托福09.docx

托福09.docx

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托福09

Spaceisthefinalfrontierforevolution,studyclaims

加入收藏  【大中小】  [2010-8-27]

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　达尔文的进化理论认为，生物间的不断竞争，优胜劣汰是促使进化的主要动力，而根据最近英国布里斯托尔大学研究小组认为，有合理的“生存空间”才是促使进化的关键。

　　CharlesDarwinmayhavebeenwrongwhenhearguedthatcompetitionwasthemajordrivingforceofevolution.

　　Heimaginedaworldinwhichorganismsbattledforsupremacyandonlythefittestsurvived.

　　Butnewresearchidentifiestheavailabilityof"livingspace",ratherthancompetition,asbeingofkeyimportanceforevolution.

　　Findingsquestiontheoldadageof"natureredintoothandclaw".

　　ThestudyconductedbyPhDstudentSardaSahneyandcolleaguesattheUniversityofBristolispublishedinBiologyLetters.

　　Theresearchteamusedfossilstostudyevolutionarypatternsover400millionyearsofhistory.

　　Focusingonlandanimals-amphibians,reptiles,mammalsandbirds-thescientistsshowedthattheamountofbiodiversitycloselymatchedtheavailabilityof"livingspace"throughtime.

　　Livingspace-moreformallyknownasthe"ecologicalnicheconcept"bybiologists-referstotheparticularrequirementsofanorganismtothrive.Itincludesfactorsliketheavailabilityoffoodandafavourablehabitat.

　　'Luckybreak'

　　Thenewstudyproposesthatreallybigevolutionarychangeshappenwhenanimalsmoveintoemptyareasoflivingspace,notoccupiedbyotheranimals.

　　Forexample,whenbirdsevolvedtheabilitytofly,thatopenedupavastrangeofnewpossibilitiesnotavailabletootheranimals.Suddenlytheskieswerequiteliterallythelimit,triggeringanewevolutionaryburst.

　　Similarly,theextinctionofthedinosaursleftareasoflivingspacewideopen,givingmammalstheirluckybreak.

　　Thisconceptchallengestheideathatintensecompetitionforresourcesinovercrowdedhabitatsisthemajordrivingforceofevolution.

　　ProfessorMikeBenton,aco-authoronthestudy,explainedthat"competitiondidnotplayabigroleintheoverallpatternofevolution".

　　"Forexample,eventhoughmammalslivedbesidedinosaursfor60millionyears,theywerenotabletoout-competethedominantreptiles.Butwhenthedinosaurswentextinct,mammalsquicklyfilledtheemptynichestheyleftandtodaymammalsdominatetheland,"hetoldBBCNews.

Alternativeview

　　However,ProfessorStephenStearns,anevolutionarybiologistatYaleUniversity,US,toldBBCNewshe"foundthepatternsinteresting,buttheinterpretationproblematic".

　　Heexplained:

"Togiveoneexample,ifthereptileshadnotbeencompetitivelysuperiortothemammalsduringtheMesozoic（era）,thenwhydidthemammalsonlyexpandafterthelargereptileswentextinctattheendoftheMesozoic?

"

　　"Andingeneral,whatistheimpetustooccupynewportionsofecologicalspaceifnottoavoidcompetitionwiththespeciesinthespacealreadyoccupied?

"

Neversellyoursoul不要出卖灵魂

加入收藏  【大中小】  [2010-8-30]

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又到一年毕业季，你准备好踏入社会的大门了吗?

你设想过自己将要成为什么样的人吗?

当人们向惠普公司前CEO卡莉·费奥瑞娜询问职业生涯的意见时，她常常告诉大家，不要放弃你的内在本性，千万不要出卖你的灵魂，因为没有人能够支付得起。

　　Myfellowjobseekers:

IamhonoredtobeamongthefirsttocongratulateyouoncompletingyouryearsatNorthCarolinaA&T.Butallofyoushouldknow:

asMother'sDaygiftsgo,thisoneisgoingtobetoughtobeatintheyearsahead.

　　Thepurposeofacommencementspeakeristodispensewisdom.ButtheolderIget,themoreIrealizethatthemostimportantwisdomI'velearnedinlifehascomefrommymotherandmyfather.Beforewegoanyfurther,let'shearitonemoretimeforyourmothersandmotherfigures,fathersandfatherfigures,family,andfriendsintheaudiencetoday.

　　WhenIfirstreceivedtheinvitationtospeakhere,IwastheCEOofan$80billionFortune11companywith145,000employeesin178countriesaroundtheworld.Iheldthatjobfornearlysixyears.ItwasalsoacompanythathireditsfairshareofgraduatesfromNorthCarolinaA&T.Youcouldalwaystellwhotheywere.Forsomereason,theyweretheonesthathadstickersontheirdesksthatread,"BeattheEagles."

　　Butasyoumayhaveheard,Idon'thavethatjobanymore.Afterthenewsofmydeparturebroke,Icalledtheschool,andasked:

doyoustillwantmetocomeandbeyourcommencementspeaker?

　　ChancellorRenickputmyfearstorest.Hesaid,"Carly,ifanything,youprobablyhavemoreincommonwiththesestudentsnowthanyoudidbefore."Andhe'sright.Afterall,I'vebeenworkingonmyresume.I'vebeenliningupmyreferences.Iboughtanewinterviewsuit.Ifthereareanyrecruitershere,I'llbefreearound11.

　　Iwanttothankyouforhavingmeanyway.ThisisthefirstpublicappearanceI'vemadesinceIleftHP.IwantedverymuchtobeherebecausethisschoolhasalwaysbeensetapartbysomethingthatI'vebelievedverydeeply;somethingthattakesmebacktotheearliestmemoriesIhaveinlife.

　　Onedayatchurch,mymothergavemeasmallcoasterwithasayingonit.Duringmyentirechildhood,Ikeptthissayinginfrontofmeonasmalldeskinmyroom.Infact,Icanstillshowyouthatcoastertoday.Itsays:

"WhatyouareisGod'sgifttoyou.WhatyoumakeofyourselfisyourgifttoGod."

Thosewordshavehadahugeimpactonmetothisday.WhatthisschoolandIbelieveinverydeeplyisthatwhenwethinkaboutourlives,weshouldn'tbelimitedbyotherpeople'sstereotypesorbigotry.Instead,weshouldbemotivatedbyourownsenseofpossibility.Weshouldbemotivatedbyourownsenseofaccomplishment.Weshouldbemotivatedbywhatwebelievewecanbecome.JesseJacksonhastaughtus;RonaldMcNairtaughtus;theGreensboroFourtaughtus;thatthepeoplewhofocusonpossibilitiesachievemuchmoreinlifethanpeoplewhofocusonlimitations.

　　Thequestionforallofyoutodayis:

howwillyoudefinewhatyoumakeofyourself?

　　Tome,whatyoumakeofyourselfisactuallytwoquestions.There'sthe"you"thatpeopleseeontheoutside.Andthat'showmostpeoplewilljudgeyou,becauseit'salltheycanseewhatyoubecomeinlife,whetheryouweremadePresidentofthis,orCEOofthat,thevisibleyou.

　　Butthen,there'stheinvisibleyou,the"you"ontheinside.That'sthepersonthatonlyyouandGodcansee.For25years,whenpeoplehaveaskedmeforcareeradvice,whatIalwaystellthemisdon'tgiveupwhatyouhaveinside.Neversellyoursoul.Becausenoonecaneverpayyouback.

　　WhatImeanbynotsellingyoursoulisdon'tbesomeoneyou'renot,don'tbelessthanyouare,don'tgiveupwhatyoubelieve,becausewhatevertheconsequencesthatmayseemscaryorbad--whatevertheconsequencesofstayingtruetoyourselfare--theyaremuchbetterthantheconsequencesofsellingyoursoul.

Pakistanistoobrokentorebuildinfloodcrisis

加入收藏  【大中小】  [2010-8-31]

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进入夏季以来，我们的邻国巴基斯坦国内各地普降大雨，遭遇了80年来最大的洪涝灾害，导致数千人死亡，百万人流离失所。

直到现在，巴基斯坦许多地区人民还因为缺少生活必需品和经济援助而无法重建家园。

　　Shah-e-Roondoesn'thavetheenergy,moneyorsupportfromPakistan'sgovernmenttohelpMadyanrecoverfromfloodsthatdecimatedthesmalltownnearlyamonthago.

　　Hehasbeenwalkingfortwodayswitha20-kg（44lb）sackofwheatonhisback.Foodshortagescausedbythedisasterhavesentpricessoaringandtheonlymarkethecanaffordismanykilometersaway.

　　"HowcanIthinkaboutrebuilding?

IhavenowayofmakingmoneyandIamjusttootired,"saidthe50-year-oldfarmer.

　　Madyan,inthenorthwestSwatvalley,looksmorelikeanearthquakezonethanaflood-strickenarea.

　　Four-storeyhotelsthatfueledthelocaleconomyvanished.Buildingshavebeenflattened,withcarssandwichedbetweenslabsofconcrete.Roadsweredraggeddownandallthat'sleftbehindare30-meter（100-foot）dirtcliffscrumblingintoariver.

　　Pakistan'sgovernmentwasheavilycriticizedafteritssluggishresponsetothefloods,whichhitaboutone-thirdofthecountry,mademorethan6millionhomeless,andthreatentothebringtheeconomytoitskneeswithoutoutsideintervention.

　　Thegovernmentcouldredeemitselfbybeingmorevisibleintherebuildingeffort.ThereisnosignofthatinMadyan.

　　SajadIbrahim'sfatherworkedinoilpowerSaudiArabiafor36yearstosaveenoughtobuildfivehomesforhisfamily.Floodwaterspulverizedthemalongwithhisbusiness.

　　"Ihavenothing.Thegovernmenthasdonenothing.Howcanwegoonlikethiswithoutanyone'shelp?

"hesaid.

　　TwosoldiershavebeenbulldozingrocksandcementchunksinMadyan.Theyonlyclearedanareaabout10meters（33ft）wideby30meters（100ft）longinsevendays.

　　"ROBBING"

　　Anothersoldierencourageseveryonewhowalksalongthemuddyareatocarryastoneandplaceitinapilenearworkerswhoarerebuildingthefoundationsofacollapsedbridge.

　SpiritshadbeenrisinginMadyanoverthelastyear.HotelsoverlookingtheSwatriverandbeautifullushmountainshadstartedtoattracttouristsagainafterthearmyhadpushedoutTalibaninsurgents.

　　Thegovernmentpromisedtoinvestheavilyininfrastructure,schoolsandhospitalsandbuildupsecurityandpoliceforces.

　　Some,likeMohammadAzam,wereecstatic.HefledaftertheTalibanwarnedhimtoclosehis"immoral"DVDshoporfacedeathandthenrushedrushedbackwhenitwassafeandrestartedhisbusiness.

　　Littledidheknowthatfloodswouldpoundhisnewthird-floorshopintotheriver.

　　AlreadyoverwhelmedbythecatastropheinmanyotherpartsofPakistan,thegovernmentmaynothavethetimeorresourcestohelpthepeopleofMadyan.Butfewherearewillingtogiveitanyslack.

　　MuradBadshah,whowondershowheisgoingtokeephiswaitersandcooksemployedathisHotelSevenStar,saystheonlywayMadyancanrecoveriswithamassivedoseofforeignaid.Hedoubtsitwilleverarrive.

　　"Thegovernmentisrobbingeverythingfromus,"hesaid."Ifthiscontinuestherewillbelotsofangryyoun