There is something intrinsically fascinating about the idea of evolution. What principles govern
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To Darwin, nature was a surface covered with thousands of sharp wedges, all packed together and jostling for the same space. Those wedges that fared best moved toward the center of the surface, improving their position by knocking other wedges away with violent blows. The standard example that textbooks give of such competitive wedging is the interaction between the brachiopods and the clams. Clams were long held to be ancient undersea competitors of brachiopods due to the fact that the two species inhabited the same ecological niche. Clams are abundant today, whereas brachiopods （dominant in ancient times） are not. Modem clams are also physiologically more complex than brachiopods are.The standard interpretation of these facts is that the clams' physiology was an evolutionary improvement that gave them the ability to “knock away” the brachiopods.
In recent years, however, the prominent naturalists Stephen Jay Gould and C. Brad Calloway have challenged the validity of this example as well as the model it was meant to support. Gould and Calloway found that over most geological time clams and brachiopods went their separate ways. Never did the population of brachiopods dip as that of the clams rose, or vice versa. In fact, the two populations often grew simultaneously, which belies the notion that they were fighting fiercely over the same narrow turf and resources. That there are so many more clams than brachiopods today seems rather to be a consequence of mass deaths that occurred in the Permian period. Whatever caused the mass deaths---some scientists theorize that either there were massive ecological or geological changes, or a comet crashed down from the heavens clams were simply able to weather the storm much better than brachiopods.
Out of these observations, Gould and Calloway drew a number of far-reaching conclusions. For instance, they suggested that direct competition between species was far less frequent than Darwin thought. Perhaps nature was really a very large surface on which there were very few wedges, and the wedges consequently did not bang incessantly against each other. Perhaps the problem facing these wedges was rather that the surface continually altered its shape, and they had to struggle independently to stay in a good position on the surface as it changed.
So where does that leave Homosapiens if evolution is a response to sudden, unpredictable and sweeping changes in the environment rather than the result of a perpetual struggle? No longer are we the kings of the mountain who clawed our way to the top by advancing beyond other species. We are instead those who looked to the mountains when floods began to rage below and then discovered that living high up has its definite advantages, so long as our mountain doesn't decide to turn into a volcano.
单选题第1题What does the author attempt to express by using the parenthetical statement in Paragraph 1?
A.Scientists intend to show that their own species is superior to others.
B.Scientists want to highlight the concept of evolution as a process of gradual improvement.
C.Human race has evolved from lower forms of life toward eventual perfection.
D.Human race is as dose to perfection as life hopes to reach.
参考答案：A
答案解析：推断题。第1段括号中的this指的是前文中提到的科学家们都一致赞同的观点:数十亿年来,生命一直在不断地完善自己,这就可以顺理成章地把人类当作最 新、最完美的生命形式。由此可见,科学家们试图通过进化论来证明自身的优越性,故选A。注意选项B易误选,科学家强调进化是个逐渐改进的过程,目的是为了突出人类的地位。
单选题第2题The word “wedges” underlined in Paragraph 2 refers to an___species.
A.unknown
B.intelligent
C.entire
D.ancient
参考答案：C
答案解析：在第2段第1句...thousands of sharp wedges, all packed together and jostling for the same space中,作者借用达尔文的观点,将大自然比作一个表面,将成千上万的物种比作拥挤在这个表面上争夺空间的楔子。因此这些wedges是指所有物种,故选C。
单选题第3题The author cites “clams” and “brachiopods” underlined in Paragraph 2 as examples to show that___.
A.clams were biologically stronger than brachiopods
B.brachiopods were inherently weaker than clams
C.clams and brachiopods could not coexist
D.interspecies compete according to Darwin and his “wedge” model
参考答案：D
答案解析：推断题。第2段第3句直接说出课本上给出的达尔文楔形竞争的标准案例就是腕足动物与蛤类之间的相互竞争,故选D。选项A和B是从两个方面阐述相同的问题,即蛤类和腕足动物天生就是一个强一个弱,可以直接排除。选项C是对文中第4句和第5句内容的主观推断,由生存环境相同,如今数量悬殊推出两者不能共存是不合理的,并且由第3段第3句和第4句也可排除C。
单选题第4题According to Gould and Calloway’s theory,the decline of brachiopods___.
A.resulted from their competition with clams
B.seemed to have been caused by an environmental impact
C.were not triggered by a comet crashing down from the heavens
D.might be the consequence of mass deaths in the Permian period
参考答案：B
答案解析：推断题。第3段第5句指出当今蛤类比腕足动物多得多的原因似乎是二叠纪时期大规模死亡的结果,选项D待定。第3段最后一句提到了可能会导致大规模死亡的原因,生态变化、地质变化或替星撞地球,这些都是环境的变化,由此可以排除D选项,确定正确答案B。
单选题第5题The word “comet”underlined in Paragraph 3 refers to___.
A.an event that could have obscured the geological record
B.a possible cause for the decline of brachiopods
C.massive ecological or geological changes
D.the acceleration of evolutionary adaptation
参考答案：B
答案解析：推断题。第3段第6句首先提出不论是什么原因造成大规模死亡,破折号之后补充说明蛤类比腕足动物更经受得住生存环境的巨变,由此可以推断答案选B。 comet之前的or是连接不同可能性的连词“或” ,不要误读为表示解释功能的“即,亦即” 。所以不可选C。
单选题第6题According to Gould and Calloway’s theory, evolution___.
A.may not necessarily be based on competition
B.occurs through the differential survival of competing genes
C.is the consequence of the struggle for resources among species
D.is the product of heredity, environmental stimuli, and past experiences
参考答案：A
答案解析：推断题。第4段第2句提到,根据古尔德和卡洛韦的理论,物种之间的直接竟争远不如达尔文所认为的那么频繁,后面解释说各物种之间不会不断地相互攻击,只是各自努力在环境变化中占据更好位置。故选A。选项B和C都是达尔文进化论中的观点。选项D未在文中提及。
单选题第7题The last paragraph attempts to___.
A.outline Gould and Calloway’s research on dams and brachiopods,which contradict Darwin’s theories
B.explain Gould and Calloway’s theory which claims that environmental change is more important than competition in the survival of species
C.restate the concept of evolution as a process of gradual improvement which leads to the survival of superior species
D.explore the implications for the status of humans in light of Gould and Calloway’s new theory about evolution
参考答案：D
答案解析：推断题。最后一段第1句提出如果进化是出于古尔德和卡洛韦的理论（对环境中突然的、不可预测的以及彻底的变化做出反应） ,而不是基于达尔文的竟争理论,那么这对人类来说意味着什么呢?作者指出“人类的地位不再是在竞争中获胜的大王,而只是在有危险或变化来临时能够做出更好选择的那一类而已” 。该段的中心都在围绕着人类的地位讨论,故选D。
单选题第8题With regard to Gould and Calloway’s theory of evolution, the author would most likely state that it___.
A.has not yet been tested as much as the previous model
B.rules out the possibility that one species could cause the extinction of another
C.puts the status of humans in a new perspective
D.attaches less importance to the effect of natural disasters
参考答案：C
答案解析：推断题。本题是推断作者对古尔德和卡洛韦的进化论的看法,本文首段就在探讨进化的观点决定着人类在整个进化过程中所处的位置,提出一部分科学家认为竞争理论是人类进化得以愈发完美的动力,但是后文中出现的古尔德和卡洛韦的理论则对这种观点提出质疑。由此可见他们的进化论是从一个新的视角来审视人类的地位,故选C。
单选题第9题What is the main idea of the passage?
A.It criticizes Darwin's evolutionary theory.
B.It discusses a new alternative to an established theory.
C.It examines the nature of the interaction between two species.
D.It demonstrates Gould and Calloway’s conclusions about clams and brachiopods.
参考答案：B
答案解析：主旨题。作者并未批评达尔文的进化理论,只是提出不同的看法,所以排除A。达尔文理论中以蛤类和腕足动物为例阐述了楔子模型,但并未研究两者相互作用的性质,所以排除C。 第三段阐述了古尔德和卡洛韦关于蛤类和腕足动物的研究发现,只是局部内容,不构成主旨,因此排除D。通观全文,可以看出作者在达尔文进化论的基础上提出了与之有异的古尔德和卡洛韦的进化论,故选B。
单选题第10题It can be inferred from Gould and Calloway’s findings about clams and brachiopods that
A.the two species never competed for the same turf
B.they fought fiercely for the same resources
C.clams had genetic ability to evade disasters
D.brachiopods were physiologically less complex than clams
参考答案：A
答案解析：细节题。根据第3段第4句“事实上,这两个物种的数量经常同时增长,这与它们为同样狭窄的地盘和有限的资源而大打出手的观点不符” ,可以排除B,同时推断A正确。根据第2段第6句“现代蛤类在生理上比腕足动物更复杂” ,但并未说古代的时候便是如此,因此排除D。
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