Are we getting more stupid? According to Gerald Crabtree, a scientist at Stanford University in the US, we are.
You may not want to hear this, but Crabtree believes that human intelligence reached its peak more than 2,000 years ago and ever since then has been going downhill. “If an average Greek from 1,000 BC were transported to modern times, he or she would be one of the brightest among us,” Crabtree told The Guardian.
At the heart of Crabtree’s thinking is a simple idea. In the past, intelligence was critical for survival when our ancestors had to avoid dangerous animals and hunt for food. The difference of being smart or stupid is often life or death. However, after the spread of agriculture, when our ancestors began to live in dense farming communities, the need to keep their intelligence in peak condition gradually reduced.
This is not hard to understand. Most of the time, pressure is what keeps us going – you need the pressure from your teachers to finish your homework; the pressure of looking pretty prompts(促使) you to lose weight when summer comes. And the same is also true of our intelligence – if we think less, we become less smart.
These mutations(變異) are harmful to our intelligence and they were all developed in the past 3,000 years. The other evidence that Crabtree holds is in our genes. He found that among the 2,000 to 5,000 genes that we have that determine human intelligence , there are two or more mutations in each of us.
However, Crabtree’s theory has been criticized by some who say that early humans may have better hunting and surviving abilities, but people today have developed a more diverse intelligence. For example, spearing a tiger doesn’t necessarily require more brainpower than playing chess or writing a poem. Moreover, the power of modern education means a lot more people have the opportunity to learn nowadays.
“You wouldn’t get Stephen Hawking 2,000 years ago. He just wouldn’t exist,” Thomas Hills of the University of Warwick, UK, told Live Science. “But now we have people of his intellectual capacity doing things and making insights(洞察力) that we would never have achieved in our environment of evolutionary adaptation.”
小題1:What is Crabtree’s recent finding according to the article? 
A．The Greeks from 1,000 BC could have been the smartest in human history.
B．Our ancient ancestors had no better surviving abilities than we do nowadays.
C．Humans have been getting steadily more intelligent since the invention of farming.
D．Mutations in genes that decide human intelligence have affected the development of intelligence.
小題2:According to Crabtree, ancient humans _______.
A．had much more genes that determine human intelligence
B．were forced to be smart due to natural selection pressures
C．relied more on group intelligence than individual intelligence
D．developed a diverse intelligence to adapt to the hard realities
小題3:Some argue that Crabtree’s theory is false because they think _______.
A．people today are under much more pressure than early humans
B．it’s ridiculous to compare a hunter’s and a poet’s intelligence
C．modern education is far more advanced than ancient education
D．human intelligence nowadays is different from that of the distant past
小題4:What is Thomas Hills’ attitude toward Crabtree’s theory?
A．SupportiveB．UnfavorableC．WorriedD．Confused

小題1:D
小題2:B
小題3:D
小題4:B  

試題分析：文章介紹了Crabtree最近的研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，現(xiàn)在的人類沒有以前聰明了，因?yàn)闆Q定人們基因的變異影響了智力的發(fā)展。但是這個(gè)觀點(diǎn)引起了爭(zhēng)論。
小題1:推理題：從第五段的句子：These mutations(變異) are harmful to our intelligence and they were all developed in the past 3,000 years. The other evidence that Crabtree holds is in our genes. He found that among the 2,000 to 5,000 genes that we have that determine human intelligence , there are two or more mutations in each of us.可知 Crabtree最近的研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，決定人們基因的變異影響了智力的發(fā)展。選D
小題2:細(xì)節(jié)題：從第三段的句子：In the past, intelligence was critical for survival when our ancestors had to avoid dangerous animals and hunt for food. The difference of being smart or stupid is often life or death.可知Crabtree古代的人是因?yàn)樽匀贿x擇的壓力被迫聰明，選 B
小題3:細(xì)節(jié)題：從倒數(shù)第二段的句子：However, Crabtree’s theory has been criticized by some who say that early humans may have better hunting and surviving abilities, but people today have developed a more diverse intelligence.可知現(xiàn)在人們的智力和遙遠(yuǎn)的過去是不一樣的，選D
小題4:推理題：從最后一段的句子：Thomas Hills of the University of Warwick, UK, told Live Science. “But now we have people of his intellectual capacity doing things and making insights(洞察力) that we would never have achieved in our environment of evolutionary adaptation.”可知 Thomas Hills 對(duì)Crabtree 的理論的態(tài)度是不支持的，選B
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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Last week I talked with some of my students about what they wanted to do after they graduated, and what kind of job prospects they thought they had.
Given that I teach students who are training to be doctors, I was surprised to find that most thought that they would not be able to get the jobs they wanted without “outside help”. “What kind of help is that?” I asked, expecting them to tell me that they would need a relative or family friend to help them out.
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At that point, I was shocked. I am short, I can’t deny that, but I don’t think I would put myself through months of agony(痛苦) just to be a few centimeters taller. I don’t even bother to wear shoes with thick soles, as I’m not trying to hide the fact that I am just not tall!
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No one is born perfect, yet magazines, TV shows and movies present images of thin, tall, beautiful people as being the norm. Advertisements for slimming aids, beauty treatments and cosmetic surgery clinics fill the pages of newspapers, further creating an idea that “perfection” is a requirement, and that it must be purchased, no matter what the cost.
In my opinion, skills, rather than appearance, should determine how successful a person is in his chosen career.
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A．a(chǎn) doctorB．a(chǎn) modelC．a(chǎn) teacherD．a(chǎn) reporter
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A．everyone should purchase perfection, whatever the cost
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B．Young Graduates Look to Surgery for Better Jobs
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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

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The effect of the celebrity role models, who have given cooking a more manly picture, has combined with a more general drive towards sexual equality and men now spend more than twice the amount of time preparing meals than they did in 1961.
According to the research by Prof. Jonatahn Gershuny, who runs the Centre for Time Research at Oxford, men now spend more than half an hour a day cooking, up from just 12 minutes a day in 1961.
Prof. Gershuny said, “The man in the kitchen is part of a much wider social trend. There has been 40 years of sexual equality, but there is another 40 years probably to come.”
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Some experts have named these men in aprons as “Gastrosexuals (men using cooking skills to impress friends)”, who have been inspired to pick up a kitchen knife by the success of Ramsay, Oliver as well as other male celebrity chefs such as Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Marco Pierre White and Keith Floyd.
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D．There is a sharp decline in the time men spend on cooking compared with 1961.
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C．It shouldn’t be advocated in modern times.
D．It is beneficial to the stability of the family.
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Travel Unaccompanied
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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

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A．generally people pulling back-to-back shifts in the ICU tell you they are busy
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C．a(chǎn)ll the kids are self-imposed due to the drive and motivation
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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

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B．behaves in a strange way
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A．Being late．
B．Being lazy．
C．Being hopeless．
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A．live a hard life
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a． popularity      b． satisfaction      c． good payment
d． self-confidence  e． higher positions  f． social acceptation 
A．a(chǎn); b; d; e B．b; c; e; fC．a(chǎn); c; d; fD．b; c; d; f

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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來源：不詳 題型：完形填空

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小題1:
A．idealB．perfectC．imaginativeD．satisfactory
小題2:
A．demeritsB．weaknessesC．insufficienciesD．restrictions
小題3:
A．cutB．shortC．lackingD．drain
小題4:
A．getting withB．getting along withC．getting byD．getting back
小題5:
A．improveB．proceedC．developD．enhance
小題6:
A．concernsB．issuesC．problemsD．merits
小題7:
A．stillB．a(chǎn)lwaysC．habituallyD．consequently
小題8:
A．call throughB．call overC．call onD．call out
小題9:
A．scarcelyB．lessC．littleD．sometimes
小題10:
A．littleB．muchC．a(chǎn)dequateD．enough
小題11:
A．neverthelessB．whileC．howeverD．or
小題12:
A．moderateB．hostileC．indifferentD．lenient
小題13:
A．a(chǎn)greementB．consensusC．compromiseD．deal
小題14:
A．continueB．commenceC．commendD．confirm
小題15:
A．seldomB．lessC．a(chǎn)bsolutelyD．likely
小題16:
A．a(chǎn)vailableB．a(chǎn)naccessto informationC．valuableD．a(chǎn)ccessible
小題17:
A．time-honoredB．similarC．humidD．conversant
小題18:
A．thoughB．whileC．sinceD．a(chǎn)s
小題19:
A．passionB．prudenceC．carelessnessD．concern
小題20:
A．sameB．equivalentC．equalD．similarity

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