题目内容

Everyday, science seems to chip away at our autonomy. When researchers aren't uncovering physical differences in the way men and women use their brains, they're asserting genetic influences on intelligence, sexual orientation, obesity or alcoholism. Or they're suggesting that the level of some brain chemical affects one's chances of committing violent crimes. Each new finding leaves the impression that nature is winning out over nurture—that biology is destiny and free will an illusion. But the nature-nurture dichotomy is itself an illusion. As many scholars are now realizing, everything we associate with "nurture" is at some level a product of our biology—and every aspect of our biology, from brain development to food preference, has been shaped by an environment. Asking whether nature or nurture is more important is like asking whether length or width is a better gauge of size.
Darwin recognized more than 100 years ago that Homo sapiens evolved by the same process as every other species on earth. And philosophers such as William James were eager to apply Darwin's insights to human psychology. But during the first part of this century, the rise of "social Darwinism" (a non-Darwinian, sink-or-swim political philosophy) and late Nazi eugenics spawned a deep suspicion of biologically inspired social science. By 1954, anthropologist Ashley Montagu was declaring that mankind has "no instincts because everything he is and has becomes what she has learned, acquired, from his culture."
The distinction between innate and acquired seems razor sharp, until you try slicing life with it. Consider the development of the brain. While gestating in the womb, a child develops some 50 trillion neurons. But those cells become functional only as they respond to outside stimuli. During the first year of life, the most frequently stimulated neurons form. elaborate networks for processing information, while the others wither and die. You could say that our brains determine the structure of our brains. Social behavior. follows the same principle. From the old nature-versus-nurture perspective, a tendency that isn't uniformly expressed in every part of the world must be "cultural" rather than "natural". But there is no reason to assume that a universal impulse would always find the same expression. As the evolutionists John Tooby and Leda Cosmildes have observed, biology can't dictate what language a child will speak, what games she'll feel guilty or jealous about. But it virtually guarantees that she'll do all of those things, whether she grows up in New Jersey or New Guinea.
Biology, in short, doesn't determine exactly what we' Il do in life. It determines how different environments will affect us. And our biology is itself a record of the environments our ancestors encountered. Consider the sexes' different perceptual styles. Men tend to excel at spatial reasoning, women at spotting stationary objects and remembering their locations. Such discrepancies may have a biological basis, but researchers have traced the biology back to specific environmental pressures. Archeological findings suggest that men hunted, and women foraged, throughout vast stretches of revolutionary time. And psychologists Irwin Silverman and Marion Eals have noted that "tracking and killing animals entail different kinds of spatial problems than does foraging for edible plants."
It can be inferred from the passage that what Montagu emphasized in his explanation is ______ .

A. biological roots
B. instincts
C. culture factors
D. animal behavior

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A.They sponsor program like taking swimming lessons.B.They promote Geneva Conventions.

A. They sponsor program like taking swimming lessons.
B. They promote Geneva Conventions.
C. They will denounce the abuser and help the victim during a war.
D. They aid refugees and victims of natural disasters.

The writer describes the development of the brain with an intention of ______ .

A. illustrating the link between biology and environment
B. showing the importance of biology
C. reflecting the difference between brain and social behavior. development
D. revealing the complex of a child brain

The passage cites examples of scholars in the following fields EXCEPT ______ .

A. philosophy
B. anthropology
C. psychology
D. chemistry

Part B Listening Comprehension
Directions: In this part of the test there will be some short talks and conversations. After each one, you will be asked some questions. The talks, conversations and questions will be spoken ONLY ONCE. Now listen carefully and choose the right answer to each question you have heard and write the letter of the answer you have chosen in the corresponding space in your ANSWER BOOKLET.
听力原文:Man: Today we begin our series on "Traditional Dress throughout the World". Our journey takes us to the little island nation of Sri Lanka. Shanika DeSilva, a native Sri Lankan now living in the United States, shares some interesting thoughts on traditional dress in her home country.
Man: Shanika, thanks for speaking with us today.
Woman: My pleasure.
Man: First of all, I'd like to ask you what is the traditional clothing in Sri Lanka?
Woman: Well, the traditional clothing for women is a sari, a long piece of cloth that is wrapped around your waist, and then it goes over your shoulder. Most of the older women, like my grandmother, wear a sari every day, all the time. The younger women tend to wear dresses or pants or something.
Man: Why don't the younger women wear saris?
Woman: Well, I guess some of them feel that saris are uncomfortable. I've heard women say that saris are hot and difficult to walk in because they're long. Also, if you're not used to wearing a sari, you might feel afraid that it will come unraveled. It's hard to relax in that situation. Also, many younger women think saris are old-fashioned. When you're younger, you're more interested in being stylish. Saris are great for formal occasions, like weddings, but if you're going out with your friends, you want to be more modern.
Man: So the younger women want to be more modern.
Woman: Actually I shouldn't say all the younger women. It depends a lot on your family history. Yon see there are two main groups of people in Sri Lanka-the Sinhalese and the Tamils. Then there are some other ethnic groups, like the Sri Lankans, who are part European. The women who are part European tend to be more modern. But the women who are Sinhalese or Tamil tend to be more traditional.
Man: Why are the Sinhalese and Tamils more traditional?
Woman: It's their culture. Well, in the past, the Sri Lankans that were part European had relatives who wore Western clothing, so they were used to Western dress. The Sinhalese and Tamils didn't have that.
Man: So you're saying that previous family history can influence the way you dress.
Woman: Yes, I think so.
Man: We've been talking about what women wear. It is said the traditional dress of men in Sri Lanka is sarong, a long piece of cloth that's wrapped around the waist. Do they still wear it?
Woman: People who live in rural areas, in the country, still wear sarongs. But in the city, it's only the politicians who wear them. People who have office jobs in downtown Colombo wear pants and shirts and even ties. They only wear sarongs to relax at home.
Man: Why don't they wear traditional clothes?
Woman: I think, personally, that it's a result of being colonized. You see... Sri Lanka used to be ruled by the British from... er... 1815 to 1948. Since the men were the ones who went to work, they had to adapt to the kind of clothes the British were wearing at work. The women, on the other hand, didn't leave the house, so they hung on to the traditional form. of dress.
Man: Interesting! But what about the men who are politicians? You said before that they still wear traditional dress.
Woman: Yeah... I think that's also a result of colonization. You see, after the British left, people wanted to show that they're proud of their culture and their new independence. To show their pride, a lot of politicians who used to wear a suit to work, started to wear a sarong.
Man: So it sounds as if political changes in Sri Lanka have influenced the way politicians dress.
Woman: That's r

A. It is neither a relaxing nor stylish wear.
B. It will come off frequently in walking.
C. It is old-fashioned as it is only worn by old women.
D. It will bring great difficulty to dally work.

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