Table of Contents
BEST IELTS Academic Reading Test 267
IELTS ACADEMIC READING TEST – PASSAGE – 3
IELTS ACADEMIC READING TEST
READING PASSAGE – 3
EFFECTS OF NOISE
In general, it is plausible to suppose that we should prefer peace and quiet to noise. And yet most of us have had the experience of having to adjust to sleeping in the mountains or the countryside because it was initially ‘too quiet’, an experience that suggests that humans are capable of adapting to a wide range of noise levels. Research supports this view. For example, Glass and Singer (1972) exposed people to short bursts of very loud noise and then measured their ability to work out problems and their physiological reactions to the noise.
The noise was quite disruptive at first, but after about four minutes the subjects were doing just as well on their tasks as control subjects who were not exposed to noise. Their physiological arousal also declined quickly to the same levels as those of the control subjects.
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But there are limits to adaptation and loud noise becomes more troublesome if the person is required to concentrate on more than one task. For example, high noise levels interfered with the performance of subjects who were required to monitor three dials at a time, a task not unlike that of an aeroplane pilot or an air-traffic controller (Broadbent, 1957). Similarly, noise did not affect a subject’s ability to track a moving line with a steering wheel, but it did interfere with the subject’s ability to repeat numbers while tracking (Finkelman and Glass, 1970).
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Probably the most significant finding from research on noise is that its predictability is more important than how loud it is. We are much more able to ‘tune out’ chronic background noise, even if it is quite loud, than to work under circumstances with unexpected intrusions of noise. In the Glass and Singer study, in which subjects were exposed to bursts of noise as they worked on a task, some subjects heard loud bursts and others heard soft bursts. For some subjects, the bursts were spaced exactly one minute apart (predictable noise); others heard the same amount of noise overall, but the bursts
Unpredictable Noise Predictable Noise Average
Loud noise 40.1 31.8 35.9
Soft noise 36.7 21A 32.1
Average 38.4 29.6
Table 1 : Proofreading Errors and Noise
occurred at random intervals (unpredictable noise). Subjects reported finding the predictable and unpredictable noise equally annoying, and all subjects performed at about the same level during the noise portion of the experiment. But the different noise conditions had quite different after-effects when the subjects were required to proofread written material under conditions of no noise. As shown in Table 1 the unpredictable noise produced more errors in the later proofreading task than predictable noise; and soft, unpredictable noise actually produced slightly more errors on this task than the loud, predictable noise.
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Apparently, unpredictable noise produces more fatigue than predictable noise, but it takes a while for this fatigue to take its toll on performance.
Predictability is not the only variable that reduces or eliminates the negative effects of noise. Another is control. If the individual knows that he or she can control the noise, this seems to eliminate both its negative effects at the time and its after-effects. This is true even if the individual never actually exercises his or her option to turn the noise off (Glass and Singer, 1972). Just the knowledge that one has control is sufficient.
The studies discussed so far exposed people to noise for only short periods and only transient effects were studied. But the major worry about noisy environments is that living day after day with chronic noise may produce serious, lasting effects. One study, suggesting that this worry is a realistic one, compared elementary school pupils who attended schools near Los Angeles’s busiest airport with students who attended schools in quiet neighbourhoods (Cohen et al., 1980). It was found that children from the noisy schools had higher blood pressure and were more easily distracted than those who attended the quiet schools.
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Moreover, there was no evidence of adaptability to the noise. In fact, the longer the children had attended the noisy schools, the more distractible they became. The effects also seem to be long lasting. A follow-up study showed that children who were moved to less noisy classrooms still showed greater distractibility one year later than students who had always been in the quiet schools (Cohen et al, 1981). It should be noted that the two groups of children had been carefully matched by the investigators so that they were comparable in age, ethnicity, race, and social class.
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Questions 28 – 34
This reading passage has six paragraphs, A – F.
Which paragraph contains the following information?
Write the correct letter, A – F, as your answer to each question.
28. The other variable is control
29. The noise was disturbing initially, then four minutes later the response were doing fine
30. The diverse noise conditions had little difference when the individuals wanted to correct and proofread written material when there was no noise
31. the more the children had attended the noisy schools, the more disturbed it was
32. For some individuals, the noise bursts were spaced similarly to one minute away
33. Noise did not cause an impact on an individual’s ability to find out a moving line with a steering wheel
34. The unpredictable noise caused more mistakes in the later proofreading assignment than predictable noise
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Questions 35 – 40
Complete each sentence with the correct ending
Write the correct letter a-f from the options.
35. Glass and Singer (1972) presented humans to quick bursts
36. Apparently, the more the children had attended the noisy schools
37. noise did not cause an impact on an individual’s ability
38. In this research study, predictability is not the only variable
39. The noise was disturbing initially
40. The most important observation from research study on noise
A. the more disturbed it was
B. that diminishes totally or partially the bad effects of noise
C. then four minutes later the response were doing fine
D. to find out a moving line with a steering wheel
E. of loud noise and then assessed their skills to solve issues
F. is that the noise was anticipated more than how loud it would be
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ANSWERS ARE BELOW
ANSWERS
1. D
2. C
3. A
4. B
5. D
6. F
7. I
8. B
9. A
10. D
11. A
12. E
13. B
14. C
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