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第一段
1 .This lecture will be about the science of acoustics, the study of sound,
这个讲座是关于声音科学的，也就是研究声音的，
2 .in relation to urban environments such as cities.
并且与都市环境比如说城市联系了起来。
3 .As an acoustic engineer myself, I think this is an area where we're likely to see great changes.
作为一个声学工程师，我认为这是一个可能将见证巨大变化的领域。
4 .In the past, researching urban soundscapes was simple.
过去，声景研究是很简单的。
5 .We measured levels of sound in decibels,
我们以分贝来度量声音水平，
6 .so I used to take my sound meter and I measured the noise somewhere,
所以我过去常拿着测声计去测某个地方的噪音水平，
7 .and then I might ask a sample of people to say at what level the sound became annoying.
然后我会问一部分样本人群：什么级别的声音会让人厌烦。
第二段
1 .With data like this, acoustic engineers have been able to build up what we call noise maps,
有了这类数据，声学工程师们已经能绘制出起我们所说的噪音地图，
2 .maps of the sound environment.
即声音环境的地图。
3 .But actually these aren't a lot of use.
不过实际上这东西用得不多。
4 .What they do show is that the highest noise levels are generally on roads - well, that's not really very surprising.
声音地图只不过显示出最高级别的噪音大体上是出现在马路上，然而这并没有什么稀奇。
5 .But there's quite a lot going on that these maps don't show,
不过有很多地图上没有显示的事情在发生，
6 .because they can't capture the complex way that sound varies over time.
因为声音地图不能掌握声音随时间变化的复杂方式。
7 .So they ignore important issues such as the noise someone might hear from the open windows or gardens of their neighbours,
所以它忽略了一些重要的方面，比如说某人从邻居家开着的窗户或者花园里听到的噪声，
8 .and this sort of noise can be quite significant in summer.
这种噪声在夏天可能相当明显。
9 .We don't have any databases on this sort of information.
关于此类信息我们没有任何的数据库。
10 .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
此外，声音水平的记录并没有考虑到人们对噪音的感知不同的事实， 所以像我这样有多年声学工作经验的人，
11 .might be very different from you in that regard.
在这方面跟你们就可能有很大不同。
第三段
1 .But anyway, even though these noise maps are fairly crude,
但是不管怎么说，即使这些噪声地图是相对笼统的，
2 .they've been useful in providing information and raising awareness that noise matters,
它们在提供信息和提高意识方面还是很有用的，它们让人们意识到要把噪声当个事儿，
3 .we need to deal with it and so it's a Political matter.
我们得处理好它，因此这是一个政治问题。
4 .And that's important - we need rules and regulations because noise can cause all sorts of problems.
这一点是很重要的，我们需要相关的规则和条令，因为噪声可能会引起各种各样的问题。
第四段
1 .Those of you who are city-dwellers know that things go on 24 hours a day,
你们中的城市居民应该知道有的事情一天24小时都在进行，
2 .so city-dwellers often suffer from interrupted sleep.
所以城市居民经常会遭受睡眠中断的困扰。
3 .It's also known that noise can lead to a rise in levels of stress,
众所周知，噪音会导致压力的上升，
4 .due to physical changes in the body affecting the composition of the blood.
这是因为身体变化影响了血液成分。
5 .And there are other problems as well,
此外，噪声还带来了其他问题，
6 .for instance if schoolchildren don't have a quiet place to study,
比如说如果学龄儿童没有一个安静的学习环境，
7 .their work will suffer.
他们的学业就会遭殃。
第五段
1 .Now, one problem with decibel measurement is that it doesn't differentiate between different types of noise.
当下，以分贝数度量噪声水平的一个问题在于它没有区分开不同类型的噪声。
2 .Some types of sounds that most people would probably think of as nice and relaxing
有些类型的声音，大多数人可能都认为是悦耳、放松的，
3 .might well score quite highly in decibel levels - think of the sound made by a fountain in a town square. for example.
但是其分贝数可能相当高，比如说城市广场上喷泉发出的声音。
4 .That's not necessarily something that we'd want to control or reduce.
那些不一定是我们想要控制或降低的声音。
5 .So maybe researchers should consider these sorts of sounds in urban design.
所以，在城市规划中，研究者们或许应该考虑这些种类的声音。
6 .This is going to be tricky because just measuring decibel levels isn't going to help us here.
这很复杂，因为仅仅测量分贝数在这种情况下并没有什么用。
7 .Instead many researchers are using social science techniques. studying people's emotional response to sound by using questionnaires and so on.
很多研究者转而应用社会科学方法，通过问卷调查等方式研究人们对于声音的情绪反应。
第六段
1 .So what exactly do people want to hear in an urban environment?
那在城市环境中，人们到底想听到什么样的声音呢？
2 .Some recent interdisciplinary research has come out with results that at first sight seem contradictory - a city needs to have a sense of activity,
最近的一些跨学科研究结果初看似乎是矛盾的， 一个城市需要有活力，
3 .so it needs to be lively,
因此它需要热闹起来，
4 .with sounds like the clack of high heels on a pavement or the hiss of a coffee machine,
有着高跟鞋碰撞路面的响声，或是咖啡机的嘶嘶声，
5 .but these mustn' be too intrusive,
但是这些声音又不能太过扰人，
6 .because at the same time we need to be able to relax.
因为同时我们还需要能放松下来。
第七段
1 .One of the major problems in achieving this will be getting architects and town planners to use the research.
实现这一目标的一个主要问题是要让建筑师和城市规划者采用这方面的研究。
2 .Apart from studying the basics of acoustics.
除了学习一些声学的基本知识，
3 .these people receive very little training in this area.
这些人在这方面受到的培训非常少。
4 .But in fact they should be regarding sound as an opportunity to add to the experience of urban living,
但是事实上他们应该把声音当做是一个丰富城市生活体验的机会，
5 .whereas at present they tend to see it as something to be avoided or reduced as far as possible,
而现在他们只将声音视为一种要尽量避免或减少的东西，
6 .or something that's just a job for engineers like the street drainage system.
或者就像街道排水系统一样，只是工程师要做的工作而已。
第八段
1 .What's needed is for noise in cities to be regarded as an aesthetic quality,
我们需要的是将城市噪声看做一种美学品质，
2 .as something that has the qualities of an art form.
一种有着艺术品质的东西。
3 .If we acknowledge this,
认识到这一点后，
4 .then we urgently need to know what governs it and how designers can work with it.
我们急切地需要知道是什么影响着声音，以及设计者们该如何与声音合作。
5 .We need to develop a complex understanding of many factors.
我们要具备对很多因素的综合理解。
6 .What is the relationship between sound and culture?
声音与文化有什么关系？
7 .What can we learn from disciplines such as psychology about the way that sound interacts with human development and social relationships,
我们能从某些相关学科中学到什么？比如研究声音与人类发展、社会关系的相互作用方式，
8 .and the way that sound affects our thought and feelings?
以及声音如何影响人类思维和感觉的心理学。
9 .Can we learn anything from physics about the nature of sound itself?
我们能从有关声音性质的物理学中学到什么吗？
第九段
1 .Today's powerful technologies can also help us.
今时今日强大的科技也能帮助到我们。
2 .To show us their ideas and help us to imagine the effect their buildings will have,
建筑师和城市规划者们已经使用虚拟现实技术来为我们展示他们的想法，
3 .architects and town planners already use virtual reality - but these programs are silent.
帮助我们想象他们的建筑效果，但是那些项目都是无声的。
4 .In the future such programs could use realistic sounds,
未来，这样的项目可以使用实景音效，
5 .meaning that soundscapes could be explored before being built.
也就是说在建造之前就可以一窥其声景。
6 .So hopefully, using the best technology we can lay our hands on,
所以，希望通过使用能触及的最好的技术，
7 .the city of the future will be a pleasure to the ears as well as the eyes.
未来的城市将会提供眼与耳的双重享受。