作为学生，常常会有这样的体验吧：每当一场需要备考的考试，都会把我们变成“两耳不闻窗外事”的模样。就拿大家正在面临的托福考试来讲，大家有多少时间是在模考，做题？就不能一边“闻窗外事”，一边“读圣贤书”吗？小编想说，在备考托福阅读，真的可以也应该这样：阅读一些考试相关的新闻、与ETS题源相关的文章，也是一种复习。阅读时得到的背景知识，得到的相关托福阅读词汇、阅读时分析的每一个长难句，每一篇阅读，都会为你积累一些托福阅读能力。今天我们一起来学习一篇自然科学的托福阅读材料，快来看看吧！
Using Simulated Experience to Make Sense of Big Data
模拟下的大数据
阅读前需要学习的疑难词：
Implication n. 含义；暗示；牵连
tackle vt. 处理；抓住
effective adj. 有效的，起作用的
center n. 中心，中央adj. 中央的v. 集中
Infrastructure n. 基础设施；公共建设
scrutiny n. 详细审查；监视
Execute vt. 实行；执行
drastically adv. 彻底地；激烈地
default n. 违约；缺乏；系统默认值v 不履行
summarize vt. 总结；概述vi. 作总结
salient n. 凸角；突出部分adj. 显著的；突出的
prospective n. 预期；展望adj. 未来的
visualizing可视化
transparent adj. 透明的；显然的
Variable n. 变量adj. 变量的
condense vt. 使浓缩；使压缩vi. 浓缩
开始阅读吧!
As data analyses get more complex, how can companies best communicate results to ensure that decision makers have a proper grasp of the data’s implications?
随着数据分析复杂化，大公司应该如何沟通结果使决策者理解数据？
In an increasingly complex economic and social environment, access to vast amounts of data and information can help organizations and governments make better policies, predictions and decisions. Indeed, more and more decision makers rely on statistical findings and data-based decision models when tackling problems and forming strategies. Scientists, researchers, technologists and journalists have all been monitoring this tendency, trying to understand when and how this approach is most useful and effective.
在日益复杂的经济社会背景下，获取大量的数据和信息可以帮助组织和政府做出更好的政策，预测和决策。事实上越来越多的决策者依靠统计结果和基于数据的决策模型解决问题，发现策略。科学家以及研究技术人员、新闻人士都在关注这一趋势，试图理解这种方法会在何时、怎样最高效。
So far, discussions have centered mainly on analysis: data collection, technological infrastructures and statistical methods. Yet another vital issue receives far less scrutiny: how analytical results are communicated to decision makers. As the amount of data gets bigger and analyses grow more complex, how can analysts best communicate results to ensure that decision makers have a proper understanding of their implications?
到目前为止,讨论主要集中在分析过程:数据收集、技术基础设施和统计方法。但是另一个至关重要的问题没有受到关注：分析结果如何传达给决策者。数据量日益庞大，分析越来越复杂，分析者如何沟通结果，以确保决策者正确理解它们的意义吗？
Communicating Statistical Information
However well executed, the usefulness of an analysis depends on how the results are understood by the intended audience. Consider a patient visiting a doctor about an illness. Arguably, the most important task is the diagnosis of the disease, as this can lead to choosing an appropriate treatment. Yet even if the final decision lies with the patient, the chosen treatment may depend on how the doctor communicates different options to the patient. The same is true when an investor consults a financial expert or a manager seeks the services of a consulting firm.
不管分析如何执行，分析的有用性取决于目标受众理解的程度。以患者找医生看病来说，当然最重要的任务是疾病的诊断，因为这会影响选择的治疗方式。然而，即使最后的决定在于病人，可选择的治疗方式还是取决于医生与病人的沟通。投资者咨询金融专家或者咨询公司时也是如此。
Data science, like medical diagnostics or scientific research, lies in the hands of expert analysts who must explain their findings to executive decision makers who are often less knowledgeable about formal, statistical reasoning. Yet many behavioral experiments have shown that when the same statistical information is conveyed in different ways, people make drastically different decisions. Consequently, there is often a large gap between conclusions reached by analysts and what decision makers understand. Here, we address this issue by first identifying strengths and weaknesses of the two most common modes used for communicating results: description and illustration.
数据科学和医疗诊断或科研一样，是靠专业分析师把握的。他们必须把他们的发现解释给决策执行者，因为这些人往往不太了解专业的数据推理。然而，许多行为实验表明，当以不同的方式传递相同的数据信息时，人们会做出截然不同的决定。因此在分析者和决策者之间，关于数据结果，通常会有巨大的差异。这里在解决这个问题之前，首先应该识别两个最常见用于沟通结果的模式--描述和插图--的优缺点。
Description
描述
Description is the default mode of presenting statistical information. This typically involves a verbal statement or a written report, which might feature one or more tables summarizing the findings. The strength of this approach lies in its speed in providing the decision maker with the most essential and salient aspects of a given analysis. But as problems get more complex, this very strength turns into a major flaw. While highlighting one issue, descriptions can end up hiding details that have important decision-making consequences.
呈现数据信息的描述模式是默认的模式。这种模式通常涉及到口头声明或以一两个总结性表格为特色的书面报告。这种方法的优势在于它能快速提供给决策者数据最重要和显著的方面。但当问题变得复杂，这就成为一个重大缺陷。最终虽然强调同一个问题，描述可能隐藏细节，这些细节会影响到决策结果的。
Illustration
Illustrations in the form of a graph, figure, diagram or chart are also used regularly to communicate statistical information. Unlike description, the primary objective is to give an overview of the analysis and provide a bigger picture about the findings. Consequently, decision makers are better able to acknowledge the trends, effects and risks of their prospective decisions. Using illustrations, it is more difficult for crucial parts of the results to remain hidden. Hence, one benefit of visualizing data is in making uncertainties more transparent.
插图也经常用于数据信息传递。与描述不同,它的主要目的是给出概括性分析，并提供一个大的图片结果。因此决策者能够更好地了解未来决策的趋势、影响和风险。利用插图，它不会掩盖关键部分的结果。因此，数据可视化的一个好处是使不确定性更加透明。
Yet for all of its benefits, illustration is not always an ideal way to communicate complexities. The more variables, structural changes, connections and patterns there are in the data, the harder it becomes to condense them into one display. Moreover, like description, illustration is typically static and not interactive.
尽管有这些优点，插图在传递复杂数据结果时并不总是理想的。数据中的变量越多，结构变化越大、数据关联和模式越多，越难呈现结果。此外，和描述一样，插图通常是静态的，缺少交互性。
长难句分析：
1.This typically involves a verbal statement or a written report, which might feature one or more tables summarizing the findings.
句子类型：定语从句+动名词修饰
句子拆分：
主干：This typically involves a verbal statement or a written report.
定语从句：which might feature one or more tables，先行词tables
动名词修饰：summarizing the findings修饰tables
翻译：这种模式通常涉及到口头声明或以一两个总结性表格为特色的书面报告。
2.Data science, like medical diagnostics or scientific research, lies in the hands of expert analysts (who must explain their findings to executive decision makers) who are often less knowledgeable about formal, statistical reasoning.
句子类型：插入语+定语从句
句子拆分：
主干：Data science lies in the hands of expert analysts.
插入语：like medical diagnostics or scientific research
定语从句：who must explain their findings to executive decision makers，先行词expert
who are often less knowledgeable about formal, statistical reasoning，先行词decision makers
翻译：数据科学和医疗诊断或科研一样，是靠专业分析师把握的。他们必须把他们的发现解释给决策执行者，因为这些人往往不太了解专业的数据推理。
好了，以上就是我们今天需要阅读及学习的知识，希望大家高效利用了这段时间。最后前程百利祝大家都能取得理想的托福考试成绩。
您还可能关注：
