Noise-Canceling Headrests on China’s High-Speed Trains

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HSK 7–9 · Reading Practice

Noise-Canceling Headrests on China’s High-Speed Trains

Vocabulary

HSK 7–9 必不可少bìbùkěshǎo Tap to flip

indispensable, essential

水shuǐ是shì生活shēnghuó中zhōng必不可少bìbùkěshǎo的de资源zīyuán

Water is an indispensable resource in daily life.

HSK 7–9 干扰gānrǎo Tap to flip

interference, to disturb

手机shǒujī信号xìnhào有时yǒushí会huì受到shòudào天气tiānqì的de干扰gānrǎo

Cell phone signals are sometimes disturbed by the weather.

HSK 7–9 抵消dǐxiāo Tap to flip

to offset, cancel out

运动yùndòng带来的dàilái de好处hǎochù足以zúyǐ抵消dǐxiāo久坐的jiǔzuò de坏处huàichù

The benefits of exercise are enough to offset the harm of sitting too long.

HSK 7–9 叠加diéjiā Tap to flip

to superimpose, overlap

多重duōchóng压力yālì叠加diéjiā，让ràng他tā感到gǎndào十分shífēn疲惫píbèi

The overlapping of multiple pressures left him feeling utterly exhausted.

HSK 7–9 自适应zìshìyìng Tap to flip

self-adaptive, adaptive

这款zhè kuǎn软件ruǎnjiàn具备jùbèi自适应zìshìyìng屏幕píngmù大小dàxiǎo的de功能gōngnéng

This software can automatically adapt to different screen sizes.

HSK 7–9 监测jiāncè Tap to flip

to monitor, detect

医院yīyuàn会huì持续chíxù监测jiāncè病人的bìngrén de心跳xīntiào和hé血压xuèyā

The hospital continuously monitors the patient’s heartbeat and blood pressure.

HSK 7–9 声波shēngbō Tap to flip

sound wave

海豚hǎitún利用lìyòng声波shēngbō来lái判断pànduàn周围zhōuwéi环境huánjìng

Dolphins use sound waves to sense their surrounding environment.

HSK 7–9 妖怪yāoguài Tap to flip

monster, demon

这部zhè bù电影diànyǐng讲的是jiǎng de shì一个yī gè村庄cūnzhuāng和hé妖怪yāoguài战斗的zhàndòu de故事gùshì

This movie tells the story of a village fighting against a monster.

HSK 7–9 干涉gānshè Tap to flip

interference (physics)

光guāng的de干涉gānshè现象xiànxiàng可以kěyǐ用来yònglái测量cèliáng极小的jí xiǎo de距离jùlí

The interference of light can be used to measure extremely small distances.

HSK 7–9 借助jièzhù Tap to flip

to make use of, with the help of

他tā借助jièzhù字典zìdiǎn读懂了dúdǒng le这篇zhè piān文章wénzhāng

He was able to understand the article with the help of a dictionary.

HSK 7–9 低频dīpín Tap to flip

low frequency

低频dīpín噪声zàoshēng很难hěn nán被bèi普通pǔtōng耳塞ěrsāi挡住dǎngzhù

Low-frequency noise is very hard for ordinary earplugs to block.

HSK 7–9 耳熟能详ěrshúnéngxiáng Tap to flip

so familiar one knows it by heart

这首zhè shǒu歌gē几乎jīhū人人rénrén都dōu耳熟能详ěrshúnéngxiáng

Almost everyone is familiar with this song.

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Reading Passage

高铁降噪头靠
高铁降噪头靠

高铁已成为人们必不可少的交通工具。复兴号高铁持续运行速度达每小时350公里，轻松实现日行万里。越来越多的人将高铁作为出行的首选交通工具。然而高铁所产生的噪声却让人担忧。

高铁噪声的来源有受电弓噪声、车头空气动力噪声、车辆上部空气动力噪声、车辆下部噪声和结构噪声等，比如我们“耳熟能详”的钢轨摩擦声就属于其中一种。对这些高铁运行而产生的噪声，我们既无法让车轮与车厢分离，也无法让风停止歌唱，只能戴上耳机。可是长时间戴耳机并不舒服。

怎么办呢？科学家们研制了一种降噪头靠，可以进行主动降噪，降低高铁噪声中的低频部分。降噪头靠可以形成一个保护区，即降噪区域，只要乘客们在降噪区域，听到的噪声就会减小，从而可以免受噪声“妖怪”的干扰。

降噪头靠是怎样形成降噪区的呢？答案是借助扬声器，也就是俗称的“大喇叭”。科学家们在座椅周围放置多个扬声器，发出特定的声波来抵消噪声。就像武侠小说里的以毒攻毒，降噪头靠是以声消声，利用声波来抵消噪声。

以声消声，主要是利用声波的相消性干涉原理，即两列频率相同、相位相反的声波叠加，声波幅值就会减小。扬声器发出的正是与噪声声波相位相反的声波，噪声声波与扬声器发出的声波叠加，该区域的声波幅值便减小，人们听到的声音也就减小了。

高铁噪声种类这么多，降噪头靠都能消除吗？为了让乘客免受这些噪声的干扰，降噪头靠可以做到兵来将挡，水来土掩。由于降噪头靠的核心控制器具有自适应算法，因此能够监测噪声，并针对不同的噪声设计发出相应的声波，以实现更有效的降噪。无噪声时，降噪头靠是不发声的。

值得注意的是，降噪头靠降低的是高铁噪声中的低频部分，属于主动降噪技术；噪声的高频部分一般使用吸声材料进行降噪，属于被动降噪技术。

神奇的降噪头靠通过以声消声，还您清静。目前，中国科学院噪声与振动重点实验室已经完成了降噪头靠的实验部分，让我们期待高铁上的降噪头靠可以早日和大家见面！

Gāotiě yǐ chéngwéi rénmen bìbùkěshǎo de jiāotōng gōngjù. Fùxīng hào gāotiě chíxù yùnxíng sùdù dá měi xiǎoshí sān bǎi wǔshí gōnglǐ, qīngsōng shíxiàn rì xíng wàn lǐ. Yuè lái yuè duō de rén jiāng gāotiě zuòwéi chūxíng de shǒuxuǎn jiāotōng gōngjù. Rán’ér gāotiě suǒ chǎnshēng de zàoshēng què ràng rén dānyōu.

Gāotiě zàoshēng de láiyuán yǒu shòudiàngōng zàoshēng, chētóu kōngqì dònglì zàoshēng, chēliàng shàngbù kōngqì dònglì zàoshēng, chēliàng xiàbù zàoshēng hé jiégòu zàoshēng děng, bǐrú wǒmen “ěrshúnéngxiáng” de gāngguǐ mócā shēng jiù shǔyú qízhōng yī zhǒng. Duì zhèxiē gāotiě yùnxíng ér chǎnshēng de zàoshēng, wǒmen jì wúfǎ ràng chēlún yǔ chēxiāng fēnlí, yě wúfǎ ràng fēng tíngzhǐ gēchàng, zhǐ néng dài shàng ěrjī. Kěshì cháng shíjiān dài ěrjī bìng bù shūfu.

Zěnme bàn ne? Kēxuéjiāmen yánzhì le yī zhǒng jiàngzào tóukào, kěyǐ jìnxíng zhǔdòng jiàngzào, jiàngdī gāotiě zàoshēng zhōng de dīpín bùfen. Jiàngzào tóukào kěyǐ xíngchéng yī gè bǎohùqū, jí jiàngzào qūyù, zhǐyào chéngkèmen zài jiàngzào qūyù, tīng dào de zàoshēng jiù huì jiǎnxiǎo, cóng’ér kěyǐ miǎn shòu zàoshēng “yāoguài” de gānrǎo.

Jiàngzào tóukào shì zěnyàng xíngchéng jiàngzào qū de ne? Dá’àn shì jièzhù yángshēngqì, yě jiùshì súchēng de “dà lǎba”. Kēxuéjiāmen zài zuòyǐ zhōuwéi fàngzhì duō gè yángshēngqì, fāchū tèdìng de shēngbō lái dǐxiāo zàoshēng. Jiù xiàng wǔxiá xiǎoshuō lǐ de yǐ dú gōng dú, jiàngzào tóukào shì yǐ shēng xiāo shēng, lìyòng shēngbō lái dǐxiāo zàoshēng.

Yǐ shēng xiāo shēng, zhǔyào shì lìyòng shēngbō de xiāngxiāoxìng gānshè yuánlǐ, jí liǎng liè pínlǜ xiāngtóng, xiàngwèi xiāngfǎn de shēngbō diéjiā, shēngbō fúzhí jiù huì jiǎnxiǎo. Yángshēngqì fāchū de zhèng shì yǔ zàoshēng shēngbō xiàngwèi xiāngfǎn de shēngbō, zàoshēng shēngbō yǔ yángshēngqì fāchū de shēngbō diéjiā, gāi qūyù de shēngbō fúzhí biàn jiǎnxiǎo, rénmen tīng dào de shēngyīn yě jiù jiǎnxiǎo le.

Gāotiě zàoshēng zhǒnglèi zhème duō, jiàngzào tóukào dōu néng xiāochú ma? Wèile ràng chéngkè miǎn shòu zhèxiē zàoshēng de gānrǎo, jiàngzào tóukào kěyǐ zuòdào bīng lái jiàng dǎng, shuǐ lái tǔ yǎn. Yóuyú jiàngzào tóukào de héxīn kòngzhìqì jùyǒu zì shìyìng suànfǎ, yīncǐ nénggòu jiāncè zàoshēng, bìng zhēnduì bùtóng de zàoshēng shèjì fāchū xiāngyìng de shēngbō, yǐ shíxiàn gèng yǒuxiào de jiàngzào. Wú zàoshēng shí, jiàngzào tóukào shì bù fāshēng de.

Zhíde zhùyì de shì, jiàngzào tóukào jiàngdī de shì gāotiě zàoshēng zhōng de dīpín bùfen, shǔyú zhǔdòng jiàngzào jìshù; zàoshēng de gāopín bùfen yībān shǐyòng xīshēng cáiliào jìnxíng jiàngzào, shǔyú bèidòng jiàngzào jìshù.

Shénqí de jiàngzào tóukào tōngguò yǐ shēng xiāo shēng, huán nín qīngjìng. Mùqián, Zhōngguó Kēxuéyuàn Zàoshēng Yǔ Zhèndòng Zhòngdiǎn Shíyànshì yǐjīng wánchéng le jiàngzào tóukào de shíyàn bùfen, ràng wǒmen qídài gāotiě shàng de jiàngzào tóukào kěyǐ zǎorì hé dàjiā jiànmiàn!

High-speed rail has become an indispensable means of transportation. The Fuxing high-speed train runs continuously at speeds of up to 350 kilometers per hour, easily achieving “a thousand miles in a day.” More and more people are choosing high-speed rail as their preferred mode of travel. However, the noise produced by high-speed trains has become a source of concern.

The sources of high-speed rail noise include pantograph noise, front-end aerodynamic noise, upper-body aerodynamic noise, lower-body noise, and structural noise, among others — for example, the familiar sound of rail friction is one such type. Facing this noise, we can’t separate the wheels from the carriage, nor can we make the wind stop “singing” — all we can do is put on headphones. But wearing headphones for long periods isn’t comfortable.

So what can be done? Scientists have developed a noise-reducing headrest that performs active noise cancellation, reducing the low-frequency portion of high-speed rail noise. The headrest creates a protective zone — a noise-reduction zone — and as long as passengers stay within it, the noise they hear is reduced, sparing them from the disturbance of this noise “monster.”

How does the headrest create this zone? The answer lies in speakers — commonly known as “loudspeakers.” Scientists place multiple speakers around the seat that emit specific sound waves to cancel out the noise. Like the idea of “fighting poison with poison” in martial arts novels, the headrest cancels sound with sound, using sound waves to offset the noise.

Canceling sound with sound mainly relies on the principle of destructive interference — when two waves of the same frequency but opposite phase overlap, their amplitude decreases. The speakers emit sound waves exactly out of phase with the noise; when the noise waves and the speaker’s waves overlap, the amplitude in that area decreases, and the sound people hear becomes quieter.

With so many types of high-speed rail noise, can the headrest cancel them all? To spare passengers from this disturbance, the headrest can adapt to whatever noise arises. Because its core controller has a self-adaptive algorithm, it can monitor noise and generate the corresponding sound wave for each type, achieving more effective noise reduction. When there is no noise, the headrest stays silent.

It’s worth noting that the headrest reduces the low-frequency portion of high-speed rail noise — a form of active noise reduction. The high-frequency portion is generally reduced using sound-absorbing materials, a form of passive noise reduction.

This remarkable noise-reducing headrest cancels sound with sound, giving you back your peace and quiet. Currently, the Key Laboratory of Noise and Vibration at the Chinese Academy of Sciences has completed the experimental phase of the headrest, and we look forward to seeing it appear on high-speed trains soon!

Comprehension Questions

Question 1 of 6

下列xiàliè哪项nǎxiàng不是bùshì高铁gāotiě噪声zàoshēng的de来源láiyuán？

The passage lists pantograph noise, aerodynamic noise, and structural noise (including rail friction) as sources — engine-running noise is never mentioned.

下列xiàliè哪项nǎxiàng是shì形成xíngchéng降噪区jiàngzàoqū的de原理yuánlǐ？

Speakers are the tool, but the passage explains the actual principle as destructive interference of sound waves — two waves of the same frequency but opposite phase canceling each other out.

“兵来将挡bīng lái jiàng dǎng，水来土掩shuǐ lái tǔ yǎn”的de意思yìsi主要zhǔyào是shì指zhǐ：

This idiom means responding to each situation with a matching countermeasure — adapting your strategy to whatever comes, which is exactly what the headrest’s adaptive algorithm does.

关于guānyú“降噪头靠jiàngzào tóukào”，下列xiàliè哪项nǎxiàng正确zhèngquè？

The passage says its core controller has a self-adaptive algorithm; it only stays silent when there’s no noise, and only cancels the low-frequency part — not all sound waves.

高铁gāotiě降低jiàngdī噪声zàoshēng主要zhǔyào靠的kào de是shì哪两种nǎ liǎng zhǒng材料cáiliào？

① 扬声器yángshēngqì   ② 吸声xīshēng材料cáiliào   ③ 中空zhōngkōng材料cáiliào   ④ 有孔yǒu kǒng木mù吸声板xīshēngbǎn

The headrest’s speakers (①) handle active, low-frequency cancellation, while sound-absorbing materials (②) handle passive, high-frequency reduction — the two methods named in the passage.

上文shàngwén主要zhǔyào谈的tán de是shì：

The article is mainly about the noise-canceling headrest technology — how it works and how it makes train noise “disappear” for passengers.

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