【一起听英语】沉默是金？
部分人的工作是长期暴露在噪音中的，像迪厅的DJ，机场的工作人员。长期处于这样的工作环境，是否会对听力造成影响？
Rob: Hello I’m Rob and this is 6 Minute English. With me today is Finn. Hello Finn.
Finn: Hello Rob.
Rob: We’re talking about noise today – and looking at some of the words and phrases
associated with noise and its opposite: peace and quiet. But, as always, let’s
start with a question. A new survey in the UK has identified the ten jobs where
people are most exposed to noise – noise that can cause serious damage to
someone’s hearing. Which one of these three jobs has the most exposure to
noise?
a) A nightclub worker
b) A classical musician
c) An airport ground staff worker
Finn: I think it’s got to be c) the person who works in the airport. Planes are very
noisy aren’t they Rob?
Rob: That’s true, very noisy. OK, we’ll find out if you’re right at the end of the
programme. But now, let’s make some noise! Or at least hear some noise. This
is a typical cacophony 1 of sound you can hear on a busy street in London. A
cacophony is a mix of loud sounds…. Have a listen.
(Mix of sounds from a busy London street)
Finn: So we heard drills, and buses and church bells in there as well, didn’t we Rob?
It’s a real din 2 – or bad noise – but people in urban areas all around the world
have to live with that sort of noise all the time.
Rob: Yes but I guess they get used to it and it's all part of city life but it does mean it
can be difficult to hear yourself think! And I think you’ll agree the world is
becoming noisier?
6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2013
Page 2 of 4
Finn: It is. So let’s hear from Doctor Stephen Dance who went to discover how bad the
noise in London really is. How does he describe the noise for pedestrians 3?
Dr Stephen Dance. South Bank University:
We’re here looking at the London soundscape, and as ever there is a fire engine going by, just
as I’m talking. That is just as loud as it would be on a motorway 4 but we’re on a side street, so
it’s quite deafening 5 for the pedestrians.
Rob: That’s Stephen Dance experiencing a typical London soundscape – a soundscape
is a mix of sounds heard in a particular location. And one of the sounds was that
of a fire engine which was very loud!
Finn: It was – he described it as deafening for pedestrians – so, extremely loud and
possibly causing deafness. But how would we know a fire engine was on its way
to an emergency without such a sound?
Rob: It’s a good point. Sometimes a loud noise is needed so it can be heard over
other noises. And in other situations we sometimes make more noise to drown
out – or cover up – the sounds we don’t want to hear. So we turn our music up
to drown out the sound of the washing machine for example!
Finn: But of course if everyone turns up their own music the noise becomes even
greater. So, Rob, what is the solution?
Rob: Maybe we should all take a vow 6 of silence! Just like a monk 7, we make a
promise not to talk.
Finn: I think that would be impossible for you Rob! Anyway, what rich people used to
do in history was move out of the city to the relative tranquillity 8 of the
countryside, but then there the silence was deafening!
Rob: And when you’re in the country, you sometimes tune 9 in to the smallest sounds,
like a bird singing, and that can become just as irritating. But you have to admit
those sounds are a lot more calming than the constant noise of city life?
Finn: Well you can sometimes hear birdsong in the city but it’s the buildings that cause
these natural sounds to be drowned out.
6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2013
Page 3 of 4
Rob: High rise buildings cause the sound to reflect off – or bounce off - each other
causing the sound to be amplified 10 – made louder. And buildings made of glass
are even more reflective.
Finn: So there’s not really a solution to reducing noise in the city – we’re just going to
have put on our headphones and listen to our own noise – heavy metal maybe,
that would be good, wouldn’t it Rob?
Rob: Hmm, well, listening to the tinny sound of music coming from you headphones
whilst on a train can be really annoying.
Finn: Rob, maybe you should join a noise abatement 11 group - these are groups of
people who campaign to control levels of noise. They try to restrict planes flying
over residential 12 areas at night and encourage people not to disturb their
neighbours by playing music too loudly. Maybe the big question really is what is
noise? Some people may call a sound just noise whereas others may say it’s
music to their ears – a beautiful sound.
Rob: Well Finn, some people say that the best noise is no noise at all – or silence is
golden.
Finn: Actually Rob, when you say ‘silence is golden’ it actually means it’s often better
to say nothing at all than say something stupid – so maybe it’s time for us to
stop making any more noise and just get out of here?
Rob: Not before I’ve given you the answer to today’s question. Earlier, I said a new
survey in the UK has identified the ten jobs where people are most exposed to
noise. I asked which of these three jobs has the most exposure to noise?
Finn: And I said c) an airport ground staff worker. Was I right?
Rob: You were absolutely right. The answer is an airport ground staff worker. People
who direct jet engines in landing and take-off and are subjected to 140 decibels 13
of sound in one go. It’s important to cover your ears with ear muffs in a job like
that! OK, that’s all we have time for today but please join us again soon for more
6 Minute English from BBC Learning English.
Both: Bye
- All around was bubbling a cacophony of voices.周围人声嘈杂。
- The drivers behind him honked,and the cacophony grew louder.后面的司机还在按喇叭，且那刺耳的声音越来越大。
- The bustle and din gradually faded to silence as night advanced.随着夜越来越深，喧闹声逐渐沉寂。
- They tried to make themselves heard over the din of the crowd.他们力图让自己的声音盖过人群的喧闹声。
- Several pedestrians had come to grief on the icy pavement. 几个行人在结冰的人行道上滑倒了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- Pedestrians keep to the sidewalk [footpath]! 行人走便道。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
- Our car had a breakdown on the motorway.我们的汽车在高速公路上抛锚了。
- A maniac driver sped 35 miles along the wrong side of a motorway at 110 mph.一个疯狂的司机以每小时110英里的速度在高速公路上逆行飙车35英里。
- My parents are under a vow to go to church every Sunday.我父母许愿，每星期日都去做礼拜。
- I am under a vow to drink no wine.我已立誓戒酒。
- The man was a monk from Emei Mountain.那人是峨眉山下来的和尚。
- Buddhist monk sat with folded palms.和尚合掌打坐。
- The phenomenon was so striking and disturbing that his philosophical tranquillity vanished. 这个令人惶惑不安的现象，扰乱了他的旷达宁静的心境。
- My value for domestic tranquillity should much exceed theirs. 我应该远比他们重视家庭的平静生活。
- He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
- The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。
- He amplified on his remarks with drawings and figures. 他用图表详细地解释了他的话。
- He amplified the whole course of the incident. 他详述了事件的全过程。
- A bag filter for dust abatement at the discharge point should be provided.在卸料地点应该装设袋滤器以消除粉尘。
- The abatement of the headache gave him a moment of rest.头痛减轻给他片刻的休息。
- The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
- The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。