雅思阅读(达尔文).docxVIP

Darwin’s Theory of EvolutionMost educated people in Europe and the Americas during the 19th century had their first full?exposure（暴露、公开）?to the concept of evolution through the writings of Charles Darwin. Clearly, Darwin did not invent（发明、创造） the idea which had happened long before he was born. However, he carried out the necessary research to conclusively（令人信服的，确凿的）?document that evolution has occurred and then made the idea acceptable?for scientists and the general public.?This was not easy since the idea of evolution had been strongly associated with?radical（根本的，基本的）?scientific and political views coming out of post-revolutionary France and hence was widely considered to be a threat to the?established?social and political order.Darwin was influenced by observations made during his youthful voyage（旅行，航海，远行，旅程） as naturalist（自然主义者） on the survey ship Beagle. On the Galapagos Islands（加拉帕戈斯群岛） he noticed the slight?variations（变化）?that made tortoises from different islands?recognizably（可被认识地，可辨别地） distinct. He also observed a whole array of unique finches（雀科鸣鸟）, the famous “Darwin’s finches”（达尔文地雀）, that exhibited（陈列，展览，表现，显示） slight differences from island to island. In addition, they all appeared to?resemble（与…相像，类似于）, but differ from, the common finch on the mainland（大陆，本土） of Ecuador（厄瓜多尔）, 600 miles to the east. Patterns in the?distribution?and similarity of organisms（有机物，有机体，生物）had an important influence of Darwin’s thinking.Darwin’s theory of evolution?entails（牵涉，需要，使必要）?the following fundamental ideas. Firstly, species change over time and space. The representatives（代表） of species living today differ from those that lived in the recent past, and populations in different?geographic?regions today differ slightly in form or behavior.?Secondly, all organisms share common?ancestors（祖先）?with other organisms.?Over time（随着时间的过去）, populations may?diverge（分开、偏离）?into different species which share a common ancestral（祖先的） population.?This means far enough back in time（足够早