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  3. Researchers at the University of California-Berkeley are challenging our long-held belief that humans are hard-wired to be selfi

Researchers at the University of California-Berkeley are challenging our long-held belief that humans are hard-wired to be selfi

admin2012-07-11  63
问题     Researchers at the University of California-Berkeley are challenging our long-held belief that humans are hard-wired to be selfish. Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection was misinterpreted by his male popularizers, the researchers say. Rather than "every man for himself," Darwin believed that humans are successful as a species precisely because of our nurturing, selfless and compassionate traits.
    Why has it taken so long for Darwin’s central revelation to be properly interpreted? "We’ve had too many men in social science," Berkeley psychology professor Dacher Keltner told me in an interview. " Female scientists acknowledge that ’ fight or flight’ is part of human nature, but so is caring for people. " This is no touchy-feely feminist theory. Hard science is showing how the human capacity to care is wired into our brains and nervous systems.
    In my book Passages in Caregiving, I urge women who assume the whole responsibility for taking care of an elderly parent or chronically ill spouse to build a Circle of Care. Reach out to your brothers and sisters,friends,neighbors and community volunteers to help you care,because no one can perform this overwhelming role alone. You will be as stunned as I to learn how the most selfless caregivers are rewarded with greater longevity. Stephanie Brown, associate professor of preventive medicine at SUNY-Stony Brook, followed a group of older adults caring for family members with dementia (痴呆) and other illnesses. If they offered care more than 14 hours a week, they were less likely to die in a seven-year period than their peers.
    "Survival of the Kindest" is not just a theory. It is becoming a revolutionary cultural movement. There are many signs that caring is gaining currency. Keltner,who has been studying the science of this instinct for 15 years, says we are coming to the end of our cycle of greed. Berkeley and Stanford universities now have compassion centers devoted to the study and teaching of this theory. It will run up against hostility among the Hobbseians. Ayn Rand wrote, " If any civilization is to survive, it is the morality of selfishness that men have to reject. " As Americans,we have a cultural bias against caring.
    Oh, sure, we give our families gifts generously during the holiday season, but in a capitalist system based on unrestrained competition, we worry that if we care, we lose. Compassion is a woman’s word. In men, it’s cast as weak, when in fact it makes us stronger under stress and more highly respected by our peers. For so long we have repeated the careless saying " Nice guys finish last. " But the 40 richest Americans who took the Giving Pledge to commit half their fortunes to doing good are no spring chickens. Here is my reinterpretation: Nice guys die last.
What does the author mean by "Survival of the Kindest" (Line 1 ,Para. 4) ?
选项 A、It is a slogan of a certain cultural movement.
B、The rejection of the selfishness can survive the civilization.
C、The kindness can eliminate the greedy nature.
D、The kind person can avoid the damage from accidents.
答案B
解析 语义理解题。题干询问作者提出的“善者生存”是什么意思。文中第四段中指出“善者生存”不仅仅是理论，正成为一项划时代的文化运动。如果一种文明要存活下去，人们必然要摒弃自私自利的德行。B)“拒绝自私才能使文明得以存活”为原文第四段第六句的同义转述，故为本题答案。A)“这是一场文化运动的口号”，原文中提到“善者生存”正成为一项划时代的文化运动，是作者对于这一理论未来的发展趋势的预测，而不是说它是具体某一场文化运动的口号，故排除；C)“善良能消除贪婪的本性”与原文不符，故排除；D)“善良的人能避免事故的伤害”，此选项是字面含义，而非作者观点，故排除。
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