【课文原文】
A Journey of Discovery
The captain of the ship,the Beagle, wanted someone who would “profit by the opportunity of visiting distant countries yet little known”.The person who answered the call was not the captain's first choice. It was a young man who had left medical school without completing his degree. What's more,he had recently received a letter from his father predicting that he would be “a disgrace to yourself and all your family”. Despite all this,his adventures on this ship would lead to one of the most important scientific discoveries of all time.
The young man in question,Charles Darwin,was a geologist and naturalist,fascinated by rocks,plants and animals.He left England on the ship,the Beagle,in 1831. The journey gave him the chance to study various living things in their natural environments. After Darwin had spent some time in South America,his room on the ship was crowded with samples of the plants and animals he had collected. As he studied these, he asked himself the question:how did different species come to exist?
At that time,people believed that all species had appeared on Earth at the same time,and had not changed since. But Darwin began to think differently. He noticed that some species of animals were very similar to each other. Maybe animals evolved as they adapted to their changing environments?It was just an idea,but enough to inspire Darwin to look for more evidence.
When the Beagle reached the Galápagos Islands in 1835,Darwin saw a variety of new species,but [6]it was the birds that interested him the most. Darwin noticed that there was a difference between the finches on each of the islands. It seemed their beaks had evolved according to what food was available on that particular island.
Darwin suspected that the finches had evolved from a common ancestor,which had arrived on the islands a long time before. Over time,it had slowly evolved into many new species. And that was the answer to how new species of plants and animals came to exist:they evolved from earlier ancestors.
It was a completely new idea—a theory of evolution. Darwin explained this theory in his book,On the Origin of Species. It was not published until 1859 and immediately caused a storm. Many people refused to believe that living things,including humans,had evolved from lower forms of life. They were shocked. But Darwin's scientific studies were so convincing that more and more people started to believe his theory.
Today,On the Origin of Species is regarded as one of the most important works ever written. It has changed ideas about life on Earth forever. And it all began with the journey on the Beagle.
21. What’s the main idea of the text?
A.Darwin’s unlucky journey confirmed his theory that humans had evolved over time. |
B.Darwin went on a journey to confirm his theory that humans had evolved over time. |
C.Darwin’s interest in various living things made him a great naturalist. |
D.Darwin’s journey on the Beagle inspired his theory of evolution. |
22. What do we know about Charles Darwin from the first paragraph?
A.He knew the captain of the Beagle very well. |
B.He wanted to travel around the world by ship. |
C.He was interested in his lessons at college. |
D.His father was disappointed with him. |
23. What was Charles Darwin interested in?
A.Travelling around the world. | B.Living things on Earth. |
C.Communicating with others. | D.Doing research on resources. |
24. From the sixth paragraph,what was Charles Darwin brave to do?
A.To travel alone in the mountains. | B.To fight against other people. |
C.To express his own different ideas. | D.To inspire others to tell the truth. |
25. What did Charles Darwin base his theory on?
A.Traditional beliefs. | B.Doing experiments. | C.Famous sayings. | D.Scientific research. |
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