阅读理解
George Prochnik would like the world to_put_a_sock_in_it.He makes his case in a new book,
Listening for Meaning in a World of Noise. Here he explains himself (using his indoor voice):
"We've become so accustomed to noise, there's almost a deep prejudice against the idea that
silence might be beneficial.If you tell someone to be quiet, you sound like an old man.But it's never
been more important to find continuing quiet.Silence focuses us, improves our health, and is a key
to lasting peace and satisfaction."
"We need to excite people about the sounds you start to hear if you merely quiet things down a
little.During a Japanese tea ceremony, the smallest sounds become a kind of art-the spoons making
a light ringing sound on a bowl, the edges of a kimono(和服)brushing against the floor."
"Deaf people are very attentive(专注的)in almost every aspect of life.If two deaf people are
walking together, using sign language, they constantly watch out for each other and protect each
other by paying steady attention to the other.They are connected yet also fully aware of their
surroundings.Even deaf teenagers! We in the hearing world can learn from them.If we remove the
powerful blasts(一阵阵)of noise, we become aware of an extraordinarily rich world around us-of
little soft sounds and the sound of footsteps, of bird songs and ice cracking(开裂声).It's astonishing
how beautiful things sound when you can really listen."
1. What does the phrase "to put a sock in it" in Paragraph 1 probably mean?
A. to be quiet
B. to be colorful
C. to be full of love
D. to be attentive to someone
2. What does Prochnik say about us?
A. We are used to quietness.
B. We have to put up with noise.
C. We do not think silence to be beneficial.
D. We do not believe lasting peace to be available.
3. Which of the following is TRUE according to Prochnik?
A. We need more sounds in our lives.
B. There is nothing to be learned from the deaf.
C. We are not aware how rich the world around us is.
D. There is too much noise at a Japanese tea ceremony.
4. It can be inferred from the text that________.
A. we can benefit a lot from old people
B. it is a good idea to use sign language
C. there is no escape from the world of sound
D. it is possible to find how beautiful things sound
