Lesson 25 Non-auditory effects of noise

they are not prepared even to admit the possibility that noise affects people.

甚至不愿承認(rèn)噪音可能對人有影響。

Lesson 25 Non-auditory effects of noise

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

另一方面，那些討厭噪音的人有時(shí)會用不充分的證據(jù)來支持他們希望有一個(gè)較為安靜的社會環(huán)境的要求。

Lesson 25 Non-auditory effects of noise

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.

要求減少噪音確實(shí)是件好事，但是如果與拙劣的科學(xué)摻雜在一起的話，就不會被人們所信任，這是很遺憾的。

Lesson 25 Non-auditory effects of noise

One allegation often made is that noise produces mental illness.

常見的一種指責(zé)是，噪音能引起精神病。

Lesson 25 Non-auditory effects of noise

A recent article in a weekly newspaper, for instance,

例如，最近一家周報(bào)刊登了一篇文章，

Lesson 25 Non-auditory effects of noise

was headed with a striking illustration of a lady in a state of considerable distress,

文章上方有一幅引人注目的插圖，是一位表情沮喪的女子。

Lesson 25 Non-auditory effects of noise

with the caption 'She was yet another victim, reduced to a screaming wreck '.

她是又一個(gè)受害者，成了只會尖叫的可憐蟲。"

Lesson 25 Non-auditory effects of noise

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.

當(dāng)人們急切地看完正文后，便知道這位女子是個(gè)打字員，辦公室打字機(jī)的聲音使她越來越煩惱，最終住進(jìn)了精神病醫(yī)院。

Lesson 25 Non-auditory effects of noise

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

這類奇聞的疑難之處是無法區(qū)別因果關(guān)系。

Lesson 25 Non-auditory effects of noise

Was the noise a cause of the illness, or were the complaints about noise merely a symptom?

是噪音引起了（精神）病呢，還是（精神）病的癥狀之一是對噪音的抱怨？

Lesson 25 Non-auditory effects of noise

Another patient might equally well complain that her neighbours were combining to slander her and persecute her,

另有一位病人可能同樣有理由抱怨說，她的鄰居們正在聯(lián)合起來對她進(jìn)行誹謗和迫害，

Lesson 25 Non-auditory effects of noise

and yet one might be cautious about believing this statement.

不過，人們不會輕信她的抱怨。

Lesson 25 Non-auditory effects of noise

What is needed in the case of noise is a study of large numbers of people living under noisy conditions,

對于噪音問題，需要對大量生活在噪音中的人進(jìn)行研究，

Lesson 25 Non-auditory effects of noise

to discover whether they are mentally ill more often than other people are.

看一看他們是否比其他人更易患精神病。

Lesson 25 Non-auditory effects of noise

Sometimes ago, the United States Navy, for instance,

例如，美國海軍前些時(shí)候

Lesson 25 Non-auditory effects of noise

examined a very large number of men working on aircraft carriers:

調(diào)查了許多在航空母艦上工作的人，

Lesson 25 Non-auditory effects of noise

the study was known as Project Anehin.

安內(nèi)英工程"。

Lesson 25 Non-auditory effects of noise

It can be unpleasant to live even several miles from an aerodrome;

即使住在離機(jī)場幾英里以外的地方，機(jī)場的噪音也會使人難受。

Lesson 25 Non-auditory effects of noise

if you think what it must be like to share the deck of a ship with several squadrons of jet aircraft,

因此，如果你能想像出同在一個(gè)甲板上是什么滋味兒的話，和幾個(gè)中隊(duì)的噴氣機(jī)。

Lesson 25 Non-auditory effects of noise

you will realize that a modern navy is a good place to study noise.

你就會認(rèn)識到現(xiàn)代海軍是研究噪音的好地方。

Lesson 25 Non-auditory effects of noise

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

但是，不管是進(jìn)行精神病學(xué)的調(diào)查訪問，還是進(jìn)行客觀的測試，都不能顯示噪音對這些美國水兵有任何影響。

Lesson 25 Non-auditory effects of noise

This result merely confirms earlier American and British studies:

結(jié)果僅僅確認(rèn)了美國人和英國人早期的研究：

Lesson 25 Non-auditory effects of noise

if there is any effect of noise upon mental health it must be so small that present methods of psychiatric diagnosis cannot find it.

如果噪音對精神健康有影響的話，那也一定是微乎其微，以致現(xiàn)代的精神病診斷方法還發(fā)現(xiàn)不了。

Lesson 25 Non-auditory effects of noise

That does not prove that it does not exist;

這并不是證實(shí)不存在噪音對健康的影響。

Lesson 25 Non-auditory effects of noise

but it does mean that noise is less dangerous than, say,

但它確實(shí)說明，噪音的危險(xiǎn)性--比如說--

Lesson 25 Non-auditory effects of noise

being brought up in an orphanages--which really is a mental health hazard.

比在孤兒院長大所受的危害要小一些，孤兒院才是真正危害精神健康的地方。

Lesson 26 The past life of the earth

It is animals and plants which lived in or near water whose remains are most likely to be preserved,

只有生活在水中或水邊的動植物尸體最有可能被保存下來，

Lesson 26 The past life of the earth

for one of the necessary conditions of preservation is quick burial,

因?yàn)楸４娴谋匾獥l件之一是迅速掩埋，

Lesson 26 The past life of the earth

and it is only in the seas and rivers, and sometimes lakes, where mud and sit have been continuously deposited,

所以只有在泥沙不停淤積的海洋和江河里，有時(shí)在湖泊里，

Lesson 26 The past life of the earth

that bodies and the can be rapidly covered over and preserved.

尸體之類的東西才能被迅速地覆蓋而保存下來。