A few weeks ago, a well-meaning professor tried to explain the physiological process behind viruses and the human body in a tweet and was immediately criticized for a mistake in his information. He then issued an apology and deleted his erroneous tweet.

        Communicating science beyond the academic bubble is necessary to augmenting public understanding of health and environmental issues and helping individuals make well-informed personal decisions.

        However, scientists who engage in science communication must acknowledge that even in their area, their expertise is deep but narrow. They need to recognize the constraints in their own knowledge. That is not to suggest that they only write or present on their own research, but rather, that they consult with an expert if the topic is outside of their discipline. Fact-checking with a scientist who works in the specialty will prevent the unintentional spread of misinformation, and the process of doing so may yield tiny pieces of interesting new information that can be incorporated.

        Some have argued that the public is not educated enough to understand scientific information, especially for any complex phenomena, but this is absurd. Science instruction can be found at all levels of public education with most secondary schools offering classes on biology, physics, and chemistry. If anything, social media has shown that the public craves knowledge based on a solid scientific foundation. Even the public discourse that follows most scientific articles shows that online readers can understand even the most baffling of scientific principles.

        It is equally imperative to emphasize that being an expert on a topic does not automatically make a scholar qualified to communicate it to a nonscientific audience. A number of scientists recently have been offering public-aimed explanations of scientific phenomena. Even though they have appropriate credentials, they often do very little in the way of explaining. One biologist shared an intricate analogy involving a library, books, paper, a recipe, ingredients, and a cake to explain the process behind vaccines. Any explanation that requires a written key to keep track of what each item represents is not a clear example for public consumption.

        Science communication is a science in and of itself. It requires rigorous training and instruction. A scientist should take communication courses that can teach a person how to identify and eliminate jargon and how to develop effective analogies to explain complex concepts. One cannot assume communication expertise—imagine if someone just decided that they were a physicist and started trying to contribute to the field without the necessary background. Doing a poor job communicating science to the public will only create confusion and widen the gap between science and society, a gap that scientists are trying to close.

解析：D。根据题干中的the gap between science and society可定位至原文最后一段。该段提到，科学传播本身就是一门科学，需要经过严格的训练和指导，接着说到科学家应该学习沟通课程（take communication courses），学会如何识别和消除行话，以及如何使用有效的类比来解释复杂的概念。在最后一句中又从反面说明如果向公众传播科学方面做得不好只会造成困惑，并拉大科学与社会之间的距离，所以想要拉近这种距离，就要训练怎样更好地向公众传播科学，即培养沟通技巧，D项与此内容相符，故为正确答案。

错项排除：A项利用最后一段中的explain complex concepts进行干扰，但拉近科学与社会距离的关键不在于解释不够科学，而在于沟通能力，A项的scientifically在文中无依据，故排除A项。B项利用最后一段中的jargon进行干扰，但原文说的是要学会如何识别和消除行话，B项与此相悖，故排除。最后一段提到要学习沟通课程（take communication courses），而不是公开演讲课程，故C项排除。