[英译汉]
　　Empirical evidence is evidence that one can see, hear, touch, taste, or smell; it is evidence that is susceptible to one’s senses. (1)Empirical evidence is important because it is evidence that others besides yourself can experience, and it is repeatable, so empirical evidence can be checked by yourself and Others.
　　(2) Empirical evidence is the only type of evidence that possesses these attributes and is therefore the only type used by scientists and critical thinkers to make vital decisions and reach sound conclusions.
　　We can contrast empirical evidence with other types of evidence to understand its value.
　　 (3)Hearsay evidence is what someone says they heard another say; it is not reliable because you cannot check its source. Better is testimonial evidence, which, unlike hearsay evidence, is allowed in courts of law. But even testimonial evidence is notoriously unreliable, as numerous studies have shown. Courts also allow circumstantial evidence (e.g, means, motive, and opportunity), but this is obviously not reliable.
　　The most common alternative to empirical evidence, authoritarian evidence, is what authorities (people, books, billboards, television commercials, etc. ) tell you to believe. Sometimes, if the authority is reliable, authoritarian evidence is reliable evidence, but many authorities are not reliable, so you must check the reliability of each authority before you accept its evidence. In the end, you must be your own authority and rely on your own powers of critical thinking to know if what you believe is reliably true. Transmitting knowledge by authority is, however, the most common method among humans for three reasons: first, we are all conditioned from birth by our parents through the use of positive and negative reinforcement to listen to, believe, and obey authorities; second.
　　(4)it is believed that human societies that relied on a few experienced or trained authorities for decisions that affected all had a higher survival value than those that didn’t, and thus the behaviorial trait of susceptibility to authority was strengthened and passed along to future generations by natural selection; third, authoritarian instruction is the quickest and most efficient method for transmitting information we know about.
　　(5)But remehaber: some authoritarian evidence and knowledge should be validated by empirical evidence, logical reasoning, and critical thinking before you should consider it reliable, and, in most cases, only you can do this for yourself. 考试大[379 words] 　　
　　超纲词汇
　　Condition n训练，使适应
　　Validate vt．确认，证实，验证
　　empiricaladj．经验主义的