四分之一的美国人不知道地球绕着太阳转

Only39% of Americans believe 'the universe began with a huge explosion'

只有39%的美国人相信“宇宙大爆炸起源理论”

With the possible exception of 'is the earthflat?', it is (according to Discover magazine at least) the most basic questionin science: 'does the earth orbit the sun?'

除了“地球是平的吗？”这个问题可能是个例外，那就是（至少根据探索杂志）那个最基本的科学问题了：“地球是绕着太阳转吗？”

The good news is that 74 per cent of Americansknow the answer.

好消息是有74%的美国人知道答案。

The very bad news is that means 26 per centreally don't.

坏消息是，这意味着26%的美国人真的不知道答案。

These results, which appear in the NationalScience Foundation (NSF) survey of 2,200 Americans, will form part of a reportset to be presented to Barack Obama and lawmakers in congress, and are likelyto once again raise the issue of educational standards in the United States.

这个结果来自于国家科学基金（NSF）对2200个美国人的调查，部分报告将提交给奥巴马和国会的立法者们，可能会再次挑起美国教育标准的问题。

Other startling results from the survey includedthat only 39 per cent of Americans believe "the universe began with a hugeexplosion". And fewer than half of the people surveyed (48 per cent)agreed that "human beings, as we know them today, developed from earlierspecies of animals".

其他令人吃惊的调查结果包括只有39%的美国人相信“宇宙大爆炸起源理论”。不到一半的（48%）被调查者认同“目前所知，人类是某种远古动物进化来的”。

Meanwhile, 51 per cent of Americans knew thatantibiotics don't kill viruses.

同时，51%的美国人知道抗生素不能杀灭病毒。

The study also demonstrated that a total of 42per cent of Americans thought astrology was either "very scientific"or "sort of scientific".

研究也表明，总共有42%的美国人认为占星术也是非常或有几分科学道理的。

The survey, as reported by Agence France-Presse,is carried out every couple of years in order to analyse whether America ismaking educational progress.

据法新社报告，这个调查每两年进行一次，以分析美国的教育是否有了进步。

Despite the somewhat negative findings of thestudy there is a significant glimmer of hope.

尽管有一些负面的发现，但是也有一丝希望。

The survey revealed that nearly 90 per cent ofAmericans believed the benefits of science outweigh any dangers. 30 per centbelieve science deserves more funding from government, and around 90 per centexpressed an interest in learning about medical discoveries.

此次调查显示，90%的美国人相信科学的益处大于危险。30%相信政府应该在科学上有更多的投入，大于90%表示对了解医学发现感兴趣