Waahh or Wee-oww? That Is the Question

 

Anyone who goes to New York City knows it can be very noisy. One of the common sounds you hear on the streets is a siren¹: a loud, high noise that comes from police cars, fire trucks, or ambulances. It sounds like “Waaaaaahhhhhhh.” People living in New York City often call city officials to complain the noise wakes them up and makes dogs cry out loudly.

Now, two city lawmakers want to change the sound so it is the same as sirens² in Europe. Sirens there make a sound that goes from high to low, as in “WEE-oww-WEE-oww.” If the lawmakers’ proposal³ passes, all sirens on emergency vehicles in New York City would have to change within two years.

What do people say about the European siren?

Some think the European siren is gentler and causes less noise pollution. Helen Rosenthal is one of the supporters of the proposal. She says the people she represents tell her that “the current sirens in New York are a high-pitched, continuous⁴ noise — a nuisance⁵.”

The sounds of European and American sirens are at the same decibel⁶ level, or loudness. But the European siren is at a lower frequency⁷, so it would not seem as painful to a person’s ears. Carlina Rivera is another lawmaker supporting the new law. She says the European sirens are “not as piercing⁸.”

One hospital has already changed its sirens. Mount⁹ Sinai Health System started using the high-low siren last year. The Mount Sinai Emergency Medical Service Director, Joseph Davis, played different siren options to find out which one the neighbors of the hospital liked better. He found that “people hated them all.” However, he said, the high-low siren was not as offensive¹⁰.

Davis says changing the siren sound in an emergency vehicle is easy. An electronic box in each vehicle has seven different sounds. For example, one can make the sirens give a loud, long cry. Another can make a series of short, high cries, like a dog that is in pain. And another can make a sound so sharp and forceful that it seems to be making a hole in the air. Davis explains that workers could add the European siren to these choices.

Some don’t think change is a good idea. Linda Sachs lives near the Mount Sinai Hospital and hears the new high-low sirens. She likes the old ones better. The old ones never woke her up, she says, but the new ones make her shake in fear.

I’m Jill Robbins.

Words in This Story

siren– n. a piece of equipment that produces a loud, high-pitched warning sound

ambulance– n. a vehicle used for taking hurt or sick people to the hospital especially in emergencies

nuisance – n. a person, thing, or situation that is annoying or that causes trouble or problems

decibel–n. a unit for measuring how loud a sound is

frequency–n. the number of times that something (such as a sound wave or radio wave) is repeated in a period of time (such as a second)

piercing – adj. very loud and high-pitched

1 siren   

n.汽笛，警报器，迷人的女人，妖妇

参考例句：

• The cars had stopped at the sound of the approaching siren.这些汽车听到愈来愈近的警笛声便停了下来。
• That woman is a real siren.那女人真是条美女蛇.。

2 sirens   

n.汽笛( siren的名词复数 )；妖冶而危险的女人；危险的诱惑；塞壬（古希腊传说中半人半鸟的女海妖，惯以美妙的歌声引诱水手，使他们的船只或触礁或驶入危险水域）

参考例句：

• police cars with lights flashing and sirens blaring 警灯闪烁、警笛刺耳的警车
• In big cities you always hear sirens all the time. 在大城市里，你总能听到警笛声。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 proposal   

n.提议，建议；求婚

参考例句：

• I feel that we ought to accept his proposal.我觉得我们应该接受他的建议。
• They could not gain over anyone to support their proposal.他们无法争取到支持他们建议的人。

4 continuous   

adj.继续的，连续的，持续的，延伸的

参考例句：

• She finally got in after 10 years'continuous effort.坚持不懈地努力了十年后，她终于当选了。
• We must be continuous to study.我们必须不断学习。

5 nuisance   

n.讨厌的东西，讨厌的人

参考例句：

• The dog is a terrible nuisance.这只狗真令人讨厌。
• What a horrid nuisance!真讨厌！

6 decibel   

n.分贝(音量的单位)

参考例句：

• The noise pollution reached a high decibel level.噪音污染达到了很高分贝。
• In sound we use the decibel scale.在声学中我们采用分贝标度。

7 frequency   

n.次数，频率；经常发生，频繁

参考例句：

• If we can know their frequency we will monitor their talking.如果我们知道他们的频率,我们就能监听他们的谈话。
• The tanks broke down with increasing frequency.坦克越来越频繁地熄火。

8 piercing   

adj.（指风、寒冷等）刺骨的；（眼睛或眼神）锐利的；锋利的；打动人心的v.刺入，穿透( pierce的现在分词)

参考例句：

• tattooing and body piercing 文身和穿体装饰
• She looked at me with piercing blue eyes. 她用一双敏锐的蓝眼睛盯着我。

9 mount   

n.山峰，乘用马，框，衬纸；vi.增长，骑上（马）；vt.提升，爬上，装备

参考例句：

• Their debts continued to mount up.他们的债务不断增加。
• She is the first woman who steps on the top of Mount Jolmo Lungma.她是第一个登上珠穆朗玛峰的女人。

10 offensive   

adj.令人不快的，侮辱的，攻击用的；n.进攻

参考例句：

• His mode of doing business is offensive to me.他干事情的方式叫我很不喜欢。
• If all else fails,I will take the offensive.如果其他方法不行，我将采取攻势。