美国国家公共电台 NPR--Hanoi brings back neighborhood loudspeakers

Hanoi brings back neighborhood loudspeakers

Transcript¹

The government in Vietnam's capital Hanoi is bringing back archaic² neighborhood loudspeakers to deliver information to the people. Few of them seem to want it.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Vietnam's capital, Hanoi, is noisy. And it's about to get noisier. The government is bringing back old-school neighborhood loudspeakers, even though, for some reason, few residents seem to want that. In this story, Michael Sullivan, a veteran correspondent for NPR, tries to be heard above the sound.

MICHAEL SULLIVAN, BYLINE³: I have a very strong memory of my very first morning in my new house in Hanoi, with one of those loudspeakers mounted on a pole just outside my bedroom window.

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UNIDENTIFIED ANNOUNCER: (Non-English language spoken).

SULLIVAN: They were a relic⁴ of another era, useful in the '60s and '70s to warn residents of approaching U.S. bombers⁵ or to inform people of the Communist Party's latest vaccination⁶ campaign. But five years ago, Hanoi's mayor pulled the plug on the loudspeakers, saying they'd completed their historical mission. Now there's a new mayor, and he wants them back. He's in the minority.

NGUYEN QUI DUC: Actually, the people are speaking loudly that they don't want it. Newspaper are publishing results of survey where 80% of the people don't want the loudspeakers.

SULLIVAN: Nguyen Qui Duc (ph) is a longtime Hanoi resident who was grateful to see them go five years ago. A bar owner who pulls many a late night, he remembers many a sleep shattered by those speakers' relentless⁷ drone.

DUC: Yeah, 5 o'clock in the morning, 6 o'clock in the morning, 5 o'clock in the afternoon, all night - you know, crazy.

SULLIVAN: This idea to bring them back has been savaged⁸ on social media and even in the tightly controlled state-run media, with one op-ed declaring them an hour-long torture twice a day - technology many say is completely outdated⁹ and unnecessary. Nguyen Qui Duc emphatically agrees.

DUC: We are living in 2022. And we have apps. We can download news. You can text us. You can send us the news if there's some urgent matter that the government wants to tell the people. But we just don't want you to wake us up at 5 in the morning.

SULLIVAN: Noise pollution is already a problem in a city full of motorbike horns and endless construction, many residents complain. Why make it worse? Despite the complaints, city officials aren't budging¹⁰ and say they aim to have the whole city wired or rewired by 2025.

Michael Sullivan, NPR News.

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UNIDENTIFIED SINGER: (Singing in non-English language).

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 archaic   

adj.(语言、词汇等)古代的，已不通用的

参考例句：

• The company does some things in archaic ways,such as not using computers for bookkeeping.这个公司有些做法陈旧，如记账不使用电脑。
• Shaanxi is one of the Chinese archaic civilized origins which has a long history.陕西省是中国古代文明发祥之一，有悠久的历史。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 relic   

n.神圣的遗物，遗迹，纪念物

参考例句：

• This stone axe is a relic of ancient times.这石斧是古代的遗物。
• He found himself thinking of the man as a relic from the past.他把这个男人看成是过去时代的人物。

5 bombers   

n.轰炸机( bomber的名词复数 )；投弹手；安非他明胶囊；大麻叶香烟

参考例句：

• Enemy bombers carried out a blitz on the city. 敌军轰炸机对这座城市进行了突袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Royal Airforce sill remained dangerously short of bombers. 英国皇家空军仍未脱离极为缺乏轰炸机的危境。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 vaccination   

n.接种疫苗，种痘

参考例句：

• Vaccination is a preventive against smallpox.种痘是预防天花的方法。
• Doctors suggest getting a tetanus vaccination every ten years.医生建议每十年注射一次破伤风疫苗。

7 relentless   

adj.残酷的，不留情的，无怜悯心的

参考例句：

• The traffic noise is relentless.交通车辆的噪音一刻也不停止。
• Their training has to be relentless.他们的训练必须是无情的。

8 savaged   

（动物）凶狠地攻击（或伤害）( savage的过去式和过去分词 )； 残害； 猛烈批评； 激烈抨击

参考例句：

• The horse threw its rider to the ground and savaged him. 那马将骑马者摔在地上，乱踢他。
• The drink had savaged him. 酒使他变得野蛮。

9 outdated   

adj.旧式的，落伍的，过时的；v.使过时

参考例句：

• That list of addresses is outdated,many have changed.那个通讯录已经没用了，许多地址已经改了。
• Many of us conform to the outdated customs laid down by our forebears.我们许多人都遵循祖先立下的过时习俗。

10 budging   

v.（使）稍微移动( budge的现在分词 )；（使）改变主意，（使）让步

参考例句：

• Give it up, plumber. She's not budging. 别费劲了，水管工。她不会改变主意的。 来自互联网
• I wondered how Albert who showed no intention of budging, felt about Leopold's desertion. 对于从未有迁徙打算的艾伯特来说，我不知道它会怎样看待利奥波德这样弃它而去呢。 来自互联网