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1、阅读任务来测试下自己的阅读水平吧达尔文的“优胜劣汰，适者生存”似乎解释了从无脊椎动物到人类的演化，但是现代人真是比古人进化了吗？How Man Stopped Darwins Natural Selection1 Do generations progress intellectually and perhaps physically over epochs n. times 时代? Can we say for certain that our generation is better (generally speaking) than that of a 100 years ago？The
2、 apparently adv. 表面上的 obvious answer is “yes” since now we have inventors of computers and the advances in communications in the last 40 years are greater than the rest of history combined. But one can argue that the greatest inventions were either invented by the Greeks or the Italians in the old t
3、imes. And that mitigates the assertion n. 断言 that todays generation is better than before. 2 The problem with this hypothetical question is an operational definition of “better”, how do we know who is better? One criterion is knowledge, but knowledge is cumulative, discoveries are progressive. A dis
4、covery or certain knowledge cannot be attributed solely to one person or one generation for that matter. When computers were invented, they had the inventors of the abacus n. 算盘 to thank for. Cars had the wheel to thank for, and there are countless more examples. Thus, we cannot say for certain that
5、 our generation is better than those from before because we have “more knowledge” or “smarter”. The only way we can assess which generation is better is by isolating a criterion that is independent of any other generation and can be attributed specifically to a specific generation. The question is H
6、ow and What? 3 A former math professor once said: “when you are faced with a complex math problem, go back to the basics.” So lets rewind v. go back to退回到 4.6 billion years ago when the earth was born, the mono-cellular living things in the sea jumped out of the cosmic soup and evolved into multi-ce
7、llular species. Then came the caveman, who undertook evolution and became man as we know him today. Darwins theory of evolution through natural selection clearly shows improvements in generations of species at least in complexity, because I can say with confidence that Man is clearly superior to an
8、amoeba n. 阿米巴一种单细胞微生物. It seems that in the earliest stages of development, it is obvious that generations improved with time, but today, it is not at all as simple as that, because if Darwins theory of evolution is still in motion to this very minute, I would think that humanity by now would be a s
9、uper-race already, only the best of genes will have perpetuated v. 永存, therefore sickness and weak traits will have been eliminated, but that clearly is not the case. Why? Because I think Natural Selection has been hampered since the species first became self-aware. 4 When the caveman crossed the th
10、reshold n. 开端 of humanity and asked his first question “What Am I” and when he realized just like Descartes 笛卡尔 did that “for the very fact that he thinks, he therefore exists.” The mechanism of natural selection that has worked so well for the last 4.6 billion years slowed if not halted altogether
11、in the species called “homo sapiens” n. 人类. The exact time when a mere “animal” evolved and crossed into a “reasoning human” cannot be determined. This “self-awareness” that we exist and the newly acquired capacity to gain knowledge through the broadening of mans “awareness” was important in this mo
12、numental a. vital, great, 巨大的 change in time. Because now, man is no longer running on instincts like animals, now, he reasons. He is now aware that someone sharing his same essence is present. Companionship that is not rooted on procreation n. 生育，繁殖 and mere survival is now possible.5 How exactly i
13、s natural selection hampered by the reasoning man? Natural selection essentially is “survival of the fittest”. Billions of years ago, only the species having the best resources survived. Competition was always won by the stronger lot n. 一群,一批. Competitions for food and mates were always won by the s
14、tronger animals. Inferior animals therefore were slowly obliterated v. 消灭，消除, leaving the earth to the superior ones. They procreate and pass-on superior genes to the next generation and the process repeats itself until only the best pools n. 群，批 of genes remain. 6 Even in recent times, natural sele
15、ction as assisted by humans happens. Suppose you have two horses and have to choose between the two, you will of course choose the superior one, disposing of the other especially when resources are limited. 7 But natural selection in human beings is outrageous a. 毫无节制的. A “reasoning human” cannot ju
16、st kill another man who stands between his affections and a lady. Or a head of the family cannot just kill an inferior child no matter how destitute a. 穷困的 a familys life maybe.8 Maybe in the old times slavery is common place and killings as well, but ideas and norms also evolve. It can be said ther
17、efore that when man became self-aware, ethics n. 伦理学 and mores n. 道德观 were also born. 9 The Reasoning Man has put a stop to the rule of the jungle, where only the strongest survives. In todays society, “inferior” people are tolerated and respected and are on “equal footing” as those of the superior
18、ones. 10 There are however, still “shadows” of the mechanism of natural selection in modern society, I have often wondered what attracted people to the beautiful, to the intelligent and to the superior? Of course attraction to beauty is a natural tendency but why essentially? Could it be that this i
19、s an inherent mechanism in the “animals” within us to propagate v. 繁殖 the superior genes? 11 A sort of natural selection also happens in everyday life. A College Admission Test is a good example; students that are “inferior” are not accepted in good colleges. Moreover, the natural tendency of most i
20、ntelligent people is to study more or to learn more. The idea being that a person who has knowledge will have even more knowledge and those people who have little knowledge will have even less knowledge. 12 This is almost “capitalism of knowledge” because knowledge gets concentrated to a select few.
21、13 Just like in actual Capitalism, a worker or a member of the proletariat n. 无产阶级 must be able to make the jump from worker to capitalist by saving and being a capitalist himself. In Capitalism of knowledge, the proletarian can make the same jump by acquiring “intellectual capital” from other sourc
22、es which means that a person needs only to desire to learn, to read, to go to libraries to be able to make the “jump” from worker to “intellectual capitalist”.14 So, natural selection has been hampered by the reasoning man, allowing for the “un-pure” genes to get mixed back into the pool of pure gen
23、es. This could be a point against the “improvement” of generations. 15 Capitalism of knowledge, although at first glance is detrimental to the improvement of the generations because, in theory, knowledge gets concentrated to a select few, however, the antidote n. 解药 lies in the free access of inform
24、ation which enables people to make the “jump”. This could be a point for the “improvement” of the generations especially when you realize that books were not accessible to slaves in old times. 16 So, to go back to the question: “do generations improve over time?” Maybe, maybe not, Im still not sure,
25、 you decide. Reading ComprehensionPart 1 Fast ReadingPlease go over the first five paragraphs of this passage quickly and answer the questions 1-5: For questions 1-5, markY (for YES) if the statement agrees with the information given in the passage;N (for NO) if the statement contradicts the informa
26、tion given in the passage;NG (for NOT GIVEN) if the information is not given in the passage.1. (NG) The greatest inventions were made by the Greeks and the Italians. 2. ( Y ) The development from mono-cellular creatures into multi-cellular ones is a clear example of Darwins Evolution Theory. 3. ( N
27、) Evolution has quickened since man was able to reason. 4. ( N )The fact that today man lives longer than he did before is a strong proof that our genes have been greatly improved.5. ( Y ) The rule of jungle means the survival of the fittest. Part 2 Intensive ReadingFor questions 6-10, choose the on
28、e that best completes the sentence or answers the question.6. The word “mitigate” in the 1st paragraph is closest in meaning with “_”.A) proveB) strengthenC) changeD) weaken*7. According to the text, there is no practice of slave killing in modern societies, because _.A) as man evolves, he realizes
29、that it is inhuman to do so*B) laws have been established to forbid the killing of fellowmenC) more labors are needed in modern societiesD) slavery has long been abolished8. According to the author, our generation might not be better than the previous ones because _.A) there is free access to inform
30、ationB) “inferior people” are tolerated*C) knowledge is concentrated to a selected few D) the competition is too fierce in todays society9. Why did the author say “the mechanism of natural selection slowed if not altogether halted in the species called homo sapiens” in the 4th paragraph?A) Natural s
31、election has ceased since human came into being. B) Man no longer competes for survival as animals do. * C) Man has realized the importance of companionship. D) The more thinking man does, the less developed he becomes.10. Which of the following is NOT an example of natural selection in everyday lif
32、e?A) Job interviewsB) English speech contestsC) Physical exercises*D) Olympic Games11. HeadingPlease read paragraphs 1-5. Choose the correct heading for each paragraph from the list of headings below. Write the number 1-5 after the following statements.Para. 1 A) Para. 2 D) Para. 3 F) Para. 4 E) Par
33、a. 5 B) A) Its hard to say that our generation is better than the previous ones. B) How does natural selection work? C) The sickness and weak traits in humans have not been eliminated yet.D) An independent criterion is needed. E) Mans self-awareness distinguishes him from other animals. F) Natural selection has been stopped since man became self-aware. G) When reasoning human being came into being can not be determined.