Read these excerpts from a passage.

"I’m a normal high school kid—that is, I like listening to music. Until about a year ago, I always liked listening to it loud. Loud enough that it filled up my head and pulsed through my body, so the boundary between me and the music disappeared. I’ve listened to countless hours of music—vibrant music pouring into my ears from headphones, washing over me from car speakers, or blasting at me from gigantic speakers at concerts.

But there’s something about me that makes me not so normal. I have a hearing loss and a constant ringing in my ears that, unless some medical miracle happens, I’ll suffer from these impairments forever. My ear problems are so severe that I feel I need to warn you: You have to protect your hearing as much as you can."

What is the cultural context of this passage?


a. The reading is set in modern times. The narrator wants to encourage others to listen to loud music, like she did in the past.


b. The reading is set in modern times. The narrator experiences a medical miracle and recovers her hearing.


c. The reading is set in modern times. The narrator shares her beliefs about the causes of her hearing loss.


d. The reading is set in modern times. The narrator shares her experiences attending rock con