1、专业英语八级（阅读）练习试卷 19及答案与解析 0 The problem with the nature-nurture debate is that this is an inadequate way of understanding human freedom. Like every other organism, humans are shaped by both nature and nurture. But unlike any other organism, we are also defined by our ability to transcend both, by our
2、capacity to overcome the constraints imposed both by our genetic and our cultural heritage. It is not that human beings have floated free of the laws of causation. It is rather that humans are not simply the passive end result of a chain of causes, whether natural or environmental. We have developed
3、 the capacity to intervene actively in both nature and culture, to shape both to our will. To put this another way, humans, uniquely, are subjects as well as objects. We are biological beings, and under the purview of biological and physical laws. But we are also conscious beings with purpose and ag
4、ency, traits the possession of which allow us to design ways of breaking the constraints of biological and physical laws. All non-human animals are constrained by the tools that nature has bequeathed them through natural selection, and by the environmental conditions in which they find themselves. N
5、o animal is capable of asking questions or generating problems that are irrelevant to its immediate circumstances or its evolutionarily designed needs. When a beaver builds a dam, it doesnt ask itself why it does so, or whether there is a better way of doing it. When a swallow flies south, it doesnt
6、 wonder why it is hotter in Africa or what would happen if it flew still further south. Humans do ask themselves these and many other kinds of questions questions that have no relevance, indeed make little sense, in the context of evolved needs and goals. What marks out humans is our capacity to go
7、beyond our naturally defined goals such as the need to find food, shelter or a mate and to establish human-created goals. Our evolutionary heritage certainly shapes the way that humans approach the world. But it does not limit it. Similarly, our cultural heritage influences the ways in which we thin
8、k about the world and the kinds of questions we ask of it, but it does not imprison them. If membership of a particular culture absolutely shaped our worldview, then historical change would never be possible: If the people of medieval Europe had been totally determined by the worldview sustained by
9、medieval European culture, it would not have been possible for that society to have become anything different. It would not have been possible, for instance, to have developed new ideas about individualism and materialism, or to have created new totals of technology and new political institutions. H
10、uman beings are not automata who simply respond blindly to whatever culture in which they find themselves, any more than they are automata that blindly respond to their evolutionary heritage. There is a tension between the way a culture shapes individuals within its purview and the way that those in
11、dividuals respond to that culture, just as there is a tension between the way natural selection shapes the way that humans think about the world and the way that humans respond to our natural heritage. This tension allows people to think critically and imaginatively, and to look beyond a particular
12、cultures horizons. In the six million years since the human and chimpanzee lines first diverged on either side of Africas Great Rift Valley, the behaviour and lifestyles of chimpanzees have barely changed. Human behaviour and lifestyles clearly have. Humans have learned to learn from previous genera
13、tions, to improve upon their work, and to establish a momentum to human life and culture that has taken us from cave art to quantum physics and to the unraveling of the genome. It is this capacity for constant innovation that distinguishes humans from all other animals. All animals have an evolution
14、ary past. Only humans make history. The historical, transformative quality of being human is why the so-called nature-nurture debate, while creating considerable friction, has thrown little light on what it means to be human. To understand human freedom we need to understand not so much whether we a
15、re creatures of nature or nurture, but how, despite being shaped by both nature and nurture, we are also able to transcend both. 1 Which of the following best expresses the theme of the passage? （ A） Human beings are cultural animals rather than natural animals. （ B） Human beings are neither natural
16、 nor cultural animals. （ C） Human beings are less susceptible to natural laws than non-human animals. （ D） Human beings are not bound by natural and cultural heritages. 2 A beaver builds a dam because _. （ A） it imitates human behavior （ B） it tries to find a better way of living （ C） dam-building i
17、s relevant to its evolved needs and goals （ D） a dam helps a beaver to go beyond its evolutionarily determined circumstances 3 We can infer that those who participate in the nature-nurture debate most probably _. （ A） ask questions that are unanswerable by either natural or cultural laws （ B） refuse
18、 to admit that humans are bound by natural or cultural laws （ C） are very skeptical about human cultural heritage （ D） subscribe to either biological or cultural determinism 3 I am standing under Hammersmith Bridge looking at something I have known all my life as a Londoner but am beginning to reali
19、se that I dont have a clue about. The River Thames has been here a lot longer than the city itself, but it has been keeping its secrets well hidden beneath those familiar muddy tones of green and brown. On a grey afternoon such as this one, the surface of the river is particularly unforgiving, and a
20、 tentative dip soon brings me close to fast-running water. This is the sort of stuff that carries people away to a watery doom and I dont want any part of that. But Im here with an open mind at this family beach party in Hammersmith, part of a series of events in South East Marine Week. It is not a
21、beach party in the traditional sense, needless to say, more an opportunity to get a little gentle education. I had been vaguely aware, over the past few years, that the river was getting cleaner all the time. Its very appearance, it appears, is deceptive, because its colour is a result of the natura
22、l silts which are constantly disturbed from the bottom. From being a river that supported no fish at all, it can now boast more than 100 different types. I was aware that the Thames occasionally played host to a well- publicised dolphin or seal, but this diversity was news to me. It is all the resul
23、t, I was informed, of the fact that the North Sea pours up the river twice a day, bringing with it all the teeming life of those salty depths. I took a deep breath and went for a light dredge with a net. The results didnt look like much at all, but when carefully sifted my sample was teeming with ti
24、ny shrimps, which are the basic foodstuff of the river, the tiny little fellows holding the key to the food chain, There were, thankfully, better fishermen here than me, and there was great excitement when someone captured a flounder. Granted, it was about an inch long, but the flounder was otherwis
25、e perfect in every detail. Further excitement was to follow, with the capture of the shell of a crab, but that did not last long. The shell belonged to a Chinese Mitten Crab-so-called because it appears to have mittens on its claws. Rachel Hill from the Environment Agency explained to me that it ate
26、 everything in its path, suffered no effective predators, and caused havoc by its habit of burrowing into the river banks, which are consequently being eroded. Furthermore, the fact that it was only a shell meant that somewhere not too far away the former occupant was going about its business only t
27、his time it would be bigger. This unwanted visitor, a delicacy in the restaurants of Chinatown, is here to stay. Further up the beach, enthusiastic volunteers were coping with another menace, this one of human making. The amount of rubbish on this relatively small stretch of the river was astonishin
28、g and depressing. There were the expected plastic bottles and hamburger cartons, tossed away carelessly by idiots. To my surprise, there was also the wheel from a car, complete with tyro. The most sinister items were also among the smallest: slim white sticks which looked as if they might have come
29、from a childs lollipop but are, in fact, cotton buds. The thought occurred that thousands of Londoners must come to the banks of the Thames each morning to clean out their ears. By the end of the afternoon, all this rubbish had been cleared away in a quite astonishing number of black bags, but it wo
30、uld have been better had it not been there in the first place. There was, however, great cause for optimism in the behaviour of the kids who were present. They huddled excitedly round microscopes to look at tiny shrimps and gobies transformed into fearsome-looking creatures. They listened intently a
31、s it was explained to them how important it was to keep the river clean. Even the very smallest who were painting their fishy face masks might have gone away with the idea that fish are a good thing and worth looking after. It occurred to me that if the grown-ups persist in behaving like human Chine
32、se Mitten Crabs, then it will be down to the coming generations to ensure that the good work which has already been done on this great river is not to be wasted. 4 The author wanted to find out _. （ A） what causes the muddy surface of the River Thames （ B） what children can learn about the history o
33、f the River Thames （ C） the diversity offish in the River Thames （ D） what was there under the River Thames 5 Which of the following poses a threat to the River Thames? （ A） Fish that come from the North Sea. （ B） Tiny shrimps. （ C） Flounders. （ D） Chinese Mitten Crabs. 6 Which of the following is N
34、OT true of the river Thames? （ A） It is not safe to swim in it. （ B） It looks dirtier than it really is. （ C） It is not clean enough to support a large variety offish. （ D） It is used by some people as a kind of dumping ground. 7 How does the author feel about the condition of the River Thames? （ A）
35、 Worried but hopeful. （ B） Pessimistic. （ C） Uncaring and indifferent. （ D） Extremely satisfied. 专业英语八级（阅读）练习试卷 19答案与解析 【知识模块】 阅读 1 【正确答案】 D 【试题解析】 该文的主题通过主题句 (thesis sentence)来表达 (分别出现在第 1段第 3句和最后一段最后一句 )。因此，选项 D为正确答案。 【知识模块】 阅读 2 【正确答案】 C 【试题解析】 根据第 4、 5段，其他动物受到自然选择所带来的工具和环境的束缚；没有动物能够超脱周围的环境和进化所决定
36、的需求来做一些不相干的事情，如探索问题等。例如河狸在筑坝时，它没有问自己为什么要这样做以及是否有更好的方法。因此，选项 C为正确答案。 【知识模块】 阅读 3 【正确答案】 D 【试题解析】 根据最后一段，有关先天还是后天的争论主要是关于人类是由先天决定的还是由后天决定的，因此争论的双方要么赞同生理 (先天 )决定开始，要么赞同文化 (后天 )决定一切。因此选项 D为正确答案。 【知识模块】 阅读 【知识模块】 阅读 4 【正确答案】 D 【试题解析】 在第 1段第 2句，作者说泰晤士河下总是藏着什么秘密，而且文章主要是关于从河底打捞上来的东西和它们的意义。选项 D为正确答案。 【知识模块】
37、阅读 5 【正确答案】 D 【试题解析】 根据第 3段后半 部分， Chinese Mitten Crab在河岸掘洞，使河岸松动。因此选项 D为正确答案。 【知识模块】 阅读 6 【正确答案】 C 【试题解析】 选项 A不是答案：根据第 1段最后两句，泰晤士河水流湍急，在这儿游泳有溺水身亡的危险；选项 B不是答案：根据第 2段第 4句，河水看上去浑浊是因为河底淤泥泛上河面的结果；选项 C是答案；根据第 2段最后几句，泰晤士河内现在有 100多种鱼类；选项 D不是答案；根据第 4段，从河底打捞上来的是人们扔进河里的垃圾。因此，该题答案应选 C。 【知识模块】 阅读 7 【正确答案】 A 【试题解析】 根据最后一段，作者感到还有希望，因为孩子们对保护鱼类感兴趣；如果成年人不停止他们的破坏行为，保护泰晤士河的任务将落在未来几代人的身上。可见作者对未来还是抱有希望。选项 A为正确答案。 【知识模块】 阅读
