In February, the town council asked a university team to evaluate whether an empty laboratory was a viable asset for a new community science centre.
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二月，市政委员会请一支大学团队评估一间闲置实验室能否成为新社区科学中心的一项可行资产。
Reading 19：为什么两次调查得出了不同结果
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The researchers began with a precise hypothesis: people would support the centre if its educational usefulness was worth the total cost.
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研究人员先提出一个明确假设：如果教育用途值得总成本，居民就会支持这个中心。
Their first survey used a sample of residents who lived within one mile of the building, while the second covered a much greater distance.
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第一次调查抽取居住在建筑物一英里以内的居民，第二次调查则覆盖远得多的距离。
The absence of rural families from the first sample meant that the two groups did not closely resemble one another, so their answers could reasonably vary.
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第一次样本中缺少乡村家庭，这意味着两组人并不十分相似，因此回答出现合理差异并不奇怪。
Before collecting data, the team wrote a compulsory guideline: every question needed a distinct purpose, and every measure had to satisfy the same criterion for minimum accuracy.
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收集数据前，团队写下强制准则：每道问题都要有明确目的，每项测量都要注明最低准确度。
They defined a delay as any journey that exceeded ten minutes, then calculated the proportion, percentage, ratio, quantity, and total for each district.
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他们把超过十分钟的行程定义为延误，然后计算各地区的比例、百分比、比率、数量和总数。
Eleven volunteers conducted the initial survey, but only eight followed the instructions accurately enough for their records to be included in the analysis.
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十一名志愿者执行了初次调查，但只有八人足够准确地遵循说明，其记录才被纳入分析。
The first stage ran from February to June; a pilot study followed in August, and the full investigation began in September after a short postponement.
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第一阶段从二月持续到六月；八月进行了试点研究，完整调查在一次短暂延期后于九月开始。
Participants were divided into groups aged thirteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, and nineteen, while a third group represented adults over sixty, seventy, or ninety.
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参与者被分为十三岁、十五岁、十六岁、十七岁、十八岁和十九岁等组，第三大组则代表六十岁、七十岁或九十岁以上的成年人。
To check the building itself, engineers measured each room in inches, millimetres, metres, and yards, recording its length, width, height, size, and three-dimensional shape.
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为检查建筑本身，工程师用英寸、毫米、米和码测量每个房间，并记录长度、宽度、高度、大小和三维形状。
The site occupied nearly one acre, whereas the surrounding park covered several hectares and extended for almost half a mile toward the river.
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场地接近一英亩，而周围公园占地数公顷，并向河流方向延伸了将近半英里。
In the laboratory, or lab, students learned to weigh a gram, an ounce, a pound, a kilo, a ton, and a tonne without confusing one unit with another.
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在实验室里，学生学习称量一克、一盎司、一磅、一公斤、一吨和一公吨，并避免混淆这些单位。
They also compared a litre plus a quart with a gallon, discovering that apparently equivalent containers could hold a very different volume.
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他们还比较了一升、一夸脱和一加仑，发现看起来相等的容器所装的体积可能很不一样。
For the budget exercise, every cent, penny, and dollar had to be entered precisely, because a small error could multiply across a thousand purchases.
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在预算练习中，每一分、每一便士和每一美元都必须精确录入，因为一个小错误会在一千次采购中被不断放大。
The proposed centre would cost several million dollars, not a billion; the budget denominated every amount in dollars and expected a modest surplus rather than an excessive return.
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拟建中心将耗资数百万美元而非十亿美元；预算中的每笔金额都以美元计价，预期得到适度盈余，而不是过高的财务回报。
A chemical experiment exposed a fault in one sensor, but the laboratory staff detected it before the experimental liquid damaged the equipment.
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一项化学实验暴露出一个传感器故障，但实验室人员在实验液体损坏设备前发现了它。
Another group measured the calorie content of a meal, weighed each sample, and recorded the quantity adequately rather than making a rough guess.
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另一组测量一餐的热量，称量每份样品，并充分记录数量，而不是粗略猜测。
The most enjoyable exhibit was a scale model of a spacecraft whose detachable module resembled a tiny spaceship floating above a purple base.
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最有趣的展品是一艘航天器的比例模型，其可拆卸舱体像一艘漂浮在紫色底座上方的小宇宙飞船。
A visual display used an arrow to show the module's alignment, while a diagram gave each dimension and explained how the parts should fit.
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一个可视化展板用箭头显示舱体的对齐方式，图示则标明每个尺寸并解释各部件应如何配合。
Despite its apparent complexity, the mathematical equation enabled students to compare a theoretical orbit with the path observed during the experiment.
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这条数学方程看起来很复杂，却使学生能够比较理论轨道与实验中观察到的路径。
Empirical evidence preceded the final conclusion: the team had to observe repeated trials before claiming that the model worked.
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经验性证据先于最终结论：团队必须观察多次试验，才能声称模型有效。
The analysis attributed most variation to the way questions were asked, not to an absolute difference between town and country residents.
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分析把大多数差异归因于提问方式，而不是城乡居民之间的绝对差别。
One statistic suggested a positive result with ninety per cent certainty, but its probability depended on a sample too small to be universal.
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有一项统计数字以百分之九十的确定度显示正面结果，但其概率建立在过小、无法代表普遍情况的样本上。
Some officials supposed the second survey was certainly correct; others said it was presumably and surely better, then began to speculate before reading the report.
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一些官员假定第二次调查肯定正确；另一些人猜它大概更好，还没读报告就开始推测。
The lead researcher replied that a result could indeed be true without being complete, and an incomplete result could still create an incorrect public impression.
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首席研究员回答说，结果可能真实却不完整，而不完整的结果仍可能造成错误的公众印象。
Missing addresses created another absence in the database, so the team was unable to trace several participants or determine where they lived.
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地址缺失在数据库中造成另一处空白，因此团队无法追踪部分参与者，也无法确定他们住在哪里。
An independent researcher was hired to appraise the raw material, evaluate the methods, and decide whether the evidence deserved public confidence.
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市政委员会聘请一名独立研究员评估原始材料、评价研究方法，并判断证据是否值得公众信任。
Better software made data entry more efficient, enhanced the visual charts, and enabled staff to detect a copied response within seconds.
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更好的软件提高了数据录入效率，改善了可视化图表，并使工作人员能在数秒内发现重复回答。
The first computer was adequate for a pilot, but it was unlikely to process the full survey sufficiently or display every result adequately.
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第一台电脑足以用于试点，却不能充分处理完整调查，也无法恰当地显示每项结果。
When the number of responses exceeded the maximum capacity, the system produced an excess of duplicate files and fell below its minimum speed.
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当回复数量超过最大容量时，系统生成了过多重复文件，运行速度也降到最低标准以下。
After the error was fixed, processing time decreased, usable records increased, and the number of lost entries fell almost to zero.
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错误修复后，处理时间减少，可用记录增加，丢失条目的数量几乎降到零。
One practical test asked whether a wooden object would float; the answer changed with its size, weight, and the volume of water displaced.
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一项实际测试询问木制物体能否漂浮；答案随物体的大小、重量和排开水的体积而变化。
The database comprised several modules and consisted of parts operating in different modes, but the same underlying model connected them.
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数据库由几个模块组成，每个模块以不同模式运行，但同一个底层模型把它们连接起来。
Unlike the first survey, the second embraced telephone interviews, so its structure did not resemble the earlier paper form.
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与第一次调查不同，第二次调查采用电话访谈，因此其结构并不像早先的纸质表格。
The team was not absolutely certain, but it could state quite confidently that the two results were not truly equivalent.
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团队并非绝对确定，但可以相当有把握地说明，两次结果并不真正等同。
The public session was comfortable and surprisingly enjoyable; even difficult mathematics became understandable when an excellent teacher explained each step.
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公众说明会环境舒适而且出乎意料地有趣；一位优秀教师逐步讲解后，连困难的数学内容也变得可以理解。
When one damaged screen failed badly, a technician muttered “damn,” hesitated for a moment, and then replaced it instead of ending the demonstration.
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一块受损屏幕严重失灵时，技术员低声说了句“该死”，犹豫片刻后便更换屏幕，而没有终止演示。
Data came from everywhere in the county, but there was no evidence that the same pattern existed anywhere beyond it.
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数据来自县内各处，但没有证据表明同样的模式存在于县外任何地方。
The laboratory was situated below a winter mountain peak, a location that made heating expensive but reduced outside noise.
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实验室位于一座冬季山峰下方，这个位置增加了供暖费用，却减少了外界噪声。
Various weather problems in June, August, and September forced the team to postpone several visits, hence the timetable became longer than planned.
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六月、八月和九月的各种天气问题迫使团队推迟数次访问，因此时间表比计划更长。
The pilot study revealed a vast gap between theory and practice, so the researchers revised the method before the full survey.
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试点研究揭示理论与实践之间的巨大差距，因此研究人员在完整调查前修订了方法。
Every enquiry was logged, every formal inquiry received a reply, and one investigation traced an unusual cluster of identical answers.
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每次询问都被登记，每项正式问询都得到答复，一次调查还追踪到一组异常相同的回答。
The audit could trace the duplicate records to one device, detect the copied pattern, and expose the error without identifying the participant publicly.
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审计能够把重复记录追踪到一台设备，识别复制模式，并在不公开参与者身份的情况下揭示错误。
The scientific report later became the basis of a postgraduate thesis arguing that survey design can essentially alter an apparently simple result.
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这份科学报告后来成为一篇研究生论文的基础，论文研究调查设计如何改变看似简单的结果。
The council concluded that further research was a necessity, not a luxury, because the decision involved public money and deserved careful measurement.
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市政委员会认为进一步研究是必要而非奢侈，因为这项决定涉及公共资金，理应得到认真衡量。
There was a lot of material, but the final report was not extremely long; it explained the essential findings reasonably and removed very minor detail.
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材料很多，但最终报告并非特别冗长；它合理解释了实质性发现，并删除了非常次要的细节。
Thus, the difference did not somehow prove that one neighbourhood was better; it showed how sampling, wording, and method could shape an answer.
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因此，这种差异并未以某种方式证明某个社区更好；它展示的是抽样、措辞和方法如何塑造答案。
The final recommendation was cautious: proceed with the centre, measure its results each year, and revise the program whenever new evidence appears.
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最终建议保持谨慎：推进中心建设，每年衡量其成效，并在出现新证据时修订项目。