I like to start these articles with a consideration of the topic. “Noise” seems to carry some hefty negative connotations. We think of blaring sirens, random shouting, unexpected bangs that grind the patience or jolt the nerves. “Noise” implies a random, chaotic cascade of sound.
我喜欢从对主题的考虑开始这些文章。 “噪音”似乎带有一些负面的内涵。 我们想到了响闹的警笛声、随意的尖叫声、意外的爆炸声，这些都磨灭了耐心或震动了神经。 “噪音”意味着随机、混乱的声音级联。
I’d like to switch the consideration to a more controlled noise; to “a thousand twangling instruments” over a discordant jangling orchestra. In Shakespeare’s Tempest, the “monster”, Caliban, tells visitors to his enchanted island to, “Be not afeard; the isle is full of noises, Sounds and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not”.
我想把考虑因素转向更受控制的噪音；在不和谐的叮当作弦乐队上“一千个twangling乐器”。 在莎士比亚的《暴风雨》中，“怪物”卡利班告诉参观他迷人的岛屿的游客：“不要感到敬畏；岛上充满了噪音、声音和甜美的空气，让人感到愉悦，不会伤害”。
The focus on the sense of sound, ahead of touch, taste, smell, and sight is intriguing.
注重音感，先于触觉、味觉、嗅觉和视觉，这很有趣。
Smell has a reputation as our most primal sense, the one most linked to memory and most wired to a physical reaction. But it is deeply subjective; what smells sweet to someone can stink to high heaven to another. Taste, too, varies powerfully from person to person, and I feel if I had to go without one of my five senses, I’d be likely to volunteer taste or smell first.
嗅觉被誉为我们最原始的感官，是与记忆最相关的感官，也是最与身体反应相连的感官。 但它是非常主观的；对某人来说，闻起来很甜，但对另一个人来说，臭得像天堂一样。 味道也因人而異，我覺得如果我不得不去五感之一，我可能會先嚐嚐嚐或嗅。
Sight and sound, then, are the mediums through which we navigate the world around us. They orient us in 3D space and give us aesthetic experiences both positive and negative. Sight locates us, but sound grounds us. It is sound that is a constant underlying presence; when did you last exist in total silence?
因此，视觉和声音是我们驾驭周围世界的媒介。 它们在3D空间中定位我们，并给我们积极和消极的审美体验。 视觉定位我们，但声音让我们接地。 声音是持续的潜在存在；你上一次在完全沉默中存在是什么时候？
Sound can reassure us of the presence of others, even when we can’t see them.
即使我们看不到别人，声音也能让我们放心。
It is sound that wakes most of us from the oblivion of sleep (if you have a harsh discordant alarm, experiment with soft sounds to wake you up. Your stress levels will thank me!).
是声音唤醒了我们大多数人对睡眠的遗忘（如果你有强烈的不和谐警报，尝试用柔和的声音来唤醒你。 你的压力水平会感谢我的！）。
Now we have established the primacy of noise and sound, let’s delve into its qualities. While naturally our experiences are still personal and dependant on our tastes, we generally reach agreement that a musical composition, gently gurgling stream, or the laughter of a loved one are sweeter to our ears than the clattering of a garbage truck or an unexpected car horn.
现在我们已经确立了噪音和声音的首要地位，让我们深入研究其品质。 虽然我们的经历自然仍然是个人的，取决于我们的品味，但我们通常同意，音乐作品、轻轻潺潺的溪流或亲人的笑声比垃圾车的咔哾声或意外的汽车喇叭声更甜美。
The poets know this, from Shakespeare to Nanjing’s own Han Dong, who has published a poetry collection titled “A Loud Noise”. Playfulness around noise and sound is intrinsic to the performance of the spoken word, as any fans of poetry or song lyrics can attest to. I was delighted to learn that there is a Chinese poem consisting entirely of the syllable “shi” pronounced in different tones. It may be familiar to some of you: “Lion-Eating Poet in the Stone Den” (施氏食狮史) by Yuen Ren Chao (赵元任). The first few lines run as follows:
诗人都知道这一点，从莎士比亞到南京自己的韩东，他出版了一本名為《嘈雜的噪音》的诗集。 围绕噪音和声音的嬉戏是口语表演的内在力量，任何诗歌或歌词的粉丝都可以证明。 我很高兴地得知，有一首中国诗歌完全由音节“shi”组成，用不同的音调发音。 你们中的一些人可能很熟悉：赵元任的《石穴里的吃狮诗人》（施氏食狮史）。 前几行如下：
石室诗士施氏，嗜狮，誓食十狮。
氏时时适市视狮。
十时，适十狮适市。
In a stone den was a poet called Shi Shi, who was a lion addict, and had resolved to eat ten lions.
He often went to the market to look for lions.
At ten o’clock, ten lions had just arrived at the market.
石室诗士施氏，嗜狮，誓食十狮。 氏时适市视狮。 十时，适十狮适市。 在一个石洞里，有一个叫Shi Shi的诗人，他是狮子上瘾者，决心吃掉十只狮子。他经常去市场寻找狮子。十点，十只狮子刚到达市场。
For aspiring Chinese learners this could be exactly the tongue-twister to perfect your tonal speaking. Moving further in to the real of calm and peace, Tang Dynasty poet Li Shangyin, like Shakespeare, focuses us on the noises and sounds that seem in harmony around us:
对于有抱负的中文学习者来说，这正是完善你语调说话的绕口令。 唐朝诗人李尚音像莎士比亚一样，进一步进入平静与和平的现实，将注意力集中在我们周围似乎和谐的噪音和声音上：
颯颯東風細雨來
芙蓉塘外有輕雷
The East wind sighs, the fine rains come:
Beyond the pool of water-lilies, the noise of faint thunder.
颯颯东风细雨来芙蓉塘外有轻雷东风叹息，细雨来：在睡莲池之外，微弱的雷声。
Take a moment to listen to your surroundings. While you might not be blessed with sighing winds or the drip-drip of a pool of water-lilies, I’ll be willing to bet you’re not sat in silence. Whether it’s the low hum of air-conditioning or the occasional footsteps of neighbours, we are constantly reminded of our presence in the world by the sound waves reaching our ears.
花点时间倾听你的周围环境。 虽然你可能没有叹息的风或睡莲池的滴水，但我敢打赌，你并没有静静地坐着。 无论是空调的低沉嗡嗡声，还是邻居偶尔的脚步声，我们不断被传到耳朵的声波提醒我们在这个世界上的存在。
It could even be sounds you yourself are making; have you ever thought how loudly you might breathe?
这甚至可能是你自己发出的声音；你有没有想过你呼吸的声音有多大？
So, can you alter your soundscape around you? And how might that affect your day-to-day life? Lots of us have smart speakers or voice-activated assistants wired into home networks, and these can easily be asked to give us some pleasant background noises. Why not try listening to thunderstorms as a backdrop to an epic cooking session or noises from a forest as guidance to just sitting and thinking?
那么，你能改变你周围的声景吗？ 那会如何影响你的日常生活？ 我们中的许多人都有智能扬声器或语音激活助手连接到家庭网络，这些可以很容易地要求给我们一些令人愉快的背景噪音。 为什么不试着听听雷暴作为史诗般的烹饪会议的背景，或者听听来自森林的噪音，作为坐着思考的指南呢？
I find myself finely attuned to noise and sound the older I get. I am also baffled and slightly in awe of the people I meet who can weather and withstand the chaotic attack of day-to-day sounds without getting stressed. Exploring how and why some people seem immune to sonic assault is beyond the scope of this article but I would hazard a guess that it is heavily influenced by nurture over nature. That is, growing up in noisy environments gives a base layer of protection from them.
随着年龄的增长，我发现自己对噪音和声音非常适应。 我也感到困惑，有点敬畏我遇到的人，他们能够经受住日常声音的混乱攻击而不感到压力。 探索一些人如何以及为什么似乎不受声波攻击的影响超出了本文的范围，但我怀疑它受到自然培养的严重影响。 也就是說，在嘈雜的环境中成長提供了抵禦它們的基礎保護。
One thing I’m certain of, and am sure I’ll have no disagreements, is that none of us miss those announcements:
我确信，并且确信我不会有分歧，那就是我们中没有人会错过这些公告：