High 1 · Reading series
Lesson 8 · The Source Behind the Number
Audio track 08
Listen first
Listen once before opening the English passage.
Open the English passage and hover for word help
“Four out of five students prefer online textbooks,” a post on my feed claimed. Our class was discussing digital learning, so I saved the image for my presentation. The number looked useful, but the post did not say who had been asked.
I searched for the original report. After following two links, I found a small survey from one tutoring company. It had asked eighty customers who already used its online service. That group might have good reasons to like digital books, but it could not represent every student.
In my presentation, I did not throw the number away. I explained where it came from and what it could tell us: many customers of that service preferred online textbooks. Then I compared it with comments from classmates who liked paper books for writing notes.
My slide became less dramatic, but the discussion became more useful. A number can start a conversation. Before it supports a broad claim, however, we need to know whose experience it describes.
Sentence practice
Play any sentence in Dicvo’s Jenny English voice. Before playing all, choose how many times each sentence plays. A practice pause about as long as the sentence follows each play, including before the next sentence. The complete reading remains above.
Choose a sentence to begin.
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“Four out of five students prefer online textbooks,” a post on my feed claimed.
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Our class was discussing digital learning, so I saved the image for my presentation.
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The number looked useful, but the post did not say who had been asked.
-
I searched for the original report.
-
After following two links, I found a small survey from one tutoring company.
-
It had asked eighty customers who already used its online service.
-
That group might have good reasons to like digital books, but it could not represent every student.
-
In my presentation, I did not throw the number away.
-
I explained where it came from and what it could tell us: many customers of that service preferred online textbooks.
-
Then I compared it with comments from classmates who liked paper books for writing notes.
-
My slide became less dramatic, but the discussion became more useful.
-
A number can start a conversation.
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Before it supports a broad claim, however, we need to know whose experience it describes.
Check your understanding
After reading, state the main idea in one sentence and find a line that supports it.
Chinese translation
信息流里一条帖子声称：‘五分之四的学生更喜欢电子教材。’我们班正在讨论数字化学习，我便存下图片，打算用在演讲中。数字看着有用，可帖子没说问过哪些人。
我找到原始报告，发现那是一家补习公司的小型调查。它询问了八十名已经使用该公司线上服务的顾客。这些人喜欢电子书也许有充分理由，却不能代表所有学生。
演讲时，我没有丢掉这个数字，而是说明它的来源及能告诉我们的事：该服务的不少顾客更喜欢电子教材。我还拿它和喜欢在纸书上做笔记的同学的意见作了比较。
幻灯片不再那么吸睛，讨论却更有意义。数字可以开启话题；要用来支持广泛的论断，先得知道它描述的是谁的经验。
Key words and expressions
Key terms have Chinese explanations. Hover over dotted words in the English passage for word help and pronunciation when available.
- four out of five
- 五分之四；帖子使用的比例。
- claim
- 声称；数字仍需核实出处。
- source
- 来源；帖子没有列出受访者。
- original
- 原始的；主人公查找最初报告。
- follow a link
- 顺着链接查找；点开两层后找到调查。
- represent
- 代表；八十名顾客不能代表所有学生。
- throw away
- 丢掉；主人公保留但限定数字用途。
- compare with
- 与……比较；对照同学对纸书的看法。
- dramatic
- 引人注目的；修正后的演讲少了戏剧效果。
- broad claim
- 宽泛的论断；需要更有代表性的证据。
Background notes (Chinese)
样本来自已使用某线上服务的顾客，不能直接代表所有学生。准确引用调查时，需说明调查对象和来源，并把结论限定在证据能覆盖的范围。