ESL Podcast 654 – Talking About Sound and Volume

　　Delilah: Could you turn that down?
Josh: What?
Delilah: Could you turn your music down?
Josh: Oh, sure. Is there a problem?
Delilah: No, there’s no problem. I was just trying to do some reading and the ear- splitting music coming from your room made it hard to concentrate.
Josh: Sorry. I didn’t think it was that loud. I didn’t turn it up, I swear. The volume control is in the same place it always is, not one decibel¹ higher.
Delilah: That may be true, but those high-pitched squeals² coming out of your speakers are really grating. And what was that banging sound?
Josh: Oh, I was just using this hammer to fix my chair. I’m done.
Delilah: And what was that thumping³ noise?
Josh: Thumping noise? Oh, I was lifting weights and dropping them back down on the floor.
Delilah: I see. If you could please keep the volume to a moderate level, I would appreciate it.
Josh: No problem. I’ll be as quiet as a mouse – as I always am.
Script by Dr. Lucy Tse

1 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。

2 squeals   

n.长而尖锐的叫声( squeal的名词复数 )v.长声尖叫，用长而尖锐的声音说( squeal的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• There was an outburst of squeals from the cage. 铁笼子里传来一阵吱吱的叫声。 来自英汉文学
• There were squeals of excitement from the children. 孩子们兴奋得大声尖叫。 来自辞典例句

3 thumping   

adj.重大的，巨大的；重击的；尺码大的；极好的adv.极端地；非常地v.重击(thump的现在分词)；狠打；怦怦地跳；全力支持

参考例句：

• Her heart was thumping with emotion. 她激动得心怦怦直跳。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He was thumping the keys of the piano. 他用力弹钢琴。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》