The word “soul” pops up everywhere. We may speak of a very polished performance, but without soul, or describe an athlete as the soul of his team. In each case, “soul” means deep feelings and core values. As neuroscientist Antonio Damasio wrote 20 years ago in his book Descartes’ Error. “Feelings form the basis for what humans have described for thousands of years as the soul or spirit.”
Today, studies increasingly show that many non-humans feel. Elephants appear to feel grief, while dolphins and whales express joy, or something much like it. Experiments have shown that rats become anxious when seeing surgery performed on other rats and that when presented with a trapped lab-mate and a piece of chocolate, they will free their trapped brother before eating.
None of the these will come as a surprise to pet owners or anyone who has observed virtually any kind of animal for any length of time. Science is rediscovering what Charles Darwin, in his book The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals (1872), concluded that the variations between humans and other species in their ability to feel and express their emotions are differences in degree rather than in kind.
It could even be argued that other creatures are more conscious of feelings than humans are, because they possess a primary form of consciousness: they are aware of themselves and their environment but are less burdened by complexities such as reflection and thoughts that typify (是……的典型) human consciousness. They live closer to the bone, so to speak. Jeffrey Masson, author of When Elephants Weep, has remarked that animals possess feelings of “undiluted (纯粹的) purity and clarity” compared to the “seeming opacity (费解) and inaccessibility of human feelings.” Furthermore, we should consider that humans may not experience the full range of feelings found in the animal kingdom. As Humane Society ethologist Jonathan Balcombe points out: “in light of their sometimes vastly different living circumstances and sensory abilities, other species may experience some emotional states that we do not.”
Sentience — the ability of an organism (有机体) to feel — is fundamental to being alive. What we feel deeply is what drives us, for good or ill. So if humans have souls, they must be more about sentience than consciousness. In his book Pleasure: A Creative Approach to Life, the late psychoanalyst Alexander Lowen reflected on these connections, proposing that “The soul of a man is in his body. Through his body a person is part of life and part of nature…If we are identified with our bodies, we have souls, for through our bodies we are identified with all creation.” As long as we are alive — and therefore feeling — we are connected to one another and to the natural world. We are, in a word, ensouled.
Thanks to the Internet, there’s a steady stream of examples of animals demonstrating sympathy, from an ape saving a bird to a gorilla protecting a three-year-old boy when he fell into her enclosure. A particularly striking case of animal gratitude occurred in 2005 off the California coast, where a female whale was found caught in nylon ropes used by fishermen. As narrated by Frans de Waal in The Age of Empathy: Nature’s Lessons for a Kinder Society, “The ropes were digging into the body. The only way to free the whale was to dive under the surface to cut away the ropes. The divers spent an hour on the task. The most remarkable part came when the whale realized it was free. Instead of leaving the scene, she hung around. The huge animal swam in a large circle, carefully approaching every diver separately. She nuzzled (用鼻子轻触) one, then moved on to the next, until she had touched them all.”
Soul may be a profound (深奥的) matter of fellow feeling. The stronger the capability of a given species for fellow feeling, the more that species can be said to exhibit soulfulness. To view things in this way offers an important step in humanity’s progression toward understanding its place in Creation — and toward appreciating the inheritance we hold in common with other sentient beings on this increasingly small and fragile planet.
1.What can we infer from Charles Darwin’s conclusion in his book of 1872?
A.Humans and animals fall into different categories.
B.Animals can neither feel nor express their emotions.
C.Humans and animals express emotions at different levels.
D.Only some animals can express their emotions like humans.
2.Why is there an argument that animals have higher ability to feel than humans?
A.Because animals concentrate more on themselves and their surroundings.
B.Because animals are more capable of to reflect and think in a complex way.
C.Because Darwin’s theory of natural selection has not confirmed it up to now.
D.Because Darwin’s theory of natural selection doesn’t mention the phenomenon.
3.What can we learn from Jeffrey Masson and Jonathan Balcombe?
A.Animals’ living environment contributes to their sensory abilities.
B.The range of animals’ feelings may be larger than that of humans’.
C.Humans tend to unconsciously damage animals’ living environment
D.Animals in harmony with humans could express emotions more easily.
4.The author gives the example of a whale expressing its gratitude to divers to_______.
A.teach humans to have a grateful heart
B.show that animals have certain feelings
C.explain humans live in harmony with animals
D.tell readers whales have special ways to say thanks
5.What is the purpose of the last paragraph?
A.To give an explanation of the relationship between soul and fellow feeling,
B.To stress the importance of understanding animals’ feelings in human progress.
C.To remind humans of the meaning of appreciating nature.
D.To raise a new question about creatures and fragile planet.
6.What would be the best title for the text?
A.Do animals really have souls? B.Are animals similar to humans?
C.Can humans communicate with animals? D.How do animals express their emotions?
People have speculated (思索) for centuries about a future without work. Some imagine that the coming work-free world will be defined by inequality: A few wealthy people will own all the capital, and the masses will struggle in a wasteland. A different prediction holds that without jobs to give their lives meaning, future people will simply become lazy and depressed.
But it doesn’t necessarily follow from findings like these that a world without work would be filled with dissatisfaction. Such visions are based on the downsides of being unemployed in a society built on the concept of employment. In the absence of work, a society designed with other ends in mind could provide strikingly different circumstances for the future of labor and leisure.
These days, spare time is relatively rare for most workers. “When I come home from a hard day's work, I often feel tired,” says John Danaher, a lecturer at the National University of Ireland, adding, “In a world in which I don’t have to work, I might feel rather different — perhaps different enough to throw himself into a hobby with the enthusiasm usually reserved for professional matters.”
Daniel Everett, an anthropologist (人类学家) at Bentley University studied a group of hunter-gathers in the Amazon called the Piraha for years. According to Everett, while some might consider hunting and gathering work, hunter-gatherers don’t. “They think of it as fun,” he says. “They don’t have a concept of work the way we do.”
Everett described a typical clay for the Piraha: A man might get up, spend a few hours fishing, have a barbecue, and play until the evening. Does this relaxing life lead to the depression and purposelessness seen among so many of today’s unemployed? “I’ve never seen anything like depression there, except people who are physically ill,” Everett says. While many may consider work necessary for human life, work as it exists today is a relatively new invention in the course of human culture. “We think it’s bad to just sit around with nothing to do,” says Everett. “For the Piraha, it’s quite a desirable state.”
1.What might be some people’s attitude towards the work-free world?
A.Objective. B.Negative.
C.Skeptical. D.Cautious.
2.What does the underlined word “downsides” in Paragraph 2 probably refer to?
A.Risks. B.Losses.
C.Challenges. D.Disadvantages.
3.John Danaher might agree that _____.
A.work plays an important role in our future life
B.people don’t know how to balance work and life
C.people’s work-free future life will be full of charm
D.higher unemployment makes life tougher for workers
4.Why is Daniel Everett’s study mentioned?
A.To justify John Danaher’s opinion. B.To show a future life without work.
C.To compare different views on work. D.To introduce the Piraha in the Amazon.
Bombardier beetles are known for their skillful response to predators (捕食性动物).If they are about to be eaten, the insects spray their predators with boiling-hot chemicals. If they get swallowed anyway, they have plan B: Blast (爆炸) their way out from the inside.
In an experiment, scientists watched as a Japanese stream toad readily swallowed an Asian bombardier beetle. But 44 minutes later, the toad vomited (呕吐) the contents of its stomach. The insect ran away, physically unharmed.
“The vomited beetle was alive and active,” study authors Shinji Sugiura and Takuya Sato of Kobe University in Japan reported in the journal Biology Letters. Why, the researchers wondered, does luck always favor the escape artists? To find out, they needed more of them, and they needed to feed them to more toads. Scientists gathered 15 species of ground beetles, including the bombardier beetle. They also collected Japanese common toads, which are natural bombardier beetle predators, and Japanese stream toads, which do not live in the same place as the insect.
Sugiura and Sato hypothesized (假设) that over years of exposure, the common toad species developed a greater tolerance to the bombardier beetle's poisonous chemicals than the stream toads had. The bombardier beetles were divided into two groups. Some were poked (戳) with special tools, which caused them to release all their poisonous chemical spray. Other beetles were left alone. Then they were fed to the toads.
The toads that swallowed a fully loaded bombardier beetle were in for a surprise. “An explosion was heard inside each toad, which indicates that the bombardier beetle sent up a chemical spray after being swallowed, the authors wrote. The common toads vomited their prey 35 percent of the time. The stream toads vomited their prey 57 percent of the time. That confirmed their hypothesis about the toads' evolutionary adaptation. All 16 of the vomited insects were “alive and active” 20 minutes later. Almost all the beetles that released their defensive chemicals before meeting the toads were “successfully digested”. The test told the researchers that the beetles' boiling chemical spray was indeed their ticket to freedom.
1.When Bombardier beetles are in danger, they can ______.
A.have relevant ways to escape B.bring up the content of stomach
C.cause damage to their enemies D.make no response to outside attack
2.What was the scientists’ assumption before the experiment?
A.Bombardier beetles were always lucky to escape.
B.Japanese common toads were natural predators.
C.Common toads had the ability to resist the poison.
D.Bombardier beetles could release poison constantly.
3.What do we know about Sugiura and Sato’s test?
A.It showed the process of the insects’ evolution.
B.It demonstrated the harm of explosion in the toads.
C.It stressed the importance of a balanced ecosystem.
D.It provided convincing evidence for their assumption.
405 Seymour River Place
North Vancouver
Phone: 604-929-5610
General information:
Officially open to the public in 1975, and now home to over 200 domestic animals and birds, Maplewood Farm tries to provide a unique experience, combining enjoyment and education.
Highlights:
This farm offers children and adults an opportunity to meet and interact with all the animals you would come across on any rural farm from the large residents to the smallest baby chick. Walk around the farm at your own pace — you could easily see it all in 30 minutes, or take your time and spend a little longer with the animals you and your children like best.
Self-guided tours:
The farm offers a booklet full of information about the animals as well as rules for visiting the farm. When you make your school group reservation, one “Guide to Maplewood Farm” can be mailed to you free of charge to help you plan your visit.
Tips:
·Do not chase animals or birds.
·Use caution when petting any animals.
·Please wash your hands thoroughly after touching any animal and before eating. A sink is available for washing hands.
·We all know it seldom rains in North Vancouver. When it does Maplewood is still open and fun. They even have umbrellas to lend you!
·Be aware of the warning signs that all animals can bite. And despite how friendly the animals may seem, this is true. So keep little hands away from the animals’ mouths.
·Bring a stroller (婴儿车) for younger kids. The farm is easy to navigate with gravel paths throughout.
·Stick around for the cow milking. It is very informative.
1.On Maplewood Farm, visitors can ______.
A.receive free mails before making group reservations
B.enrich their experiences of interacting with animals
C.learn from employees how to train and raise animals
D.find it a challenge to see the farm around in 30 minutes
2.What action may present potential risks to the visitors?
A.Forget to bring an umbrella. B.Borrow strollers in the farm.
C.Watch a cow milking nearby. D.Use hands to feed the animals.
Last summer, Katie Steller drove to work in Minneapolis. She stopped at a traffic light, where a man was asking for _______ with a sign. She _______ her window.
“Hey!” she shouted. “I’m driving around giving free haircuts. If I go grab my _______, do you want one right now?” As Steller likes to tell the _______ , he paused. “_______,” he said, “I have a funeral to go to this week. I was really hoping to get a _______.”
She drove off, and went to the salon she _______. One of her stylists helped her _______ a red chair into her car. Then the two drove back and trimmed (修剪) the man’s hair. He told them stories.
To date, Steller has given 30 or so such haircuts, and she is keenly _______ of the power of her cleanup job.
“It’s __________ a haircut,” she says. “I want it to be a gateway, to show value and respect, but also to get to know people. I want to build __________.”
Steller knows that a haircut can change one’s __________. As a teen, she suffered from a disease that was so severe, her hair __________ in an extreme manner. Her mother arranged for Steller’s first professional haircut.
“To have somebody talk to me like a person and not just an illness helped me feel __________ and less alone,” she says.
After that, Steller knew she wanted to have her own salon so she could help people. In 2009, she began her Red Chair Project, __________ people on the streets.
Those who __________ acts of kindness are invited for a free makeover at Steller’s salon. __________ , they tell their stories, which Steller __________ on her website. Steller listens to people’s stories of loss, addiction, and __________ to get back on their feet. Her hope is that by reading about kind acts, others will be __________ to spread their own.
1.A.advice B.trouble C.information D.help
2.A.turned down B.pulled down C.rolled down D.laid down
3.A.chair B.partner C.sign D.car
4.A.truth B.story C.fortune D.time
5.A.Hopefully B.Actually C.Thankfully D.Generally
6.A.ride B.chair C.handcraft D.haircut
7.A.owns B.favors C.trusts D.knows
8.A.squeeze B.shape C.wrap D.load
9.A.jealous B.fearful C.aware D.typical
10.A.rather than B.other than C.more than D.better than
11.A.relationships B.organizations C.memberships D.communities
12.A.condition B.life C.image D.career
13.A.faded B.thinned C.shrank D.darkened
14.A.cared about B.left behind C.calmed down D.carried away
15.A.holding on to B.losing out to C.reaching out to D.catching on to
16.A.commit B.advocate C.prepare D.consider
17.A.In reality B.In addition C.In consequence D.In exchange
18.A.reveals B.shares C.announces D.explains
19.A.promise B.hesitation C.struggle D.intention
20.A.invited B.induced C.persuaded D.inspired
—What was the first day of your job like, Tony?
—Oh, _____. It was as good as could be expected.
A.don’t mention it B.I can’t complain C.it makes no difference D.I’ll see to it
