Read the passage below and answer the question:
"Urban noise pollution is increasingly recognized as an invisible cardiovascular hazard. Chronic nocturnal exposure to road and aviation noise exceeding fifty-five decibels elevates nocturnal cortisol and adrenaline, inducing systemic vascular endothelial dysfunction and multiplying long-term risks of myocardial infarction."
According to the passage, how does nocturnal noise pollution harm cardiovascular health?
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: A. by triggering elevated stress hormones that cause vascular endothelial dysfunction
- Step 1: Trace the physiological pathway described: noise > 55 dB 'elevates nocturnal cortisol and adrenaline, inducing systemic vascular endothelial dysfunction and multiplying long-term risks of myocardial infarction'.
- Step 2: Noise induces neuroendocrine stress hormone release, damaging blood vessels and raising heart attack risks.
Answer
by triggering elevated stress hormones that cause vascular endothelial dysfunction.
Why not the others: 'by directly rupturing eardrums and causing permanent physical hearing loss' describes acute acoustic trauma (> 140 dB), not the chronic cardiovascular stress mechanism in the text; 'by increasing physical blood volume and flooding internal thoracic organs' is medically absurd; 'by eliminating the body's natural capacity to synthesize digestive enzymes' is unmentioned.
Practise more Advanced Academic Discourse, Environmental Sciences, and Critical Synthesis.
Free questions with an explanation for every one, and full timed MUET Malaysia (Malaysian University English Test) mock tests.
More Advanced Academic Discourse, Environmental Sciences, and Critical Synthesis questions
- Read the passage below and identify the central thesis:
*"The vulnerabilities laid bare by recent geopolitical crises have triggered a corp… - What can be inferred from the excerpt below?
*"Marine biologists observed that prolonged thermal marine heatwaves not only trigger mass cor… - What does the word myopic mean in the policy analysis excerpt below?
The economist criticized the government's myopic* focus on quart… - Read the passage and determine the author's primary attitude:
*"Proponents herald deep-seabed mining of polymetallic nodules as an indispen… - Read the excerpt and answer the question:
*"Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in tertiary institutions is often misunderstood as lowering… - Choose the closest contextual meaning of nascent in the sentence below:
Venture capitalists directed substantial seed funding into the …