A few weeks ago, a well-meaning professor tried to explain the physiological process behind viruses and the human body in a twee

admin2022-09-05  38

问题     A few weeks ago, a well-meaning professor tried to explain the physiological process behind viruses and the human body in a tweet and was immediately criticized for a mistake in his information. He then issued an apology and deleted his erroneous tweet.
    Communicating science beyond the academic bubble is necessary to augmenting public understanding of health and environmental issues and helping individuals make well-informed personal decisions.
    However, scientists who engage in science communication must acknowledge that even in their area, their expertise is deep but narrow. They need to recognize the constraints in their own knowledge. That is not to suggest that they only write or present on their own research, but rather, that they consult with an expert if the topic is outside of their discipline. Fact-checking with a scientist who works in the specialty will prevent the unintentional spread of misinformation, and the process of doing so may yield tiny pieces of interesting new information that can be incorporated.
    Some have argued that the public is not educated enough to understand scientific information, especially for any complex phenomena, but this is absurd. Science instruction can be found at all levels of public education with most secondary schools offering classes on biology, physics, and chemistry. If anything, social media has shown that the public craves knowledge based on a solid scientific foundation. Even the public discourse that follows most scientific articles shows that online readers can understand even the most baffling of scientific principles.
    It is equally imperative to emphasize that being an expert on a topic does not automatically make a scholar qualified to communicate it to a nonscientific audience. A number of scientists recently have been offering public-aimed explanations of scientific phenomena. Even though they have appropriate credentials, they often do very little in the way of explaining. One biologist shared an intricate analogy involving a library, books, paper, a recipe, ingredients, and a cake to explain the process behind vaccines. Any explanation that requires a written key to keep track of what each item represents is not a clear example for public consumption.
    Science communication is a science in and of itself. It requires rigorous training and instruction. A scientist should take communication courses that can teach a person how to identify and eliminate jargon and how to develop effective analogies to explain complex concepts. One cannot assume communication expertise-imagine if someone just decided that they were a physicist and started trying to contribute to the field without the necessary background. Doing a poor job communicating science to the public will only create confusion and widen the gap between science and society, a gap that scientists are trying to close.
What does the author say about communicating science to the general public?

选项 A、It will help them to keep abreast of the latest scientific developments.
B、It is a necessary means to improve their understanding of scientific issues.
C、It will get them more involved in academic debates on environmental problems.
D、It is an effective way to augment scientists’ influence beyond the academic circle.

答案B

解析 由题干中的communicating science 和the general public定位到第二段。事实细节题。文章第二段独句成段,强调了向学术圈之外,也就是普通大众传播科学信息的必要性,指出这样做能够增强公众对健康和环境问题的理解,帮助人们做出明智的个人决策,可知作者认为向公众传播科学信息可以提高大家对科学问题的理解,故答案为B。文中并未提及是否有必要让普通大众了解科学的最新发展,故排除A项;原文中提到了环境问题,但指的是增强公众对环境问题的理解,并未提及让公众参与学术辩论,故排除C项;D项是利用第二段中个别词语beyond the academic bubble 和augmenting设置的干扰项,原文指的是在学术圈之外传播科学对于增强公众对健康和环境问题的理解是有必要的,并未提及要增强科学家在学术圈之外的影响力,故排除D项。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/xoR7777K
0

最新回复(0)