The National Geographic Channel is often praised for its meticulous science documentaries, but a show that aired last month focu

admin2015-03-25  47

问题     The National Geographic Channel is often praised for its meticulous science documentaries, but a show that aired last month focusing on the blockbuster video game Spore is coming in for harsh criticism. Surprisingly, the toughest critics are some of the scientists who appear in the film itself. They say that they were not informed before taking part that it would focus on a commercial product. " I literally never heard about Spore until I saw myself on television in this info-mercial about the game," says Cliff Tabin, a geneticist at Harvard University. "It’s an outrage. "
    The documentary, titled How to build a Better Being, which aired on 9 September, puts Spore and its creator, Will Wright, front and center. Over the course of the 1-hour show, Wright visits several U. S. -based academic scientists to discuss their research. Between these scientific interludes, the documentary returns to Wright and Spore. "Journey into the billion-year history of the human body, led by computer game visionary Will Wright as he explores the breakthrough science that’s revealing the secret genetic machinery that shapes all life in the game Spore," reads a description of the film on the National Geographic Channel’s Web site.
    Tabin, along with Neil Shubin, a paleontologist at the University of Chicago in Illinois, and Michael Levine, a geneticist at the University of California, Berkeley, sent Science identical e-mails from the film’s producers inviting them to take part. The e-mail describes the documentary as an investigation of "recent discoveries in evolutionary science" with no mention of Spore or Wright. "I thought I was being interviewed for a documentary about evolutionary biology," says Shubin, who appears to be playing the game in the film. "They didn’t mention Spore until we were in the middle of the interview. ...I sat there with Will Wright as he fiddled with it," he says. "I don’t endorse video games, particularly one that claims to be about evolution. "
    Ellen Stanley, National Geographic’s communications vice president, says there was no intent to mislead the participants. "Our producers were transparent with all of the scientists," she says. The production of such a documentary takes "several months" she adds, and "the idea for the film evolves during that process. "
    Spore is described in the film as "one of the most ambitious games ever, simulating the process of evolution," and a DVD of the film is included in the $80 "Galactic Edition" of the game. "There’s no question that the impression one gets from watching the film is that Spore is scientifically based and that scientists endorse this as not only a valid representation of how life on earth arose but moreover a really cool way that kids can learn about it," says Tabin. But "the science is told in the most superficial way and not really explained or clarified," he says. "And then it becomes more about this computer game designer than it is about the science. "
    "We had a great time partnering with the folks over at National Geographic," wrote a spokesperson for Electronic Arts in an e-mail to Science. "However, we don’t typically discuss business terms of our partnerships. "
Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

选项 A、Spore Documentary Spawns Protest by Scientists Who Starred in It
B、A Film About Evolution
C、The Most Ambitious Game
D、Game Creators and Scientists

答案A

解析 主旨大意题。根据全文意思,虽然科学家们在纪录片中扮演了角色,但是都是在不知情的情况下扮演的,科学家们对这种行径持反对态度,故选[A]。[B]只提到了电影;[C]只涉及游戏;[D]虽然提到了游戏制造者和科学家,但没有具体说明他们的关系,并且忽视了纪录片这一关键因素,与文意不符。
转载请注明原文地址:https://jikaoti.com/ti/06FRFFFM
0

最新回复(0)