Noise pollution

W

hen people speak of pollution, they generally mean pesticides, acid rain, nuclear waste and chemicals dumped into rivers or oceans. They rarely allude to noise which, as been recently proved, is a major source of pollution.

Bearing in mind that noise is one of the most unpleasant features of modern life, governments have done their best to reduce it. They have built barriers along roads to protect houses from the sound of traffic and have also prohibited radios in public places and issued laws against people who disturb others at night.

These measures, however, have not been successful.  A Large number of individuals are still maddened by traffic noise or by the lack of sleep because of noisy neighbors. The suffering of some of these individuals becomes so intolerable that they fire on youngsters who awaken them by the noise of their motorcycles or radios.

What makes matters worse is that it is practically impossible to protect people against themselves. You cannot prevent them from using personal stereos, for example. Some may argue that it is not noise but music. This is true, but it is extremely harmful. That permanent music in someone’s ears prevents any useful mental activity. Moreover, it has been observed that more and more people are having hearing troubles at an early age. There is no doubt, therefore, that the excessive use of modern machines is responsible for this deplorable state of affairs.

 

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

FIND IN THE TEXT WORDS OR EXPRESSIONS THAT MEAN MUCH THE SAME AS:

1.   characteristics:

2.   made furious: 

ARE THESE SENTENCES RIGHT OR WRONG? JUSTIFY.

1.  It is well known that noise is a major source of pollution             

2.  Governments are indifferent to the problem of noise pollution              

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS.

1. List two sources of noise pollution.
2. How do some victims of noise pollution show their anger?
3. What shows that you cannot protect people against themselves?

COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING SENTENCE FROM THE TEXT.

What makes personal stereos harmful is that they not only ……………….…………………..………… but they also cause ………………………..…….