2011.12英語四級考試閱讀：網絡謠言需更快核查
　　With only a click of the mouse， rumors can be forwarded between microblogs very quickly. As an example， recently， perceptive netizens discovered that some photos displayed on microblogs depicting Beijng‘s June rainstorm had actually been fabricated.
　　Sina.com is one of the major internet portals in China with hundreds and thousands of users， and a majority of celebrities and renowned citizens have their microblog accounts on this portal. As recently as six months ago， the website decided to establish a specialized team to verify rumors and provide accurate information for its users. Tan Chao is in charge of the team.
　　“Before I took the job， I usually couldn’t identify what information was real and what was fake. But during the rumor verification process， we discovered that a lof of information was false， including fake photos， fake news stories and rumors that had been spread through microblogs.”
　　It‘s not just website portals which are taking on fact-checking responsibilities， but also a number of civic-minded netizens， who recently set up a Rumor Verification Federation on Sina.com’s microblog system to help netizens identify fake information online.
　　Dianzizheng is the team leader of the federation. He says they‘ve publicized more than 150 pieces which refute rumors， which attracted more than 10 thousand visitors within two months.
　　“We live in an age of new media， so we can’t use the old methods to verify rumors. We can‘t wait for the media to verify the facts with related administrative departments and then release a formal announcement. We can’t allow rumors to run rampant and then deal with it， we need to fight rumors while they‘re spreading. I think that this is the best way to deal with rumors nowadays.”
　　Some experts say this demonstrates the advantages of the internet compared to other traditional media. The open platform allows information to be examined and clarified by netizens. But experts like Ding Wenguo， President of the Journalism and Communication College at the China University of Political Science and Law says this self-correction function of the internet is still quite limited.
　　“It’s still quite difficult to tell which information is true in such an open environment by just reading a number of different opinions on the same issue. This is something which we need to pay attention to. If society is deluged with too much false information， and it‘s allowed to spread in such a fast manner， then people will be suspicious of all kinds of information including important information from authorities. It also exacerbates problems relating to social communications and mutual-understanding， which in turn harms society as a whole.”
　　Experts suggest that the government should react more quickly in the internet age. Once a rumor begins to spread， administrative departments should make announcements as early as possible to dispel rumors before they lead to bad outcomes.
　　詞匯講解：
　　1. rumor n. 傳聞， 風聞;謠言， 謠傳
　　例句：There are all sorts of rumors in the air that dozens of people were dead in the fire.
　　有各種傳聞說許多人在那場大火中死亡。
　　2. forward vt. 發送; 轉寄
　　例句：Did you forward his telegram？
　　你轉送了他的電報了嗎？
　　3. depict vt. 描繪; 描畫；描述
　　例句：They depicted the thrilling situation to us in great detail.
　　他們向我們詳細地描述了那激動人心的場面。
　　4. fabricate vt. 編造， 捏造， 虛構; 偽造
　　例句：The excuse for her absence was obviously fabricated.
　　她缺席的借口顯然是瞎編的。
　　5. renowned adj. 有名的;享有聲譽的
　　例句：He is one of the world’s renowned writers.
　　他是世界上知名的作家之一。
　　6. verify vt. 證實， 核實
　　例句：Subsequent events verified that his judgement was at fault.
　　接著發生的事件證實了他的判斷有誤。
　　7. publicize vt. 宣傳
　　例句：We are trying to publicize our products by advertisement on buses.
　　我們正試圖在公共汽車上做廣告來宣傳我們的產品。
　　8. refute vt. 駁斥，反駁，駁倒
　　例句：The argument can not be refuted at the moment.
　　這一論點現時還無法駁斥。
　　9. clarify v. 使清楚; 澄清
　　例句：He clarified his stand on the issue.
　　他澄清了他在該問題上的立場。
　　10. suspicious adj. 可疑的; 猜疑的， 疑心的; 表示懷疑的
　　例句：The police are suspicious of his alibi because he already has a record.
　　警方對他不在場的辯解表示懷疑， 因為他已有前科。
　　11. exacerbate vt. 使惡化;使加重
　　例句：The drugs they gave her only exacerbated the pain.
　　他們給她吃的藥只是加重了她的痛楚。
　　12. outcome n. 結果
　　例句：We are anxiously awaiting the outcome of their discussion.

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