leading to the brain or in the brain itself.

 56."A hearing aid", as used in the first paragraph (段), refers to 　　

　　A louder sound.　

　　A recorder (录音机).　

　　Something that can help people to hear by making the sounds louder.　

　　A radio.　

 57.Which kind of hearing loss is the most serious?

　　The third kind.　 The first kind.　 The second kind.　None.　 　　　　　

 58.Hearing loss caused by 　　 can be restored.

　　damage to the outer ear　

　　damage to the inner ear　

　　damage to the brain　

　　damage to the nerves　

 59.Which of the following is true?

　　Even a hearing aid can't help people to hear.　

　　About 16 million people in the United States are completely deaf.　

　　Any damage to the ear may cause the loss of hearing forever.　

　　Some hearing loss can be treated.　

　　Friends or contemporaries (同龄人) are a great influence on the actions, thoughts, and words of young people. This influence, known as peer (同辈) pressure (压力), is quite common among children. Why are children so easily affected by what their peers do, think, or say?

　　Most of us, children included, feel a strong need to be liked by others. We seek acceptance (接受，承认) and friendship. In order to gain them, we act like our friends, and listen to their advice, whether or not it is helpful (有帮助的，有益的). Some of us even begin to think like our friends, sometimes at the expense of our own beliefs and values. An example that comes to mind is the young person who gets involved with drugs because his peer group is experimenting with them. Parents may try to exert (尽，施加) pressure to keep him away from drugs, but frequently peer pressure is too great. This conflict between being your own person and, at the same time, responding to the pressures of a group remains a problem for young people.