科研人员制造噪音来研究安静的价值

    Biologists from Boise State University have been making noise in the forests of the western American state of Idaho. They are making noise to study the value of quiet in nature. They want to know how people and animals react to noise pollution.
    博伊西州立大学的生物学家们一直在美国西部的爱达荷州的森林制造噪音。他们正在制造噪音来研究自然界中安静的价值。他们想要知道人和动物如何应对噪音污染。

    The researchers placed outdoor speakers on the side of a half-kilometer-long part of a road in the Boise National Forest. For two years, they played the sounds of passing cars through the speakers. Professor Jesse Barber of Boise State University says they found the sounds caused migratory birds to flee. The birds also failed to gain weight.
    研究人员在博伊西市国家森林一条半公里长的道路两侧安放了户外扬声器。他们通过扬声器播放汽车过往的声音已达两年时间。博伊西州立大学的杰西·巴伯(Jesse Barber)教授表示,他们发现这些声音导致了候鸟逃离。这些鸟儿也没有长胖。

    Recently, researchers played sounds of machines that are used to remove natural gas from the ground.
    最近,研究人员播放了用于从地面采集天然气的机器的声音。

    That sound is heard in natural gas fields throughout the American West.
    这种声音在遍布美国西部的天然气田都能听到。

    Professor Barber says these experiments are designed to help researchers learn the effects of noise pollution on birds, insects, bats, plants and people.
    巴伯教授表示,这些实验的目的是为了帮助研究人员了解噪音污染对鸟类、昆虫、蝙蝠、植物以及人类的影响。

    "We are testing the idea that these things are coupled -- that as the soundscape gets louder, wildlife suffers. But that also feeds back on to how much people get out of that experience, how much they value it, and thus how much they are willing to protect that same place."
    他说,“我们正在测试这个想法,当这种声音变得更吵,野生动物会遭受什么。但是那也会反馈出有多少人会摆脱这种经历,他们有多看重它,以及他们愿意付出多少来保护同样的地方。”

    The research team also studied a group of volunteers who watch birds for fun. Mitch Levenhagen is a graduate student in the research team. He measured how much the artificial noise lessened the ability of the birdwatchers to identify recorded bird songs.
    该科研小组还研究了一群以观鸟为乐的志愿者。米奇·莱芬哈根(Mitch Levenhagen)是该科研小组的一名研究生。他测量了多少人为噪音会降低观鸟爱好者识别已记录的鸟类歌曲的能力。

    He recorded eight songs in the noise condition and eight songs in the quiet.
    他在噪音环境和安静环境中分别录制了8首歌曲。

    He then repeated the experiment without the artificial noise. The birdwatchers were happy when the noise machine was shut off.
    然后他在没有人为噪音的情况下重复了这个实验。当这些噪音机器关闭后观鸟爱好者都很高兴。

    The birdwatchers said the artificial noise affected their ability to identify bird sounds more than they thought it would. Birdwatcher Jim Lyons said the experiment caused him to value quiet more.
    观鸟爱好者们表示,人为噪音对他们识别鸟类声音能力的影响比他们预想的要大得多。观鸟爱好者吉姆·莱昂斯(Jim Lyons)表示,该实验让他更加珍视安静。

    "The whole thing has been ear-opening, shall we say. To be part of this is very stimulating, very interesting. I am going to think about it from now on."
    “我们可以说,万物都有耳朵。能成为这个实验的一部分很刺激很有趣。我会从现在开始好好想想。”

    Volunteer Janice Engle said she, too, likes the quiet.
    志愿者贾尼斯·恩格尔(Janice Engle)表示她也喜欢安静。

    "I moved out of the city to a little place in the country where I wanted it to be quiet. I greatly value that. It is hard to find those places more and more. There are lots of ways to mitigate sound. But it is trade-off. There is always a cost. And it comes down to people's values. What do we value more."
    她说,“我从城市搬到了一个小地方想要找到安静。我非常看重这点。现在要找到这种地方越来越难。减轻声音的方法有很多种。但是这是一种权衡,因为这总会有成本。而且它涉及到人们的价值观,也就是我们更看重什么。”

    The National Park Service is paying for some noise pollution research. The federal agency is also examining other ways to reduce noise. They include putting new surfaces on roads. And they are creating quiet areas with signs telling visitors to turn off their mobile phones.
    美国国家公园管理局为一些噪音污染研究提供了资金。这家联邦机构也正在研究其它减少噪音的方法。这些措施包括给道路铺上新的表面材料。而且他们开始通过让游客关闭手机的标志创造安静场所。

    Next year, Mr. Levenhagen and Professor Barber will go to Northern California to ask visitors at Muir Woods National Monument and other parks how they feel about noise.
    莱芬哈根先生和巴伯教授明年将去加州北部调查穆尔伍兹国家纪念森林和其它公园的游客他们对噪音有什么感受。

    I'm Jim Tedder.
    我是吉姆·特德(Jim Tedder)。(51VOA.COM对本文翻译保留全部权利,未经授权请勿转载,违者必究!)