重塑对科学的信任 - 6分钟英语：英语精读讲义

Six Minute English from bbclearningenglish.com.

来自 bbclearningenglish.com 的六分钟英语。

Hello, this is Six Minute English from BBC Learning English.

大家好，这里是 BBC 英语教学的六分钟英语。

I'm Sam.

我是萨姆。

And I'm Rob.

我是罗布。

Once in a while, 短語搭配

偶尔，

along comes a scientist who captures the public imagination and communicates their passion for science in an exciting and understandable way. 講解

会出现这样一位科学家，他能抓住公众的想象力，并以激动人心且易懂的方式传达他们对科学的热情。

In this program,

在本期节目中，

we'll be meeting one of America's best known popular scientists, 語法

我们将见到美国最著名的科普科学家之一，

uh astronomer Neil deGrasse Tyson. 文化背景

呃，天文学家尼尔·德格拉斯·泰森。

He's a man with a gift for communicating and inspiring people with his television shows and books on cosmology, 講解

他是一位具有沟通天赋的人，通过他的电视节目和关于宇宙学的书籍来启发人们，

the study of the origin and nature of the universe.

也就是研究宇宙起源和本质的学科。

In his day job, 用詞

在他的日常工作中，

he runs the Hayden Planetarium in New York's American Museum of Natural History,

他在纽约美国自然历史博物馆的海登天文馆担任馆长，

but Neil's real mission is to encourage scientific thinking among the American public. 表達脈絡

但尼尔真正的使命是鼓励美国公众的科学思维。

We'll be hearing from the famous astronomer and learning some new vocabulary soon.

我们很快就会听到这位著名天文学家的话，并学习一些新词汇。

But first,

但首先，

I have a question for you, Sam.

萨姆，我有一个问题要问你。

Science is ever changing with new discoveries updating our understanding all the time. 講解

科学是不断变化的，新的发现一直在更新我们的认知。

For centuries,

几个世纪以来，

the Earth was thought to be the center of the universe, 語法

地球一直被认为是宇宙的中心，

but who was the first astronomer to have the correct idea that,

但是，哪位天文学家最先提出了正确的观点，

in fact, 表達脈絡

事实上，

the Earth and the planets revolve around the Sun? 用詞

地球和行星都是围绕太阳旋转的？

Was it A,

是A，

Nicolaus Copernicus,

尼古拉·哥白尼，

B,

B，

Isaac Newton,

艾萨克·牛顿，

or C,

还是C，

Galileo Galilei?

伽利略·伽利莱？

Hmm, I'll say it was C,

嗯，我猜是C，

Galileo.

伽利略。

Okay, Sam,

好的，萨姆，

I'll reveal the correct answer later in the program.

我稍后会在节目中揭晓正确答案。

Recent events like the COVID pandemic and climate crisis have put scientists under pressure from critics motivated by political views. 講解

最近发生的事件，如新冠疫情和气候危机，让科学家面临来自受政治观点驱使的批评者的压力。

Neil deGrasse Tyson thinks facts are not dependent on politics, 用詞

尼尔·德格拉斯·泰森认为事实不依赖于政治，

but should be established with a scientific method, 語法

而应该通过科学方法来确立，

a process of finding the truth through testing and experimentation. 文化背景

这是一个通过测试和实验来寻找真相的过程。

Here's Neil explaining more about the scientific method to BBC World Service program HardTalk. 表達脈絡

以下是尼尔在 BBC 世界频道《HardTalk》节目中详细解释科学方法的片段。

If you have a brilliant idea and you tested and it unearths so much of what has been known before, 講解

如果你有一个绝妙的主意，并且你对其进行了测试，它发掘出了许多以往已为人知的事物，

we're gonna double-check that. 短語搭配

我们就会去反复核查它。

The rest of us we'll say,

我们其他人会说，

"But did he do it? did he cross his T's and dot his I's? 習語

"但是他真的做到了吗？他是否做到了一丝不苟？

Did he let me check the power that's driving his experiment,

他有没有让我检查驱动他实验的电源，

you know, the wall current?

你知道的，墙上的电源？

Let me check how that was conceived and done?

让我检查一下这到底是怎么构思和完成的？

And if no one can duplicate your results, 語法

如果没有人能复制你的结果，

it's not a result."

那这就不是一个结果。"

Before scientists can confirm the truth of an experiment,

在科学家能够确认一项实验的真相之前，

their findings must be doubled-checked

他们的发现必须经过反复核查

making certain something is correct by carefully examining it again.

即通过再次仔细检查来确保某事是正确的。

This process is called peer review. 文化背景

这个过程叫做同行评审。

Other scientists double-checking the experiment to make sure everything was done correctly. 短語搭配

即其他科学家复核实验，以确保一切都做对了。

One way they do this is to duplicate or repeat the experiment to see if they get the same result. 講解

他们这样做的一种方法是复制或重复实验，看看是否能得到相同的结果。

In other words,

换句话说，

Neil wants scientists to have crossed the T's and dotted the I's,

尼尔希望科学家能够做到“一丝不苟（cross the T's and dot the I's）”，

a phrase which means paying attention to the small details of whatever you're doing.

这个短语的意思是关注你正在做的任何事情的微小细节。

A scientific approach requires an open mind and critical thinking. 短語搭配

科学的方法需要开放的头脑和批判性思维。

But Neil believes the most important thing is to know the difference between fact and opinion. 短語搭配

但尼尔认为最重要的一点是知道事实和观点的区别。

People have opinions about all kinds of things,

人们对各种各样的事物都有自己的观点，

but that doesn't make what they believe a fact. 語法

但这并不能使他们相信的东西成为事实。

Yet,

然而，

fact and opinion are becoming harder to separate as protests by anti-vaccine groups and climate change deniers have shown. 講解

正如反疫苗组织和气候变化否认者的抗议所表明的那样，事实和观点正变得越来越难以区分。

Many Americans,

许多美国人，

even presidents,

甚至包括总统，

seem suspicious of scientific fact. 用詞

似乎都对科学事实持怀疑态度。

It's a worrying trend that Neil thinks is a result of the US education system, 短語搭配

这是一个令人担忧的趋势，尼尔认为这是美国教育体系造成的，

as he told BBC World Service program HardTalk.

正如他在 BBC 世界频道《HardTalk》节目中所说的那样。

It has to do with how science is taught in the schools. 短語搭配

这与学校里如何教授科学有关。

It's currently taught as a body of information, 用詞

它目前被作为一种信息体系来教授，

a satchel of facts that are imparted upon you and then you regurgitate that for an exam. 講解

一堆灌输给你的事实，然后你在考试中再把它们生搬硬套出来。

That's an aspect of science,

这是科学的一个方面，

but it's not the most important part of science.

但它不是科学最重要的部分。

The most important part of science is knowing how to question things and know when an answer has emerged that represents sort of an objective truth about this world. 講解

科学最重要的部分是知道如何对事物提出质疑，并知道何时出现了一个代表关于这个世界的某种客观真相的答案。

Neil says that science is taught by encouraging students to regurgitate facts,

尼尔说，现在的科学教育是鼓励学生机械地背诵事实，

to repeat information without properly understanding it.

在没有正确理解信息的情况下重复信息。

Knowledge is important,

知识很重要，

but what's also needed is a questioning attitude that can recognize objective truth,

但同样需要的是一种能够识别客观真相的质疑态度，

a truth about the natural world which is not influenced by human bias, opinions, or emotion. 用詞

即关于自然界的真相，它不受人类偏见、观点或情感的影响。

Without that, 表達脈絡

如果没有这种态度，

anyone is free to call whatever they like a fact, 語法

任何人都可以把他们喜欢的任何东西称为事实，

which only leads to chaos. 短語搭配

这只会导致混乱。

Right.

没错。

No matter how hard I believe that the Moon is made of cheese or the Sun goes around the Earth, 講解

无论我多么坚信月亮是奶酪做的，或者太阳围着地球转，

believing it doesn't make it true. 語法

相信它并不能使它成为现实。

That sounds like something Neil deGrasse Tyson would agree with,

听起来尼尔·德格拉斯·泰森会同意这一点，

and maybe Galileo too.

也许伽利略也会同意。

Yes, in my question I asked who first came up with the idea that the Earth revolves around the Sun. 短語動詞

是的，在我的问题中，我问谁最先提出了地球围绕太阳旋转的观点。

And I said it was Renaissance astronomer Galileo. 文化背景

我说是文艺复兴时期的天文学家伽利略。

Ah,

啊，

which was the wrong answer, I'm afraid. 語氣意圖

恐怕这个答案是错的。

Galileo knew the Earth revolved around the Sun,

伽利略知道地球围绕太阳转，

but the first person with the idea was Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus in 1543. 文化背景

但第一个提出这个想法的人是波兰天文学家尼古拉·哥白尼，在 1543 年。

Unfortunately,

遗憾的是，

centuries before the invention of television could spread the news of this objective truth, 講解

这是在电视发明能够传播这个客观真相的新闻之前的几个世纪，

a provable truth which is uninfluenced by human bias or opinion. 用詞

这是一个不受人类偏见或观点影响的、可证明的真相。

Okay, let's recap the rest of the vocabulary from our chat about American scientist Neil deGrasse Tyson and his love of cosmology, 表達脈絡

好了，让我们复习一下我们讨论美国科学家尼尔·德格拉斯·泰森及其对宇宙学的热爱时的其他词汇，

the study of the universe.

即对宇宙的研究。

To double check something means to make certain it's correct by carefully re-examining it.

反复核查（double check）某事意味着通过仔细重新检查来确定它是正确的。

One way scientists do this is to duplicate or repeat exactly an experiment.

科学家做到这一点的一种方法是完全复制（duplicate）或重复一项实验。

The idiom cross the T's and dot the I's means to pay close attention to the details of what you're doing.

习语 cross the T's and dot the I's（一丝不苟）的意思是密切关注你正在做的事情的细节。

And finally,

最后，

if you regurgitate facts,

如果你生搬硬套事实（regurgitate facts），

you just repeat them without properly understanding them.

你只是在没有正确理解它们的情况下重复它们。

Something a true scientist would never do.

这是一个真正的科学家永远不会做的事。

Once again,

再一次，

our six minutes are up. 短語搭配

我们的六分钟时间到了。

Goodbye for now.

暂时再见。

Bye.

再见。

Six Minute English from the BBC.

来自 BBC 的六分钟英语。