Now listen to part of a lecture on the topic you just read about.
现在来听一段有关你刚刚读到的话题的演讲。
There's no solid evidence that Robert Peary reached the North Pole.
没有确凿的证据证明罗伯特·佩里到达了北极。
The arguments cited in the reading selection are not convincing.
阅读部分引用的论点没有说服力。
First, it is true that the National Geographic Society committee declared that Peary had indeed reached the North Pole,
首先，是的，国家地理学会委员会是宣布了佩里确实到达了北极，
but the committee was not completely objective.
但是委员会没有做到完全客观。
In fact, the committee was composed of Peary's close friends who had contributed large sums of money to fund Peary's trip.
事实上，委员会是由佩里的好朋友们组成的，他们贡献了很大一笔钱来资助佩里的旅途。
Moreover, the investigation lasted only two days.
而且，调查研究只持续了两天。
And according to Peary himself, the committee did not examine his records carefully.
据佩里自己说，委员会没有好好的检查他的记录。
So the committee's conclusions seem biased and therefore are not trustworthy.
所以，委员会的结论似乎是有偏见的，因此不可信。
Second, the speed issue.
第二，速度问题。
Tom Avery's journey was different from Peary's in important ways.
汤姆·艾弗里的旅行在重要地方与佩里的不同。
For example, Avery's sled was similar to Peary's sled, but Avery carried much less weight than Peary did, because Avery did not transport his food on the sled.
比如，艾弗里的雪橇跟佩里的相似，但是，艾弗里的载重比佩里的轻得多，因为艾弗里的食物没有放在雪橇上。
Avery's food was dropped along the way by airplane.
他的食物是沿途由飞机上扔下来的。
Moreover, Avery encountered highly favorable weather conditions, unlike Peary who travelled in very unfavorable conditions.
而且艾弗里遇见了非常好的天气，不像佩里在非常恶劣的天气里旅行。
So Avery's speedy trip was too different from Peary's to provide support for Peary's claims.
所以，艾弗里的快速旅行与佩里的太不同了，因而不能为佩里的声明提供支持。
Third, the photographs do not prove anything.
第三，照片不能证明任何事情。
The techniques scientists use to determine the Sun's position depend on measuring the shadows in the photographs very precisely.
技术科学家们习惯通过精确地测量照片中的影子来确定太阳的位置。
Without a precise measurement of the shadows, we cannot establish the Sun's exact position.
没有精确的影子测量，我们不能确定太阳的准确位置。
Now, Peary's pictures were photographed a hundred years ago using a primitive camera that took fuzzy, slightly unfocused photographs.
而，佩里的照片都是一百多年前用一个原始照相机照的，照片模糊，轻微不聚焦。
Moreover, the photos have become faded and worn over time.
而且，这些照片随着时间的流逝，已经变得褪色和磨损。
As a result, the shadows in Peary's photographs look blurred and faded.
所以，佩里照片中的影子看起来模糊不清。
Those shadows cannot be used to calculate the position of the Sun with great accuracy.
那些影子不能被用来精确计算太阳的位置。
So we cannot be confident the photos were really taken at the North Pole.
所以我们不能确信，这些照片真的是在北极拍摄的。