2020年高考英语天津卷(二) - 阅读理解C

For people, who are interested in sound, the field of sound technology is definitely making noise. In the past, sound engineers worked in the back rooms of recording studios, but many of today’s sound professionals are sharing their knowledge and experience with professionals in other fields to create new products based on the phenomenon we call sound.
对于那些对声音感兴趣的人来说，声音技术的领域无疑是制造噪音。过去，声音工程师在录音室的后台工作，但今天的许多声音专业人士正在与其他领域的专业人士分享他们的知识和经验，以创造基于我们称之为声音现象的新产品。

Sound can be used as a weapon. Imagine that a police officer is chasing a thief. The thief tries to escape. And the officer can’t let him get away. He pulls out a special device, points it at the suspect, and switches it on. The thief drops to the ground. This new weapon is called a Long Range Acoustic Device（LRAD）. It produces a deafening sound so painful that it temporarily disables a person. The noise from the LRAD is directed like a ray of light and travels only into the ears of that person, but it is not deadly.
声音可以用作武器。想象一下，一名警官正在追捕一名小偷。小偷试图逃跑。警官不能让他逃跑。他拿出一个特殊的装置，指向嫌疑犯，然后打开开关。小偷倒在地上。这种新型武器被称为远程定向声波发射器（LRAD，Long Range Acoustic Device）. 它会发出震耳欲聋的声音，非常痛苦，会暂时使人失去能力。LRAD发出的噪音像一束光线一样直射，只会进入此人的耳朵，但不会致命。

For those who hunger for some peace and quiet, sound can now create silence. Let’s say you are at the airport, and the little boy on the seat next to you is humming a short commercial song. He hums it over and over again, and you are about to go crazy. Thanks to the Silence Machine, a British invention, you can get rid of the sound without upsetting the boy or his parents. One may wonder how the Silence Machine works. Well, it functions by analyzing the waves of the incoming sound and creating a second set of outgoing waves. The two sets of waves cancel each other out. Simply turn the machine on point it at the target, and your peace and quiet comes back.
对于那些渴望和平与宁静的人来说，声音现在可以创造寂静。假设你在机场，坐在你旁边的小男孩在哼唱一首简短的商业歌曲。他一次又一次地哼唱，你快疯了。多亏了英国发明的静音机，你可以在不打扰男孩或他的父母的情况下消除声音。人们可能想知道沉默机器是如何工作的。它的功能是分析输入声音的波并产生第二组输出波。这两组波相互抵消。只要打开机器，对准目标，你就会恢复平静。

Directed sound is a new technology that allows companies to use sound in much the same way spotlights are used in the theater. A spotlight lights up only one section of a stage; similarly, a "spotsound" creates a circle of sound in one targeted area. This can be useful for businesses such as restaurants and stores because it offers a new way to attract customers. Restaurants can offer a choice of music along with the various food choices on the menu, allowing customers more control over the atmosphere in which they are dining. Directed sound is also beginning to appear in shopping centers and even at homes.
定向声音是一项新技术，允许公司使用声音，方式与戏剧中使用聚光灯基本相同。聚光灯只照亮舞台的一部分；类似地，“spotsound”在一个目标区域内创建一个声音圈。这对餐馆和商店等企业非常有用，因为它提供了一种吸引顾客的新方法。餐厅可以提供音乐选择以及菜单上的各种食物选择，让顾客能够更好地控制就餐的气氛。定向声音也开始出现在购物中心甚至家庭中。