💬 新概念英语第四册

Lesson 25 Non-auditory effects of noise

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

甚至不愿承认噪音可能对人有影响。

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，那些讨厌噪音的人有时会用不充分的证据来支持他们希望有一个较为安静的社会环境的要求。

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.

要求减少噪音确实是件好事，但是如果与拙劣的科学掺杂在一起的话，就不会被人们所信任，这是很遗憾的。

Lesson 25 Non-auditory effects of noise

One allegation often made is that noise produces mental illness.

常见的一种指责是，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，最近一家周报刊登了一篇文章，

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图，是一位表情沮丧的女子。

Lesson 25 Non-auditory effects of noise

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

她是又一个受害者，成了只会尖叫的可怜虫。"

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.

当人们急切地看完正文后，便知道这位女子是个打字员，办公室打字机的声音使她越来越烦恼，最终住进了精神病医院。

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.

这类奇闻的疑难之处是无法区别因果关系。

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，还是（精神）病的症状之一是对噪音的抱怨？

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样有理由抱怨说，她的邻居们正在联合起来对她进行诽谤和迫害，

Lesson 25 Non-auditory effects of noise

and yet one might be cautious about believing this statement.

不过，人们不会轻信她的抱怨。

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,

对于噪音问题，需要对大量生活在噪音中的人进行研究，

Lesson 25 Non-auditory effects of noise

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

看一看他们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，美国海军前些时候

Lesson 25 Non-auditory effects of noise

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

调查了许多在航空母舰上工作的人，

Lesson 25 Non-auditory effects of noise

the study was known as Project Anehin.

安内英工程"。

Lesson 25 Non-auditory effects of noise

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

即使住在离机场几英里以外的地方，机场的噪音也会使人难受。

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个甲板上是什么滋味儿的话，和几个中队的喷气机。

Lesson 25 Non-auditory effects of noise

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

你就会认识到现代海军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，不管是进行精神病学的调查访问，还是进行客观的测试，都不能显示噪音对这些美国水兵有任何影响。

Lesson 25 Non-auditory effects of noise

This result merely confirms earlier American and British studies:

结果仅仅确认了美国人和英国人早期的研究：

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.

如果噪音对精神健康有影响的话，那也一定是微乎其微，以致现代的精神病诊断方法还发现不了。

Lesson 25 Non-auditory effects of noise

That does not prove that it does not exist;

这并不是证实不存在噪音对健康的影响。

Lesson 25 Non-auditory effects of noise

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

但它确实说明，噪音的危险性--比如说--

Lesson 25 Non-auditory effects of noise

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

比在孤儿院长大所受的危害要小一些，孤儿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边的动植物尸体最有可能被保存下来，

Lesson 26 The past life of the earth

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

因为保存的必要条件之一是迅速掩埋，

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积的海洋和江河里，有时在湖泊里，

Lesson 26 The past life of the earth

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

尸体之类的东西才能被迅速地覆盖而保存下来。