Level 3 · Reading series
Lesson 20 · What We Leave in a Search Box
Audio track 20
Listen first
Listen once before opening the English passage.
Open the English passage and hover for word help
I was looking for help with a class presentation about sleep. My first search was a full question that included my school name and my friend's name. Before pressing Enter, I looked at it again.
The names were not needed. I changed the search to “how sleep affects learning.” The results were easier to compare because they focused on the topic. I opened more than one page and checked who had written each explanation.
A search box feels private when only one person is typing, but the words we enter can be stored or used to shape later suggestions. I do not need to be afraid of every search. I only need to leave out details that do not help answer my question.
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 was looking for help with a class presentation about sleep.
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My first search was a full question that included my school name and my friend's name.
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Before pressing Enter, I looked at it again.
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The names were not needed.
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I changed the search to “how sleep affects learning.”
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The results were easier to compare because they focused on the topic.
-
I opened more than one page and checked who had written each explanation.
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A search box feels private when only one person is typing, but the words we enter can be stored or used to shape later suggestions.
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I do not need to be afraid of every search.
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I only need to leave out details that do not help answer my question.
Check your understanding
After reading, state the main idea in one sentence and find a line that supports it.
Chinese translation
我在为一场关于睡眠的课堂展示找资料。第一次输入搜索框的，是一个完整的问题，里面还带上了学校名称和朋友的名字。按回车键前，我又看了看那串字。
这些名字并不需要。我把搜索内容改成‘睡眠如何影响学习’。结果都围绕主题，比较起来也更容易。我打开了不止一个网页，还查了每篇说明是谁写的。
独自打字时，搜索框似乎是私密的；但输入的词可能被保存，也可能影响之后看到的建议。我不必害怕每一次搜索，只需要去掉那些无助于回答问题的个人细节。
Key words and expressions
Key terms have Chinese explanations. Hover over dotted words in the English passage for word help and pronunciation when available.
- search
- 搜索；为了课堂展示寻找睡眠相关资料。
- include
- 包含；最初的问题带上了学校与朋友的名字。
- press Enter
- 按回车键；主人公在真正提交搜索前停了下来。
- affect
- 影响；how sleep affects learning 指‘睡眠如何影响学习’。
- result
- 搜索结果；修改关键词后更容易比较。
- focus on
- 聚焦于；结果更集中在睡眠与学习这个主题。
- explanation
- 解释、说明；主人公核对每篇资料的作者。
- private
- 私密的；独自输入不代表内容一定不会被保存。
- store
- 储存、保存；搜索词可能留下记录。
- leave out
- 省略、不写入；去掉与问题无关的个人细节。
Background notes (Chinese)
删去无关的姓名，不仅减少了不必要的个人信息，也让搜索结果更集中。include 是‘包含’，leave out 是‘省略’；两者一起看，能看出主人公在筛选要输入的信息。搜索记录如何被处理取决于服务及其设置，使用时可查看相关说明。