重塑對科學的信任 - 6分鐘英語：英語精讀講義

Six Minute English from bbclearningenglish.com.

來自 bbclearningenglish.com 的六分鐘英語。

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

大家好，這裡是 BBC 英語教學的六分鐘英語。

I'm Sam.

我是薩姆。

And I'm Rob.

我是羅布。

Once in a while, 片語搭配

偶爾，

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

會出現這樣一位科學家，他能抓住公眾的想像力，並以激動人心且易懂的方式傳達他們對科學的熱情。

In this program,

在本期節目中，

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

我們將見到美國最著名的科普科學家之一，

uh astronomer Neil deGrasse Tyson. 文化背景

呃，天文學家尼爾·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

他是一位具有溝通天賦的人，透過他的電視節目和關於宇宙學的書籍來啟發人們，

the study of the origin and nature of the universe.

也就是研究宇宙起源和本質的學科。

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,

他在紐約美國自然歷史博物館的海登天文館擔任館長，

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

但尼爾真正的使命是鼓勵美國公眾的科學思維。

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

我們很快就會聽到這位著名天文學家的話，並學習一些新詞彙。

But first,

但首先，

I have a question for you, Sam.

薩姆，我有一個問題要問你。

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

科學是不斷變化的，新的發現一直在更新我們的認知。

For centuries,

幾個世紀以來，

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

地球一直被認為是宇宙的中心，

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

但是，哪位天文學家最先提出了正確的觀點，

in fact, 表達脈絡

事實上，

the Earth and the planets revolve around the Sun? 用詞

地球和行星都是圍繞太陽旋轉的？

Was it A,

是A，

Nicolaus Copernicus,

尼古拉·哥白尼，

B,

B，

Isaac Newton,

艾薩克·牛頓，

or C,

還是C，

Galileo Galilei?

伽利略·伽利萊？

Hmm, I'll say it was C,

嗯，我猜是C，

Galileo.

伽利略。

Okay, Sam,

好的，薩姆，

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

我稍後會在節目中揭曉正確答案。

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

最近發生的事件，如新冠疫情和氣候危機，讓科學家面臨來自受政治觀點驅使的批評者的壓力。

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

尼爾·德格拉斯·泰森認為事實不依賴於政治，

but should be established with a scientific method, 文法

而應該透過科學方法來確立，

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

這是一個透過測試和實驗來尋找真相的過程。

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

以下是尼爾在 BBC 世界頻道《HardTalk》節目中詳細解釋科學方法的片段。

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

如果你有一個絕妙的主意，並且你對其進行了測試，它發掘出了許多以往已為人知的事物，

we're gonna double-check that. 片語搭配

我們就會去反覆核查它。

The rest of us we'll say,

我們其他人會說，

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

"但是他真的做到了嗎？他是否做到了一絲不苟？

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

他有沒有讓我檢查驅動他實驗的電源，

you know, the wall current?

你知道的，牆上的電源？

Let me check how that was conceived and done?

讓我檢查一下這到底是怎麼構思和完成的？

And if no one can duplicate your results, 文法

如果沒有人能複製你的結果，

it's not a result."

那這就不是一個結果。"

Before scientists can confirm the truth of an experiment,

在科學家能夠確認一項實驗的真相之前，

their findings must be doubled-checked

他們的發現必須經過反覆核查

making certain something is correct by carefully examining it again.

即透過再次仔細檢查來確保某事是正確的。

This process is called peer review. 文化背景

這個過程叫做同儕審查。

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

即其他科學家複核實驗，以確保一切都做對了。

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

他們這樣做的一種方法是複製或重複實驗，看看是否能得到相同的結果。

In other words,

換句話說，

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

尼爾希望科學家能夠做到“一絲不苟（cross the T's and dot the I's）”，

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

這個短語的意思是關注你正在做的任何事情的微小細節。

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

科學的方法需要開放的頭腦和批判性思維。

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

但尼爾認為最重要的一點是知道事實和觀點的區別。

People have opinions about all kinds of things,

人們對各種各樣的事物都有自己的觀點，

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

但這並不能使他們相信的東西成為事實。

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

正如反疫苗組織和氣候變化否認者的抗議所表明的那樣，事實和觀點正變得越來越難以區分。

Many Americans,

許多美國人，

even presidents,

甚至包括總統，

seem suspicious of scientific fact. 用詞

似乎都對科學事實持懷疑態度。

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

這是一個令人擔憂的趨勢，尼爾認為這是美國教育體系造成的，

as he told BBC World Service program HardTalk.

正如他在 BBC 世界頻道《HardTalk》節目中所說的那樣。

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

這與學校裡如何教授科學有關。

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

它目前被作為一種資訊體系來教授，

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

一堆灌輸給你的事實，然後你在考試中再把它們生搬硬套出來。

That's an aspect of science,

這是科學的一個方面，

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

但它不是科學最重要的部分。

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

科學最重要的部分是知道如何對事物提出質疑，並知道何時出現了一個代表關於這個世界的某種客觀真相的答案。

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

尼爾說，現在的科學教育是鼓勵學生機械地背誦事實，

to repeat information without properly understanding it.

在沒有正確理解資訊的情況下重複資訊。

Knowledge is important,

知識很重要，

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

但同樣需要的是一種能夠識別客觀真相的質疑態度，

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

即關於自然界的真相，它不受人類偏見、觀點或情感的影響。

Without that, 表達脈絡

如果沒有這種態度，

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

任何人都可以把他們喜歡的任何東西稱為事實，

which only leads to chaos. 片語搭配

這只會導致混亂。

Right.

沒錯。

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

無論我多麼堅信月亮是奶酪做的，或者太陽圍著地球轉，

believing it doesn't make it true. 文法

相信它並不能使它成為現實。

That sounds like something Neil deGrasse Tyson would agree with,

聽起來尼爾·德格拉斯·泰森會同意這一點，

and maybe Galileo too.

也許伽利略也會同意。

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

是的，在我的問題中，我問誰最先提出了地球圍繞太陽旋轉的觀點。

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

我說是文藝復興時期的天文學家伽利略。

Ah,

啊，

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

恐怕這個答案是錯的。

Galileo knew the Earth revolved around the Sun,

伽利略知道地球圍繞太陽轉，

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

但第一個提出這個想法的人是波蘭天文學家尼古拉·哥白尼，在 1543 年。

Unfortunately,

遺憾的是，

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

這是在電視發明能夠傳播這個客觀真相的新聞之前的幾個世紀，

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

這是一個不受人類偏見或觀點影響的、可證明的真相。

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，讓我們複習一下我們討論美國科學家尼爾·德格拉斯·泰森及其對宇宙學的熱愛時的其他詞彙，

the study of the universe.

即對宇宙的研究。

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

反覆核查（double check）某事意味著透過仔細重新檢查來確定它是正確的。

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

科學家做到這一點的一種方法是完全複製（duplicate）或重複一項實驗。

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

習語 cross the T's and dot the I's（一絲不苟）的意思是密切關注你正在做的事情的細節。

And finally,

最後，

if you regurgitate facts,

如果你生搬硬套事實（regurgitate facts），

you just repeat them without properly understanding them.

你只是在沒有正確理解它們的情況下重複它們。

Something a true scientist would never do.

這是一個真正的科學家永遠不會做的事。

Once again,

再一次，

our six minutes are up. 片語搭配

我們的六分鐘時間到了。

Goodbye for now.

暫時再見。

Bye.

再見。

Six Minute English from the BBC.

來自 BBC 的六分鐘英語。