首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
考研
A Darwinian understanding of culture begins with the observation that the arts appear in every human society and yield intense d
A Darwinian understanding of culture begins with the observation that the arts appear in every human society and yield intense d
admin
2015-06-24
81
问题
A Darwinian understanding of culture begins with the observation that the arts appear in every human society and yield intense delight. When evolutionary psychologists detect those qualities, bells start ringing. Universal appearance of a behavior, for example, walking upright, sometimes leads scientists to infer that it evolved before our ancestors’ diaspora from Africa 60,000 years ago. Andintense pleasure is often how our genes encourage some advantageous behavior.【F1】
But where an upright manner of walking and a varied diet had obvious survival advantages for our forefathers, it’s far from clear that the same went for something as energy-consuming and apparently useless as the arts.
Denis Dutton, the author of a new book about creativity and evolution, sees evolution generating an art instinct in two ways. First, creative capacities would have helped our ancestors to survive in the hostile conditions of the Pleistocene, the epoch beginning 1.8 million years ago, during which Homo sapiens evolved in Africa【F2】
An ability to invent and absorb stories, for instance, would have helped early humans work out "what if" situations without risking their lives, pass along survival tips and build capacities for understanding other people around the campfire.
The best storytellers and best listeners would have had slightly greater odds of survival, giving future generations a higher percentage of good storytellers and listeners, and so on.
【F3】
Second, on those long, dull nights after the day’s hunting and/or gathering was done, a big vocabulary and a creative characteristic would have improved a man’s chances of pursuing a lover
—just as an amusing woman would have been more likely to entice the guy to stay. According to this view, which Dutton derives from the psychologist Geoffrey Miller, evolution turns the brain into "a gaudy, overpowered Pleistocene home-entertainment system" for winning and keeping lovers.
【F4】
Over the thousands of generations of our prehistory, then, the pressure from these two processes would have led to what Dutton calls the survival "not just of the physically strongest but of the cleverest, wittiest and wisest."
By the dawn of civilization 10,000 years ago, our ancestors’ brains would have been hard-wired to collaborate and use tools, as well as to create and enjoy art. Thus our tastes are not blank slates filled in entirely by our societies:【F5】
they are shaped in part by the distant ancestors whom we unknowingly take with us every time we go to the museum, the playhouse and the concert hall.
All in all, it’s a lovely vision. I just wish somebody could convince me that it’s true.
【F5】
选项
答案
它们的形成多少受到了我们远古祖先的影响,每当我们去博物馆、剧场或是音乐厅。他们总是和我们共在,尽管我们对此毫无察觉。
解析
we take…with us的字面意思是“我们随身带着……”,但我们不可能随身带着我们的祖先。原句表现的是一种抽象概念,所以我们也要尽量使用抽象的表达方式,如“他们和我们共在”。我们把unknowing出这个副词单独翻译成一个句子,如译文中的“尽管我们对此毫无察觉”,这就是化词为句法。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/r874777K
0
考研英语一
相关试题推荐
CaloriesandHumanHealthDieting,accordingtoanoldjoke,maynotactuallymakeyoulivelonger,butitsurefeelsthatw
【F1】Medicinetodayfocusesprimarilyondrugsandsurgery,genesandgerms,microbesandmolecules,yetloveandintimacyarea
Acommonplaceobservationofweatherfluctuatingbetweenasevereheatwaveandafairlycooldaymaybewhatdoomsustoclimat
ManyforeignerswhohavenotvisitedBritaincallalltheinhabitantsEnglish,fortheyareusedtothinkingoftheBritishIsle
ManyforeignerswhohavenotvisitedBritaincallalltheinhabitantsEnglish,fortheyareusedtothinkingoftheBritishIsle
ManyforeignerswhohavenotvisitedBritaincallalltheinhabitantsEnglish,fortheyareusedtothinkingoftheBritishIsle
ManyforeignerswhohavenotvisitedBritaincallalltheinhabitantsEnglish,fortheyareusedtothinkingoftheBritishIsle
Becauseagricultureissoimportanttoanation’swell-being,governmentshavealwaysbeenconcernedwithit.Forexample,theU
Temperamental,irritablekidshavedifficultyadaptingtoparentaldivorcebecauseAccordingtotheauthor,thereasonwhypare
随机试题
卡比多巴:金刚烷胺:
A.鳞状上皮被柱状上皮取代B.发生消化道溃疡C.二者均是D.二者均非(2002年第132题)Barrett溃疡是指
【2012年第57题】在钢筋混凝土结构抗震构件施工中,当需要以强度等级较高的钢筋替代原设计纵向受力钢筋时,以下说法错误的是:
下列施工过程中,由于占用施工对象的空间而直接影响工期,必须列入流水施工进度计划的有()。
消防给水系统主要由消防水源(市政管网、水池、水箱)、供水设施设备(消防水泵、消防增(稳)压设施、水泵接合器)和给水管网(阀门)等构成。其按水压分类,可分为低压消防给水系统、高压消防给水系统、稳高压消防给水系统和临时高压消防给水系统。其中,在消防给水系统管网
按照哈罗德的定义,自然增长率一定大于或者等于实际增长率。()
刘某未经王某的同意,擅自将王某空闲的房屋出租给张某。之后,王某连续3个月按月向张某收取房租,后王某认为该房的租金太低,要求提高房租,张某不同意,认为王某违约,而王某以未和张某订立合同,刘某无处分权为由,起诉至法院要求撤销该合同。法院予以支持。(
第一个系统地追踪研究儿童道德判断发展的心理学家是()。
EversinceMuzakstartedserenadingpatronsofhotelsandrestaurantsinthe1930s,piped-inmusichasbeenpartoftheconsumer
Itwastwoweeksbeforechristmas,andMrs.Smithwasverybusy.She41alotofchristmascardstosendtoherfriendsandher
最新回复
(
0
)