What do you do when you need to look something up? Go to the library? Open an encyclopedia(百科全书)? Click onto the Internet? These days, most people go straight to Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia. But how reliable is it?
There’s no denying the popularity and usefulness of Wikipedia. It attracts as many as 78 million visitors every month, and the site is available in more than 270 different languages. It’s one of the most comprehensive resources available which includes almost all details, facts and information that may be concerned. It’s got much more information than an ordinary encyclopedia. The site is updated on a daily basis by thousands of people around the world. Anyone with an Internet connection can log on and edit the contents or add a new page. And you don’t need any formal training.
Of course, there are some controls. Wikipedia has a team of more than 1,500 administrators who check for false information. And main targets for harmful comments(such as politicians)are off-limits to public editing. But with more than 16 million articles to keep an eye on, it isn’t easy. So, while Wikipedia benefits from being constantly updated with information from all over the world, it’s also open to “vandals”(恣意破坏公共财物者).
Some of the damage is easy to notice. One person drew devil horns and a moustache on Microsoft chairman Bill Gate’s photo, while another edited Greek philosopher Plato’s biography to say he was a “Hawaiian weather man who is widely believed to have been a student of ‘Barney the purple Dinosaur’”.
But other things are harder to spot. The most common form of vandalism(恣意破坏公共财物罪) involves adding tiny items of false information into the biography of a famous person. Unbelievably, some of this misinformation has appeared in newspapers, with The Daily Mail, The Guardian and The Independent all having fallen victim to the dirty tricks. For example, in an article about British comedian Sir Norman Wisdom, one newspaper claimed that he co-wrote Dame Vera Lynn’s wartime hit. There’ll be bluebirds over the White Cliffs of Dover. He did no such thing. And in other article, it was reported that TV Theme tune composer Ronnie Hazlehurst had written the S Club 7’s hit Reach again, not true. So, if you’re going to use any information from Wikipedia, make sure you double- check it first.
【小题1】According to the passage, which of the following statements about Wikipedia is true?A.The primary job of the administrators is to guarantee information conveyed is accurate. |
B.Wikipedia is updated daily so it is the most comprehensive resources available. |
C.Wikipedia is sure to be attacked because too many people are using it. |
D.Whoever has access to the Internet can edit any contents of Wikipedia as they like. |
A.information about famous people is likely to be inaccurate. |
B.all items of false information are not easy to get spotted. |
C.however famous the papers are, they will be cheated. |
D.you can never be careful enough while updating information online. |
A.Objective. | B.Critical. | C.Satisfied | D.Supportive |
A.The Most Reliable Online Encyclopedia |
B.Why Is Wikipedia So Popular? |
C.An Online Encyclopedia With Advantages And Disadvantages |
D.How Dose Wikipedia Help You? |