沉默是金吗?
Is silence golden?
Hello I’m Rob and this is 6 Minute English. With me today is Finn. Hello Finn.
大家好，我是Rob，这里是BBC6分钟英语。今天和我一起的是Finn。Finn你好。
Hello Rob.
你好，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.
今天我们来聊聊噪音--同时学习一下与噪音和它的反义词安静有关的词语。
But, as always, let’s start with a question.
但是，像往常一样，让我们以一个问题开始吧。
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.
英国一项新的调查显示有十种人们最容易接触噪音的工作--这些噪音会对人们的听力造成严重伤害。
Which one of these three jobs has the most exposure to noise?
下面三种工作哪一个是最容易接触噪音的？
a) A nightclub worker
a）夜店工作人员
b) A classical musician
b）古典音乐家
c) An airport ground staff worker
c）机场地面工作人员
I think it’s got to be c) the person who works in the airport.
我认为是c）在机场工作的人。
Planes are very noisy aren’t they Rob?
飞机是非常吵的，不是吗，Rob?
That’s true, very noisy.
是的，他们非常吵。
OK, we’ll find out if you’re right at the end of the programme.
好的，我们将在节目的最后揭晓你选的是否正确。
But now, let’s make some noise! Or at least hear some noise.
现在，我们来“制造”一些噪音！或者我们来听一些噪音。
This is a typical cacophony of sound you can hear on a busy street in London.
这声音是你听到的伦敦繁忙的街道上典型的刺耳声。
A cacophony is a mix of loud sounds…. Have a listen.
这杂音是不同噪音混杂一起的...让我们一起来听一下。
Mix of sounds from a busy London street
伦敦繁忙街道上混杂的噪音
So we heard drills, and buses and church bells in there as well, didn’t we Rob?
我们听到了电钻钻孔的声音、公共汽车声，同时也听到了教堂的钟声，不是吗，Rob？
It’s a real din – or bad noise – but people in urban areas all around the world have to live with that sort of noise all the time.
这真的是非常喧闹--或者说是非常刺耳--但是世界上所有居住在市中心的人们每时每刻都要生活在这样的噪音环境中。
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!
是的，我猜他们也习惯了，它已经是城市生活的一部分了。但是听到自己的想法确实是非常困难的！
And I think you’ll agree the world is becoming noisier?
我认为你会认同世界正在变得越来越吵？
It is. So let’s hear from Doctor Stephen Dance who went to discover how bad the noise in London really is.
的确。让我们来听一下Stephen Dance 博士调查伦敦的噪音到底有多糟糕。
How does he describe the noise for pedestrians?
他会怎样描述行人遇到的噪音呢？
We’re here looking at the London soundscape, and as ever there is a fire engine going by, just as I’m talking.
我们在这儿找寻伦敦的音景，消防车一如既往地经过，在我说话的时候。
That is just as loud as it would be on a motorway but we’re on a side street, so it’s quite deafening for the pedestrians.
这就像是在高速公路上发出的声音一样大，但是实际上我们仅仅是在路边，所以对于行人来说，这声音是相当震耳欲聋的。
That’s Stephen Dance experiencing a typical London soundscape – a soundscape is a mix of sounds heard in a particular location.
这就是Stephen Dance 在伦敦一个典型音景（在特定场合下不同声音的混杂）的感受。
And one of the sounds was that of a fire engine which was very loud!
其中一个声音就是消防车发出来的巨大声音。
It was – he described it as deafening for pedestrians – so, extremely loud and possibly causing deafness.
这就是他所描述的对行人震耳欲聋的噪声，确实是非常大，并且很可能引起失聪。
But how would we know a fire engine was on its way to an emergency without such a sound?
但是消防车不发出那样的声音我们怎么知道它是在处理紧急事务的路上呢？
It’s a good point. Sometimes a loud noise is needed so it can be heard over other noises.
这是非常正确的。为了能够听到，有的时候确实需要很大的声音来盖过其他噪音。
And in other situations we sometimes make more noise to drown out – or cover up – the sounds we don’t want to hear.
在其他一些情况下，我们有时会用更多的噪音来淹没或掩盖我们不想听的声音。
So we turn our music up to drown out the sound of the washing machine for example!
例如我们就会为了掩盖洗衣机的声音而调大音乐的音量！
But of course if everyone turns up their own music the noise becomes even greater.
当然了如果每个人都调大自己音乐的音量这个噪音就会变得更加嘈杂了。
So, Rob, what is the solution?
因此，Rob，解决方案是什么？
Maybe we should all take a vow of silence!
或许我们应该采取沉默的誓言！
Just like a monk, we make a promise not to talk.
就像个和尚一样，我们许下诺言不说话。
I think that would be impossible for you Rob!
但是我认为对你来说简直是不可能的，Rob！
Anyway, what rich people used to do in history was move out of the city to the relative tranquillity of the countryside, but then there the silence was deafening!
不管怎样，在历史上，有钱人就会搬出城到相对宁静的乡村，但是那儿的宁静就被打破了！
And when you’re in the country, you sometimes tune in to the smallest sounds, like a bird singing, and that can become just as irritating.
在乡下，有时候你声音非常小，就像是小鸟在唱歌，也会变得很讨厌。
But you have to admit those sounds are a lot more calming than the constant noise of city life?
但是你不认为这些声音比城市生活中那些持续的噪声平和太多了吗？
Well you can sometimes hear birdsong in the city but it’s the buildings that cause these natural sounds to be drowned out.
有时候你在城市听到鸟叫声，但是正是这些建筑淹没了这些自然的声音。
High rise buildings cause the sound to reflect off – or bounce off - each other causing the sound to be amplified – made louder.
高层建筑导致声音折射或反弹——它们把声音放大，变得更大声。
And buildings made of glass are even more reflective.
那些用玻璃做成的建筑反射声音甚至更厉害。
So there’s not really a solution to reducing noise in the city
所以在城市真的没有一个解决办法来降低噪音。
– 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?
我们只是要戴上耳机,聆听我们自己的音乐——也许是重金属，这将是件好事，不是吗，Rob？
Hmm, well, listening to the tinny sound of music coming from you headphones whilst on a train can be really annoying.
在火车上用耳机听尖细的音乐确实很烦。
Rob, maybe you should join a noise abatementpeople who campaign to control levels of noise.
Rob，或许你应该加入减轻噪声组织，他们从事控制噪音等级。
They try to restrict planes flying over residential areas at night and encourage people not to disturb their neighbours by playing music too loudly.
他们试图限制飞机晚上飞过居民区；鼓励人们不要播放大声的音乐打扰他们的邻居。
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.
或许最大的问题就是什么才称得上是噪音呢？有些人认为是噪音的声音然而在别人耳朵里却是音乐--美妙的声音。
Well Finn, some people say that the best noise is no noise at all – or silence is golden.
嗯。Finn，有人说最好的噪音就是没有噪音--或者说沉默是金。
Actually Rob, when you say ‘silence is golden’ it actually means it’s often better to say nothing at all than say something stupid
真的是这样，Rob，当你说“沉默是金”时，实际上意味着沉默好过开口说话。
– so maybe it’s time for us to stop making any more noise and just get out of here?
--所以，或许我们是时候停止制造任何“噪音”，离开这里了？
Not before I’ve given you the answer to today’s question.
在我给你今天问题的答案后。
Earlier, I said a new survey in the UK has identified the ten jobs where people are most exposed to noise.
开始的时候，我曾说英国的一项新调查列出了十种人们最容易接触噪音的工作。
I asked which of these three jobs has the most exposure to noise?
我问以下三个工作中哪个是最容易接触噪音的？
And I said c) an airport ground staff worker. Was I right?
我的回答是C)在机场地面工作的人们。我说对了吗？
You were absolutely right.
完全正确。
The answer is an airport ground staff worker.
答案是机场地面工作人员。
People who direct jet engines in landing and take-off and are subjected to 140 decibels of sound in one go.
指挥喷气式飞机着陆和起飞的人们会遭受140分贝的噪音。
It’s important to cover your ears with ear muffs in a job like that!
像这种工作有一对耳塞塞住耳朵是很重要的！
OK, that’s all we have time for today but please join us again soon for more 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English.
好的，这就是我们今天全部的内容，请稍后通过BBC6分钟英语学习更多的英语。
Bye.
( ^_^ )/~~拜拜