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If you live in a large city, you are quite familiar with some of the problems of noise, but because of some of its harmful effects, you may not be aware of the extent of its influence on human behavior. Although everyone more or less knows what noise is, i.e., it is sounds that one would rather not hear, it is perhaps best to define it more precisely for scientific purposes. One such definition is that noise is sounds that are unrelated to the task at hand. Thus stimuli that at one time might be considered relevant will at another time be considered noise, depending on what one is doing at the moment. In recent years there has been a great deal of interest in the effects of noise on human behavior, and concepts such as “noise pollution” have arisen, together with movements to reduce noise.

Exposure to loud noises can definitely produce a partial or complete loss of hearing, depending on the intensity, duration, and frequency composition of the noise. Many jobs present noise hazards, such as working in factories and around jet aircraft, driving farm tractors, and working (or sitting) in music halls where rock bands are playing. In general, continuous exposure to sounds of over 80 decibels (a measure of the loudness of sound) can be considered dangerous. Decibel values correspond to various sounds. Sounds above about 85 decibels may, if exposure is for a sufficient period of time, produce significant hearing loss. Actual loss will depend upon the particular frequencies to which one is exposed, and whether the sound is continuous or intermittent.

Noise can have unexpected harmful effects on performance of certain kinds of tasks, for instance, if one is performing a watch keeping task that requires vigilance, in which he is responsible for detecting weak signals of some kind (e.g., watching a radar screen for the appearance of aircraft).

Communicating with other people is unfavorably affected by noise. If you have ridden in the rear of a jet transport, you may have noticed that it was difficult to carry on a conversation at first, and that, eventually, you adjusted the loudness of your speech to compensate for the effect. The problem is noise.

15. Noise differs from sound in that ________.

[A] it is sounds that interfere with the task being done

[B] it is a special type of loud sound

[C] it is usually unavoidable in big cities

[D] it can be defined more precisely than the latter

16.  One of the harmful effects of noise on human performance is that ________.

[A] it reduces one’s sensitivity

[B] it renders the victim helpless

[C] it deprives one of the enjoyment of music

[D] it drowns out conversations at worksites

17.  The purpose of this passage is ________.

[A] to define the effects of noise on human behavior

[B] to warn people of the danger of noise pollution

[C] to give advice as to how to prevent hearing loss

[D] to tell the difference between noise and sound

【参考译文】

①If you live in a large city, you are quite familiar with some of the problems of noise, but because of some of its harmful effects, you may not be aware of the extent of its influence on human behavior.  ②Although everyone more or less knows what noise is, i.e., it is sounds that one would rather not hear, it is perhaps best to define it more precisely for scientific purposes. ③One such definition is that noise is sounds that are unrelated to the task at hand. ④Thus stimuli that at one time might be considered relevant will at another time be considered noise, depending on what one is doing at the moment. ⑤In recent years there has been a great deal of interest in the effects of noise on human behavior, and concepts such as “noise pollution” have arisen, together with movements to reduce noise.

①如果你居住在一个大城市，对噪音问题就再熟悉不过了，然而，因为关注它的一些有害影响，你可能没有意识到它对人们行为举止的影响程度。  ②虽然每个人都或多或少知道噪音是什么（即人们不想听到的声音），但是最好是从科学目的角度来为其更准确地下定义。 ③其中的一种定义是：噪音是与当前任务无关的声音。④因此，根据人们手头的工作，某些时候的刺激在另外一些时候就是噪音。⑤最近几年，人们对噪音对人类行为的影响产生极大兴趣，诸如“噪音污染”的概念也随之出现，同时出现的还有减少噪音的种种行动。 

①Exposure to loud noises can definitely produce a partial or complete loss of hearing, depending on the intensity, duration, and frequency composition of the noise. ②Many jobs present noise hazards, such as working in factories and around jet aircraft, driving farm tractors, and working (or sitting) in music halls where rock bands are playing. ③In general, continuous exposure to sounds of over 80 decibels (a measure of the loudness of sound) can be considered dangerous. ④Decibel values correspond to various sounds. ⑤Sounds above about 85 decibels may, if exposure is for a sufficient period of time, produce significant hearing loss. ⑥Actual loss will depend upon the particular frequencies to which one is exposed, and whether the sound is continuous or intermittent.

①置身于嘈杂环境无疑能造成听力的部分或完全丧失，这要看噪声的强度、持续时间和频率构成。②目前许多工作都存在噪音危害，如工作在工厂中或喷气机的周围、驾驶农场拖拉机、在演奏摇滚乐的音乐厅中工作（或仅仅身处其中）。③一般来说，持续呆在超过80分贝（判断声音大小的度量）的噪音环境中被认为是危险的。④分贝的大小和各种声音的大小一致。⑤如果呆在超过85分贝噪音环境中的时间足够长，将会造成严重的听力丧失。⑥实际的听力丧失程度要看噪音的具体频率和噪音是持续性的还是间歇性的。

①Noise can have unexpected harmful effects on performance of certain kinds of tasks, for instance, if one is performing a watch keeping task that requires vigilance, in which he is responsible for detecting weak signals of some kind (e.g., watching a radar screen for the appearance of aircraft).

①在某些任务的工作过程中，噪声会造成意想不到的危害，例如，一个人正执行一件需要高度警惕的观察工作，负责检测某种弱信号（如，观察雷达屏幕上飞行器的出现）。

①Communicating with other people is unfavorably affected by noise. ②If you have ridden in the rear of a jet transport, you may have noticed that it was difficult to carry on a conversation at first, and that, eventually, you adjusted the loudness of your speech to compensate for the effect. ③The problem is noise.

①噪音对人际交流也会产生不良影响。②如果你坐在喷气式飞机的后部，首先你会注意到进行谈话是多么困难，最终，你不得不提高音量来抵消噪音的影响。③噪音就是问题的根源。

【试题精解】

15.   Noise differs from sound in that ________.

15．噪音与声音的不同之处在于噪音是________。

[A] it is sounds that interfere with the task being done

[A] 干扰人们工作的声音

[B] it is a special type of loud sound

[B] 一种特别类型的大音量的声音

[C] it is usually unavoidable in big cities

[C] 在大城市中通常难以避免

[D] it can be defined more precisely than the latter

[D] 其定义可以比声音的定义更加准确

【题型】细节题

【答案】A

【解析】根据题干中的关键点“Noise”将答案确定在第一段。第一段第三句对噪音下定义，说明噪音是“are unrelated to the task at hand”，即与手头工作不相关。A选项是对此定义的正确理解，故A为正确答案。

B选项属于利用主观背景知识来设置干扰，即“噪音一般比声音大”。但根据文中的定义，声音大小不是评判标准，故排除。C选项利用原文中的“large city”进行干扰，但与题干没有关联，故排除。D选项与C选项相同，是利用“define”和“precisely”进行干扰，故排除。

16.   One of the harmful effects of noise on human performance is that ________.

16. 噪音对人类工作的有害影响之一是________。

[A] it reduces one’s sensitivity

[A] 降低人们的敏感性

[B] it renders the victim helpless

[B] 使受害者感到无助

[C] it deprives one of the enjoyment of music

[C] 剥夺人们享受音乐的快乐

[D] it drowns out conversations at worksites

[D] 淹没人们在工作地点的对话

【题型】细节题

【答案】B

【解析】该题目的范围较广，很难对文章进行定位，因此考生可以选项为核心逐个排除。第三段指出噪音会干扰某些需要高度警惕“vigilance”的观察工作。此处的“vigilance”的含义与A选项的敏感性（sensitivity）接近，所以A为正确选项。但是考场上大部分考生不能通过这一单词得出答案，可以继续排除其它选项，从而确定该正确选项。

B选项的“受害人”一词从未出现，而“helpless”也没有相应内容，属于无中生有。C选项音乐一词在第二段出现，但是其只说明音乐厅中的内容，没有“deprive”的内容，故排除。D选项的内容来自第四段中噪音对人际交流产生的不良影响，但文中认为在有噪音的情况下会提高声音，即还是能听见的，所以不能说是“drowns out”，故排除。

17.   The purpose of this passage is ________.

17. 这篇文章的目的是________。

[A] to define the effects of noise on human behavior

[A] 确定噪音对人类行为的影响

[B] to warn people of the danger of noise pollution

[B] 警告人们噪音污染的危险

[C] to give advice as to how to prevent hearing loss

[C] 提供如何避免听力丧失的建议

[D] to tell the difference between noise and sound

[D] 叙述噪音与声音之间的差异

【题型】主题题

【答案】A

【解析】该题对全文目的进行考察，可以理解为是对主题内容的考察。本文第一段给出了噪音的定义，第二、三、四段具体分析了噪音对人的影响，综合以上段落，噪音的影响应该是本文的主题，故A选项为正确答案。

B选项极具干扰性，本文没有对人们远离噪音给出任何建议，只是就事论事的提出了相关的事实，故排除。文章第二段提及噪音会造成听力丧失，但作者并未就此提出任何建议，所以C选项属于无中生有，也排除。D选项仅提及第一段噪音的部分内容，属于文中的细节内容，不符合题干要求，故排除。

【试题精解】

15.   Noise differs from sound in that ________.

15．噪音与声音的不同之处在于噪音是________。

[A] it is sounds that interfere with the task being done

[A] 干扰人们工作的声音

[B] it is a special type of loud sound

[B] 一种特别类型的大音量的声音

[C] it is usually unavoidable in big cities

[C] 在大城市中通常难以避免

[D] it can be defined more precisely than the latter

[D] 其定义可以比声音的定义更加准确

【题型】细节题

【答案】A

【解析】根据题干中的关键点“Noise”将答案确定在第一段。第一段第三句对噪音下定义，说明噪音是“are unrelated to the task at hand”，即与手头工作不相关。A选项是对此定义的正确理解，故A为正确答案。

B选项属于利用主观背景知识来设置干扰，即“噪音一般比声音大”。但根据文中的定义，声音大小不是评判标准，故排除。C选项利用原文中的“large city”进行干扰，但与题干没有关联，故排除。D选项与C选项相同，是利用“define”和“precisely”进行干扰，故排除。

16.   One of the harmful effects of noise on human performance is that ________.

16. 噪音对人类工作的有害影响之一是________。

[A] it reduces one’s sensitivity

[A] 降低人们的敏感性

[B] it renders the victim helpless

[B] 使受害者感到无助

[C] it deprives one of the enjoyment of music

[C] 剥夺人们享受音乐的快乐

[D] it drowns out conversations at worksites

[D] 淹没人们在工作地点的对话

【题型】细节题

【答案】B

【解析】该题目的范围较广，很难对文章进行定位，因此考生可以选项为核心逐个排除。第三段指出噪音会干扰某些需要高度警惕“vigilance”的观察工作。此处的“vigilance”的含义与A选项的敏感性（sensitivity）接近，所以A为正确选项。但是考场上大部分考生不能通过这一单词得出答案，可以继续排除其它选项，从而确定该正确选项。

B选项的“受害人”一词从未出现，而“helpless”也没有相应内容，属于无中生有。C选项音乐一词在第二段出现，但是其只说明音乐厅中的内容，没有“deprive”的内容，故排除。D选项的内容来自第四段中噪音对人际交流产生的不良影响，但文中认为在有噪音的情况下会提高声音，即还是能听见的，所以不能说是“drowns out”，故排除。

17.   The purpose of this passage is ________.

17. 这篇文章的目的是________。

[A] to define the effects of noise on human behavior

[A] 确定噪音对人类行为的影响

[B] to warn people of the danger of noise pollution

[B] 警告人们噪音污染的危险

[C] to give advice as to how to prevent hearing loss

[C] 提供如何避免听力丧失的建议

[D] to tell the difference between noise and sound

[D] 叙述噪音与声音之间的差异

【题型】主题题

【答案】A

【解析】该题对全文目的进行考察，可以理解为是对主题内容的考察。本文第一段给出了噪音的定义，第二、三、四段具体分析了噪音对人的影响，综合以上段落，噪音的影响应该是本文的主题，故A选项为正确答案。

B选项极具干扰性，本文没有对人们远离噪音给出任何建议，只是就事论事的提出了相关的事实，故排除。文章第二段提及噪音会造成听力丧失，但作者并未就此提出任何建议，所以C选项属于无中生有，也排除。D选项仅提及第一段噪音的部分内容，属于文中的细节内容，不符合题干要求，故排除。

【试题精解】

15.   Noise differs from sound in that ________.

15．噪音与声音的不同之处在于噪音是________。

[A] it is sounds that interfere with the task being done

[A] 干扰人们工作的声音

[B] it is a special type of loud sound

[B] 一种特别类型的大音量的声音

[C] it is usually unavoidable in big cities

[C] 在大城市中通常难以避免

[D] it can be defined more precisely than the latter

[D] 其定义可以比声音的定义更加准确

【题型】细节题

【答案】A

【解析】根据题干中的关键点“Noise”将答案确定在第一段。第一段第三句对噪音下定义，说明噪音是“are unrelated to the task at hand”，即与手头工作不相关。A选项是对此定义的正确理解，故A为正确答案。

B选项属于利用主观背景知识来设置干扰，即“噪音一般比声音大”。但根据文中的定义，声音大小不是评判标准，故排除。C选项利用原文中的“large city”进行干扰，但与题干没有关联，故排除。D选项与C选项相同，是利用“define”和“precisely”进行干扰，故排除。

16.   One of the harmful effects of noise on human performance is that ________.

16. 噪音对人类工作的有害影响之一是________。

[A] it reduces one’s sensitivity

[A] 降低人们的敏感性

[B] it renders the victim helpless

[B] 使受害者感到无助

[C] it deprives one of the enjoyment of music

[C] 剥夺人们享受音乐的快乐

[D] it drowns out conversations at worksites

[D] 淹没人们在工作地点的对话

【题型】细节题

【答案】B

【解析】该题目的范围较广，很难对文章进行定位，因此考生可以选项为核心逐个排除。第三段指出噪音会干扰某些需要高度警惕“vigilance”的观察工作。此处的“vigilance”的含义与A选项的敏感性（sensitivity）接近，所以A为正确选项。但是考场上大部分考生不能通过这一单词得出答案，可以继续排除其它选项，从而确定该正确选项。

B选项的“受害人”一词从未出现，而“helpless”也没有相应内容，属于无中生有。C选项音乐一词在第二段出现，但是其只说明音乐厅中的内容，没有“deprive”的内容，故排除。D选项的内容来自第四段中噪音对人际交流产生的不良影响，但文中认为在有噪音的情况下会提高声音，即还是能听见的，所以不能说是“drowns out”，故排除。

17.   The purpose of this passage is ________.

17. 这篇文章的目的是________。

[A] to define the effects of noise on human behavior

[A] 确定噪音对人类行为的影响

[B] to warn people of the danger of noise pollution

[B] 警告人们噪音污染的危险

[C] to give advice as to how to prevent hearing loss

[C] 提供如何避免听力丧失的建议

[D] to tell the difference between noise and sound

[D] 叙述噪音与声音之间的差异

【题型】主题题

【答案】A

【解析】该题对全文目的进行考察，可以理解为是对主题内容的考察。本文第一段给出了噪音的定义，第二、三、四段具体分析了噪音对人的影响，综合以上段落，噪音的影响应该是本文的主题，故A选项为正确答案。

B选项极具干扰性，本文没有对人们远离噪音给出任何建议，只是就事论事的提出了相关的事实，故排除。文章第二段提及噪音会造成听力丧失，但作者并未就此提出任何建议，所以C选项属于无中生有，也排除。D选项仅提及第一段噪音的部分内容，属于文中的细节内容，不符合题干要求，故排除。

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