单词 | 污染减少 |
释义 | 〔percent〕Statistically speaking,a quantity can be increased by any percentage but cannot be decreased by more than 100 percent.Once pollution has been reduced by 100 percent, for example, it ceases to exist,and no further reduction is possible.In defiance of this logic, however, advertisers sometimes refer toa 150 percent decrease in lost luggage or a new dental rinse that reduces plaque on teeth by over 300 percent. On reflection,it is possible to infer the intended meaning in these examples—presumably the rinse is three times as effective as some other tooth-cleaning procedure—but the ostensible claim is logically nonsensical,and the phrasing serves mostly to obscure the fact that the standard of comparison has not been made explicit.The latter phrase was unacceptable to 66 percent of the Usage Panel.从统计学上说,数量可以按任意比例增长但不能按超过百分之一百的比例减少。例如,一旦污染减少百分之百,它就会消失,也就不再会有任何进一步减少的可能了。然而,广告商们时常忽视这种规律而提出行李丢失率下降了百分之一百五 或 一种新型爽口剂将牙病减少了百分之三百。 从观众的反应来说,不可能推断这些例句想表达的意思——假定这种爽口剂比其它洁齿措施有效三倍——但这种表面的说法却是不合逻辑的,并且短语的运用大大模糊了比较标准尚不清晰的事实。后一个短语是百分之六十六的用法小组成员不能接受的 |
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