Chart 5
How Good Are Your Opinions?
你的观点有多少根据？
To me truth is precious. . . . I should rather be right and stand alone than to run with the multitude and be wrong. . . . The holding of the views herein set forth has already won for me the scorn and contempt and ridicule of some of my fellow men. I am looked upon as being odd, strange, peculiar. . . . But truth is truth and though all the world reject it and turn against me, I will cling to truth still.
在我看来，真理是宝贵的……我宁愿独自一人坚持正确的观点，也不愿追随多数人而坚持错误的……因此，持有这样的观点已使我遭受到一些同胞的轻蔑、鄙视和嘲笑。我被看成是古怪的、奇特的和孤僻的人……但是，真理就是真理，即使全世界都拒绝它并反对我，我仍然固守真理。
Stirring words, those. You can envision their author bravely facing legions of reactionaries intent on imposing their narrow dogmas on him. In the background you can almost hear a chorus singing “Stout-Hearted Men.” Stand tall, brave hero. Never give in!
这是些激动人心的话语。你可以想象其作者勇敢地面对众多意图把他们狭隘的教条强加于他的保守派。在这样的背景下，你几乎可以听到齐声合唱“坚毅勇者”：巍然屹立，勇敢的英雄，永不放弃！
But wait a minute. Just who is the author? And what exactly is the opinion he is valiantly defending? His name is Charles Silvester de Fort. The quotation is from a booklet he wrote in 1931. And the opinion is—are you ready for this?—that the earth is flat.
但是等一下。这个作者到底是谁？他勇敢捍卫的观点究竟是什么？他的名字是查尔斯·西尔维斯特·德·弗特（Charles Silvester de Fort)。这段引文出自他于1931年写的小册子。这个观点是（你准备好了吗？）：大地是平的。
People have always taken their opinions seriously, but today many people embrace their opinions with extraordinary passion. “I have a right to my opinion” and “Everyone’s entitled to his or her opinion” are common expressions. Question another person’s opinion and you’re likely to hear, “Well, that’s my OPINION.” The unspoken message is “Case closed.”
人们总是认真地对待自己的观点，但是，今天许多人以不寻常的激情坚持自己的观点。“我有权拥有自己的观点¨和“每个人都有权拥有他或她的观点”是常用的表述。询问别人的观点，你可能会听到：“好啦，这是我的观点。¨他没明说的意思是：“到此为止。”
Is that a reasonable view? Is it inappropriate to challenge the opinions of others? The answer depends on the kind of issue involved. If it is a matter of taste, then the standard is the undemanding one of personal preference. If Agnes finds Reginald handsome and Sally disagrees, there’s really no basis for a meaningful dispute. Ditto if Ralph drools over an orange Camaro with brass wire hubcaps and purple upholstery and Carla is repulsed by it. Some people put catsup on hot dogs, while others prefer mustard or relish, and perhaps at this very moment someone, somewhere, is slathering a hot dog with mayonnaise or blueberries or pureed brussels sprouts. So what? Vive la différence!
这是一种合理的观点吗？质疑其他人的观点是不妥当的吗？答案取决于所涉及问题的种类。如果是个人喜好的问题，那么，标准就是要求不高的个人偏好标准。如果艾格尼丝发现雷金纳德英俊，而莎莉不同意，那就的确不存存什么有意义的争辩的基础。同样，如果拉尔夫对有黄铜丝轮毂盖和紫色内饰的橙色雪佛兰Camaro轿车垂涎三尺，而卡拉对此表示反感，则情况也是如此。一些人把酱涂在热狗上，而男一些人更喜欢倒上芥末或调料，也许此时此刻某人在某处正往热狗上涂抹大量的蛋黄酱、蓝莓或球芽甘蓝。那又怎样？差别万岁！（原文系法语Vive la difference-译者注）
However, consider this very different use of the term opinion: A newspaper reports that the Supreme Court has delivered its opinion in a controversial case. Obviously, the justices did not state their personal preferences, their mere likes and dislikes. They stated their considered judgment, painstakingly arrived at after thorough inquiry and deliberation.
然而，考虑一下观点这个词的这种很不相同的用法。某报纸报道，最高法院就一件有争议的案例发表见解。显然，大法官们不是陈述他们的个人偏好，他们纯粹的喜欢或不喜欢。而是经过深思熟虑的判断，是在彻底调查和审议后艰难作出的判断。
In the context of critical thinking, the term opinion refers to expressions of judgment rather than to expressions of taste.* In some cases, unfortunately, it is not clear whether someone is expressing taste or judg ment. A friend might say to you, as you leave a movie theater, “That was a wonderful film,” which could mean “I liked it” or “It meets a very high standard of cinematography.” If she is merely saying she liked it, and you didn’t, the disagreement would be over personal taste, which is pointless to debate. However, if she is making an aesthetic judgment, you could reasonably challenge her, citing specific film standards the movie failed to meet.
在批判性思考的背景下，观点这个术语指的是判断的表达而不是喜好的表达_。不幸的是，在某些情况下，并不清楚某人是在表达喜好还是在表达判断。当你离开电影院时，一位朋友也许对你说：“这是一部精彩的电影”，这可能意味着“我喜欢它”或“它达到了很高的电影制作水平”。如果她仅仅说喜欢它，而你不喜欢，那么争论会是围绕个人喜好的争论，一场无意义的争论。但是，如果她作出一个美学判断，那你能够合理地质疑她，引用这部电影未达到的具体电影标准。
Is everyone entitled to his or her opinion? In a free country this is not only permitted but guaranteed. In Great Britain, for example, there is still a Flat Earth Society. As the name implies, the members of this organization believe that the earth is not spherical but flat. In this country, too, each of us is free to take as bizarre a position as we please about any matter we choose. When the telephone operator announces, “That’ll be ninety-five cents for the first three minutes,” you may respond, “No, it won’t—it’ll be twenty-eight cents.” When the service station attendant notifies you, “Your oil is down a quart,” you may reply, “Wrong—it’s up three.”
每个人有权拥有他或她的观点？在一个自由的国度，这不仅得到允许而且得到保障。例如，在英国，仍然有一个“平面大地协会”。顾名思义，该组织成员认为地球不是圆的而是平的。在我国，我们每个人也都可以就我们选择的任何问题自由地持有自己喜欢的一种奇怪的看法。当话务员宣布：“前3分钟要付95美分”，你可能回答：“不，不是——这是28美分”。当服务站工作人员通知你：“你的机油在线下1夸脱”，你可能回答：“不对——它是线上3夸脱”。
Being free to hold an opinion and express it does not, of course, guarantee favorable consequences. The operator may hang up on you, and the service station attendant may respond unpleasantly.
当然，自由地持有一种观点并表达它，并不必然保证获得有利的结果。话务员有可能挂断你的电话，而服务站工作人员可能作出不愉快的反应。
Acting on our opinions carries even less assurance. Consider the case of the California couple who took their eleven-year-old diabetic son to a faith healer. Secure in their opinion that the man had cured the boy, they threw away his insulin. Three days later, the boy died. The parents remained unshaken in their belief, expressing the opinion that God would raise the boy from the dead. The police arrested them, charging them with manslaughter. The law in such matters is both clear and reasonable: We are free to act on our opinions only as long as, in doing so, we do not harm others.
根据我们的观点行事甚至会更缺少把握。考虑这样一个案例，加利福尼亚一对夫妇带着患糖尿病的11岁儿子去见一位信仰疗法者。他们确信此人已治好了他们的男孩，就停止给孩子注射胰岛素。三天后，这个男孩死了。这对父母仍然保持着坚定的信念，表达上帝能让这男孩起死回生的看法。警察逮捕了他们，指控他们谋杀。在这件事中，法律是清楚而合理的。只有当不伤害他人时，我们才可自由地根据自己的观点行事。
Opinions Can Be Mistaken
可能出错的观点
We might be tempted to conclude that if we are free tohave an opinion, it must be correct. That, however, is not the case. Freesocieties are based on the wise observation that people have an inalienableright to think their own thoughts and make their own choices. But this fact inno way suggests that the thoughts they think and the choices they make will bereasonable. It is a fundamental principle of critical thinking that ideas areseldom of equal quality. Solutions to problems vary from the practical to theimpractical, beliefs from the well founded to the ill founded, arguments fromthe logical to the illogical, and opinions from the informed to the uninformed.Critical thinking serves to separate the more worthy from the less worthy and,ultimately, to identify the best.
如果我们可自由地拥有一种观点，那我们也许会试图推断它一定是正确的。但事实并非如此。自由社会的基础是建构在明智的观察之上：人们拥有不可剥夺的权利去思考自己的想法并作出选择。但是，这个事实并不是说，他们思考的想法和作出的选择将都是合理的。批判性思考的基本原则就是，各种思想很少具有同等的质量。问题的解决方案从切合实际到不切实际之不等，信念从有根据到无根无据之不等，论证从符合逻辑到不合逻辑之不等，观点也从有见识到无见识之不等。批判性思考的任务是把较有价的与较无价值的区别开来，并最终确定最佳者。
Evidence that opinions can be mistaken is allaround us. The weekend drinker often has the opinion that, as long as hedoesn’t drink during the week, he is not an alcoholic. The person who continuesdriving her gas guzzler with the needle on Empty may have the opinion that theproblem being signaled can wait for another fifty miles. The student who quitsschool at age sixteen may have the opinion that an early entry into the jobmarket ultimately improves job security. Yet, however deeply and sincerely suchopinions are held, they are most likely wrong.
观点有可能出错的证据俯抬皆是。周末酗酒者通常认为，只要他在周一至周五不喝酒，他就不是一个酒鬼。在油量指针指到零时继续驾驶高耗油车的某人，也许认为指针显示的问题还可以撑过下一个5 0英里。16岁退学的学生可能让为，早点进入就业市场最终能提高就业保障。然而，无论如何深刻地、真诚地持有这些观点，他们还是错了。
Research shows that people can be mistakeneven when they are making a special effort to judge objectively. Sometimestheir errors are caused by considerations so subtle that they are unaware ofthem. For example, before Taster’s Choice coffee was introduced, it was testedand sampled with three different labels—brown, yellow, and red. People whosampled the brown-labeled coffee reported that it was too strong and kept themawake at night. Those who sampled the yellow-labeled coffee found it weak andwatery. Those who sampled the red-labeled coffee judged it to be just the rightstrength and delicious. All this even though the coffee in each jar was exactlythe same. The people had beensubconsciously influenced by the color of the label.
研究表明，人们甚至在特别努力地进行客观判断时，也可能出错。有时，一些错误是由如此微妙的想法引起的，以至于人们并来意识到它们。例如，前面介绍了品尝者的咖啡选择，对咖啡进行检验并对样品贴上三种不同的标备——棕色、黄色和红色。喝了贴有棕色标签容器内的咖啡的人们说它太强烈，致使他们彻夜难眠。喝了贴有黄色标签咖啡的人们认为它太弱、索然光味。喝了标有红色标签咖啡的人们则说其强度恰到好处而且昧美。尽管如此，所有三种罐中装的咖啡却是完全相同的。人们无意中受到了标签颜色的影响。
Opinions on Moral Issues
关于道德问题的观点
The notion that everyone is entitled to his or her opinion is especially strong in the area of morality. Questions of right and wrong are presumed to be completely subjective and personal. According to this notion, if you believe a particular behavior is immoral and I believe it is moral, even noble, we are both right. Your view is “right for you” and mine is “right for me.”
每个人都有权拥有他或她的观点，这一观念在道德领域特别强烈。对与错的问题被认为是纯主观和个人的。根据这种信念，如果你认为某种特定的行为是不道德的，而我认为它是道德的，甚至是高尚的，那我们两人都是对的。你的观点“对你是对的¨，而我的观点“对我是对的。
This popular perspective may seem eminently sensible and broadminded, but it is utterly shallow. Almost every day, situations arise that require reasonable people to violate it. Have you ever heard anyone claim that burglary, spousal abuse, or rape is morally acceptable for those who believe it is? When someone is convicted of child molesting, do citizens parade in front of the courthouse with banners proclaiming “Pedophilia may be wrong for us, but it was right for him”? If your instructor discovers you cheating on an examination, will she accept your explanation that you believe the end justifies the means? If a Breathalyzer test reveals that your classmate was driving with a blood alcohol level higher than his grade point average, will the police officer commend him for living by his moral conviction?
这种流行观点也许看起来是相当有道理和宽宏大量的，但它却是完全肤浅的。几乎每一天都出现需要理性的人们违背的情况。你听过有人声称，入室盗窃、虐待配偶或强奸，对于信奉这些行为的人来说在道德上是可接受的吗？当某人因猥亵儿童被定罪，有市民在法院前面拉着写有“恋童癖对我们来说可能是错的，但对他却是对的”横幅游行的吗？如果你的老师发现你考试作弊，她能接受你的目的可为手段辩护的解释吗？如果酒精测试表明，你正在开车的同学血液酒精含量高于平均积分点，交警会表扬他按照自己的道德信念而生活的行为吗？
Virtually every professional organization and every corporation has a code of ethics that specifies the behaviors that are required or forbidden. Every country has a body of laws with prescribed penalties for violators. There are even international laws that govern affairs among countries. All these codes and legal systems don’t appear out of thin air. They are the products of moral judgment, the same mental activity individuals use in deciding everyday issues of right and wrong. And they are subject to the same limitations and imperfections. Opinions about moral issues, like other opinions, may be correct or incorrect.
事实上，每个职业团体和每家公司都有一套伦理规范，用以规范所要求或禁止的行为。每个国家都规定了制裁违法者的法律体系，甚至还有处理国家间事务的国际法。所有这些规范和法律体系都不是从天上掉下来的。它们是道德判断的结果，个人用于决定日常对错问题的也是同样的心智活动。而且，它们也具有同样的局限性和不完善性。关于道德问题的看法，就像其他看法一样，可以是正确的或不正确的。
Are there criteria we can use to increase the chance that our moral judgments will be correct? Definitely. The most important criteria are obligations, ideals, and consequences.*
存在可用来提高我们正确道德判断的可能性的标准吗？当然有。最重要的标准是义务、理想和结果。
• Obligations: Obligations are restrictions on behavior, demands that we do or avoid doing something. The most obvious kinds of obligations are formal agreements such as contracts. Others include professional and business obligations, and obligations of friendship and citizenship. When two or more obligations conflict, the most important one should take precedence.
·义务：义务是对行为的限制，要求我们做或不做某事。最明显的义务种类是正式协议，如合同。其他的包括职业和商业义务，以及友谊和公民的义务。当两个或更多义务之间发生冲突时，应优先考虑最重要的一个。
• Ideals: In the general sense, ideals are notions of excellence, goals that bring greater harmony within ourselves and with others. In ethics they are also specific concepts that help us maintain respect for persons. Some noteworthy examples of ideals are honesty, integrity, justice, and fairness. When two or more ideals conflict in a given situation, the most important one should be given precedence.
·理想：从一般意义上说，理想是卓越的观念，是带来自身之内、与他人之间更大的和谐的目标。在伦理上，它们也是有助于我们尊重他人的特定概念。一些显著的理想的例子是：诚实、正直、正义和公平。在某种情况下，当两个或更多理想之间发生冲突时，应优先考虑最重要的一个。
• Consequences: Consequences are the beneficial and/or harmful results of an action that affect both the person performing that action and other people. Any examination of consequences should consider the various kinds: personal and societal; physical and emotional; immediate and eventual; intended and unintended; obvious and subtle; and possible, probable, and certain. Actions that achieve beneficial consequences should be preferred over those that do harm.Whenever the consequences are mixed (some beneficial, others harmful), the preferred action is the one that achieves the greater good or the lesser evil.
·结果：结果是既影响行为人自己也影响他人的一个行为所产生的有利和／或有害的后果。对结果的任何一种检验都应考虑各个方面：个人和社会的；身体和情感的；当下的和永久的；有目的和无目的的；明显的和微妙的；可能的、概率的和确定的。应当选择导致有利结果的行为，放弃造成有害结果的行为。只要结果是混合的（有些是有利的，其他则是有害的），首选的行为应是那种导致较大善或较小恶的行为。
Even Experts Can Be Wrong
甚至专家也可能出错
History records numerous occasions when the expert opinion has been the wrong opinion. In ancient times the standard medical opinion was that headaches were caused by demons inside the skull. The accepted treatment ranged from opening the skull and releasing the demons to giving medicines derived from cow’s brain and goat dung. (Some Native American tribes preferred beaver testicles.)
历史多次记录下专家意见是错误的意见的情况。在古代，标准的医学观点是头痛是由颅骨内的恶魔造成的。 治疗方法是从打开颅骨并释放恶魔到提供取自牛的大脑和山羊粪的药物。 （一些美洲原住民部落偏爱海狸睾丸。）
numerous ['njuːm(ə)rəs] adj. 许多的，很多的
occasions n. 场合；机会（occasion的复数）；理由v. 致使；引起（occasion的第三人称单数）
ancient [ˈeɪnʃənt] adj. 古代的；古老的，过时的；年老的n. 古代人；老人
ranged v. 排列；把…分类；射程为…（range的过去分词）
derived from来源于
beaver testicles海狸睾丸
When the idea of inoculating people against diseases such as smallpox first arrived in the colonies in the early 1700s, most authorities regarded it as nonsense. Among them were Benjamin Franklin and a number of the men who later founded Harvard Medical School. Against the authorities stood a relatively unknown man who didn’t even have a medical degree, Zabdiel Boylston. Whose opinion was proved right? Not the experts’ but Zabdiel Boylston’s.
1700年代早期，当通过接种使人预防比如天花这样疾病的概念首次抵达殖民地时，大多数权威认为这是荒谬的。其中包括本杰明·富兰克林和一些后来成立哈佛医学院的人。相对于权威来，一个不知名甚至没有医学学位的人，扎博迪尔·波尔斯顿。谁的观点被证明是正确的？不是专家，而是扎博迪尔·波尔斯顿的。
inoculating [医] 接种，灌输（inoculate的现在分词）
nonsense ['nɒns(ə)ns] n. 胡说；废话adj. 荒谬的int. 胡说！
smallpox ['smɔːlpɒks] n. [内科] 天花
authorities [ɔː'θɒrɪtɪz] n. 当局，官方（authority的复数）
In 1890 a Nobel Prize–winning bacteriologist, Dr. Robert Koch, reported that he had found a substance that would cure tuberculosis. When it was injected into patients, though, it was found to cause further illness and even death.
1890年，诺贝尔奖获奖者细菌学家罗伯特·科赫博士报告说他已经发现了一种可以治愈结核病的物质。然而，当注射到患者身上时，发现加重病情甚至导致死亡。
bacteriologist [bæk,tɪrɪə'ɑlədʒɪst] n. 细菌学家
substance ['sʌbst(ə)ns] n. 物质；实质；资产；主旨
tuberculosis [tjʊ,bɜːkjʊ'ləʊsɪs] n. 肺结核；结核病
In 1904 psychologist G. Stanley Hall expressed his professional opinion that when women engage in strenuous mental activity, particularly with men, they experience a loss of mammary function and interest in motherhood, as well as decreased fertility. If they subsequently have children, the children will tend to be sickly. Today this idea is laughable.
1904年，心理学家史坦利·霍尔表达了自己的专业观点：当女性从事艰苦的脑力活动时，尤其同男性一起，她们将经历乳腺功能和母性的喜好丧失，以及生育能力的下降。如果她们以后有孩子，孩子们倾向是多病的。如今，这个想法是可笑的。
engage [ɪn'geɪdʒ; en-] vt. 吸引，占用；使参加；雇佣；使订婚；预定vi. 从事；答应，保证；交战；啮合
strenuous ['strenjʊəs] adj. 紧张的；费力的；奋发的；艰苦的；热烈的
mammary ['mæmərɪ] adj. 乳腺的；[解剖] 乳房的
motherhood ['mʌðəhʊd] n. 母性；母亲身份；母亲们（总称）
decreased减少的
fertility [fə'tɪlɪtɪ; fɜː'tɪlɪtɪ] n. 多产；肥沃；[农经] 生产力；丰饶
subsequently ['sʌbsɪkwəntlɪ] adv. 随后，其后；后来
Between 1919 and 1922 the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City bought seventeen gold vessels that experts determined were authentic treasures from a 3,500-year-old Egyptian tomb. In 1982 the vessels were discovered to be twentieth-century fakes.
在1919年至1922年间，纽约市的大都会艺术博物馆购买了十七个黄金容器，它们被专家鉴定为来自有三千五百年历史的埃及古墓的真正宝藏。1982年，这些黄金容器被证实是二十世纪的赝品。
Metropolitan [metrə'pɒlɪt(ə)n] adj. 大都市的；大主教辖区的；宗主国的n. 大城市人；大主教；宗主国的公民
vessels ['ves(ə)lz] n. 血管（vessel的复数）；船舶；容器n. (Vessels)人名；(英)维瑟尔斯
authentic [ɔː'θentɪk] adj. 真正的，真实的；可信的
treasures n. 宝物（treasure的复数）v. 珍爱（treasure的第三人称单数）；储藏
Egyptian [ɪ'dʒɪpʃ(ə)n] adj. 埃及的；埃及人的n. 埃及人；古代埃及语
In 1928 a drug called thorotrast was developed and used to outline certain organs of the body so that clearer X-rays could be taken. Nineteen years later, doctors learned that even small doses of the drug caused cancer. In 1959 a sedative called thalidomide was placed on the market. Many physicians prescribed it for pregnant women. Then, when a large number of babies were born deformed, medical authorities realized that thalidomide was to blame.
1928年，一种被称为氧化钍胶体被发明出来，并被用于显示身体的某些器官的轮廓，以便可以获得更清晰的X射线照片。十九年后，医生获知即使是小剂量的该药物也引发癌症。在1959年，一种称为萨力多胺的镇静剂被投放市场。许多医生向孕妇开出这种药物。后来，当当大量畸形婴儿出生时，医疗权威意识到这应归咎于萨力多胺。
thorotrast氧化钍胶体，钍造影剂
thalidomide [θə'lɪdəmaɪd] n. 萨力多胺（一种安眠药，镇静剂）
prescribed [prɪ'skraɪbd] adj. 规定的
pregnant ['pregnənt] adj. 怀孕的；富有意义的
deformed [dɪ'fɔːmd] adj. 畸形的；丑陋的；残废的v. 使...残缺，使...变形（deform的过去式和过去分词形式）
In 1973, using refined radar mapping techniques, scientists decided that their earlier claims about the surface of Venus were wrong. It was not smooth, as they had thought, but pockmarked with craters.
1973年，科学家们使用精确的雷达测绘技术，认为他们早些时候关于金星表面的主张是错误的。它并不像他们所想的是光滑的表面，而是满目疮痍布满陨石坑。
refined [rɪ'faɪnd] adj. [油气][化工][冶] 精炼的；精确的；微妙的；有教养的
pockmarked ['pɑkmɑrkt] adj. 有痘疮的v. 使有痘痕；使有凹痕（pockmark的过去式）
craters n. [地质] 火山口；[天] 环形山（crater复数）v. 形成坑；毁坏（crater的三单形式）
In the 1980s and 1990s one of the hottest topics in the publishing and seminar industries was co-dependency. Anyone related to an alcoholic or drug addict was considered to be a contributor to the problem, chiefly by unconsciously encouraging the person’s habit or enabling the person to indulge it. Soon the idea of co-dependency became the diagnosis of choice for any situation characterized by out-of-control behavior. Co-dependents were urged to buy books, attend seminars, and join their troubled family member in counseling. Then one curious researcher, Edith Gomberg, examined the scientific research base on which the movement was founded. She found . . . zip, nada, nothing. In her words, “There are no surveys, no clinical research, no evaluations; only descriptive, impressionistic statements.”
在1980年代和1990年代，出版业和研讨会行业中最热门的话题之一是共同依赖现象。任何一个酗酒或吸毒成瘾的人被视为带来这方面的问题，主要通过无意识的助长此人的习惯或“使得”此人沉溺于其中。很快，这种共同依赖的观念就成了任何行为失控为特征的情况的诊断选择。共同依赖的人被催促去购买书籍，出席研讨会并与陷入困境的家庭成员一起参加咨询。然而，一名好奇的研究者，伊迪丝·戈伯就科学的研究了该运动的基础。她发现……无、不存在、什么也没有。用她的话说：“并不存在调查，也没有临床研究，没有评估；只有描述，仅凭印象的陈述”。
publishing ['pʌblɪʃɪŋ] n. 出版；出版业adj. 出版的；出版业的v. 出版；发行（publish的现在分词形式）；发表
seminar ['semɪnɑː] n. 讨论会，研讨班
co-dependency互相依赖, 依赖共生关系
contributor [kən'trɪbjʊtə] n. 贡献者；投稿者；捐助者
unconsciously [ʌn'kɑnʃəsli] adv. 不知不觉；无意识地
indulge [ɪn'dʌldʒ] vt. 满足；纵容；使高兴；使沉迷于…vi. 沉溺；满足；放任
urged vbl. 怂恿；催促v. 怂恿；催促
counseling ['kaʊnslɪŋ] n. 咨询服务v. 建议；劝告；商讨（counsel的ing形式）
zip [zɪp] n. 拉链；活力，精力；尖啸声，撕裂声；一种程序压缩的档案文件格式. (Zip)兹普（人名）vi. 拉开或拉上；以尖啸声行进vt. 给...以速度；拉上或拉开拉链
nada ['nɑdə] abbr. 美国汽车经销商联合会（the National Automobile Dealers Association）n. n. (Nada)人名；(塞、葡、俄、阿拉伯、英)娜达(女名)，纳达，nothing 无物
(Nada)人名；(塞、葡、俄、阿拉伯、英)娜达(女名)，纳达
surveys [sɚ've] n. 调查（survey的复数）
clinical ['klɪnɪk(ə)l] adj. 临床的；诊所的
impressionistic [ɪm,preʃə'nɪstɪk] adj. 印象派的；印象主义的；给人深刻印象的
statements ['stetmənt] n. 声明；报告；陈述句；状态说明（statement的复数形式）
For most of the twentieth century, the universally accepted scientific opinion was that stomach ulcers are caused by excess stomach acid generated by stress. Then Barry Marshall demonstrated that ulcers are caused by bacteria and can be cured with antibiotics.
在二十世纪的大部分时间里，普遍接受的科学观点是胃溃疡是由压力而导致的胃酸过多引起的。然而，巴尔·马歇尔证明溃疡是由细菌引起的，并可以用抗生素治愈。
universally [juːnɪ'vɜːsəlɪ] adv. 普遍地；人人；到处
excess [ɪk'ses; ek-; 'ekses] n. 超过，超额；过度，过量；无节制adj. 额外的，过量的；附加的
demonstrated演示
ulcers ['ʌlsɚ] n. [病理] 溃疡，疡（ulcer的复数）
antibiotics [,æntɪbaɪ'ɒtɪks] n. [药] 抗生素；抗生学
Remember the brontosaurus with his head stretching to the treetops in Jurassic Park? That scene reflected the traditional scientific opinion that the big dinosaurs dined on leaves thirty or more feet off the ground. In 1999, however, Michael Parrish, a northern Illinois researcher, experimented with a computer model of the neck bones of large dinosaurs and discovered that they could never have lifted their heads above the level of their bodies. If they had, their neck vertebrae would have collapsed. They couldn’t have stood on their hind legs, either, because the demands on their blood pressure would have been excessive.
记住侏罗纪公园中雷龙将它的头伸到树梢的情景吗？这个场景反映了传统科学观念中大型恐龙取食距离地面三十英尺高的树叶观点。然而，在1999年，北伊利诺伊大学研究员迈克尔·帕里什利用一种大型恐龙颈椎骨的计算机模型试验时发现它们永远不能将头抬起超过身高。如果它们这样做的话，它们的椎骨就会崩溃。它们也不能用它们的后腿站立，因为这对它们的血压要求超出承受范围。
brontosaurus [,brɒntə'sɔːrəs] n. 雷龙
stretching ['stretʃiŋ] n. 伸长；展宽v. 拉伸（stretch的ing形式）
Northern Illinois ：北伊利诺大学,伊利诺北部,北伊利诺伊大学 ；
vertebrae [ˈvəːtɪbrə;ˈvɜːtɪbreɪ] n. [解剖] 椎骨；脊椎
hind [haɪnd] adj. 后部的n. 雌鹿n. (Hind)人名；(英、芬)欣德
excessive [ɪk'sesɪv; ek-] adj. 过多的，极度的；过分的
For years physicians told us that fiber lowers cholesterol and protects against colon cancer. Eventually, medical research established that it doesn’t lower cholesterol. Then researchers demonstrated that it doesn’t protect against colon cancer.
多年来，内科医生告诉我们，纤维会降低胆固醇并防止结肠癌。最终医学研究证明确定它不会降低胆固醇。并且研究人员也证明它不能防止结肠癌。
physicians [fɪ'zɪʃən] n. [内科] 内科医生（physician的复数）
cholesterol [kə'lestərɒl] n. [生化] 胆固醇
Eventually [ɪ'ventʃʊəlɪ] adv. 最后，终于
established [ɪ'stæblɪʃt] adj. 确定的；已制定的，已建立的
colon ['kəʊlən] n. [解剖] 结肠；冒号（用于引语、说明、例证等之前）；科郎（哥斯达黎加货币单位）
To this day, many experts are convinced that the cause of crime is a bad social environment and that the solution is to pour millions of dollars into poor neighborhoods for a variety of social programs. Other experts are equally convinced that the cause of crime is an emotional disorder that can be cured only by psychological counseling. But a leading researcher, Stanton Samenow, disputes both views. Samenow argues that “bad neighborhoods, inadequate parents, television, schools, drugs, or unemployment” are not the cause of crime—criminals themselves are. They break the law not because conditions force them to but because they choose to, and they choose to because they consider themselves special and therefore above the law. In Samenow’s view, the key to criminals’ rehabilitation is for them to accept responsibility for their behavior. Is Samenow correct? Time will tell.
到目前为止，许多专家确信，犯罪的原因是恶劣的社会环境，而解决办法是向贫困社区投入百万计的美元，以开展各种社会项目。其他专家也同样确信，犯罪的原因是情绪失常，只能通过心理咨询来治愈。但是一位杰出的研究员，斯坦顿·萨姆诺夫就这两个观点提出异议。萨姆诺夫认为：“恶劣的社区、失职的家长、电视、学校、毒品或失业”不是犯罪的原因。犯罪本身才是原因。他们违反法律，不是因为形势迫使他们，而是因为他们选择这么做，他们这样选择是因为他们认为自己是特殊的，因此凌驾于法律。在萨梅诺夫看来，罪犯改过自新的关键是让他们为自己的行为承担责任。萨姆诺夫是否正确？时间会告诉。
convinced [kən'vɪnst] adj. 确信的；深信的v. 使确信（convince的过去分词）；说服
variety [və'raɪətɪ] n. 多样；种类；杂耍；变化，多样化
psychological [saɪkə'lɒdʒɪk(ə)l] adj. 心理的；心理学的；精神上的
disputes [dɪ'spjʊt] n. 争论（dispute的复数）v. 争论（dispute的单数第三人称）
inadequate [ɪn'ædɪkwət] adj. 不充分的，不适当的
rehabilitation ['riːhə,bɪlɪ'teɪʃən] n. 复原
It is impossible to know what expert opinions of our time will be overturned by researchers in the future. But we can be sure that some will be. And they may well be views that today seem unassailable.
不可能知道未来的研究人员将推翻哪些我们这个时代专家观点。但是我们可以肯定一些会有某些观点被推翻。而这些很有可能是当代看起来不容置疑的。
overturned [,ovɚ'tɝn] adj. 倾覆的，倒转的v. 颠覆（overturn的过去式）
unassailable [ʌnə'seɪləb(ə)l] adj. 不容置疑的；无懈可击的
Kinds of Errors
错误的种类
Opinion can be corrupted by anyone of four broad kinds of errors. These classifications, with examples added for clarification, are the following:
观点有可能受到四种普遍错误中任何一种的侵蚀。下面是这些错误的种类，再加上各类别的例子：
Errors or tendencies to error common among all people by virtue of their being human (for example, the tendency to perceive selectively or rush to judgment or oversimplify complex realities)
由于人的本性，错误或出错的倾向在所有人之间是普遍的（例如，有选择地感知、仓促作判断或过于简化复杂的现实的倾向）。
Errors or tendencies to error associated with one's individual habits of mind or personal attitudes, beliefs,or theories (for example, the habit of thinking the worst of members of a race or religion against which one harbors prejudice)
错误或出错的倾向与一个人的思维习惯或个人态度、信仰或理论有关（例如，习惯于思考一个人怀有偏见的某个种族或宗教的成员之最坏情况）。
Errors that come from human communication and the limitations of language (for example, the practice of expressing a thought or feeling inadequately and leading others to form a mistaken impression)
3．源于人际沟通和语言的局限性的错误（例如，不恰当地表达思想或感受，引起他人形成错误印象的做法）。Errors in the general fashionof an age (for example, the tendency in our grandparents' day to accept authority unquestioningly or the tendency in ours to recognize no authority but oneself)
4.存在于一个时代的普遍风气中的错误(例如，在我们袓父母的时代，不加质询地接受权威的倾向，或是在我们的时代不承认权威而是承认自己的倾向）。
Some people, of course, are more prone to errors than others.English philosopher John Locke observed that these people fall into three groups:
当然，有些人比其他人更容易犯错。英国哲学家约翰-洛克说，这些人可以分为三类：
Those who seldom reason at all, but think and act as those around them do—parents, neighbors, the clergy, or anyone else they admire and respect. Such people want to avoid the difficulty that accompanies thinking for themselves.
那些根本不进行推理、而是像其周围人（父母、邻居、牧师和他们羨慕或尊敬的任何其他人）一样思考和行动的人。这样的人想避免伴随自己思考而来的困难。
Those who are determined to let passion rather than reason govern their lives. Those people are influenced only by reasoning that supports their prejudices.
那些决意让激情而不是理性统摄自己生活的人。这些人仅受支持其偏见的推理影响。
Those who sincerely follow reason, but lack sound, overall good sense, and so do not look at all sides of an issue. They tend to talk with one type of person, read one type of book, and so are exposed to only one viewpoint.
那些真诚地遵猸理性，但缺乏准确、全面的判断力，从而看不到问题的各个方面的人。他们喜欢跟同一种类型的人谈话，读一 种类型的书，所以所接触的也只是一种观点。
To Locke's list we should add one more type: those who never bother to reexamine an opinion once it has been formed. These people are often the most error prone of all,for they forfeit all opportunity to correct mistaken opinions when new evidence arises.
对于洛克的这个淸单，我们还应增加一种类型：那些对已经形成的观点从不费心再次检验的人。这些人是所有人中最容易出错的，因为他们拒绝了在新证据面前纠正错误的所有机会。
