吧 Choosing a Topic In this unit,you will learn how to: ask probing questions in critical thinking: have a better understanding of basic elements of research papers; choose a particular topic for your research; formulate research questions; ,write a working title(暂定标题) avoid plagiarism; use citations; use sources by quoting and summarizing
Critical Reading Understanding the text Skim the text and complete the table below. Key words Objective Methodsused Laypeople's Understanding of Radioactivity and Radiation E.K.Henriksen 网 radloactivity在放制性 2EAP1学术英语理工（第二版）
Introduction Since the discovery of X rays in 1895,ionising radiation'has been a part of our life and consciousness.from the very beginning.radiation has been shrouded in myths-of exaggerated expectations as well as excessive fear Radiation has been characterised partly as a life force,partly as a doomsday power destined to cause the ultimate destruction of mankind.In our own time,fear seems to be the prevalent characteristic of the public perception of radiation phenomena,and the treatment in the media of incidents like the Chernobyl accident has greatly contributed to the spreading of uneasiness and fear 2 Why should we expect the public to know something about radioactivity and radiation? There may be many answers to this question;three of the most evident are the following: 1)The p agmatic reason well as avoiding excessive fear. 2)The democratic reason People should be capable of informed judgments in political matters involving radiation phe a,nuclea energy,waste disposal,exposure limits etc 3)The educational reason The individual derives pleasure and fulfilment from knowing something about the world around him /her. How can knowledge about radiation phenomena be effectively communicated to laypeople?In the constructivist approach'to learning.the learner is viewed as actively creating his her own understanding in an interaction between the notions he/she already holds and the input provided by external sources such as the teacher,peers or the mass media.Within this understanding of learning.the learner's ideas and conception prior to instruction are seen as important factors in the learning process.This principle also holds true in the field of radiation,and a number of publications have dealt with pupils'and laypeople's conceptions of radiation phenomena.For instance,Lijnse et al. described cor epts of radio ctivity and radiation held by 15-and 16-year-old pupils in the Netherlands,and Eijkelhof and Millar analysed British newspaper reports of th Chernobyl accident to identify features of the lay understanding of radiation phenomena. 4 The present survey was conducted to investigate the understanding of radiation phenomena and risk among Norwegians with a reasonable level of general education,bu lacking specialisation in physical science. 2 adiation电离短q UNIT1 Choosing a Topic 3
Methods Respondents s The survey was administered in the form of a questionnaire given to 270 students in an elementary physics course at the University of Oslo This group was chosen for two main reasons:1)The group was fairly large and easily accessible;and 2)the group mainly consisted of first-year students who had completed secondary education,but had not tedomalntnutinnomndaion血eleawg,odlsndeogoram no way be said to represent the general public.Nonetheless,it can be assu results are indicative of conceptions and attitudes found among those with a general. secondary education in the direction of natural sciences,but no specialisation. Of the 270 students191(71%)completed the questionnaire.Of the respondents53% were women,45%were men and 2%did not state sex.It cannot be excluded that the 29% who did not respond differed from the respondents in relevant respects.Since this survey does not aim to establish percentages of persons holding this or that conception,but rather aims to identify a few c non-specialists,the possible bias from non-respondents should not render the results irrelevant. The nuestionnaire 7 The questionnaire consisted of 13 questions.Two of these gave background information about gender and background in secondary school,seven measured knowledge and understanding of radioactivity and radiation,and four were designed to give information about radiation fear and attitudes.Most questions were connected to real-life examples that the students might know from the media coverage of current issues related to radiation.The questions which are referred to in the paper are presented in Table I on the next page. Coding and analysis s The answers to the open-ended questions in most cases fell into one of 5-10 categories, defined after reading the answers from about2%of the respondents.All answers were then assigned to the appropriate categories and coded. 9 To obtain a measure of each respondent's level of understanding,a point system was developed.Each of the questions concerning knowledge and understanding was appointed a maximum number of points,adjusted to the presumed difficulty of th question.For each question,points ranging from zero to maximum were awarded to respondents according to their degree of understanding as judged by the investigator. 4EAP1学术英语理工（第二版）
Table 1 Questions and point assignments No. Questions and Max No.of Points 1 (a)Do you think there are radiation sources(radioactive substances')in the house where you live?Ifyes: (b)Which ones? Radiation from radioactive substances may be divided into three main types (a)What are they After the reactor accident in Chernobylin18,radiation could be detected from After the Chernobyl accident,restrictions were imposed on the sale of mutton meat with radioactivity exceeding 600 Bq/kg. Radioactivity is measured in becquerel(Bq). What is the definition of 1 Bq?(3 points) 6 , Many types of spice are irradiated in order to kill bacteria.We say that the radiation is absorbe in the spice.What do you think happens in the spice when radiation is absorbed?(3 points) 8 What sorts of injuries can be found in the people who have been exposed to radiation from radioactive substances?(See below) 9 In Sweden,more than half the electric energy is supplied by nuclear power.Do you think this should continue?Give a reason for your answer. Many people think that the sub should be raise 10 (a)Do you thin that the Komsomolets is a threat to the environment in the with the initiation ofcancer mutation突复 UNIT1 Choosing a Topic 5