2018年12月六级第1套仔细阅读 Passage 2 原文翻译及答案解析

The public must be able to understand the basics of science to make informed decisions. Perhaps the most dramatic example of the negative consequences of poor communication between scientists and the public is the issue of climate change, where a variety of factors, not the least of which is a breakdown in the transmission of fundamental climate data to the general public, has contributed to widespread mistrust and misunderstanding of scientists and their research.

公众必须能够理解科学的基本知识，以便做出明智的决策。或许，科学家与公众之间沟通不畅的负面后果，最戏剧性的例子就是气候变化问题，其中多种因素，尤其是基础气候数据向公众传播的失败，导致了对科学家及其研究的广泛不信任和误解。

The issue of climate change also illustrates how the public acceptance and understanding of science (or the lack of it) can influence governmental decision-making with regard to regulation, science policy and research funding.

气候变化问题还说明了公众对科学的接受和理解（或缺乏）如何能够影响政府在监管、科学政策和研究资助方面的决策。

However, the importance of effective communication with a general audience is not limited to hot issues like climate change. It is also critical for socially charged neuroscience issues such as the genetic basis for a particular behavior, the therapeutic potential of stem cell therapy for neurodegenerative diseases, or the use of animal models, areas where the public understanding of science can also influence policy and funding decisions. Furthermore, with continuing advances in individual genome (基因组) sequencing and the advent of personalized medicine, more non-scientists will need to be comfortable analyzing complex scientific information to make decisions that directly affect their quality of life.

然而，与普通受众进行有效沟通的重要性不仅限于像气候变化这样的热门话题。它对于社会关注度高的神经科学问题也同样至关重要，例如特定行为的遗传基础、干细胞疗法治疗神经退行性疾病的治疗潜力，或动物模型的使用，在这些领域，公众对科学的理解同样能够影响政策和资助决策。此外，随着个体基因组测序的持续进步和个性化医疗的兴起，更多非科学家将需要能够轻松分析复杂的科学信息，以做出直接影响其生活质量的决策。

Science journalism is the main channel for the popularization of scientific information among the public. Much has been written about how the relationship between scientists and the media can shape the efficient transmission of scientific advances to the public. Good science journalists are specialists in making complex topics accessible to a general audience, while adhering to scientific accuracy.

科学新闻是公众普及科学信息的主要渠道。关于科学家与媒体之间的关系如何塑造科学进步向公众的有效传播，已有大量著述。优秀的科学新闻工作者是让复杂话题对普通受众易于理解的专家，同时坚持科学准确性。

Unfortunately, pieces of science journalism can also oversimplify and generalize their subject material to the point that the basic information conveyed is obscured or at worst, obviously wrong. The impact of a basic discovery on human health can be exaggerated so that the public thinks a miraculous cure is a few months to years away when in reality the significance of the study is far more limited.

不幸的是，科学新闻报道有时也会过度简化和概括其主题材料，以至于所传达的基本信息变得模糊，或者更糟，明显错误。一项基础发现对人类健康的影响可能被夸大，以至于公众认为奇迹般的疗法在几个月到几年内就会出现，而实际上该研究的意义要有限得多。

Even though scientists play a part in transmitting information to journalists and ultimately the public, too often the blame for ineffective communication is placed on the side of the journalists. We believe that at least part of the problem lies in places other than the interaction between scientists and members of the media, and exists because for one thing we underestimate how difficult it is for scientists to communicate effectively with a diversity of audiences, and for another most scientists do not receive formal training in science communication.

尽管科学家在向记者乃至公众传播信息方面发挥着作用，但沟通不畅的责任往往被归咎于记者一方。我们认为，至少部分问题不在于科学家与媒体成员之间的互动，而是存在于其他方面，因为一方面我们低估了科学家与多样化受众有效沟通的难度，另一方面大多数科学家没有接受过科学传播的正式培训。