阅读理解。
Could you stand the noise of a street-sweeping truck going up and down the street outside of your house
three times a week at 4 a.m.? The noise-described by Blomberg as "loud as a NASCAR (全国运动汽车竞赛
协会) race car but at a speed of 5 miles per hour-annoyed him so much that he tried to persuade the city to
rearrange for street sweeping to begin at 6 a. m. He also founded the non-profit Noise Pollution Clearinghouse,
an organization that provides research and information to others whose request for quiet might otherwise fall
on deaf ears.
Hearing loss is the most obvious medical consequence of noise pollution, but it is hardly the only one,
explains environmental psychologist Airline Bronzaft. In her research, Bronzaft found that constant noise
exposure can reduce children's learning ability and cognitive (认知的) development."Most importantly, each
day, you've got to take a break from sound regularly." says Bronzaft.
"The bad news," says Blomberg, "is that the last century was the noisiest in history. The good news," he
continues, "is that the greener we get, the quieter we'll also get." Electric cars and lawn equipment make less
noise, just as more fuel-efficient vehicles. Improved technology can also provide measures to make the
problem less serious. Police cars could replace those loud sirens (警报器) with models that better aim the
sound in one direction.
"I don't think you can name a noise source that I can't find a way to make it quieter," says Blomberg. But
the real challenge is to change people's attitudes." In the 1960s, we made it unacceptable to throw litter out of
the window of your car," he says. Today it's time to recognize that"noise is to the soundscape as rubbish is
to the landscape." The goal is to "create a culture where you do not throw your 'noise' litter out of the
window."
