【B1】

It’s my honor to be here tonight.
     Our organization is called the Noise Abatement Society that monitors and tries to deal with noise related issues. We are currently working to introduce what is called broadband noise technology in different areas.
     Many people asked me what the broadband noise is. It’s very simple actually, if you can imagine walking through a wood late at night in the peace and quiet and you hear a twig snap, you turn automatically towards that twig. And this is exactly what broadband is, you know which direction it’s coming from, you know instantly which side of you it’s coming from. Alarms at the moment are so loud that they actually disorientate you. If you’re at a set of traffic lights , you don’t know which direction an ambulance, a police car or a fire engine may be coming from, but with broadband you do. You automatically turn towards it；it has to be safer because you can then get out of the way very quickly. It sounds just like a "shush shush" sound. The alarms you hear at the moment are very rich in tones. But broadband isn’t. Because it’s not got the tonal content, you know where that sound is coming from. And the nicer thing about broadband is as soon as it’s gone by，it disappears，you don’t actually hear it.
     Broadband noise alarms are being used in a number of places around the country. They can also be used not only on vehicles but al so in buildings to help people find the exits when there is an emergency.