However, there is an even more insidious kind of pollution that particularly affects urban areas and invades our daily lives, and that is noise.

There is an even more insidious kind of aggression that particularly affects people’s mode of thought and invades local tradition, and that is cultural aggression.^{有一种更为隐蔽有害的侵略, 它尤其影响人们的思维模式并侵犯当地的传统, 那就是文化侵略。}

Burglar alarms going off at any time of the day or night serve only to annoy passers-by and actually assist burglars to burgle.

go off ^{发出巨大的声音}

• The alarm clock went off.
• The gun went off accidentally. 
• The bomb went off at midnight. 

serve to do ^{发挥某个作用}

• His death serves to remind us how dangerous using drugs can be. 

Car alarms constantly scream at us in the street and are a source of profound irritation.

scream at sb. ^{对某人大喊大叫}

• Jewish Mother: Don't scream at me. ^{母亲： 别对我吵吵。}
• Now you should scream at me, or curse me, or hit me.^{现在你必须对我吼叫，或者是，诅咒我，打我。}

a source of ^来源

• ..., but uncles and aunts are always a source of extra income.

A recent survey of the effects of noise revealed (surprisingly? ) that dogs barking incessantly in the night rated the highest form of noise pollution on a scale ranging from 1 to 7.

survey / poll / opinion poll ^民意测验

• I have an analytical approach to every survey.^{我对每项调查都采用一种分析的方法。}
• The final result of the poll will be known tomorrow.^{投票结果将于明天公布。}
• The opinion poll suggests a clean sweep for the Democrats.^{民意测验表明民主党有可能大获全胜。}

rate ^v.评定…

• The essay rates a low grade.
• His pulse rate dropped suddenly. ^{他的脉搏速率突然下降。}
• The crime rate is rising. ^{犯罪率正在上升。}

on a scale ^{在这样一个级别里面 （书上翻译有误）}

• The earthquake measured 8.0 on the Richter scale. 
• The students rate the teachers on a scale of 1 to 5.

range from A to B ^{在A到B的范围内}

• The team contained ten players whose ages ranged from 10 to 16 / ranged between 10 and 16. 

The survey revealed a large number of sources of noise that we really dislike.

reveal ^{v.揭示，透露；表明，证明；展示...}

• In spite of this, many people are confident that 'The Revealer' may reveal something of value fairly soon.
• She has refused to reveal the whereabouts of her daughter. ^{她已拒绝透露她女儿的行踪。}
•  In the principal room, a grey carpet was removed to reveal the original pine floor.  ^{在主房间里，一块灰色的地毯被挪开了，使原有的松木地板露了出来。}

Lawn mowers whining on a summer's day, late-night parties in apartment blocks, noisy neighbours, vehicles of all kinds, especially large container trucks thundering through quiet villages, planes and helicopters flying overhead, large radios carried round in public places and played at maximum volume.

apartment block ^公寓大楼

• office block ^办公大楼
• He walked around the block three times.  ^{他绕着这个街区走了3圈。}

New technology has also made its own contribution to noise. 

contribution to sth. ^{某事的贡献}

• American economists have made important contributions to the field of financial and corporate economics.  ^{美国经济学家在金融社团经济学领域做出了重要贡献。}
• Instead, he made a generous contribution to help the community.^{相反，他为帮助社区做出了慷慨的贡献。}
• The school sees its job as preparing students to make a contribution to society. ^{这所学校以培养能为社会做贡献的学生为己任。}

A lot of people object to mobile phones, especially when they are used in public places like restaurant or on public transport.

object to + n. ^反对某事

• A lot of people will object to the book. ^{很多人会反对这本书。}
• I really object to being charged for parking. ^{我非常反对收停车费。}
• Working people everywhere object to paying taxes. ^{各地劳动人民都反对纳税。}

support / back + n. ^支持某事

• The vice president insisted that he supported the hard-working people of New York. ^{副总统坚持认为他支持勤劳的纽约人民。}
• The president gave his full support to the reforms. ^{该总统对改革予以了全力的支持。}
• His defence says it has found a new witness to back his claim that he is a victim of mistaken identity. ^{他的辩词称已经找到一位新的证人来证实他是弄错了的身份的受害者。}
• The company is compiling a dossier of evidence to back its allegations. ^{公司正在搜集证明材料来支持自己的指控。}

public transport ^{公共交通工具}

• = public transportation ^【美】
• = buses, trains etc.

Loud conversations on mobile phones invade our thoughts or interrupt the pleasure of meeting friends for a quiet chat.

on mobile phones ^{on = 使用}

• She is on the phone / computer.
• She is playing a piece of music on the piano. 

mobile phone ^手机

• = cell / cellular phone 

The noise pollution survey revealed a rather surprising and possibly amusing old-fashioned source of noise.

rather ^{adv.颇，相当、而不是}

• The problem was psychological rather than physiological. ^{这是个心理而不是生理问题。}
•  I grew up in rather unusual circumstances. ^{我在相当不寻常的环境中长大。}
• I'm afraid it's a rather long story. ^{我恐怕这是个相当长的故事。}

It turned out to be snoring!

turn out ^{结果是，最后是、被证明是，原来是}

• She turned out to be an organizer par excellence. ^{结果表明她是一个非常出色的组织者。}
• He ran a lot of tests and it turned out I had an infection called mycoplasma. ^{他进行了许多化验，结果证明我感染了支原体病毒。}
• I was positive things were going to turn out fine. ^{我当时就确信事情最终会好起来。}
• Cosgrave's forecast turned out to be completely wrong. ^{科斯格累夫的预测被发现是完全错误的。}

Men were found to be the worst offenders. 

worst offender ^罪魁祸首

• The worst offender—a coffee from Starbucks—had 561 calories. ^{最恶劣的罪魁祸首——星巴克咖啡——含有561卡路里的热量。}

It was revealed that 20% of men in their mid-thirties snore.

mid-thirties ^{三十岁中期}

• early thirties  ^{三十岁早期（出头）}
• late thirties ^{三十岁晚期}

This figure rises to a staggering 60% of men in their 60s.

rise / increase / jump / soar / rocket / spiral to...  ^上升到

• The temperature is expected to rise to 30°C by the afternoon.^{预计下午气温将上升到30摄氏度。}
• The population of the city has increased to over 1 million.^{这座城市的人口已增加到一百多万。}
• The stock price jumped to $50 per share after the announcement.^{公告发布后，股价跳升至每股50美元。}
• The eagle soared to great heights above the mountains.^{老鹰飞升到山脉上方的高空。}
• Sales rocketed to a new high during the holiday season.^{销量在假期期间飙升至新高。}
• The situation spiraled to a critical point quickly.^{情况迅速恶化到一个关键点。}

Against these figures, it was found that only 5% of women snore regularly, while the rest are constantly woken or kept awake by their trumpeting partners.

against … ^与…相比

• Against last year's performance, this year's results are much better.^{与去年的表现相比，今年的结果要好得多。}
• = compared to / with ... = in / by comparison to / with ... = in / by contrast to / with ...

A as against B is as C against D

• His knowledge as against hers is as experience against youth. ^{他的知识与她的相比，就如同经验与年轻相比。}

Whatever the source of noise, one thing is certain: silence, it seems, has become a golden memory. 

whatever ^{引导让步状语从句时，常省略 be 动词。}

• Whatever the source of noise (is), one thing is certain : ......
• After all, whatever her faults (are), she is your mother.  
• The country is always beautiful whatever the season (is). 

a golden memory ^{金子般的回忆}

• a golden opportunity ^{金子般的机会}