2010考研英语阅读理解精读100篇 unit 2

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1、TEXTONEIfyoufoundyourselfinacocktailbarwithaNeanderthalman,whatwouldhesay?Agoodconversationisoneofthegreatjoysofbeinghuman,butitisnotclearjusthowfarbackinthehominidlineagetheabilitytouselanguagestretches.Thequestionofwhengruntsandyelpsturnedintowordsandphrasesisatr

2、ickyone.Onewayoftryingtoansweritistolookinthefossilrecordforevidenceaboutwhatmodernhumanity'sclosestrelativescoulddo.SvantePääbo,oftheMaxPlanckInstituteforEvolutionaryAnthropologyinLeipzig,andhiscolleagueshavedonejustthat.DrPääboisanexpertinextractingandinterpretin

3、gtheDNAoffossils.AshereportsinthelatestissueofCurrentBiology,heandhisteamhaveworkedtheirmagiconagenecalledFOXP2foundinNeanderthalremainsfromnorthernSpain.Thereasonforpickingthisparticulargeneisthatitistheonlyoneknownsofartohaveadirectconnectionwithspeech.In1990,afa

4、milywithaninheritedspeechdisorderknownasverbaldyspraxiadrewtheattentionofgeneticsresearchers.ThoseresearchersidentifiedamutationinFOXP2asthecauseofthedyspraxia.SincethenFOXP2hasbeenthesubjectofintensivestudy.Ithasbeenlinkedtotheproductionofbirdsongandtheultrasonicm

5、usingsofmice.Itisaconservativetype,notchangingmuchfromspeciestospecies.Butithasundergonetwochangessincehumanssplitfromchimpanzees6myearsago,andsomeresearchersbelievethesechangesplayedacrucialroleinthedevelopmentofspeechandlanguage.Ifthesechangesarecommontomodernhum

6、ansandNeanderthals,theymustpredatetheseparationofthelineleadingtoHomosapiensfromtheoneleadingtoHomoneanderthalensis.DrPääbo'sresearchsuggestspreciselythat:theFOXP2genesfrommodernhumansandNeanderthalsareessentiallythesame.Totheextentthatthegeneenableslanguage,itenab

7、lesitinbothspecies.TherehasbeenmuchspeculationaboutNeanderthals'abilitytospeak.Theywereendowedwithahyoidbone,whichanchorsthetongueandallowsawidevarietyofmovementsofthelarynx.Neanderthalskullsalsoshowevidenceofalargehypoglossalcanal.Thisistheroutetakenbythenervestha

8、tsupplythetongue.Assuch,itisarequisitefortheexquisitelycomplexmovementsofspeech.Moreover,theinner-earstructureofHomoheidelbergensis,anancestorofN