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what will happen ifyou do: you will either be punched on the nose for your
impertinence, or completely ignored. After that you can be sure that the
radio will be turned up louder than ever before.
Noise is one of the most unpleasant features of modern life. Who knows
30 what it invisibly contributes to irritability and stress? Governments
everywhere go to tremendous lengths to reduce noise. Traffic sounds are
carefully measured in decibels; levels of tolerance are recorded and statistics
produced to provide the basis for future legislation. Elaborate and
expensive tests are conducted to find out our reactions to supersonic bangs.
35 This is all very commendable, but surely the interest in our welfare is
misplaced. People adjusted to the more obvious sources of noise ages ago.
It is the less obvious sources that need attention. And the transistor radio
is foremost among them. It is impossible to adjust to the transistor radio
because the noise it produces is never the same: it can beanything from a
40 brass band to a news commentary. Being inconsiderate is not a crime. But
interfering with other people's pleasure certainly should be. It is ridiculous
that the law should go on allowing this indecent assault on our ears.
The argument: key words
I A person drives fifty miles: beauty spot beside lake; spends day clean-
ing car.
2 An innocent creature compared with litter-bugs, noise-makers; inter-
feres with no one's pleasure.
3 Noise-makers invade quietest corners of earth: win prize for insensi-
tivity.
4 Announce arrival noisily: blaring music emanates from them.
5 Go up Amazon, survive crocodiles, piranha: hear cheering crowds,
football commentary; transistor.
6 One of the great wonders of technology: most hideous, diabolic of
human inventions.
7 People fined, imprisoned, etc., as public nuisances.
8 If you loiter outside shop, sing in public, attract policemen in neigh-
bourhood.
9 But walk on beach transistor blaring, no one in authority notices.
10 Most people writhing in agony, can't do anything about it.
II Ever asked owner to turn off transistor?
12 Either punched on nose or ignored; radio louder than before.
13 Noise: one of the most unpleasant features of modern life.
14 Contributes invisibly to irritability, stress.
15 Governments try to reduce noise.
16 Traffic sounds measured, decibels; levels tolerance recorded; statistics,
basis legislation; elaborate tests: supersonic bangs.
17 Interest misplaced; people adjusted long ago.
18 Less obvious source needs attention: transistor radio; people can't
adjust; noise varies.
19 Should be a crime to interfere with others' pleasure.
The counter-argument: key words
You can't call music, etc., 'noise'! Can't compare it with cars, planes,
etc.
2 Transistor owners a public service: share their pleasure.
3 Everyone enjoys sport, music, etc.
4 E.g. see how crowd collects round a transistor to hear a match com-
mentary on beach.
5 Pleasant background music; no worse than music in restaurant.
6 Can't prohibit transistors legally, restrict human freedom.
7 Everyone has the right to listen to the radio.
8 If you prohibit transistors, you must ban other things too.
9 E.g. windows must be kept shut when radio is playing loudly.
10 Car radios must not play when a vehicle is stationary.
I I Open-air performances of music (brass bands, etc.) must be prohibited.
12 Open-air speeches, etc., must be prohibited.
13 Clearly this would be absurd legislation.
14 Who is trying to interfere with others' pleasure: those who want to
prohibit transistors j
33
15 'The only people are interested in today is
more money'
Once upon a time there lived a beautiful young woman and a handsome
young man. They were very poor, but as they were deeply in love, they
wanted to get married. The young people's parents shook their heads.
'You can't get married yet,' they said. 'Wait till you get a good job with
5 good prospects.' So the young people waited until they found good jobs
with good prospects and they were able to get married. They were still
poor, of course. They didn't have a house to live in or any furniture, but
that didn't matter. The young man had a good job with good prospects, so
large organisations lent him the money he needed to buy a house, some
10 furniture, all the latest electrical appliances and a car. The couple lived
happily ever after paying off debts for the rest of their lives. And so ends
another modern romantic fable.
We live in a materialistic society and are trained from our earliest years
to be acquisitive. Our possessions, 'mine' and 'yours' are clearly labelled
15 from early childhood. When we grow old enough to earn a living, it does
not surprise us to discover that success is measured in terms of the money
you earn. We spend the whole ofour lives keeping up with our neighbours,
the Joneses. If we buy a new television set, Jones is bound to buy a bigger
and better one. Ifwe buy a new car, we can be sure that Jones will go one
better and get new cars: one for his wife and one for himself. The most
amusing thing about this game is that the Joneses and all the neighbours
who are struggling frantically to keep up with them are spending borrowed
money kindly provided, at a suitable rate of interest, of course, by friendly
banks, insurance companies, etc.
It is not only in societies that people are obsessed with the idea
of making more money. Consumer goods are desirable everywhere and
modern industry deliberately sets out to create new markets. Gone are the
days when industrial goods were made to last forever. The wheels of
industry must be kept turning. 'Built-in obsolescence' provides the means:
30 goods are made to be discarded. Cars get tinnier and tinnier. You no
sooner acquire this year's model than you are thinking about its replace-
ment.
This materialistic outlook has seriously influenced education. Fewer and
fewer young people these days acquire knowledge only for its own sake.
35 Every course of studies must lead somewhere: i.e, to a bigger wage packet.
The demand for skilled personnel far exceeds the supply and big companies
compete with each other to recruit students before they have completed
their studies. Tempting salaries and 'fringe benefits' offered to them.
Recruiting tactics of this kind have led to the 'brain drain', the process by
40 which highly skilled people offer their services to the highest bidder. The [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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