四分之一的美國人不知道地球繞着太陽轉大綱
Only39% of Americans believe 'the universe began with a huge explosion'
只有39%的美國人相信“宇宙大爆炸起源理論”
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“地球是平的嗎？”這個問題可能是個例外，那就是（至少根據探索雜誌）那個最基本的科學問題了：“地球是繞着太陽轉嗎？”
The good news is that 74 per cent of Americansknow the answer.
好消息是有74%的美國人知道答案。
The very bad news is that means 26 per centreally don't.
壞消息是，這意味着26%的美國人真的不知道答案。
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.
這個結果來自於國家科學基金（NSF）對2200個美國人的調查，部分報告將提交給奧巴馬和國會的立法者們，可能會再次挑起美國教育標準的問題。
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".
其他令人吃驚的調查結果包括只有39%的美國人相信“宇宙大爆炸起源理論”。不到一半的（48%）被調查者認同“目前所知，人類是某種遠古動物進化來的”。
Meanwhile, 51 per cent of Americans knew thatantibiotics don't kill viruses.
同時，51%的美國人知道抗生素不能殺滅病毒。
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，總共有42%的美國人認爲占星術也是非常或有幾分科學道理的。
The survey, as reported by Agence France-Presse,is carried out every couple of years in order to analyse whether America ismaking educational progress.
據法新社報告，這個調查每兩年進行一次，以分析美國的教育是否有了進步。
Despite the somewhat negative findings of thestudy there is a significant glimmer of hope.
儘管有一些負面的發現，但是也有一絲希望。
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.
此次調查顯示，90%的美國人相信科學的益處大於危險。30%相信政府應該在科學上有更多的投入，大於90%表示對了解醫學發現感興趣
