Level 3 · Reading series
Lesson 21 · An AI Answer with No Source
Audio track 21
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Listen once before opening the English passage.
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For a local history project, I asked an AI tool when our old station opened. It gave me a clear year and a long explanation. I was ready to put the answer in my slides, but my friend asked, “Where did that date come from?”
The tool had not shown a source. We checked the town library's digital archive and found a photograph with a different date. Then we looked at a page from the station's own history book. It explained that the building had opened in one year and the train service had begun in another.
The AI's answer had sounded certain, but it had mixed two events. Our final slide included both dates and named the sources we used.
Check your understanding
After reading, state the main idea in one sentence and find a line that supports it.
Chinese translation
做地方史项目时，我问一个 AI 工具，我们的老车站是哪一年开通的。它给出了明确的年份，还附上一大段解释。我正准备把答案放进幻灯片，朋友却问：‘这个日期是从哪里来的？’
工具没有列出来源。我们查阅镇图书馆的数字档案，找到一张标着不同日期的照片。接着，我们又看了车站自身的历史资料。其中解释说，车站建筑是在一年落成的，列车服务则是在另一年开始的。
AI 的回答听起来很肯定，却把两件事混在了一起。最后一页幻灯片写明了两个日期，也注明了我们用到的资料来源。
Key words and expressions
Key terms have Chinese explanations. Hover over dotted words in the English passage for word help and pronunciation when available.
- local history
- 地方史；研究本地过去发生的事。
- explanation
- 解释、说明；工具给出的文字看似充分。
- be ready to
- 正准备做；主人公差点将答案写入幻灯片。
- source
- 资料来源；朋友询问日期从何而来。
- digital archive
- 数字档案；图书馆保存的电子资料。
- different date
- 不同的日期；照片上的日期与 AI 答案不一致。
- building
- 建筑物；车站建筑的启用时间。
- train service
- 列车运营服务；开始时间与建筑启用时间不同。
- sound certain
- 听起来很肯定；语气确定不等于事实可靠。
- mix two events
- 把两件事混为一谈；回答混淆了建筑启用和列车运营。
Background notes (Chinese)
‘车站开通’可能指建筑启用，也可能指列车开始运营。看到一个精确年份时，先确认它对应哪件事、依据来自哪里；出处明确，报告才经得起核查。