Judith S. Weis, a biology professor who serves as ² president of the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) is leading a nationwide effort to “defend，，the theory of evolution. Weis leads the effort in the face of what the institute views as opposition and indifference from school boards and government entities ³.

    The Institute believes that the teaching of evolution in Americais being diminished by the teaching of creationism as well as by an overall lack of teachingDarwin"s ⁴ theory in high school. "There"s nothing that requires schools to teach evolution. Sometimes teachers in high schools just leave it out ⁵ . However, from the point of view of biologists, evolution is the central theory of biology upon which everything is based," said Weis. "Unfortunately, teaching evolution has become a political issue in many parts of the country and AIBS, as a representative of biologists, wanted to be a major force speaking out in favor of its teaching." ⁶

    Weis said the institute is working together with the American Geological Institute and the National Association of Biology Teachers and its 80-plus member organizations ⁷ to address ⁸ the political and legislative threats to teaching evolution. In states challenging its teaching, the institute responds by sending letters to school boards and state legislatures, by providing testimony at public meetings and by notifying members and affiliated organizations. AIBS, with more than 80 member societies and 250,000 members, has established an e-mail system enabling scientists and teachers in each state, and member societies, to keep each other informed about threats to the teaching of evolution.

    Darwin"s theory of evolution holds that living things change and adapt to their environment and that present-day species (including human beings) are descended from earlier species through modification by natural selection. The theory has been accepted by scientists for nearly 100 years, Weis said, and has been refined, extended and strengthened over the years by findings in paleontology and developmental biology.

    Discoveries in genetics, molecular biology ⁹ and genomics — all of which provide significant benefits for human health — would not be possible without the underlying ¹⁰ knowledge of evolution. And, Weis adds, "modern molecular biology and genomics have increased our understanding of how evolution works." Nonetheless, evolution remains a politically, if not scientifically, controversial issue.

    Weis said that this year alone, seven states have had either local or statewide efforts to water down ¹¹ the teaching of evolution, or "balance" it with the teaching of creationism 一 a religious belief that different species were created separately by a higher power, such as God. "Rarely does anyone now use the word ‘creationism，，because that"s too obvious," Weis said. "The current terminology is ‘intelligent design.

词汇：

creationism /krii"eijenizam/ n.神仓论

legislature /"ledgisleitja/ n.立法机关

affiliated organization 附属机构

refine/n"fain/v.精炼，提纯;改进

paleontology [ˌpælɪɒn"tɒlədʒɪ] n.古生物学

genetics /dji"netiks/ n.遗传

genomics [dʒə"nəʊmɪks] n.基因学 terminology [ˌtɜ:mɪ"nɒlədʒɪ]   n.术语

注释：

1.the theory of evolution:进化论

2.serve as:担任

3. Weis leads the effort in the face of what the institute views as opposition and indifference fromschool boards and govemment entities.研究所看到了来自学校董事会和政府部门的反对和冷漠，尽管如此，Weis仍然带领大家为捍卫进化论而努力。in the face of:意为“despite the opposition of”（不管，不顾）。

entity：实体。business entity:企业单位，营业单位。

4.Darwin:达尔文(1809-1882)，英国博物学家，进化论创始人。

5. leave it out:忽略，遗漏

6.speak out in favor of its teaching:为进化论教育而疾呼speak out:大胆地说，大声地说in favor of:in support of支持；赞同

7. 80-plus member organizations:80多个会员组织。plus:超过的，略大的，例如：All the children here are 10 plus.这些孩子年龄都在10岁或10岁以上。Her mark was B plus。她的分数是B+。

8.address:意为“to deal with”（处理，解决，对付）。例如：to address the issue of terrorist attack:对付__的问题

9.molecular biology:分子生物学

10. underlying:意为“basic；fundamental”（基础的；基本的）。

11. water down:冲淡，掺水，打折扣

Which one of the following is NOT the reason for an overall lack of teaching Darwin"s--theory?

A:Teaching of creationism diminishes teaching of evolution B:Teachers are not required to teach Darwin"s theory C:Teachers often leave out the teaching of evolution D:Darwin"s theory is denied as the central theory of biology

Text 3
People have wondered for a long time how their personalities and behaviors are formed, h is not easy to explain why one person is intelligent and another is not, or why one is cooperative and another is competitive.
Social scientists are, of course, extremely interested in these types of questions. They want to explain why we possess certain characteristics and exhibit certain behaviors. There are no clear answers yet, but two distinct schools of thought on the matter have developed. As one might expect, the two approaches are very different from one another, and there is a great deal of debate between proponents of each theory. The controversy is often referred to as "nature/nurture".
Those who support the "nature" side of the conflict believe that our personalities and behavior patterns are largely determined by biological and genetic factors. That our environment has little, if anything, to do with our abilities, characteristics, and behavior is central to this theory. Taken to an extreme, this theory maintains that our behavior is predetermined to such a degree that we are almost completely governed by our instincts.
Proponents of the "nurture "theory, or, as they are often called, behaviorists, claimed that our environment is more important than our biologically based instincts in determining how we will act. A behaviorist, B. F. Skinner sees humans as beings whose behavior is almost completely shaped by their surroundings. The behaviorists’ view of the human being is quite mechanistic; they maintain that, like machines, humans respond to environmental stimuli as the basis of their behavior.
Either of these theories cannot yet fully explain human behavior. In fact, it is quite likely that the key to our behavior lies somewhere between these two extremes. That the controversy will continue for a long time is certain.

A:supports the nature theory B:supports the nurture theory C:believes both are completely wrong D:thinks that the correct explanation of human behavior will take ideas from both theories

FOR the past two years in Silicon Valley, the centre of America’s technology industry, conference-goers have entertained themselves playing a guessing game: how many times will a speaker mention the phrase "long tail" It is usually a high number, thanks to the influence of the long tail theory, which was first developed by Chris Anderson, the editor of Wired magazine, in an article in 2004. Though technologists and bloggers chuckle at how every business presentation now has to have its long-tail section, most are envious of Mr Anderson, whose brainwave quickly became the most fashionable business idea around.
Whether a blockbuster film, a bestselling novel, or a chart-topping rap song, popular culture idolizes the hit. Companies devote themselves to creating them because the cost of distribution and the limits of shelf space in physical shops mean that profitability depends on a high volume of sales. But around the beginning of this century a group of internet companies realized that with endless shelves and a national or even international audience online they could offer a huge range of products—and make money at the same time.
The niche, the obscure and the specialist, Mr Anderson argues, will gain ground at the expense of the hit. As evidence, he points to a drop in the number of companies that traditionally calculate their revenue/sales ratio according to the 80/20 rule—where the top fifth of products contribute four-fifths of revenues. Ecast, a San Francisco digital jukebox company, found that 98% of its 10,000 albums sold at least one track every three months. Expressed in the language of statistics, the experiences of Ecast and other companies such as Amazon, an online bookseller, suggest that products down in the long tail of a statistical distribution, added together, can be highly profitable. The internet helps people find their way to relatively obscure material with recommendations and reviews by other people and (for those willing to have their artistic tastes predicted by a piece of software) computer programs which analyze past selections.
Long-tail enthusiasts argue that the whole of culture will benefit, not just commercial enterprises. Television, film and music are such bewitching media in their own right that many people are quite happy to watch and listen to what the mainstream provides. But if individuals have the opportunity to pick better, more ideally suited entertainment from a far wider selection, they will take it, according to the theory of the long tail. Some analysts reckon that entire populations might become happier and wiser once they have access to thousands of documentaries, independent films and sub-genres of every kind of music, instead of being subjected to what Mr Anderson calls the tyranny of lowest-common-denominator fare. That might be taking things a bit far. But the long tail is certainly one of the internet’s better gifts to humanity.
Which of the following is the best title for the text

A:The Formulation of the Long Tail Theory B:What the Long Tail Theory Will Do C:The Long Tail Theory VS. The 80/20 Rule D:The Decline of the Popular Culture

Text 3 People have wondered for a long time how their personalities and behaviors are formed, h is not easy to explain why one person is intelligent and another is not, or why one is cooperative and another is competitive. Social scientists are, of course, extremely interested in these types of questions. They want to explain why we possess certain characteristics and exhibit certain behaviors. There are no clear answers yet, but two distinct schools of thought on the matter have developed. As one might expect, the two approaches are very different from one another, and there is a great deal of debate between proponents of each theory. The controversy is often referred to as "nature/nurture". Those who support the "nature" side of the conflict believe that our personalities and behavior patterns are largely determined by biological and genetic factors. That our environment has little, if anything, to do with our abilities, characteristics, and behavior is central to this theory. Taken to an extreme, this theory maintains that our behavior is predetermined to such a degree that we are almost completely governed by our instincts. Proponents of the "nurture "theory, or, as they are often called, behaviorists, claimed that our environment is more important than our biologically based instincts in determining how we will act. A behaviorist, B. F. Skinner sees humans as beings whose behavior is almost completely shaped by their surroundings. The behaviorists’ view of the human being is quite mechanistic; they maintain that, like machines, humans respond to environmental stimuli as the basis of their behavior. Either of these theories cannot yet fully explain human behavior. In fact, it is quite likely that the key to our behavior lies somewhere between these two extremes. That the controversy will continue for a long time is certain.

A:supports the nature theory B:supports the nurture theory C:believes both are completely wrong D:thinks that the correct explanation of human behavior will take ideas from both theories

FOR the past two years in Silicon Valley, the centre of America’s technology industry, conference-goers have entertained themselves playing a guessing game: how many times will a speaker mention the phrase "long tail" It is usually a high number, thanks to the influence of the long tail theory, which was first developed by Chris Anderson, the editor of Wired magazine, in an article in 2004. Though technologists and bloggers chuckle at how every business presentation now has to have its long-tail section, most are envious of Mr Anderson, whose brainwave quickly became the most fashionable business idea around.
Whether a blockbuster film, a bestselling novel, or a chart-topping rap song, popular culture idolizes the hit. Companies devote themselves to creating them because the cost of distribution and the limits of shelf space in physical shops mean that profitability depends on a high volume of sales. But around the beginning of this century a group of internet companies realized that with endless shelves and a national or even international audience online they could offer a huge range of products—and make money at the same time.
The niche, the obscure and the specialist, Mr Anderson argues, will gain ground at the expense of the hit. As evidence, he points to a drop in the number of companies that traditionally calculate their revenue/sales ratio according to the 80/20 rule—where the top fifth of products contribute four-fifths of revenues. Ecast, a San Francisco digital jukebox company, found that 98% of its 10,000 albums sold at least one track every three months. Expressed in the language of statistics, the experiences of Ecast and other companies such as Amazon, an online bookseller, suggest that products down in the long tail of a statistical distribution, added together, can be highly profitable. The internet helps people find their way to relatively obscure material with recommendations and reviews by other people and (for those willing to have their artistic tastes predicted by a piece of software) computer programs which analyze past selections.
Long-tail enthusiasts argue that the whole of culture will benefit, not just commercial enterprises. Television, film and music are such bewitching media in their own right that many people are quite happy to watch and listen to what the mainstream provides. But if individuals have the opportunity to pick better, more ideally suited entertainment from a far wider selection, they will take it, according to the theory of the long tail. Some analysts reckon that entire populations might become happier and wiser once they have access to thousands of documentaries, independent films and sub-genres of every kind of music, instead of being subjected to what Mr Anderson calls the tyranny of lowest-common-denominator fare. That might be taking things a bit far. But the long tail is certainly one of the internet’s better gifts to humanity.

A:The Formulation of the Long Tail Theory B:What the Long Tail Theory Will Do C:The Long Tail Theory VS. The 80/20 Rule D:The Decline of the Popular Culture

{{B}}第三篇{{/B}}

A:Government entities support AIBS’s effort to defend the theory of evolution. B:School boards oppose AIBS’s effort to defend the theory of evolution. C:AIBS and school boards advocate the teaching of the theory of evolution. D:The theory of evolution and that of creationism co-exist peacefully in schools.

{{B}}第三篇{{/B}}

A:Teaching of creationism diminishes teaching of evolution. B:Teachers are not required to teach Darwin’s theory. C:teachers often leave out the teaching of evolution. D:Darwin’s theory is denied as the central theory of biology.