第二十五课噪音的非听觉效应

   by D.E.BROADBENT

from Non-auditory effects of noise from Science Survey

25-1. Many people in industry and the Services, who have practical experience of noise, regard any investigation of this question as a waste of time; they are not prepared even to admit the possibility that noise affects people.

【译文】工业部门和海陆空军中的许多人对噪声音有切身体会，他们认为对这个问题进行的任何调查都是浪费时间，他们甚至不愿承认噪音可能对人有影响。

【讲解】this question指noise。

25-2. On the other hand, those who dislike noise will sometimes use most inadequate evidence to support their pleas for a quieter society.

【译文】另一方面，那些讨厌噪音的人要求有一个较宁静的社会环境，他们有时用很不充分的证据来支持这一要求。

【单词和短语】

inadequate：不适当的，不够格的，不能胜任的，不充分的（not good enough, big enough, skilled enough etc for a particular purpose），例如：

The girl student realized that her answers were inadequate.

女学生意识到自己的回答不合格。

He makes me feel totally inadequate.

他使我感到自己完全不胜任。

The supply is inadequate to meet the demand. 供不应求。

inadequate的名词形式是inadequacy，反义词是adequate。

25-3. This is a pity, because noise abatement really is a good cause, and it is likely to be discredited if it gets to be associated with bad science.

【译文】此为憾事，因为减少噪音确实是件好事，而如果与贫乏的科学知识搅和在一起，就可能不被人们信任。

【讲解】后一个it指noise abatement。

【单词和短语】

abatement：减少，减弱，减退，减轻（the action of abating），例如：

the abatement of a storm 风势雨势的减弱

the abatement of hopes 希望的渐次破灭

abatement的动词形式是abate。

discredit：使……不可置信，证明……是假的（to make people stop respecting or trusting someone or something），例如：

The defence discredited two government witnesses.

被告及其辩护律师证实两名官方证人不可信。

Recent events have discredited your story.

最近发生的种种事件已证实你的报道不真实。

Later research discredited earlier theories.

最近发生的种种事实已证实你的报道不真实。

25-4. One allegation often made is that noise produces mental illness.

【译文】常有人断言噪音会引发精神病。

【讲解】often made作allegation的定语。

【单词和短语】

allegation：断言，宣称（a statement that someone has done something wrong or illegal, but that has not been proved），例如：

make serious allegations that his watch has been stolen.

郑重其事地断言某人是贼

substantiate vague allegations 证实含糊其辞的说法

He reports on allegations that…他缺乏根据地报道说……

allegation的动词形式是allege。

25-5. A recent article in a weekly newspaper, for instance, was headed with a striking illustration of a lady in a state of considerable distress, with the caption 'She was yet another victim, reduced to a screaming wreck'.

【译文】例如，最近某周报刊载了一篇文章，还配了一幅醒目的插图，图中是一位愁容满面的女子。图片的文字说明是“她是又一名受害者，被摧残成歇斯底里的精神病人”。

【讲解】with the caption…screaming wreck作illustration的定语。

【单词和短语】

head：为……装头（顶），构成……的头部（顶部），放在……顶部，给……加标题，例如：

head an arrow 为箭装头

head a cask 为木桶装顶盖

a church tower headed by a spire 建有尖顶的教堂塔楼

Each page was headed with the writer’s name.

每页上端都有作者的名字。

striking：惹人注目的，突出的，显著的（unusual or interesting enough to be easily noticed），例如：

a lack of striking confidence 明显的信心不足

a striking change 显著的变化

a striking instance 突出的例子

a striking commercial success商业上的惊人成功

The girl is striking in face and figure. 姑娘相貌和身材都很出众。

distress：（精神上的）痛苦，悲伤，苦恼，忧虑（a feeling of extreme unhappiness），例如：

His distress was shared with by all his neighbours.

他的邻居都分担他的痛苦。

His death caused her a great deal of distress.

他的去世使他极为痛苦。

He was in great distress over her disappearance.

她的失踪使他深感忧虑。

distress的形容词形式是distressful/distressing。

reduce：把……降级，使沦为（bring down），例如：

reduce an embassy to a liaison office

将大使馆降级为联络处

reduce sb. from corporal to private 把某人从下士降为列兵

be reduced in circumstances 落魄

be reduced to begging in the streets 沦落街头行乞

25-6. On turning eagerly to the text, one learns that the lady was a typist who found the sound of office typewriters worried her more and more until eventually she had to go into a mental hospital.

【译文】人们急切地看完正文后才弄清该女士曾是打字员，办公室打字机的声音使她越来越烦，他最终不得不进了精神病院。

【讲解】On等于as soon as。one泛指人们。more and more作状语修饰worried。

25-7. Now the snag in this sort of anecdote is of course that one cannot distinguish cause and effect.

【译文】这类奇闻中的疑难处是人们无法区别因果。

【单词和短语】

snag：（意外的）障碍，（潜在的）困难，麻烦（a problem or disadvantage, especially one that is not very serious, which you had not expected），例如：

The road ahead is littered with snags.

前进的道路上处处都有障碍。

He hit two snags in his effort to attain his goal.

他在争取达到目标的努力中遇到了两个意外障碍。

The snag is that I have nothing suitable to wear.

问题是我没有合适的衣服穿。

25-8. Was the noise a cause of the illness, or were the complaints about noise merely a symptom?

【译文】噪音是病因呢，还是对噪音的抱怨仅是一种症状呢？

【单词和短语】

complaint：抱怨，诉苦，抗议，怨言（something that you complain about），例如：

Our complaints fell on deaf ears.

我们的抱怨被置若罔闻。

make some complaints over shortages and high prices

对物资短缺和物价高昂发怨言

After much complaint they were allowed in.

在提了许多抗议后他们才得以进去。

complaint的动词形式是complain。

25-9. Another patient might equally well complain that her neighbours were combining to slander her and persecute her, and yet one might be cautious about believing this statement.

【译文】另一位病人同样可以有理由抱怨说，她的邻居们正在联合起来诽谤她、迫害她，不过人们不会轻信这种想法。

【讲解】might well是may well的过去时，意为“有理由地（used to say that there is a good reason for…）”，不过might不一定指过去，有时用来表示一种客气说法，例如She might well ask that.（她这样问一声，也不为无理吧。）另请参见第四十六课第30句的讲解。one泛指人们。this statement指her neighbours were combining to slander her and persecute her。

【单词和短语】

complain:抱怨，发牢骚，诉苦（to say that you are annoyed, not satisfied, or unhappy about something or someone），例如：

complain about/of the weather 抱怨天气

They complained at being excluded from the meeting.

他们因未能参加会议而抱怨。

slander的形容词形式是slanderous。

persecute的名词形式是persecution。

cautious的名词形式是caution。

25-10. What is needed in case of noise is a study of large numbers of people living under noisy conditions, to discover whether they are mentally ill more often than other people are.

【译文】就噪音而论，需要研究大量生活在噪音条件下的人，看看他们是否比其他人更经常地患精神病。

【讲解】What is needed in case of noise是主语从句。a study of中的of表示动宾关系，表示“研究……”。living under noisy conditions作people的定语。to discover whether…other people are作目的状语，修饰谓语部分is a study of large numbers of people living under noisy conditions。

25-11. Some time ago the United States Navy, for instance, examined a very large number of men working on aircraft carriers: the study was known as Project Anehin.

【译文】例如，美国海军最近调查了许多在航母上工作的人，这次调查被称为“安内英工程”。

【讲解】working on aircraft carriers作men的定语。carriers后的冒号引出说明性词语，进一步解释冒号前面的整个句子。

25-12. It can be unpleasant to live even several miles from an aerodrome; if you think what it must be like to share the deck of a ship with several squadrons of jet aircraft, you will realize that a modern navy is a good place to study noise.

【译文】即使住在离机场几英里外的地方，机场的噪音也会使人难受。假如你想到与好几个中队的喷气机同在一艘船的甲板上是什么滋味的话，你就会意识到现代化的海军是研究噪音的好地方。

【讲解】第一个分句中，it是形式主语，to live even several miles from an aerodrome是真正的主语。第二个分句中，it是形式主语，to share the deck…jet aircraft是真正的主语。

25-13. But neither psychiatric interviews nor objective tests were able to show any effects upon these American sailors.

【译文】但是无论是精神病学的走访或有目的的试验，都不能显示噪音对这些美国水兵有任何影响。

25-14. This result merely confirms earlier American and British studies: if there is any effect of noise upon mental health, it must be so small that present methods of psychiatric diagnosis cannot find it.

【译文】这个结果只证实了美英两国的早期研究：假如噪音对精神健康有任何影响的话，那也一定是微乎其微，目前精神病的诊断方法还发现不了。

【讲解】句中的两个it都是指effect of noise。冒号引出studies的同位语。

【单词和短语】

diagnosis的动词形式是diagnose，形容词形式是diagnostic。

25-15. That does not prove that it does not exist: but it does mean that noise is less dangerous than, say, being brought up in an orphanage—which really is mental health hazard.

【译文】这并不证明这种影响不存在；但这确实意味着噪音的危险性，比如说，比在孤儿院抚育成长要小一些，而孤儿院才确实是精神健康的大害。

【讲解】That指上句的this result。句中的第一个it指this result。being brought up in an orphanage是动名词短语，作主语。orphanage后省略了is dangerous。say作插入语，意为“比方说”。破折号引出被强调的orphanage的非限制性定语从句。另请注意，句中关系代词which的先行词，从形式上看可以是orphanage，也可以是动名词短语being brought up in an orphanage，但根据上下文和全句意思，应是后者。

【单词和短语】

由orphanage（孤儿院）联想到orphan（孤儿）。

hazard：危险，危害物，危险之源（something that may be dangerous, or cause accidents or problems），例如：

a life full of hazards 充满危险的一生

a hazard to health 危机健康的因素

Fog can be a hazard on the motorways in winter.

冬天的大雾会在汽车道上制造险情。

hazard的形容词形式是hazardous。