2000 Passage 2

　　Being a man has always been dangerous. There are about 105 males born for every 100 females, but this ratio drops to near balance at the age of maturity, and among 70-year-olds there are twice as many women as men. But the great universal of male mortality is being changed. Now, by babies survive almost as well as girls do. This means that, for the first time, there will be an excess of boys in those crucial years when the are searching for a mate. More important, another chance for natural selection has been removed. Fifty years ago, the chance of a baby (particularly a boy baby) surviving depended on its weight. A kilogram too light or too heavy meant almost certain death. Today it makes almost no difference. Since much of the variation is due to genes one more agent of evolution has gone.

　　There is another way to commit evolutionary suicide: stay alive, but have fewer children. Few people are as fertile as in the past. Except in some religious communities, very few women has 15 children. Nowadays the number of births, like the age of death, has become average. Most of us have roughly the same number of offspring. Again, differences between people and the opportunity for natural selection to take advantage of it have diminished. India shows what is happening. The country offers wealth for a few in the great cities and poverty for the remaining tribal peoples. The grand mediocrity of today — everyone being the same in survival and number of offspring — means that natural selection has lost 80% of its power in upper-middle-class India compared to the tribes.

　　For us, this means that evolution is over; the biological Utopia has arrived. Strangely, it has involved little physical change. No other species fills so many places in nature. But in the past 100,000 years — even the past 100 years — our lives have been transformed but our bodies have not. We did not evolve, because machines and society did it for us. Darwin had a phrase to describe those ignorant of evolution: they "look at an organic being as average looks at a ship, as at something wholly beyond his comprehension." No doubt we will remember a 20th century way of life beyond comprehension for its ugliness. But however amazed our descendants may be at how far from Utopia we were, they will look just like us.

55. What used to be the danger in being a man according to the first paragraph?
　　[A] A lack of mates.
　　[B] A fierce competition.
　　[C] A lower survival rate.
　　[D] A defective gene.

56. What does the example of India illustrate?
　　[A] Wealthy people tend to have fewer children than poor people.
　　[B] Natural selection hardly works among the rich and the poor.
　　[C] The middle class population is 80% smaller than that of the tribes.
　　[D] India is one of the countries with a very high birth rate.

57. The author argues that our bodies have stopped evolving because________.
　　[A] life has been improved by technological advance
　　[B] the number of female babies has been declining
　　[C] our species has reached the highest stage of evolution
　　[D] the difference between wealth and poverty is disappearing

58. Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
　　[A] Sex Ration Changes in Human Evolution.
　　[B] Ways of Continuing Man's Evolution.
　　[C] The Evolutionary Future of Nature.
　　[D] Human Evolution Going Nowhere.

重點詞匯：

maturity /mE5tjuEriti/ （成熟）←matur(e)+ity，mature（成熟的v.成熟），-ity名詞后綴。Love is quiet understanding and the mature acceptance of imperfection.愛情是靜靜的理解和對不足之處的成熟接受。maturity — ①behaviour determined by the plans other people have in mind ②a high price for growing 成熟——①按照別人腦子里的計劃決定自己的行為 ②成長的高昂代價。

mortality /mC:5tAliti/ （死亡率）←mortal+ity，mortal（致命的；凡人），-ity名詞后綴。If I laugh at any mortal thing, it's that I may not weep.如果我笑任何mortal事物，那是為了我可以免于哭泣?！颂?/span>mortal的中文意思guangxian不知如何表達。

survive /sE5vaiv/ （v.幸存；比……活的長）即sur+vive，sur-(=super-)前綴“超”，vive詞根“活的”，于是“超過別人活的長度”→比別人活得長→幸存；survival /sE5vaivEl/ （n.幸存；幸存者）←surviv(e)+al名詞后綴。同根詞：revive（v.恢復；復蘇），見2003年Text 1。I have observed that only those plants in nature which are strongest survive and reproduce themselves. It seems to me that hardiness is the chief essential for success.我觀察到，自然界中只有最強壯的植物才能存活并繁衍?？磥韴皂g是成功的基本要素。The survival of the fittest, which I have here sought to express in mechanical terms, is that which Mr. Darwin has called 'natural selection', or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life.我在這里一直想要以機械論術語表達的適者生存，就是達爾文先生說過的“自然選擇”，或者說是優(yōu)越種族在生存斗爭中的保存。guangxian注：英特爾前任總裁Andrew S. Grove的一本極具影響力的書就叫“Only the Paranoid Survive”。此書名一直被譯作《只有偏執(zhí)狂才能生存》，導致上世紀九十年代后期以來無數(shù)強烈渴望成功的創(chuàng)業(yè)者（IT界為甚）以將“偏激固執(zhí)”作為人生信條而自豪。但就像很多人已指出的那樣，“paranoid”不是指上述意義的“偏執(zhí)狂”，而是指“迫害妄想狂”，其典型癥狀是——認為周圍所有人都想加害自己而終日惶恐不安。Grove在書的前言中說：Business success contains the seeds of its own destruction. The more successful you are, the more people want a chunk of your business and then another chunk and then another until there is nothing left. I believe that the prime responsibility of a manager is to guard constantly against other people's attacks and to inculcate this guardian attitude in the people under his or her management.企業(yè)的成功包含著自身毀滅的種子。你越是成功，對你垂涎三尺的人就越多，他們會一塊塊地奪取你的生意，直到最后一點都不剩。所以管理者的首要職責就是始終保持警惕以防范他人襲擊，并把這種防范意識灌輸給下屬人員。

evolution /7evE5lu:FEn/ （n.進化；發(fā)展），動詞形式為evolve /i5vClv/；evolutionary /7evE5lU:FEnEri/ （進化的）←evolution+ary形容詞后綴；另revolution（見2003年Text 1）可看作r+evolution，r看作鐮刀，于是“用鐮刀使其發(fā)展”→“拿著鐮刀鬧革命”→革命。Evolution is not the force but a process, not a cause but a law.進化不是動力而是過程，不是原因而是法則。

opportunity /7CpE5tju:niti/ （機會）即op+port+un(e)+ity，op-前綴=to，port港口，-une后綴，-ity后綴，有港口的地方都是很發(fā)達的，因此人們都到港口去尋找“機會”。Opportunity makes the thief.大意失荊州。（←妙?。?/span>A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds.智者創(chuàng)造的機會要比他發(fā)現(xiàn)的多。opportunity — a bird that never perches 機遇——一只不落的鳥。

diminish /di5miniF/ （v.縮小，減少）即di+min+ish，di-前綴“使”，min詞根“小”=mini，-ish動詞后綴。Absence diminishes little passions and increases great ones, just as the wind blows out a candle and fans a fire.離別減弱淺薄的感情而增強深厚的感情，正如風吹滅蠟燭而煽旺火焰。

poverty /5pCvEti/ （貧窮）記其中有over←“人貧窮就完了”（即使物質(zhì)貧窮，在精神上也不能貧窮）。Poverty is not vice, but an inconvenience.貧窮不是罪惡，而是一種不便。poverty — ①having enough money to buy all the things you ever wanted to have if only you hadn't got children ②the most effective way to keep out robbers and thieves 貧窮——①假如沒有孩子，你的錢就能買得起你想要的任何東西 ②把強盜和小偷拒之門外的最有效方法。

mediocrity /7mi:di5Ckriti/ （平常）可看作medi+ocr+ity，medi-前綴“中間”（如medium→medi+um后綴→中間的；媒介），ocr看作Optical Character Recognition（光學字符識別），-ity名詞后綴，用中等(medi)識別率OCR的效果是平常(medicocrity)的。

upper-middle-class 上中階層。

Utopia /ju:5tEupjE/ （烏托邦）是英國空想社會主義者托馬斯·莫爾(Thomas More)所著書名的簡稱，書中描寫了作者所想象的沒有階級的幸福社會——烏托邦，意即“沒有的地方”。Utopia — ①a place where men are severely punished for all odours and noises they expel ②the place where all women get married, and all men remain bachelors 烏托邦——①在那個地方，人類因其散發(fā)的氣味和制造的噪音而受到懲罰 ②所有女人都結了婚，而所有男人卻仍然單身的地方。

involve /in5vClv/ （v.陷入；涉及）←in+volve，in-前綴=into，volve詞根“卷”，“把東西卷到里面”。參revolution詞條（含revolve），2003年Text 1。Great discoveries and improvements invariably involve the co-operation of many minds.偉大的發(fā)展和改進總是牽涉到許多富于才智的人的協(xié)作。The power of choice must invovle the possibility of error — that is the essence of choosing.選擇的權力必須包括出錯的可能——這是選擇的精髓。

transform /trAns5fC:m/ （v.轉變；改造）即trans+form，trans-前綴“改變”，form詞根“形狀”。Marriage is the miracle that transform a kiss from a pleasure into a duty, and a life from a luxury into a necessity.婚姻是個奇跡，它把接吻從快樂化為義務，把生活從享樂化為必需。

describe /dis5kraib/ （v.描述，形容）←de向下+scribe寫，“寫下來”，名詞為description。A man never discloses his own character so clearly as when he describes another's.在描述另一個人的性格時，人最清楚地顯露自己的性格。

descendant /di5send(E)nt/ （后裔）即de+scend+ant，de-向下，scend詞根“爬”，-ant名詞后綴表“人”。同根詞：descend→de+scend→“向下爬”→下降；ascend→a+scend→“向上爬”→攀登。One of the best things people could do for their descendants would be to sharply limit the number of them.人們能為后代做的最好的事情之一大概就是嚴格限制自己的數(shù)量。

難句解析：

①There are about 105 males born for every 100 females, but this ratio drops to near balance at the age of maturity, and among 70-year-olds there are twice as many women as men.
▲該句是由三個遞進關系的簡單句組成的并列句，句法結構比較清晰。
△第一個分句的關鍵詞在born，表明該比數(shù)是嬰兒出生時的性別比例；第二個分句的關鍵詞在near balance（接近持平）和at the age of maturity，表示性別比例的持平狀態(tài)發(fā)生在成年時期；第三個分句的70-year-olds指代的是“70歲的人們”，作名詞。

②Again, differences between people and the opportunity for natural selection to take advantage of it have diminished.
▲注意differences between people和the opportunity for natural selection to take advantage of it是兩個并列的主語，千萬不要理解成people與the opportunity是between的并列賓語。
△and連接的兩個并列部分是differences between people和the opportunity for natural selection to take advantage of it，而不是people和the opportunity。另外注意句中的it指代的是differences between people。

③The grand mediocrity of today — everyone being the same in survival and number of offspring — means that natural selection has lost 80％ of its power in upper-middle-class India compared to the tribes.
▲該句的主語是The grand mediocrity，謂語是means，其后跟著that引導的賓語從句that natural selection has lost 80％ of its power in upper-middle-class India compared to the tribes，其中compared to the tribes是分詞結構作狀語，省略了if/when being。破折號中間everyone being the same in survival and number of offspring是典型的插入語，其中survival和number of offspring都是介詞in的賓語。
△grand在此處不是“宏偉，壯麗”的意思，而是“程度很深”；mediocrity也非“平庸，平?！保恰捌骄被颉罢壑浴?；offspring是“后代”。另外要理解natural selection has lost 80％ of its power in upper-middle-class India的意思，這里是指在原來的社會不平等的情況下，印度中上層階級擁有一些能使自己在自然選擇中處于優(yōu)勢的特權，而隨著醫(yī)療和衛(wèi)生條件的改變，下層人民也擁有同樣的生存條件，因此中上層階級就喪失了80％的自然選擇中的優(yōu)勢。

④Darwin had a phrase to describe those ignorant of evolution: they "look at an organic being as a savage looks at a ship, as at something wholly beyond his comprehension."
▲冒號后的句子是主句中a phrase的同位語。該同位語從句中的結構是A does something as B does something（A做某事的樣子正像B做某事的樣子）。
△those ignorant of evolution指對生物進化過程一無所知的人，其后的they也指代這些人。最后的his指代前面的a savage。beyond his comprehension超出了他的理解范圍。

試題解析：

55. [C] 意為；較低的存活率。
　　第一段第一、二句指出，做男人總是有危險的。出生時男孩比例高于女孩，到成熟期時男女比例已持平，到70歲時男人僅剩女人數(shù)量的一半了。
　　A意為：配偶的缺乏。第一段第四、五句提到，現(xiàn)在，男孩的存活率幾乎與女孩一樣了，這意味著，到尋找配偶的關鍵年齡時，就會有多余的男孩（找不到配偶）。這兩句話僅是論據(jù)，說明本段第三句指出的現(xiàn)象：過去普遍存在的男人死亡率高的現(xiàn)象正在改變。
　　B意為：激烈的競爭。
　　D意為：有缺陷的基因。第一段最后一句指出，既然其中的差別都是由基因造成的，另一個進化因素不復存在了。這里并未提到基因的缺陷造成男人的高死亡率。

56. [B] 意為：自然選擇的法則基本不適用于窮富的差別。
　　印度的例子用于說明第二段第六句指出的觀點：不同的人面對自然選擇時所可利用的優(yōu)劣勢差別已經(jīng)變小。根據(jù)下文．這一句應理解為：在存活率問題上，富人和窮人幾乎面臨著同樣的機會，即富人已漸失其優(yōu)勢。另請參閱本段最后一句。
　　A意為：富人（家庭）一般比窮人孩子少。雖然這也許是事實，但文章井未提到這一點。
　　C意為：中產(chǎn)階級人口數(shù)量比部落人口少80％。第二段最后一句的意思是：今天的總平均趨勢——存活率和孩子數(shù)量的平均化——意味著自然選擇在印度的中高層家庭人口中——與部落人口相比——已失去80％的控制力；即：中高階層不再擁有絕對的生存優(yōu)勢。
　　D意為：印度是出生率很高的國家之一。這是文章沒有提到的。

57. [A] 意為：技術的進步改進了生命（的質(zhì)量）。
　　第三段第四、五句指出，在過去的10萬年乃至100年中，我們的生活得到了改變，但是身體卻沒有改變，我們（的身體）沒有進化的原因是機器和社會使其然。這里所說的“機器”當指技術。
　　B意為：女嬰數(shù)量減少了。參閱第55、56題題解。
　　C意為：我們這種物種（指人）已達到最高進化階段。雖然在第三段中作者的確提到了進化已經(jīng)結束(evolution is over)，但是造成這種現(xiàn)象的原因卻只有在第五句中才提到。
　　D意為：貧富差別正在逐漸消失。即使在第二段，文章也沒有提到貧富差別的消失，提到的只是貧富家庭在嬰孩存活率和孩子平均數(shù)量上差別正在縮小。

58. [D] 意為：人的進化已窮盡。
　　在第一段闡述男人死亡率降低的原因時，作者就指出了進化機制已不再起作用，第二段在討論每個家庭孩子平均數(shù)量減少這一現(xiàn)象時，作者再次指出自然進化機制已不能再左右人口的出生率，即：人不再通過多生孩子來保持人口的均衡。在總結全文的第三段時，作者直截了當?shù)刂赋?，進化已經(jīng)結束。
　　A意為：人的進化過程中性別比例的改變。這一點僅在第一段提到了，所以，該選擇項不足以概括全文內(nèi)容。
　　B意為：保持人類進化的方法。
　　C意為：大自然未來的進化。本文側重點在于探討人口的結構變化與進化過程的關系，而不是泛泛地談論大自然的進化。

全文翻譯：

　　做男人總是充滿危險，出生時男女比例大約是105:100，但到了成熟期，這一比例幾乎持平，而在70歲的老人中女性是男性的兩倍，但是男性死亡率普遍偏高這種情況正在改變，現(xiàn)在男嬰存活率幾乎同女嬰一樣高。這就意味著男孩到了尋找伴侶的關鍵年齡將首次出現(xiàn)男孩過剩現(xiàn)象。更重要的是，又一次自然選擇的機會不復存在了。50年前，嬰兒（尤其是男嬰）存活的機會取決于體重，過輕或過重幾乎意味著必死無疑。今日體重幾乎不起什么作用，因為大部分差異是由基因引起的，又一個進化的因素消失了。
　　進化自殺還有另一種方法：存活，但少生孩子。現(xiàn)在沒有幾個人像過去那樣具有旺盛的生育力。除了在一些宗教社區(qū)之外，沒有幾名婦女有15個孩子。當今嬰兒出生的數(shù)量同死亡年齡一樣已趨于平均化，我們多數(shù)人的子女數(shù)量大致相同。人與人之間的差異和利用差異進行自然選擇的機會再一次減少。印度可以說明正在發(fā)生的一切。這個國家給大城市里的少數(shù)人提供財富，而給其余的各部落民族以貧困。今天這種極其顯著的平均化——每個人的生存機會和子女數(shù)量都相同——意味著與部落相比較，自然選擇在印度中、上層已經(jīng)失去了80％的效力。
　　對我們來說，這意味著進化已經(jīng)結束；生物學上的烏托邦已經(jīng)降臨。奇怪的是，這一過程幾乎絲毫沒有牽涉到身體上的變化，沒有其他物種充斥著自然中如此多的空間。但在過去的10萬年——甚至過去的100年中，我們的生活發(fā)生了變化，但我們的身體卻沒變。我們沒有進化。因為機器和社會替我們辦了這一切。達爾文有一句話描述那些對進化一無所知的人，他們“看有機的生命如同野人看船，好像看某種完全不能理解的東西”。毫無疑問，我們將記住20世紀的生活方式，盡管對其丑陋之處不得其解，但是，不管我們的子孫后代對我們離烏托邦的理想境界還差多遠感到有多么驚訝，他們的樣子會同我們差不了多少。