High 2 · Reading series
Lesson 59 · The Question I Changed
Audio track 59
Listen first
Listen once before opening the English passage.
Open the English passage and hover for word help
I began my research project with the question, “Does social media make teenagers unhappy?” It sounded important, but I could not define “social media,” “unhappy,” or a fair way to measure the relationship. Every answer seemed to depend on what I had left unspecified.
My teacher asked me to describe a moment I had actually noticed. I remembered students checking messages during breaks and wondered whether the expectation of a quick reply changed how they rested. I interviewed volunteers about their routines, without asking them to reveal private messages. Their answers varied widely.
I changed my question: “How do students describe the pressure to reply during school breaks?” It was smaller and did not claim to prove a cause. My report included the different descriptions and the limits of a small volunteer group.
At first I thought changing the question meant failure. In fact, it was the most careful part of the project. A question can grow stronger when we learn exactly what it cannot answer.
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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I began my research project with the question, “Does social media make teenagers unhappy?”
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It sounded important, but I could not define “social media,” “unhappy,” or a fair way to measure the relationship.
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Every answer seemed to depend on what I had left unspecified.
-
My teacher asked me to describe a moment I had actually noticed.
-
I remembered students checking messages during breaks and wondered whether the expectation of a quick reply changed how they rested.
-
I interviewed volunteers about their routines, without asking them to reveal private messages.
-
Their answers varied widely.
-
I changed my question: “How do students describe the pressure to reply during school breaks?”
-
It was smaller and did not claim to prove a cause.
-
My report included the different descriptions and the limits of a small volunteer group.
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At first I thought changing the question meant failure.
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In fact, it was the most careful part of the project.
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A question can grow stronger when we learn exactly what it cannot answer.
Check your understanding
After reading, state the main idea in one sentence and find a line that supports it.
Chinese translation
研究项目开始时，我的问题是：‘社交媒体会让青少年不快乐吗？’听起来很重要，我却无法界定‘社交媒体’‘不快乐’，也找不到公平衡量两者关系的方法。每个答案都依赖我尚未说明的条件。
老师请我讲一个实际注意到的时刻。我想起学生在课间查看消息，开始好奇：必须快速回复的期待，是否改变了他们休息的方式？我采访了自愿参加的同学，询问日常习惯，没有要求他们公开私人消息。答案差异很大。
我把问题改成：‘学生怎样描述课间回复消息的压力？’它的范围更小，也不声称证明了原因。报告中，我写入不同描述，也说明少量志愿者样本的局限。
起初，我以为换问题意味着失败。事实上，这是项目中最审慎的一步。知道一个问题回答不了什么，它反而可能变得更有力量。
Key words and expressions
Key terms have Chinese explanations. Hover over dotted words in the English passage for word help and pronunciation when available.
- research
- 研究；最初想讨论社交媒体。
- define
- 界定；须说明用词范围。
- measure
- 衡量；不快乐与媒介关系难直接测。
- relationship
- 关系；原问题暗示因果。
- unspecified
- 未说明的；许多条件仍空白。
- expectation
- 期待；快速回复带来压力。
- volunteers
- 志愿者；受访者自愿参加。
- pressure
- 压力；新问题聚焦的经历。
- cause
- 原因；报告不声称已证明。
- limits
- 局限；小样本不能代表所有人。
Background notes (Chinese)
宽泛的因果问题需要可操作的定义与合适的方法。学生把研究改为描述性采访，保护私人消息，也注明样本限制。