Young Americans know little about world geography, with the majority unable to locate Iraq on a map and three quarters unable to find Indonesia, according to a study. Young Americans know little about world geography, with the majority unable to locate Iraq on a map and three quarters unable to find Indonesia, according to a study. The Roper poll conducted the survey on behalf of National Geographic and found that most of the young adults questioned between the ages of 18 and 24 also had little knowledge about their own country, with half or fewer unable to identify the states of New York or Ohio on a map. Moreover, the study said, many of those questioned were not bothered by their lack of geographic knowledge. "Half think it is 'important but not absolutely necessary' either to know where countries in the news are located or to be able to speak a foreign language," a report on the survey said. The report said that that nine in ten could not find Afghanistan on a map of Asia and 70 percent could not find North Korea. When questioned about natural disasters, only 33% correctly chose Pakistan from four possible choices as the country hit by a huge earthquake in October 2005. The survey was conducted between December 2005 and January 2006 and involved 510 interviews. National Geographic released the survey on last Tuesday in launching a five-year campaign to improve geographic literacy among young people in the United States. "Geographic illiteracy impacts our economic well-being, our relationships with other nations and the environment, and isolates us from our world," said John Fahey, National Geographic Society president. "Without geography, our young people are not ready to face the challenges of the increasingly interconnected and competitive world." (Agencies)

一项调查显示，美国年轻人的世界地理知识相当贫乏，大多数人在地图上找不到伊拉克的位置，四分之三的人不知道印度尼西亚在哪里。 洛普民意研究中心代表美国国家地理协会做了此项调查，调查发现：年龄在18岁至24岁间的多数受访青年对本国的地理知识了解得也很少，其中近一半人无法在地图上指出纽约州或俄亥俄州的具体位置。 调查还表明，很多受调查的年轻人对于缺乏地理知识并不以为然。 调查报告中说：“有一半的人认为，虽然知道新闻中提到的国家的具体位置或会说一门外语‘很重要，但并不是绝对必需的’”。 报告中提到，90％的年轻人在亚洲地图上找不到阿富汗，70％的人找不到北朝鲜。 当问及发生自然灾害的国家时，仅有33％的人从四个选项中选出了巴基斯坦；巴基斯坦曾在2005年10月遭受了大地震的重创。 此项调查在去年12月至今年1月间进行，共有510名调查对象参与。 美国国家地理协会于上周二公布了调查结果，此协会启动了一个五年计划，旨在提高美国年轻人的地理知识水平。 国家地理协会主席约翰·费伊说：“地理知识的贫乏对我们的经济繁荣、我国和其他国家的关系以及环境都会产生不良影响，并会将我们和外面的世界孤立开来。当今世界，各国间的联系日益紧密，竞争也越来越激烈，如果没有地理知识，美国的年轻人将无法应对各种挑战。” (中国日报网站编译)