南非球迷長喇叭助威 專家提醒有損聽力
Football fans attending the World Cup risk permanent damage to their hearing from the vuvuzela horns which are the must-have accessory at the tournament in South Africa, a study said Monday.
The din emitting from the tuneless plastic horns is louder than that from a drum or a chainsaw, according to the survey by hearing aid manufacturer Phonak.
It said tests had shown the sound emitted by a vuvuzela was the equivalent to 127 decibels. The sound from a drum was put at 122 decibels while the sound from a referee's whistle registered 121.8 decibels.
"Extended exposure at just 85 decibels puts us at a risk of permanent noise-induced hearing loss," Phonak said in a statement on the SAPA news agency.
"When subjected to 100 decibels or more, hearing damage can occur in just 15 minutes."
While the horns have gone down a storm among South African supporters, players from rival teams have been less enthusiastic.
Spain midfielder Xabi Alonso has called for it to be banned as it impedes players' concentration but FIFA chief Sepp Blatter has defended it as a part of South African football culture.
本週一公佈的一項研究稱，南非世界盃上球迷必備的一種名叫“巫巫祖拉”的加油工具可能會對人的聽力產生永久性損傷。
這項由助聽器製造商峯力集團開展的研究發現，這種塑料喇叭發出的嘈雜聲響遠高於鑼鼓或電鋸發出的響聲。
研究稱，有試驗顯示“巫巫祖拉”發出的響聲高達127分貝。而鑼鼓發出的響聲爲122分貝，裁判的哨聲爲121.8分貝。
峯力集團在通過南非新聞通訊社發表的一項聲明中說：“長時間地處於85分貝的噪音環境就可能會導致噪音引發的永久性的聽力喪失。”
“100分貝或100分貝以上的聲音在15分鐘內就會對聽力造成損害。”
儘管“巫巫祖拉”受到南非本土球迷的歡迎，但其它國家的球員則並不支持它的使用。
西班牙中場球員哈維•阿隆索呼籲禁用這種喇叭，因爲它會分散球員的注意力，但國際足聯主席塞普•布拉特則辯解稱“巫巫祖拉”是南非足球文化的一部分。
Vocabulary:
hearing aid: a small device that fits inside the ear and makes sounds louder, used by people who cannot hear well 助聽器
decibel: a unit for measuring how loud a sound is 分貝（聲音強度的單位）
referee: the official who controls the game in some sports, such as football, basketball and boxing 裁判；裁判員
go down a storm:受到熱烈歡迎
