People want action on noise, a recent public meeting in Brisbane showed. Som

游客2023-08-18  27

问题     People want action on noise, a recent public meeting in Brisbane showed. Some want technical improvements such as quieter air conditioners or better sound barriers around major roads. Others want tougher laws to restrict noise from building sites or to require owners to take responsibility for barking dogs. But the highest priority was a noise complaints system that works.
    Brisbane City Council receives more complaints about noise than all other problems put together. So it conducted a survey and found that about half its residents are upset by noise in one form or another—traffic, mowers, pool pumps, air conditioners or loud parties. This inspired the Council to bring together more than 100 citizens one evening to talk through a range of options.
    The meeting found the present regulatory system bizarre. Depending on the problem, responsibility for noise can lie with the Council, the Environment Protection Authority, one of three government departments or even the police. So complainants often feel they are getting the run-round. When the people at the forum were asked to vote for changes, the strongest response was for a 24-hour, noise hotline to be the first port of call for all complaints.
    The forum also favored regulatory measures, such as tougher minimum standards for noise in appliances like air conditioners. This even makes economic sense, as noise is a waste of energy—and money. Other measures the meeting supported were wider buffer(缓冲)zones around noisy activities and controls to keep heavy traffic away from residential areas.
    But there are obvious conflicts. Many people like to have a bar within walking distance if they feel like a drink, but they don’t want a noisy pub keeping them awake when they want an early night. Most people want to live near a major road providing good access to other parts of the city, but they don’t want the problem of road noise.
    I was most interested by the proposals aimed at behavioral change. There was strong support for measures to reduce traffic: better public transport, cycleways and footpaths, even charges for road use. Many people optimistically thought industry awards for better equipment would stimulate the production of quieter appliances. It was even suggested that noise from building sites could be alleviated if Brisbane adopted daylight saving, thus shifting the working day and providing longer, quieter evenings. [br] By saying that the complainants feel that "they are getting the run-round", the author means _____.

选项 A、the complainants are unfairly treated by the government departments
B、the government departments seldom respond to the complaints
C、it is inexplicit which department is responsible for the complaints
D、complaints will be treated only after being approved by all three departments

答案 C

解析 本题事实上是考查造成人们getting the run-round的原因。第3段第3句开头的so表明该句与第2句密切相关,从第2句可推断,原因是政府机构对噪音问题的权责不清,使人们不知该往哪个部门投诉,C正确。该段首句提到的bizarre和第2句的depending on the problem都表明,由多个不同的部门负责处理不同的噪音问题这种做法不合理,由此可见,本段只关注这种不合理性,并未提到A或B;原文提及3个部门分别负责不同的噪音问题,因此不存在D的情况。
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