18 Scientific evidence consists of observations and experimental results that
serve to support, refute, or modify a scientific hypothesis or theory, when col-
lected and interpreted in accordance with the scientific method.
In scientific research evidence is accumulated?through?observations?of?phe- nomena that occur in the natural world, or which are created as experiments
in?a?laboratory?or?other?controlled?conditions.?Scientific?evidence?usually?goes?
towards supporting or rejecting a hypothesis.
One?must?always?remember?that?the?burden?of?proof?is?on?the?person?mak-
ing a contentious claim.?Within?science,?this?translates?to?the?burden?resting?on?
presenters of a paper, in which the presenters argue for their specific findings.
This?paper?is?placed?before?a?panel?of?judges?where?the?presenter?must?defend?
the thesis against all challenges.
A. Translate from English into Russian the words and word combinations in bold. B. Answer the questions: 1)? What?is?the?difference?between?evidence?and?scientific?evidence?
2) How is evidence accumulated in scientific research?
3) What is a claim? How to prove a claim?
Facts A fact is something that has really occurred or is actually the case. The usual
test for a statement of fact is verifiability —?that?is,?whether?it?can?be?demon-
strated to correspond to experience. Standard reference works are often used
to?check?facts.?Scientific?facts?are?verified?by?repeatable?careful?observation?or?
measurement?(by?experiments?or?other?means).
A. Translate from English into Russian the words and word combinations in bold. B. Read the statements below and decide, if they are facts or opinions: 1) The Russian Department of Agriculture recommends that adults con-
sume?three?to?four?cups?of?vegetables?per?day.
2)? Playing?team?sports?is?the?better?way?to?lose?weight.
3)? Research?shows?that?a?diet?low?in?salt?helps?people?to?lower?their?blood?
pressure.
4)? Home-cooked?meal?tastes?better?than?meal?in?restaurants.
5) Research indicates that young people who ate meals with their parents
did well academically.
