IELTS Listening · Cam 3

Test 4 Part 4

Good afternoon. I'm Paula Bundle And I am giving you the lectures on environmental noise this term.

Level: B1 · 74 sentences

Transcript

  1. Good afternoon. I'm Paula Bundle
  2. And I am giving you the lectures on environmental noise this term.
  3. Today we're going to look into the effects of noise on a planned housing estate
  4. In a particularly difficult part of the new Manchester Park area.
  5. This site... Is not as bad as some I have researched in the past.
  6. The Blacktown Airport is closed from 6pm to 7am,
  7. And this is a great advantage to the site.
  8. The only noise after dark is from the highway,
  9. And the traffic is somewhat reduced between 7.30pm 7.30pm and 5.30am. 5.30am.
  10. So the people most affected by the noise will be, I expect,
  11. Housewives. By the time most of the students and
  12. Workers have arrived back home in the evening during the week,
  13. The noise will have abated to a fairly large extent.
  14. The weekends are still a problem, of course,
  15. But the traffic is certainly reduced on Saturdays to a large extent,
  16. And even more so on Sundays. Of course,
  17. Modifications to houses will be necessary at a site like this, and
  18. They come at a significant cost to the developer and homebuyer.
  19. The modifications I'm about to outline
  20. Will add about $25,000 $25,000 to the price of a newly built house.
  21. That will still mean a cheaper house
  22. Than in a less noisy and more desirable area.
  23. A bit of background would not go astray.
  24. I understand that you are all
  25. Familiar with the proposed development site at Manchester Park.
  26. It's a particularly difficult one in terms of noise.
  27. With the highway along the eastern perimeter
  28. And the Blacktown Airport not three kilometres away to the north.
  29. Of course, those nearest the highway will be the worst hit,
  30. With heavy traffic noise
  31. As well as the noise from the light planes overhead.
  32. As you all know, the normal noise threshold for private housing
  33. Is 55 decibels. At this site,
  34. The levels have been recorded as high as 67 decibels.
  35. There will be a need for specialised double blazing and special
  36. Acoustic seals will have to be fitted to the doors.
  37. All exterior doors in this especially noisy pocket
  38. Will have to be solid-core wood doors with hinges.
  39. Every house built on this site,
  40. Not just those adjacent to the highway or nearest to the airport,
  41. Will require high-density insulation materials in the roof.
  42. Not only will all the roofs need insulating,
  43. The exterior walls will be required to be double brick.
  44. All ceilings will require double thickness plasterboard to be used in the construction.
  45. In the noisiest areas,
  46. Mechanical ventilation will have to be installed in the exterior walls.
  47. In those areas with sealed windows,
  48. It will be necessary to fit
  49. Fans with absorbers to cut out the noise in those particular houses.
  50. Air conditioning units could also be fitted in the ceilings of such houses,
  51. But this is substantially more expensive than fans,
  52. And may not be needed on this site.
  53. Coming back now to the double glazing
  54. I mentioned before, specialised double glazing requires a larger
  55. Air gap between the inner and outer glass than normal double glazing.
  56. The gap must be at least 7 centimetres.
  57. The thickness of the glass is also a factor,
  58. 8 millimetres on the outside and 6 on the inside pane.
  59. It's essential that the glass be thicker on the outside than on the inside,
  60. And that the gap between the panes of glass
  61. Be a minimum of 7 centimetres.
  62. Obviously, the noise factor will have to be taken into consideration
  63. With the layout of the houses.
  64. Living areas will have to be designed at the back of the houses,
  65. Away from the highway.
  66. Bedrooms and living rooms will have to be built towards the back.
  67. And for those houses closest to the highway,
  68. Two layers of plasterboard will be needed for the interior bedroom walls.
  69. Those rooms constructed at the front of the houses should be garages,
  70. Laundries, kitchens, bathrooms and dining rooms.
  71. I have come to the conclusion that this development should go ahead,
  72. But with various acoustic modifications,
  73. According to the position of the block
  74. In relation to the highway and intersection.