High 2 · Reading series
Lesson 18 · The AI Draft and the Missing Source
Audio track 18
Listen first
Listen once before opening the English passage.
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Our group asked an AI tool for an outline about the history of local bridges. The draft was clear and persuasive. It even named a book that appeared to support its main claim. When we searched the library catalog, however, the book did not exist.
We returned to the town archive and found photographs, meeting notes, and an old map. These sources told a more complicated story. The bridge had not been built for a single reason: trade, flood damage, and residents' requests had all played roles at different times.
We kept the draft's useful structure but replaced unsupported claims with details we could trace. In our report, we described where the AI had helped and where we had corrected it. Our teacher asked us to show the original materials beside the final paragraph.
A fluent sentence can feel like evidence, especially when it includes a convincing title. But evidence must be available for someone else to check. The missing book changed the way we read every line that followed.
Check your understanding
After reading, state the main idea in one sentence and find a line that supports it.
Chinese translation
我们小组请人工智能工具列一份本地桥梁史的提纲。草稿清楚又有说服力，甚至引用了一本似乎支持主要观点的书。可到图书馆目录一查，这本书根本不存在。
我们回到镇档案馆，找到照片、会议记录和旧地图。这些资料讲述了更复杂的经过：桥不是出于单一原因建造的；不同时期，贸易、洪水损害与居民要求都起过作用。
我们保留草稿里有用的结构，把无法证实的论断换成可追溯的细节。报告中，我们说明人工智能在哪些地方帮了忙、哪些地方需要我们纠正。老师还让我们把原始资料放在最终段落旁边展示。
流畅的句子容易让人误以为是证据，尤其当它附着一本看似可信的书名时。但证据必须能让别人查到。那本不存在的书，让我们重新审视后面的每一句话。
Key words and expressions
Key terms have Chinese explanations. Hover over dotted words in the English passage for word help and pronunciation when available.
- outline
- 提纲；工具先给报告结构。
- persuasive
- 有说服力的；草稿表面可信。
- catalog
- 目录；检索后发现书不存在。
- archive
- 档案馆；取得原始地方资料。
- complicated
- 复杂的；建桥并非只因一事。
- residents
- 居民；曾提出建桥要求。
- unsupported
- 缺乏证据支持的；原草稿部分论断如此。
- trace
- 追溯；细节应能找到来源。
- fluent
- 流畅的；文句好读不等于真实。
- evidence
- 证据；需要可供别人查验。
Background notes (Chinese)
人工智能生成的书名与引用可能看似可信却并不存在。小组查图书馆目录、回到档案资料，并让最终论断可由他人复核。