Table of Contents
Passage
Section A: A decibel Hell:
It’s not difficult for a person to encounter sound at levels that can cause adverse health effects. During a single day, people living in a typical urban environment can experience a wide range of sounds in many locations, even once-quiet locales have become polluted with noise. In fact, it’s difficult today to escape sound completely. In its 1999 Guidelines for predicting Community Noise, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared “Worldwide, noise-induced hearing impairment is the most prevalent irreversible occupational hazard, and it is estimated that 120 million people worldwide have disabling hearing difficulties.”
Growing evidence also points to many other health effects of too much volume. Mark Stephenson, a Cincinnati, Ohio-based senior research audiologist at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), says his agency’s definition of hazardous noise is sound that exceeds the time-weighted average of 85 dBA, meaning the average noise exposure measured over a typical eight-hour work day. Other measures and definitions are used for other purposes.
Section B: Growing Volume
In the United States, about 30 million workers are exposed to hazardous sound levels on the job, according to NIOSH. Industries having a high number of workers exposed to bud sounds include construction, agriculture, mining, manufacturing, utilities, transportation, and the military. Noise in U.S industry is an extremely difficult problem to monitor, acknowledges Craig Moulton, a senior industrial hygienist for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
“Still,” he says, “OSHA does require that any employer with workers overexposed to noise provide protection for those employees against the harmful effects of noise. Additionally, employers must implement a continuing, effective hearing conservation program as outlined in OSHA’s Noise Standard”
Section C: Scary Sound Effects
Numerous scientific studies over the years have confirmed that exposure to certain levels of sound can damage hearing. Prolonged exposure can actually change the structure of the hair cells in the inner ear, resulting in hearing toss. It can also cause tinnitus, a ringing, roaring, buzzing, or clicking in the ears. NIOSH studies from the mid to late 1990s show that 90% of coal miners have hearing impairment by age 52—compared to 9% of the general populatio — and 70% of male metal/nonmetal miners will experience hearing impairment by age 60 (Stephenson notes that from adolescence onward, females tend to have better hearing than males).
Neitzel says nearly half of all construction workers have some degree of hearing toss. “NIOSH research also reveals that by age twenty-five, the average carpenter’s hearing is equivalent to an otherwise healthy fifty-year-old male who hasn’t been exposed to noise,” he says. William Luxford, medical director of the House Ear Clinic of St Vincent Medical Center in Los Angeles, points out one piece of good news: “It’s true that continuous noise exposure will lead to the continuation of hearing toss, but as soon as the exposure is stopped, the hearing toss stops. So a change in environment can improve a person’s hearing health.” Research is catching up with this anecdotal evidence.
In the July 2001 issue of Pediatrics, researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that, based on audiometric testing of 5,249 children as part of the Third National Health and Nutrition, Examination Survey, an estimated 12.5% of American children have noise-induced hearing threshold shifts — or dulled hearing — in one or both ears. Most children with noiseinduced hearing threshold shifts have only limited hearing damage, but continued exposure to excessive noise can lead to difficulties with high-frequency sound discrimination. The report listed stereos, music concerts, toys (such as toy telephones and certain rattles), lawn mowers, and fireworks as producing potentially harmful sounds.
Section D: Beyond the Ears
The effects of sound don’t stop with the ears. Nonauditory effects of noise exposure are those effects that don’t cause hearing toss but still can be measured, such as elevated blood pressure, toss of sleep, increased heart rate, cardiovascular constriction, labored breathing, and changes in brain chemistry. The nonauditory effects of noise were noted as early as 1930 in a study published by E.L. Smith and D.L. Laird in volume 2 of the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.
The results showed that exposure to noise caused stomach contractions in healthy human beings. Reports on noise’s nonauditory effects published since that pioneering study have been both contradictory and controversial in some areas. Bronzaft and the school principal persuaded the school board to have acoustical tile installed in the classrooms adjacent to the tracks. The Transit Authority also treated the tracks near the school to make them less noisy. A follow-up study published in the September 1981 issue of the Journal of Environmental Psychology found that children’s reading scores improved after these interventions were put in place.
Section E: Fighting for Quiet
Anti-noise activists say that Europe and several countries in Asia are more advanced than the United States in terms of combating noise. “Population pressure has prompted Europe to move more quickly on the noise issue than the United States has,” Hume says. In the European Union, countries with cities of at least 250,000 people are creating noise maps of those cities to help leaders determine noise pollution policies. Paris has already prepared its first noise maps.
The map data, which must be finished by 2007, will be fed into computer models that will help test the sound impact of street designs or new buildings before construction begins. Activists in other countries say they too want the United States to play a more leading role on the noise issue. But as in other areas of environmental health, merely having a more powerful government agency in place that can set more regulations is not the ultimate answer, according to other experts.
Bronzaft stresses that governments worldwide need to increase funding for noise research and do a better job coordinating their noise pollution efforts so they can establish health and environmental policies based on solid scientific research. “Governments have a responsibility to protect their citizens by curbing noise pollution,” she says.
Questions
Questions 1-5
Complete the summary below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 1-5 on your answer sheet.
Nowadays it seems difficult for people to avoid the effects of living in a noisy world. Noise is the sound beyond average of 1.………………….. referring to the agency’s definition. Scientific studies over the years from the mid to late 1990s have confirmed that exposure to certain levels of sound can cause damage 2……………………on certain senior age. From the testing of 5,249 children, those who are constantly exposed to excessive noise may have trouble in 3…………………… sound discrimination. The effects of sound don’t stop with the ears, exposure to noise may lead to unease of 4.…………………..in healthy people. Europe has taken steps on the noise issue, big cities of over 250,000 people are creating 5……………………to help creating noise pollution policies.
Questions 6-10
Look at the following researchers and the list of findings below. Match each researcher with the correct finding.
Write the correct letter in boxes 6-10 on your answer sheet.
List of people or orgnisations
A WHO
B William Luxford (the House Ear Clinic),
C Carig Moulton (OSHA)
D Arline Bronzaft
E Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
6 People can change the environment to improve hearing health.
7 Government should continue the research on anti-noise researches with fund
8 companies should be required to protect the employees to avoid noise
9 Noise has posed effect on American children children’s hearing ability
10 noise has seriously affected human being where they live worldwide
Questions 11-13
11 The board of schools built close to the tracks are convinced to
A moved the classrooms away from the noisy track
B regulated the track usage to a less extent
C utilised a special material into classroom buildings lessening the effect of outside noise
D oganised a team for a follow-up study
12 In the European countries, the big cities’ research on noise focuses on
A How to record pollution details of the city on maps
B the impact of noise on population shift in the European cities
C how wide can a city be to avoid noise pollution
D helping the authorities better make a decision on management of the city
13 What is the best title of paragraph 1?
A How people cope with noise pollutions
B the fight against the noise with the powerful technology
C The Effects of Living in a Noisy World
D The Effects of noise on children’s learning
Answers
Below are the answers, key words, synonyms and full explanations for the IELTS Reading passage A Decibel Hell (The Effects of Living in a Noisy World) (Passage 1, Questions 1–13).
Questions 1–5: Summary Completion (NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS)
1. Noise is the sound beyond the average of ______ referring to the agency’s definition.
Answer: 85 dBA
Key words: hazardous noise is sound that exceeds the time-weighted average of 85 dBA
Synonyms: sound beyond the average of ______ = sound that exceeds the time-weighted average of 85 dBA = “his agency’s definition of hazardous noise is sound that exceeds the time-weighted average of 85 dBA”
Explanation: NIOSH defines hazardous noise as sound above the 85 dBA average → 85 dBA.
2. Exposure to certain levels of sound can cause damage ______ on a certain senior age.
Answer: hearing
Key words: exposure to certain levels of sound can damage hearing … hearing impairment by age 52
Synonyms: cause damage ______ at senior age = damage hearing / hearing impairment by a certain age = “exposure to certain levels of sound can damage hearing … 90% of coal miners have hearing impairment by age 52”
Explanation: The confirmed damage is to hearing, showing up at older ages → hearing.
3. Those constantly exposed to excessive noise may have trouble in ______ sound discrimination.
Answer: high-frequency
Key words: continued exposure to excessive noise can lead to difficulties with high-frequency sound discrimination
Synonyms: trouble in ______ sound discrimination = difficulties with high-frequency sound discrimination = “continued exposure to excessive noise can lead to difficulties with high-frequency sound discrimination”
Explanation: Excessive noise makes high-frequency sound discrimination difficult → high-frequency.
4. Exposure to noise may lead to the unease of ______ in healthy people.
Answer: stomach
Key words: exposure to noise caused stomach contractions in healthy human beings
Synonyms: unease of ______ in healthy people = stomach contractions in healthy human beings = “The results showed that exposure to noise caused stomach contractions in healthy human beings”
Explanation: A 1930 study found noise caused stomach contractions in healthy people → stomach.
5. Big cities of over 250,000 people are creating ______ to help create noise pollution policies.
Answer: noise map
Key words: cities of at least 250,000 people are creating noise maps of those cities to help leaders determine noise pollution policies
Synonyms: creating ______ to help make noise policies = creating noise maps to help leaders determine noise pollution policies = “countries with cities of at least 250,000 people are creating noise maps of those cities to help leaders determine noise pollution policies”
Explanation: Large EU cities are drawing up noise maps to guide policy → noise map.
Questions 6–10: Match each researcher/organisation with the correct finding (A–E)
A WHO · B William Luxford (the House Ear Clinic) · C Craig Moulton (OSHA) · D Arline Bronzaft · E Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
6. People can change the environment to improve hearing health.
Answer: B (William Luxford)
Key words: as soon as the exposure is stopped, the hearing loss stops. So a change in environment can improve a person’s hearing health
Synonyms: change the environment to improve hearing = a change in environment can improve hearing health = “So a change in environment can improve a person’s hearing health” (Luxford)
Explanation: Luxford says stopping exposure halts hearing loss, so changing environment helps → B.
7. Government should continue anti-noise research with funding.
Answer: D (Arline Bronzaft)
Key words: governments worldwide need to increase funding for noise research
Synonyms: continue anti-noise research with funding = increase funding for noise research = “Bronzaft stresses that governments worldwide need to increase funding for noise research”
Explanation: Bronzaft calls for more government funding of noise research → D.
8. Companies should be required to protect employees from noise.
Answer: C (Craig Moulton, OSHA)
Key words: OSHA does require that any employer with workers overexposed to noise provide protection for those employees
Synonyms: companies required to protect employees = employers must provide protection against noise = “OSHA does require that any employer with workers overexposed to noise provide protection for those employees against the harmful effects of noise” (Moulton)
Explanation: Moulton (OSHA) says employers must protect over-exposed workers → C.
9. Noise has had an effect on American children’s hearing ability.
Answer: E (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
Key words: an estimated 12.5% of American children have noise-induced hearing threshold shifts
Synonyms: effect on American children’s hearing = 12.5% of American children have noise-induced hearing shifts = “researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that … an estimated 12.5% of American children have noise-induced hearing threshold shifts”
Explanation: The CDC found many American children have noise-induced hearing loss → E.
10. Noise has seriously affected human beings where they live worldwide.
Answer: A (WHO)
Key words: 120 million people worldwide have disabling hearing difficulties
Synonyms: seriously affected people worldwide = 120 million people worldwide have disabling hearing difficulties = “the World Health Organization (WHO) declared … it is estimated that 120 million people worldwide have disabling hearing difficulties”
Explanation: The WHO reports a worldwide scale of hearing damage → A.
Questions 11–13: Multiple Choice
11. The board of schools built close to the tracks was persuaded to
Answer: C (use a special material in the classroom buildings to lessen outside noise)
Key words: persuaded the school board to have acoustical tile installed in the classrooms adjacent to the tracks
Synonyms: use a special material to lessen outside noise = have acoustical tile installed in classrooms = “Bronzaft and the school principal persuaded the school board to have acoustical tile installed in the classrooms adjacent to the tracks”
Explanation: The board agreed to install acoustical tile (a special sound-reducing material) → C.
12. In the European countries, the big cities’ research on noise focuses on
Answer: D (helping the authorities make better decisions on managing the city)
Key words: noise maps … to help leaders determine noise pollution policies … help test the sound impact of street designs or new buildings before construction begins
Synonyms: helping authorities make better management decisions = helping leaders determine policies and test the impact of designs before building = “noise maps of those cities to help leaders determine noise pollution policies … will help test the sound impact of street designs or new buildings before construction begins”
Explanation: The noise-map research is meant to support city leaders’ planning decisions → D.
13. What is the best title for paragraph 1 (Section A)?
Answer: C (The Effects of Living in a Noisy World)
Key words: people living in a typical urban environment can experience a wide range of sounds … noise-induced hearing impairment … 120 million people
Synonyms: the effects of living in a noisy world = it is hard to escape sound, which harms health = “it’s difficult today to escape sound completely … noise-induced hearing impairment is the most prevalent irreversible occupational hazard”
Explanation: Section A introduces how unavoidable noise affects health — “The Effects of Living in a Noisy World” fits best → C.
Answer Key (Quick Reference)
| Q | Answer | Q | Answer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 85 dBA | 8 | C |
| 2 | hearing | 9 | E |
| 3 | high-frequency | 10 | A |
| 4 | stomach | 11 | C |
| 5 | noise map | 12 | D |
| 6 | B | 13 | C |
| 7 | D |
