This is a symbolic representation of what may happen to a signal on its way to a receiver.
Attenuation can be achieved by e.g. resistance of a wire, loss within an optic fiber, diminished signal strength of a radio signal simply by distance or by an obstacle. Etc., etc.
Noise can be "added" e.g. by induction of electromagentic fields into a wire, by static noise in the same frequency spectrum as a radio signal, by noise produced by the electronics within sender and/or receiver. Etc. etc.