Global Breaking News - Monday, December 23, 2024

Do you get on well with your neighbors, or are the people living next door stressful? A new report says that a quarter of people in Britain have had problems with their neighbors in the past year. The survey was carried out by an organization called "Which?" It tries to help and protect consumers. The researchers asked 2,062 adults about their relations with neighbors. They found that 27 per cent had experienced problems. "Which?" said on its website that: "Half [of the people] were left feeling angry and half felt irritable, with 42 per cent saying they felt stressed, and one in ten admitted to feeling afraid." It added: "The survey also found that 64 per cent didn't know where to go to seek help and advice."
* get on with ~ = ~와 (함께) 잘 지내다/ a quarter of ~ = ~의 4분의 1/ irritable = 짜증을 (잘) 내는; 화가 난/ admit to ~ = ~을 인정하다  

The biggest complaints about neighbors were loud voices and the sound of arguing. Loud music and televisions, and doors slamming were also a problem. People also described drug use and police arriving at their neighbor's house. Only one-third of people spoke to the noisy neighbor about the problem. However, people said the problem became worse if the neighbor did not apologize or continued with their annoying behavior. "Which?" said 86 per cent of young people (those aged 18-24) did not know where to go to get advice. A "Which?" spokesperson said: "Our research has found that young people especially are suffering in silence." "Which?" said people needed to keep a diary of unneighborly behavior.
* slam = 쾅(탁) 닫다(닫히다)/ apologize = 사과하다/ in silence = 말없이, 침묵하여/ unneighborly = 이웃답지 않은; 붙임성 없는