SECTION 4

This lecture will be about the science of acoustics, the study of sound, in relation to urban environments such as cities.

这篇演讲是关于对声音的研究即声学和城市环境的关系。

As an acoustic engineer myself, I think this is an area where we're likely to see great changes.

作为一名声学工程师，我认为这一领域是我们有可能会看到极大改变的一个部分。

In the past, researching urban soundscapes was simple.

过去研究城市声景很简单。

We measured levels of sound in decibels, so I used to take my sound meter and I measured the noise somewhere, and then I might ask a sample of people to say at what level the sound became annoying.

我们过去以分贝为单位测量声音等级，我拿声音测试仪测量某一地方的噪音，然后问大家什么样等级的声音会使他们感到反感。

With data like this, acoustic engineers have been able to build up what we call noise maps, maps of the sound environment.

如此收集数据的话，声学工程师就可以构造出我们所说的噪音地图，一个关于声音环境的地图。

But actually these aren't a lot of use.

但事实上，他们的用途并不大。

What they do show is that the highest noise levels are generally on roads - well, that's not really very surprising.

他确实体现出的是通常最高的噪音等级是来自于马路上的——但这也没有很令人吃惊。

But there's quite a lot going on that these maps don't show, because they can't capture the complex way that sound varies over time.

但确实有很多因素是这些地图上无法体现的，因为地图无法掌握声音不同时间内的复杂多样性。

So they ignore important issues such as the noise someone might hear from the open windows or gardens of their neighbours, and this sort of noise can be quite significant in summer.

所以他们忽略了一些重要的因素，例如打开窗户或在花园里听到的邻居的声音，这类噪音在夏天可能会显得尤其突出。

We don't have any databases on this sort of information.

我们没有任何这类情况的数据依据。

As well as that, these records of sound levels take no account of the fact that people vary in their perceptions of noise - so someone like me with years of working in acoustics might be very different from you in that regard.

而且这些声音等级记录没有考虑到不同的人们对噪音的看法是不一样的——例如像我这样多年从事声音学工作的人可能在这一方面的的观点可能和你们不同。

But anyway, even though these noise maps are fairly crude, they've been useful in providing information and raising awareness that noise matters, we need to deal with it and so it's a political matter.

但不管怎么说，即使这些噪音地图还很不细致，但是他在提供有用信息和增强对噪音的意识方面还是有作用的。我们需要认真对待他并把它当做一个政治问题看待。

And that's important - we need rules and regulations because noise can cause all sorts of problems.

所以规章制度的管理是很重要的——因为噪音可能会引起各种各样的问题。

Those of you who are city-dwellers know that things go on 24 hours a day, so city-dwellers often suffer from interrupted sleep.

作为城市居民，你们一定知道城市噪音无时无刻不在，所以居民们总是要忍受睡眠被打扰。

It's also known that noise can lead to a rise in levels of stress, due to physical changes in the body affecting the composition of the blood.

同样大家也知道，噪音会引起压力增大。那是因为体内的生理变化影响到了血液的合成。

And there are other problems as well, for instance if schoolchildren don't have a quiet place to study their work will suffer.

同样还有另外一个问题，如果学生没有一个安静的学习环境，他们的功课也会受到影响。

Now, one problem with decibel measurement is that it doesn't differentiate between different types of noise.

现在分贝测量仪的一个问题就是它不能区分不同类型的噪音。

Some types of sounds that most people would probably think of as nice and relaxing might well score quite highly in decibel levels - think of the sound made by a fountain in a town square, for example.

一些人们听起来好听且放松的声音在测量仪的测试下也是高分贝声音——例如大部分城市广场上的喷泉声。

That's not necessarily something that we'd want to control or reduce.

而这声音并不是我们想要控制或者减小的那一类。

So maybe researchers should consider these sorts of sounds in urban design.

所以也许研究人员设计城市地图的时候应该考虑一下城市里的这类声音。

This is going to be tricky because just measuring decibel levels isn't going to help us here.

这样可能会很难办，因为只测量分贝等级并不能在此帮助到我们。

Instead, many researchers are using social science techniques, studying people's emotional response to sound by using questionnaires and so on.

相反的，很多研究人员使用社会科学技术用调查问卷的形式来研究人类对声音的情绪反应。

So what exactly do people want to hear in an urban environment?

那在城市环境中人们真正想要听到什么样的声音呢？

Some recent interdisciplinary research has come out with results that at first sight seem contradictory - a city needs to have a sense of activity, so it needs to be lively, with sounds like the clack of high heels on a pavement or the hiss of a coffee machine, but these mustn't be too intrusive because at the same time we need to be able to relax.

最近出炉的跨学科研究结果乍一看可能有些矛盾——研究表明城市要有各种活动才能生动，要有像高跟鞋哒哒走在人行道上的声音或者咖啡机吱吱的声音，但这些声音又不能太有干扰性，因为在有这些声音的同时，我们要可以放松。

One of the major problems in achieving this will be getting architects and town planners to use the research.

最主要的问题之一是要实现这样的要求的话，建筑师们和城市规划人员们需要借鉴这个研究。

Apart from studying the basics of acoustics, these people receive very little training in this area.

除了学习声学的一些基础知识，建筑师们和城市规划人员们在这一领域的培训是很少的。

But in fact they should be regarding sound as an opportunity to add to the experience of urban living, whereas at present they tend to see it as something to be avoided or reduced as far as possible, or something that's just a job for engineers like the street drainage system.

但事实上他们应该将声音看做一次机会，把他加入到城市生活的经验中，否则他们现在可能会把声音看做是需要避免或者尽量减少的因素，或者只是道路排水系统工程师们的工作。

What's needed is for noise in cities to be regarded as an aesthetic quality, as something that has the qualities of an art form.

我们需要做的是将城市中的噪音看做是美学的质量，一种有不同质量的艺术形式。

If we acknowledge this, then we urgently need to know what governs it and how designers can work with it.

如果我们认可这一点的话，就要抓紧去了解是什么在控制这个质量，设计者们有能如何着手此方面。

We need to develop a complex understanding of many factors.

我们要想出包涵多重因素的综合理解。

What is the relationship between sound and culture?

声音与文化间的关系是什么？

What can we learn from disciplines such as psychology about the way that sound interacts with human development and social relationships, and the way that sound affects our thought and feelings?

我们能像从哲学这样的学科中学到什么？例如声音是怎么影响人类发展和社会关系的，什么声音可以影响我们的想法和感觉？

Can we learn anything from physics about the nature of sound itself?

我们能从物理中了解到声音的本质属性吗？

Today's powerful technologies can also help us.

今天强大的科技发展也能帮助我们。

To show us their ideas and help us to imagine the effect their buildings will have, architects and town planners already use virtual reality - but these programs are silent.

科技研究显示的成果可以帮助我们想象他在建筑上的效果，建筑师和城市规划师已经使用虚拟现实技术——但是这些程序是无声的。

In the future such programs could use realistic sounds, meaning that soundscapes could be explored before being built.

将来，这些程序可以使用真实的声音，也就意味着已经会在他真实存在前先被探索出来。

So hopefully, using the best technology we can lay our hands on, the city of the future will be a pleasure to the ears as well as the eyes.

但愿我们可以尽快使用最好的科技，让未来的城市变成一个使我们看到、听到都很愉悦的城市。