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The Clash of the Encyclopedias 大英百科杠上维基百科

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For millions of Internet users, whenever information about something is needed quickly, Wikipedia is the source of choice. But how dependable is its information? According to an investigation by Nature, Wikipedia is almost as good as Encyclopedia Britannica, which is the world’s longest-running encyclopedia. However, the editors at Britannica disagree.

对数以百万计的网络用户来说，每当他们需要快速获得某项信息时，维基百科便是首选来源。但维基百科的信息可信度有多高？根据《自然》杂志的调查，维基百科几乎和历史最悠久的《大英百科全书》一样好。然而，《大英百科全书》编辑群并不认同。

What sparked the spat was Nature’s finding that both encyclopedias made about the same number of errors in the 42 entries they tested. An average Wikipedia entry contained four errors, while Britannica had three.

引起此争议的是，《自然》杂志发现在测试的42项词条中，这两种百科全书所犯的错误几乎一样多。维基百科一项词条平均包含四个错误，而大英百科则有三处。

The surprising thing is that the two encyclopedias are fundamentally different. Britannica is written by subject matter experts, and all articles go through rigorous editing. Wikipedia, on the other hand, is written by anybody, and doesn’t use professional editors to make sure the information is correct.

令人惊讶的是，这两种百科全书本质上大不相同。《大英百科全书》由专家撰写，所有文章皆经过严谨的编辑。但另一方面，维基百科却可让任何人撰写，且未使用专业编者来确认信息正确无误。

Britannicadoesn’t agree with the test, though, and calls the findings “invalid.” It says many of the errors alleged found in its publication weren’t really errors at all. As well, it argues there is a world of difference between the two in the quality of writing and the organization of information, while Nature failed to consider.

不过，大英百科并不认同此次调查结果，且认为这些发现「无效」。大英百科表示，调查所宣称其出版内容里的错误根本不是错误。此外大英还辩称，维基百科在文章质量及信息组织上有天壤之别，这点《自然》杂志并未纳入考虑。

The one thing that remains true is that Wikipedia is a work in progress. With 3.7 million articles in over 200 languages, it uses the power of the Internet to tap into people’s knowledge. Its inventor, Jimmy Wales, hopes that experts will contribute more to do it, and adds that a system is being developed to “lock” a finished posting. All that being said, it never hurts to have a second source of information!

唯一不争的事实是，维基百科是件不断发展的作品。它含有370万篇文章，使用200多种语言，透过网络来运用人们的知识。其发明者吉米．韦尔斯希望专家能对维基百科有更多贡献，并提及目前正研发一套能「锁定」最终文章的系统。综观所述，多一个讯息管道绝不是件坏事。

−by J. Michael Cole

Vocabulary

单词发音

encyclopedia [ɪnˏsaɪklə`pidɪə] n. 百科全书

rigorous [ˋrɪgərəs] adj. 严格的；严厉的

invalid [ˋɪnvəlɪd] adj. 【律】无效的

tap into 利用 to take advantage of

More Information

单词发音

clash [klæʃ] n. 衝突

dependable [dɪˋpɛndəb!] adj. 可靠的；可信任的

spark [spɑrk] v. 发动；点燃

spat [spæt] n.【非正式】口角﹐小争吵 a brief quarrel.

entry [ˋɛntrɪ] n. 项目；词条

investigation [ɪn͵vɛstəˋgeʃən] n. 研究；调查

fundamentally [͵fʌndəˋmɛnt!ɪ] adv. 根本上; 基本上

professional [prəˋfɛʃən!] adj. 专业的

alleged [əˋlɛdʒd] adj. 未有证据而被指称的

publication [͵pʌblɪˋkeʃən] n. 出版物

as well  不仅,除...外

in progress 在进行, 在执行, 在发生 under way; happening; developing or moving right now

Reading Questions

1.      What was Encyclopedia Britannica’s response to theNature article?

A.  It found Nature’s test was more than accurate.

B.  It wanted Wikipedia to have more careful editing.

C.  It was angry about the errors that had been found.

D.  It maintained the findings were not based on valid data.

2.      What is the main difference between Wikipedia and Encyclopedia Britannica?

A.  Encyclopedia Britannica has thousands more articles than Wikipedia does.

B.  Encyclopedia Britannica uses professional editors, while Wikipedia does not.

C.  Wikipedia organizes its information better than Encyclopedia Britannica does.

D.  The writing style is much better in Wikipedia.

3.      What can be inferred from this article?

A.  The amount of errors is the best standard for judging the quality of an encyclopedia.

B.  Encyclopedia Britannica will go out of business because of Wikipedia.

C.  People should get their information from different sources to make sure it is correct.

D.  In the near future, Wikipedia and Encyclopedia Britannica will start a partnership.

Answer