Charles Darwin (1809-1882) was an English naturalist and biologist. As a boy, Darwin cllected anything that caught his interest insects, coins and interesting stones. Darwin was not very clever, but he was good at doing the things that interested him.
His father was a doctor, so Darwin was sent to Edinburgh to study medicine, and was planned to follow a medical career. But Charles found the lectures were very boring. Then his father sent him to Cambridge University to study to be a priest. While at Cambridge, Darwin' s interest in zoology and geography grew. Later he got a letter from Robert FitzRoy who was planning to make a voyage around the world on a ship, the Beagle. He wanted a naturalist to join the ship, and Darwin was recommendeD.That voyage was the start of Darwin' s great life.
As the Beagle sailed around the world, Darwin began to wonder how life had developed on earth. He began to observe everything. After he went back home, he set to work, getting his collections in order.
His first great work The Zoology of the Beagle was well received, but he was slow to make public his ideas on the origins of life. He was certainly very worried about disagreeing with the accepted views of the Church.
Hapily, the naturalists at Cambridge persuaded Darwin that he must make his ideas publiC.So Darwin and Wallace, another naturalist who had the same opinions as Darwin, produced a paper together.
A year later Darwin's great book On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection appeareD.It ttracted a storm. People thought that Darwin was saying they were descended from monkeys. What a shameful idea!
Although most scientists agreed that Darwin was right, the Church was still so strong that Darwin never received any honors for his work.
Afterwards, he published another great work, The Descent of Man. His health grew worse, but he still workeD."When I have to give up observation, I shall die," he saiD.He was still working on 17 April, 1882. He was dead two days later.
Darwin' s theory of evolution is that all life is related and has originated from the common ancestor. Birds and bananas, fish and flowers - all is relateD.Darwin' s general theory presumes the development of life from non-life and stresses a purely naturalistic "descent with modification" . That is, complex creatures evolve from simple ancestors naturally over time. In a nutshell, as random genetic mutations occur within an organism' s genetic code, the beneficial changes are passed on to the next generation. Over time, these changes accumulate and the result is an entirely different organism.
Ancient Greek philosophers such as Anaximander postulated the development of life from non-life and the evolutionary descent of man from animals. Charles Darwin simply brought something new to the old philosophy -a plausible mechanism clled "natural election. Suppose a member developed a functional advantage (it grew wings and learmned to fly), its ofpring would inherit that advantage and pass it on to their offspring. The inferior members of the same species would gradually die out, leaving only the superior members of the species.
Natural selection is the reservation of a functional advantage that enables a species to compete better in the world.
Charles Darwin' s theory has made an enormous impact on the worlD.It has aroused controversy, while at the same time creating a new form. of scientific thought. The greatest controversy involves Darwinism' s clashing views with creationism. Creationism is the broad range of beliet involving God' s intervention, which also explains the origin of the universe, life, and different kinds of plants and animals on earth.
Darwin' s theory also has great influence on modern science. His theory of evolution by natural selection has provided us with a possible answer to where we came from. It gives new meanings to professions such as anthropology and genetics.
46. Which of the following is NOT true about young Darwin?
A.His father wanted him to work at church.
B.He was sent to Cambridge to study zoology.
C.He liked to cllect interesting things.
D.Darwin was not very clever when he was young.
47. Darwin' s father sent him to Edinburgh to.
A.make him like natural history
B.have him give up his cllctin
C.let him change his hobbies
D.make him become a doctor
48. According to the passage, Charles Darwin' s whole life was changed by_
A.his study at Cambridge University
B.his cllection of coins
C.the ntulits at Cambridge
D.the voyage of the Beagle
49.What happened when Darwin published his first great work The Zoology of the Beagle?
A.He wrote a research paper on the origin of lite and published at once.
B.He received criticism from the naturalists at Cambridge.
C.He hesitated and did not show his opinions to the public immediately.
D The naturalists at Cambridge persuaded him to comprise with the church.
50. Why did Darwin never receive an honor?
A.Because the Church held strong disagreement with him.
B.Because his achievements are not significant enough.
C.Because the goverment didn' t like his opinions.
D.Because he would not accept any honors for his work.
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