Wide context

Complete PICLE corpus of essays by Polish advanced EFL students (330,000)

It often seems that the world is getting noisier these days. In Japan, which may be a model of the future, cars and buses have voices, doors and elevators speak. A walkman has become an indispensable piece of equipment of the modern generation, ensuring that people need never be without the clamor of this world. Meanwhile, more and more people have difficulties with concentration and hearing. A threatening number of youngsters cannot stand a short period of absolute silence without getting nervous or hyperactive. White noise becomes the aural equivalent of the clash of images, the non-stop blast of fragments that increasingly agitates the human mind. In silence, greatest ideas were produced and solutions to many serious problems found. Most wonderful pieces of literature were created in peaceful environments. Nowadays, however, people seem not to notice the low hum of their computers at work or even the never-ending noise of passing cars or planes. They rarely use the wonderful power of stimulation that silence brings.