The facts and assumption an argument begins with are called…
一个论证开始时所依据的事实和假设称为……
C — Premises（前提）
They are the starting facts or assumptions of an argument. The conclusion is logically derived from them.
Premises（前提）是论证的起点，即被当作事实或假设接受的内容；结论再由这些前提通过逻辑推出。
What type of logic does this argument use?
Premises: 1. The volume of a liquid expands as its temperature increases. 2. The world’s oceans are comprised chiefly of water, which is a liquid. 3. Climate change will lead to an increase in the temperature of the world’s oceans. Conclusion: Climate change will lead to an expansion in the volume of the world’s oceans.
这个论证使用哪一种逻辑？
前提： 1. 液体的体积会随着温度升高而膨胀。 2. 世界海洋主要由水构成，而水是一种液体。 3. 气候变化将导致世界海洋温度升高。 结论： 气候变化将导致世界海洋体积膨胀。
A — Deductive logic（演绎逻辑）
The argument applies a general rule about liquids to particular facts about ocean water and temperature. If the premises are true, the conclusion follows necessarily.
该论证把关于液体的一般规则应用到海水和温度的具体事实。如果前提为真，结论就必然成立，因此是演绎逻辑。
When confronting new information or a better argument, critical thinkers…
面对新信息或更好的论证时，批判性思考者……
A — Should consider revising their beliefs（应该考虑修正信念）
Critical thinking requires willingness to change a conclusion when new information or a better argument is presented.
批判性思维要求人在出现新信息或更好论证时，愿意改变原来的结论或信念。
Why is this argument unsound?
Premises: 1. People die in car accidents. 2. William is going to take a car to work. Conclusion: William will die on his way to work.
为什么这个论证不健全（unsound）？
前提： 1. 人们会死于车祸。 2. William 将开车去上班。 结论： William 将在上班路上死亡。
C — The logic is invalid（逻辑无效）
The premises may be true, but they do not entail that William will die. The conclusion does not logically follow from the premises, so the argument is invalid and therefore unsound.
这些前提可能都是真的，但它们并不能推出 William 一定会死亡。结论没有从前提中逻辑地推出，因此论证无效，也就不健全。
People who don’t understand statistics and mathematics are described as…
不理解统计学和数学的人被描述为……
C — Innumerate（缺乏数学/统计素养的）
Innumeracy means a lack of working knowledge of mathematics, probability, and statistics; an innumerate person lacks that understanding.
Innumeracy 指缺乏数学、概率和统计学的实际理解；innumerate 形容缺少这种素养的人。
Rationalizing is…
Rationalizing（合理化）是……
B — Finding evidence to support a pre-existing conclusion（为预先得出的结论寻找证据）
Rationalizing starts with a conclusion and then searches for arguments to defend it. Reasoning works in the opposite direction: the conclusion flows from the logic.
Rationalizing 是先有结论，再寻找论据为它辩护；真正的 reasoning 则是让结论由逻辑推出。
Inductive logic…
归纳逻辑……
D — Makes probabilistic generalizations about the broader world based on available data（根据数据作出概率性概括）
Inductive reasoning moves from specific observations to a general principle. Its conclusions are probable rather than deductively necessary and may need revision.
归纳推理从具体观察走向一般原则。它的结论具有概率性，而非演绎意义上的必然性，并且可能需要修正。
The purpose of an argument is…
论证的目的 是……
B — To come to the truth about something（弄清某件事的真相）
This is the best choice because the lecture rejects winning or defending a side at all costs as the purpose. It emphasizes developing arguments and reaching better conclusions, while recognizing that knowledge is tentative.
B 是最符合原文的选项：讲义否定“赢得争论”或“不惜一切代价维护立场”这一目的，强调形成论证、得出更好的结论，并承认知识具有暂定性。
Most scientific knowledge is…
大多数科学知识是……
C — Tentative and subject to revision（暂定且可修订）
Scientific conclusions are based on incomplete current knowledge and may be revised when better evidence or arguments become available.
科学结论建立在当前并不完整的知识基础上；当出现更好的证据或论证时，它们可能被修订。
If the conclusion of an argument is true, then its premises must be true and its logic valid.
如果一个论证的结论为真，那么它的前提必然为真，而且它的逻辑必然有效。
B — 错 / False
A true conclusion alone does not prove that the premises are true or that the reasoning is valid. A conclusion can be true by coincidence or for reasons unrelated to the stated premises. Soundness runs in the other direction: true premises plus valid logic guarantee a true conclusion.
结论为真，并不能单独证明前提为真或推理有效。结论可能只是碰巧为真，或者真实原因与所列前提无关。Soundness 的方向是“真前提加有效逻辑保证真结论”，不能反向推导。
A sound argument has true premises and valid logic.
一个 sound（健全的）论证具有真实的前提和有效的逻辑。
A — 对 / True
This is the lecture’s definition of a sound argument: every premise is true and the logic is valid.
这正是讲义对 sound argument 的定义：所有前提为真，并且逻辑有效。
In academic discourse, “argument” means a verbal fight between two people, often to gain social or political advantage.
在学术话语中，“argument”指两个人之间为了获得社会或政治优势而进行的口头争吵。
B — 错 / False
In the lecture’s logic sense, an argument is a set of statements used to support a conclusion. It is not necessarily a verbal fight or a contest for social or political advantage.
在讲义所使用的逻辑语境中，argument 是一组用来支持结论的陈述，并不等于为了社会或政治优势而进行的口头争吵。