Question

Do Encyclopedias Know Everything?

LONG BEFORE Wikipedia or Encyclopedia Britannica (《大英百科全書》), there was Pliny the Elder. He was a first-century Roman researcher. His assistants (助理) read to him while he ate dinner and while he bathed. All the while, Pliny took notes. He even considered walking a waste of time. His assistants carried him around Rome in a chair while he read.

All of this was preparation for his Historia Naturalis (《博物志》). The book was published in A.D. 77. It is considered the oldest surviving encyclopedia on Earth. There are 2,500 chapters. They cover everything from mice to Mars.

“No Roman author has completed such a project,” Pliny proudly announced. Unluckily, two years after publishing (出版) the encyclopedia, he died in a natural disaster.

Accidents can hardly be avoided (避免). However, they can be recorded. Editors of encyclopedias, like Pliny, organize the knowledge of our world. Like a valuable gift, the books pass through the ages. They begin their lives as a tool and end them as a historical record.

Therefore, in my opinion, an encyclopedia is not just a record of what its editors know. It’s also a record of what they don’t know.

Pliny was wrong when he said there were seven planets, including the Sun and the Moon. He was wrong, too, when he said Africans were black from being burnt by the Sun. After all, Historia Naturalis is a book edited by a Roman thousands of years ago. These were all he truly knew.

Similarly, both Wikipedia and Encyclopedia Britannica have some incorrect information. Even the biggest encyclopedias only represent what their editors know.

“The task of editing an encyclopedia can never be completed,” said Roger Lewinter, an American researcher. Encyclopedias can’t record all of the human knowledge but just some of it. They are always waiting for someone — you, perhaps — to improve them.

1.According to the article, before Pliny the Elder completed his Historia Naturalis, ______.

A.Nobody had considered walking a waste of time B.There was no encyclopedia on Earth

C.Nobody knew what Mars was D.No Roman author had completed an encyclopedia

2.When did Pliny die in a natural disaster?

A.In A.D. 79. B.In A.D. 77. C.In A. D.75. D. In 77 B.C.

3.Which of the following statements would the author agree to?

A.We should destroy Pliny’s encyclopedia because it contains too many mistakes.

B.Modern encyclopedias — such as Wikipedia — have fewer mistakes.

C.In the biggest encyclopedia, we can find all of the human knowledge.

D.In all encyclopedias, there is some incorrect information.

4.The author expects his readers to _____.

A.find all the mistakes in Historia Naturalis B.improve an encyclopedia

C.complete the task of editing an encyclopedia D.take a look at the world’s biggest encyclopedias

Answer 1