READING PASSAGE 2
Answer Questions 17-32, which are based on Reading Passage 2 on pages 6 and 7.
The Nuisance (small details) of Noise
A As long as people have lived in close vicinity, they have been complaining about
the noises other people make and yearning for quiet and relief from these
disturbances.
To be sure, exposure to very loud noise, measured in high decibel levels, can impact
more than a person's mental state. About 2500 years ago, the Greek physician
Hippocrates identified the condition 'tinnitus', a ringing in the ears often caused by
prolonged exposure to loud noise. In modem times, people are often subjected to noise
above 85 decibels. That's indisputably a serious threat to one's health, enough to cause
significant hearing loss over time. Yet for some people, it's not just the loud noise that's
a problem; moderate, everyday noise at low decibels is also a constant nuisance.
B It has often been asserted that a kind of absolute quietness is needed to achieve truly
enlightened thinking. Famous philosophers dating back to Plato of ancient Greece have
pointed to the need for quiet in order to really perceive things clearly. Only when the
outside world is tuned out, it is said, can the thinker understand the true nature of the
world. The French writer Blaise Pascal complained in 1660 that 'the sole cause of
man's unhappiness is that he does not know how to stay quietly in his room'. Two
centuries later, the German philosopher Schopenhauer wrote that 'noise is a torture to
intellectual people'.
C Yet research reveals something of a paradox: The more time and effort people spend
trying to keep unwanted sound out, the more sensitive to it they become. Take the
example of Scottish writer Thomas Carlyle. In 1831, he moved to London and soon
complained in a letter to the authorities about the noise outside his window. He spent a
fortune soundproofing the study in his house, but he couldn't be satisfied.(23) His
unusually perceptive ears exaggerated the slightest sound, and (22) he was forced to
retreat to the countryside.
D In 1907 an American, Julia Barnett Rice, founded a citizens' group – (18) the Society for
the Suppression of Unnecessary Noise of New York-to combat the noise of her city. It
attracted over 200 members from all walks of life. At a time before automobiles
crowded the streets of New York, Rice and her group set out (24) to restrict sea
captains from blaring their horns as they navigated boats along the city waterways. The
society next convinced the local government to establish quiet zones around hospitals
and schools, so that patients could recover and children could study in peace. It even
proposed regulations on the sidewalk vendors who shouted about their products to the
hundreds of pedestrians passing by. However, in the end, by focusing on noise Mrs Rice
only became more sensitive to it. She finally turned to architects to help build a quiet
place deep under her
house.
E (26-27)In modem cities, governments around the world have stepped up to treat noise as
a kind of environmental pollution, to be regulated the same way that smog and other
chemical byproducts are regulated in factories. In New York, for instance, airline
pilots are
required to fly higher and more slowly around populated areas. City laws also specify
the time of day that landscapers, construction crews and repairmen can use power
tools and other noisy machines in residential neighborhoods. (21) In recent years, New
York City has sent out police with sound-measuring devices to go after noisemakers,
and installed hypersensitive listening devices to monitor the soundscape. Citizens are
also encouraged to call a special telephone hotline to report noise violations.
F Yet laws against noisemakers have not satisfied our desire for quietness, so consumer
products have emerged to meet the demand of increasingly sensitive consumers. One
early and impractical attempt was called 'The Isolator', invented in 1925 by Hugo
Gemsback. This was a large heavy helmet made of lead, with thin eye slits for viewing.
It had a tube that could be connected to an oxygen tank, allowing the user to breathe
without letting in noise. Around the same time, materials were designed to prevent
noise outside from coming in. These include sound-muffling curtains, non-hardwood
floors with synthetic lining, and better insulation for walls. No matter how thoughtful
the design, however, unwanted sound continues to be a part of everyday life.
G Unable to suppress noise, consumers started trying to mask it with more pleasant audio,
buying gadgets like white-noise machines or playing recorded versions of what they
would hear in nature, from breaking waves to rustling forests, on their stereos. Today,
there are hundreds of digital apps and technologies, including noise cancellation
products that detect outside noise and render it inaudible. In a Sony print commercial
for their noise-canceling headphones, the company depicts a world where the consumer
exists in a sonic bubble as he walks along a strangely empty city street.
However, there is a risk to becoming accustomed to life without unwanted sounds from
others. Psychologists warn that we may grow hyper-sensitized and isolated, and the
outside world may seem increasingly noisy and hostile. The best strategy, they say, is to
learn to live with, and to ignore, the nuisances of everyday sounds.
Turn over ►
Questions 17- 21
Reading Passage 2 has seven sections, A-G.
Which section contains the following information?
Write the correct letter, A-G, in boxes 17-21 on your answer sheet.
17 examples of using relaxing sounds to cover up noise G
18 a reference to an organisation with a goal to prohibit certain noises D
19 a mention of the physical effect of noise on the ears A
20 historical views on how noise affects our state of ability to reason B
21 examples of technology used in law enforcement E
Questions 22 and 23
Choose TWO letters, A-E.
Write the correct letters in boxes 22 and 23 on your answer sheet.
Which TWO of the following statements does the writer make about Thomas Carlyle?
A He invented a device to block out noise.
B He left the city because of the noise.
C Loud music made it impossible for him to work as a writer.
D His hearing was particularly sensitive.
E The loud noise damaged his sense of hearing.
Questions 24 and 25
Choose TWO letters, A-E.
Write the correct letters in boxes 24 and 25 on your answer sheet.
According to the writer, which TWO sources of noise did Julia Barnett Rice work to limit?
A pedestrians
B boats
C vendors
D school children
E automobiles
Questions 26 and 27
Choose TWO letters, A-
E.
Write the correct letters in boxes 26 and 27 on your answer sheet.
The list below gives some of the noise sources that modern cities regulate.
Which TWO of these noise sources are mentioned by the writer of the
text?
A factories
B telephones
C work equipment
D neighbours
E planes
Questions 28 - 32
Complete the sentences below.
Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 28-32 on your answer sheet.
28 Users of 'The Isolator' wore a heavy helmet and breathed through a ............ TUBE .
29 Insulated walls, lined floors and................CURTAINS that reduce noise were some of
the 20th
century designs to keep places quiet.
30 To mask noise, consumers use audio devices that produce white noise or
sounds from... NATURE (e.g. moving water or trees).
31 An advert for headphones shows a person surrounded by a ............ BUBBLE .
32 Learning to tolerate noise is an approach recommended by
............PSYCHOLOGISTS .
