2.（2011·安徽卷）E

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(專注的)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(一陣陣)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(開裂聲). It’s astonishing how beautiful things sound when you can really listen. ”

【文章大意】文章介紹了George Prochnik的新著Listening for Meaning in a World of Noise

和他的觀點(diǎn)：在喧囂的世界中創(chuàng)造一方不太紛擾的環(huán)境，這個(gè)世界會更美好。

72. 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

【解析】選A。詞義理解題。根據(jù)第二段作者的觀點(diǎn)Silence focuses us, improves our health, and is a key to lasting peace and satisfaction.可知，作者是推崇的silence, 故選A項(xiàng)。

73. 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

【解析】選C。推理判斷題。根據(jù)第二段We’ve become so accustomed to noise, there’s almost a deep prejudice against the idea that silence might be beneficial和it’s never been more important to find continuing quiet及第三段During a Japanese tea ceremony, the smallest sounds become a kind of art等句可以判斷得出，我們生活在一個(gè)喧鬧的世界，寂靜才是我們的追求，故選擇C項(xiàng)。

74. Which of the following is true according to Prochnik?

A. We need more sounds in our lives

B. There isnothing 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

【解析】選C。推理判斷題。根據(jù)文章末段If we remove the powerful blasts(一陣陣)of noise, we become aware of an extraordinarily rich world around us.... It’s astonishing how beautiful things sound when you can really listen.可知C項(xiàng)正確。A項(xiàng)和作者的觀點(diǎn)相反；根據(jù)We in the hearing world can learn from them (deaf people)可知B項(xiàng)錯(cuò)誤；根據(jù)During a Japanese tea ceremony, the smallest sounds become a kind of art可知作者贊賞the smallest sounds，故D項(xiàng)錯(cuò)誤。

75. 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

【解析】選D。推理判斷題。通讀全文可知，盡管我們生活在一個(gè)喧鬧的世界，作者提倡我們創(chuàng)造一個(gè)不太紛擾的環(huán)境，果真如此，這個(gè)世界是很美好的，據(jù)此D項(xiàng)正確。