托福阅读tpo30R-2原文+译文+题目+答案+背景知识.pdf

托福阅读tpo30R-2原文+译文+题目+答案+背景知识

原文1

译文4

题目7

答案15

背景知识16

原文

ThePaceofEvolutionaryChange

①Aheateddebatehasenlivenedrecentstudiesofevolution.Darwins

originalthesis,andtheviewpointsupportedbyevolutionarygradualists,

isthatspecieschangecontinuouslybutslowlyandinsmallincrements.

Suchchangesareallbutinvisibleovertheshorttimescaleofmodern

observations,and,itisargued,theyareusuallyobscuredbyinnumerable

gapsintheimperfectfossilrecord.Gradualism,withitsstressonthe

slowpaceofchange,isacomfortingposition,repeatedoverandover

againingenerationsoftextbooks.Bytheearlytwentiethcentury,the

questionabouttherateofevolutionhadbeenansweredinfavorof

1

gradualismtomostbiologistssatisfaction.

②Sometimesaclosedquestionmustbereopenedasnewevidenceor

newargumentsbasedonoldevidencecometolight.In1972

paleontologistStephenJayGouldandNilesEldredgechallenged

conventionalwisdomwithanopposingviewpoint,thepunctuated

equilibriumhypothesis,whichpositsthatspeciesgiverisetonewspecies

inrelativelysuddenbursts,withoutalengthytransitionperiod.These

episodesofrapidevolutionareseparatedbyrelativelylongstaticspans

duringwhichaspeciesmayhardlychangeatall.

③Thepunctuatedequilibriumhypothesisattemptstoexplainacurious

featureofthefossilrecordonethathasbeenfamiliarto

paleontologistformorethanacenturybuthasusuallybeenignored.

Manyspeciesappeartoremainunchangedinthefossilrecordfor

millionsofyearsasituationthatseemstobeatoddswithDarwins

modelofcontinuouschange.Intermediatedfossilforms,predictedby

gradualism,aretypicallylacking.Inmostlocalitiesagivenspeciesofclam

orcoralpersistsessentiallyunchangedthroughoutathickformationof

rock,onlytobereplacedsuddenly