Unit 2

Text A Evolution and Ethics

by Thomas Henry Huxley1

It may be safely assumed that,two thousand years ago,before Caesar2 set foot in southern Britain,the whole countryside visible from the windows of the room in which I write,was in what is called“the state of nature”.Except,it may be,by raising a few sepulchral mounds,such as those which still,here and there,break the flowing contours of the downs,man's hands had made no mark upon it;and the thin veil of vegetation which overspread the broad-backed heights and the shelving sides of the coombs was unaffected by his industry.The native grasses and weeds,the scattered patches of gorse,contended with one another for the possession of the scanty surface soil;they fought against the droughts of summer,the frosts of winter,and the furious gales which swept,with unbroken force,now from the Atlantic,and now from the North Sea,at all times of the year;they filled up,as they best might,the gaps made in their ranks by all sorts of underground and overground animal ravagers.One year with another,an average population,the floating balance of the unceasing struggle for existence among the indigenous plants,maintained itself.It is as little to be doubted,that an essentially similar state of nature prevailed,in this region,for many thousand years before the coming of Caesar;and there is no assignable reason for denying that it might continue to exist through an equally prolonged futurity,except for the intervention of man.

Reckoned by our customary standards of duration,the native vegetation,like the“everlasting hills”which it clothes,seems a type of permanence.The little Amarella Gentians3,which abound in some places today,are the descendants of those that were trodden underfoot,by the prehistoric savages who have left their flint tools,about,here and there;and they followed ancestors which,in the climate of the glacial epoch,probably flourished better than they do now.Compared with the long past of this humble plant,all the history of civilized men is but an episode.

Yet nothing is more certain than that,measured by the liberal scale of time-keeping of the universe,this present state of nature,however it may seem to have gone and to go on for ever,is but a fleeting phase of her infinite variety;merely the last of the series of changes which the earth's surface has undergone in the course of the millions of years of its existence.Turn back a square foot of the thin turf,and the solid foundation of the land,exposed in cliffs of chalk five hundred feet high on the adjacent shore,yields full assurance of a time when the sea covered the site of the“everlasting hills”;and when the vegetation of what land lay nearest,was as different from the present Flora of the Sussex4 downs,as that of Central Africa now is.No less certain is it that,between the time during which the chalk was formed and that at which the original turf came into existence,thousands of centuries elapsed,in the course of which,the state of nature of the ages during which the chalk was deposited,passed into that which now is,by changes so slow that,in the coming and going of the generations of men,had such witnessed them,the contemporary,conditions would have seemed to be unchanging and unchangeable.

But it is also certain that,before the deposition of the chalk,a vastly longer period had elapsed;throughout which it is easy to follow the traces of the same process of ceaseless modification and of the internecine struggle for existence of living things;and that even when we can get no further back,it is not because there is any reason to think we have reached the beginning,but because the trail of the most ancient life remains hidden,or has become obliterated.

Thus that state of nature of the world of plants which we began by considering,is far from possessing the attribute of permanence.Rather its very essence is impermanence.It may have lasted twenty or thirty thousand years,it may last for twenty or thirty thousand years more,without obvious change;but,as surely as it has followed upon a very different state,so it will be followed by an equally different condition.That which endures is not one or another association of living forms,but the process of which the cosmos is the product,and of which these are among the transitory expressions.And in the living world,one of the most characteristic features of this cosmic process is the struggle for existence,the competition of each with all,the result of which is the selection,that is to say,the survival of those forms which,on the whole,are best adapted,to the conditions which at any period obtain;and which are,therefore,in that respect,and only in that respect,the fittest.The acme reached by the cosmic process in the vegetation of the downs is seen in the turf,with its weeds and gorse.Under the conditions,they have come out of the struggle victorious;and,by surviving,have proved that they are the fittest to survive.

That the state of nature,at any time,is a temporary phase of a process of incessant change,which has been going on for innumerable ages,appears to me to be a proposition as well established as any in modern history.

Paleontology assures us,in addition,that the ancient philosophers who,with less reason,held the same doctrine,erred in supposing that the phases formed a cycle,exactly repeating the past,exactly foreshadowing the future,in their rotations.On the contrary,it furnishes us with conclusive reasons for thinking that,if every link in the ancestry of these humble indigenous plants had been preserved and were accessible to us,the whole would present a converging series of forms of gradually diminishing complexity,until,at some period in the history of the earth,far more remote than any of which organic remains have yet been discovered,they would merge in those low groups among which the boundaries between animal and vegetable life become effaced.

The word“evolution”,now generally applied to the cosmic process,has had a singular history,and is used in various senses.Taken in its popular signification it means progressive development,that is,gradual change from a condition of relative uniformity to one of relative complexity;but its connotation has been widened to include the phenomena of retrogressive metamorphosis,that is,of progress from a condition of relative complexity to one of relative uniformity.

As a natural process,of the same character as the development of a tree from its seed,or of a fowl from its egg,evolution excludes creation and all other kinds of supernatural intervention.As the expression of a fixed order,every stage of which is the effect of causes operating according to definite rules,the conception of evolution no less excludes that of chance.It is very desirable to remember that evolution is not an explanation of the cosmic process,but merely a generalized statement of the method and results of that process.And,further,that,if there is proof that the cosmic process was set going by any agent,then that agent will be,the creator of it and of all its products,although supernatural intervention may remain strictly excluded from its further course.

So far as that limited revelation of the nature of things,which we call scientific knowledge,has yet gone,it tends,with constantly increasing emphasis,to the belief that,not merely the world of plants,but that of animals;not merely living things,but the whole fabric of the earth;not merely our planet,but the whole solar system;not merely our star and its satellites,but the millions of similar bodies which bear witness to the order which pervades boundless space,and has endured through boundless time;are all working out their predestined courses of evolution.

With none of these have I anything to do,at present,except with that exhibited by the forms of life which tenant the earth.All plants and animals exhibit the tendency to vary,the causes of which have yet to be ascertained;it is the tendency of the conditions of life,at any given time,while favouring the existence of the variations best adapted to them,to oppose that of the rest and thus to exercise selection;and all living things tend to multiply without limit,while the means of support are limited;the obvious cause of which is the production of offspring more numerous than their progenitors,but with equal expectation of life in the actuarial sense.Without the first tendency there could be no evolution.Without the second,there would be no good reason why one variation should disappear and another take its place;that is to say there would be no selection.Without the third,the struggle for existence,the agent of the selective process in the state of nature,would vanish.

Granting the existence of these tendencies,all the known facts of the history of plants and of animals may be brought into rational correlation.And this is more than can be said for any other hypothesis that I know of.Such hypotheses,for example,as that of the existence of a primitive,orderless chaos;of a passive and sluggish eternal matter moulded,with but partial success,by archetypal ideas;of a brand-new world-stuff suddenly created and swiftly shaped by a supernatural power;receive no encouragement,but the contrary,from our present knowledge.That our earth may once have formed part of a nebulous cosmic magma is certainly possible,indeed seems highly probable;but there is no reason to doubt that order reigned there,as completely as amidst what we regard as the most finished works of nature or of man.The faith which is born of knowledge,finds its object in an eternal order,bringing forth ceaseless change,through endless time,in endless space;the manifestations of the cosmic energy alternating between phases of potentiality and phases of explication.It may be that,as Kant suggests,every cosmic magma predestined to evolve into a new world,has been the no less predestined end of a vanished predecessor.

Notes to the Text

1.About the author

Thomas Henry Huxley（4 May,1825-29 June,1895）was an English biologist（anatomist）,who had been enthusiastic in advocating Charles Darwin's theory of evolution.Huxley's famous 1860 debate with Samuel Wilberforce was a key moment in the wider acceptance of evolution,and in his own career.Huxley was slow to accept some of Darwin's ideas,such as gradualism,and was undecided about natural selection,but despite this he was wholehearted in his public support of Darwin.He was instrumental in developing scientific education in Britain,and fought against the more extreme versions of religious tradition.The above text is the opening chapter002.

2.Caesar

Gaius Julius Caesar（July,100 BC-15 March,44 BC）was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose.He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire.Gaesar's conquest of Gaul,completed by 51 BC,extended Rome's territory to the English Channel and the Rhine.

3.Amarella Gentian

It is a biennial gentianaceous plant of Europe and southwestern China,having purple flowers and rosettes of leaves.

4.Sussex

It is a historic county in Southeast England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex.Clockwise,it is bounded to the west by Hampshire,north by Surrey,northeast by Kent,south by the English Channel and is divided for local government into West Sussex and East.

Words and Expressions

acme['ækmI]n. the highest level or degree attainable;the highest stage of development 顶点；极点

actuarialadj. of or relating to the work of an actuary 精算的；保险统计的

adjacent[ə'dʒeIsnt]adj. nearest in space or position;immediately adjoining without intervening space 邻近的；毗连的

chalk[tʃɔ:k]n. a soft,white,powdery limestone consisting chiefly of fossil shells of foraminifers 白垩；粉笔

contourn. the outline of a figure or body;the edge or line that defines or bounds a shape or object 外形，轮廓

coomb[ku:m]n. alternate spelling of cwm,a type of valley 峡谷

elapse[I'læps]v. to pass by 逝去；过去

glacial['ɡleIʃl]adj. relating to or derived from a glacier 冰川（期）的；非常冷的

gorse[ɡɔ:s]n. very spiny and dense evergreen shrub with fragrant golden-yellow flowers;common throughout western Europe 荆豆

hypothesis[haI'pɒθəsIs]n. a tentative insight into the natural world;a concept that is not yet verified but that if true would explain certain facts or phenomena 假设；前提

incessant[In'sesnt]adj. uninterrupted in time and indefinitely long continuing 不断的；无尽的

indigenous[In'dIdʒənəs]adj. originating where it is found 土生土长的；本地的；天生的

internecine[,Intə'ni:saIn]adj.（of conflict）within a group or organization 两败俱伤的；内讧的；致命的

magma['mæɡmə]n. molten rock in the earth's crust 岩浆

metamorphosis[,metə'mɔ:fəsIs]n. a striking change in appearance or character or circumstances 变质；变形；

nebulous['nebjələs]adj. of or relating to or resembling a cloud of interstellar gas and dust 云雾状的；模糊的

obliterate[ə'blItəreIt]v. to reduce to nothingness 涂去；擦去；删除

paleontology[,pælIɒn'tɒlədʒI]n. the earth science that studies fossil organisms and related remains 古生物学

permanence['pʒ:mənəns]n. the property of being able to exist for an indefinite duration 永久；持久

predecessor['pri:dIsesə（r）]n. something that precedes and indicates the approach of something or someone 祖先；前任

predestine[pri:'destIn]v. to decree or determine beforehand;foreordain by divine will or decree 预定；注定

progenitorn. an ancestor in the direct line 祖先；先驱

retrogressive[,retrə'ɡresIv]adj. characterized by movement backward 倒退的；退步的

sepulchral[sə'pʌlkrəl]adj. of,pertaining to,or serving as a tomb 坟墓的；丧葬的

sluggish['slʌɡIʃ]adj. moving slowly 缓慢的；迟钝的；萧条的

transitory['trænsətri]adj. lasting a very short time 暂时的；瞬息的

Exercises

Ⅰ.Read Text A carefully and answer the following questions.

1.What is the main idea of this extract from Huxley's works Evolution and Ethics？

2.What difficulties may nature have encountered thousands of years ago when it had not been affected by man's hands or industry？

3.Why would the contemporary state of nature seem to be unchanging and unchangeable？

4.In the author's opinion,is the state of nature possessed by permanence？

5.What is the most characteristic feature of the cosmic process in the living world according to the author？

6.What is the meaning of“evolution”？What is the status of it during the cosmic process？

7.What are the tendencies of the conditions of life mentioned in this article？

8.What is the consequence if these tendencies do not exist？

Ⅱ.Paraphrase the following sentences from Text A and pay particular attention to the italicized words.

1.It is as little to be doubted,that an essentially similar state of nature prevailed,in this region,for many thousand years before the coming of Caesar.

2.Compared with the long past of this humble plant,all the history of civilized men is but an episode.

3.That which endures is not one or another association of living forms,but the process of which the cosmos is the product,and of which these are among the transitory expressions.

4.That the state of nature,at any time,is a temporary phase of a process of incessant change,which has been going on for innumerable ages,appears to me to be a proposition as well established as any in modern history.

5.Granting the existence of these tendencies,all the known facts of the history of plants and of animals may be brought into rational correlation.

6.There is no reason to doubt that order reigned there,as completely as amidst what we regard as the most finished works of nature or of man.

Ⅲ.Translate the following sentences into Chinese.

1.The native grasses and weeds,the scattered patches of gorse,contended with one another for the possession of the scanty surface soil;they fought against the droughts of summer,the frosts of winter,and the furious gales which swept,with unbroken force,now from the Atlantic,and now from the North Sea,at all times of the year.

2.Even when we can get no further back,it is not because there is any reason to think we have reached the beginning,but because the trail of the most ancient life remains hidden,or has become obliterated.

3.It may have lasted twenty or thirty thousand years,it may last for twenty or thirty thousand years more,without obvious change;but,as surely as it has followed upon a very different state,so it will be followed by an equally different condition.

4.The acme reached by the cosmic process in the vegetation of the downs is seen in the turf,with its weeds and gorse.Under the conditions,they have come out of the struggle victorious;and,by surviving,have proved that they are the fittest to survive.

5.Taken in its popular signification it means progressive development,that is,gradual change from a condition of relative uniformity to one of relative complexity;but its connotation has been widened to include the phenomena of retrogressive metamorphosis,that is,of progress from a condition of relative complexity to one of relative uniformity.

6.Not merely the world of plants,but that of animals;not merely living things,but the whole fabric of the earth;not merely our planet,but the whole solar system;not merely our star and its satellites,but the millions of similar bodies which bear witness to the order which pervades boundless space,and has endured through boundless time;are all working out their predestined courses of evolution.

7.The faith which is born of knowledge,finds its object in an eternal order,bringing forth ceaseless change,through endless time,in endless space;the manifestations of the cosmic energy alternating between phases of potentiality and phases of explication.

Ⅳ.Fill in the blanks with the words you have learned in Text A.

The first half of Huxley's career as a 1._____is marked by a rather strange preference for“persistent types”,in which he seems to argue that 2._____advancement（in the sense of major new groups of animals and plants）was rare or absent in the Phanerozoic.In the same way,he 3._____to push the origin of major groups such as birds and mammals back into the Palaeozoic era,and to claim that no order of plants had ever gone 4._____.

Much paper has been 5._____by historians of science explaining in details this strange and somewhat unclear idea.Huxley was wrong to pitch the loss of orders in the Phanerozoic as low as 7%,and he did not 6._____the number of new orders which evolved.7._____types sat rather uncomfortably next to Darwin's more fluid ideas;8._____his intelligence,it took Huxley a surprisingly long time to appreciate some of the implications of evolution.However,9._____Huxley moved away from this conservative style of thinking as his understanding of palaeontology,and the discipline itself 10._____.

Ⅴ.Complete the following sentences with the correct form of the words or phrases given in the box.

1.This did us no harm,_____,all these fears helped us make changes that allowed us to revive our strength and forge ahead.

2.Let the books_____the mind directly from the eye,skipping the mouth and ears.

3.Buddhist,Taoist and Confucian temples_____throughout Taiwan,not merely as static tourist attractions,but as active centers of culture and worship.

4.It is not unlawful for a company to gain control of a market.It becomes unlawful if the company engages in conduct to_____or harm competitors with no business justification.

5.Time is a versatile performer,which can stretch its wings high in the sky,step forward with big strides,heal the wounds,_____away and release truths.

6.Also this week he told French ambassadors to go out and tell the world that he is determined to modernize France and_____its image as rigid and protectionist.

7.I felt lost and terrified when I_____the classroom.

8.A rabbi,a_____of Charles Darwin,a philosopher and a scholar walk into an auditorium.

9.The_____of intricate financial and legal issues is an art form not easily mastered.

10.Since then,Somalia has rotted away,a victim of international indifference and its own_____history.

Ⅵ.Cloze.

Most people have no idea of the hard work and worry that goes into the collecting of those fascinating birds and animals that they pay to see in the zoo.One of the questions that is always asked of me is 1._____I became an animal collector in the first 2._____.The answer is that I have always been interested in animals and zoos.According to my parents,the first word I was able to say with any 3._____was not the conventional“mamma”or“daddy”,4._____the word“zoo”,which I would 5._____over and over again with a shrill 6._____until someone,in order to 7._____me up,would take me to the zoo.When I 8._____a little older,we lived in Greece and I had a great 9._____of pets,ranging from owls to seahorses,and I spent all my spare time 10._____the countryside in search of fresh specimens to 11._____to my collection of pets.

12._____on I went for a year to the City Zoo,as a student 13._____,to get experience of the large animals,such as lions,bears,bison and ostriches,14._____were not easy to keep at home.When I left,I 15._____had enough money of my own to be able to 16._____my first trip and I have been going 17._____ever since then.Though a collector's job is not an easy one and is full of 18._____,it is certainly a job which will appeal 19._____all those who love animals and 20._____.

1.A.how B.where C.when D.whether

2.A.region B.field C.place D.case

3.A.clarity B.emotion C.sentiment D.affection

4.A.except B.but C.except for D.but for

5.A.recite B.recognize C.read D.repeat

6.A.volume B.noise C.voice D.pitch

7.A.close B.shut C.stop D.comfort

8.A.grew B.was growing C.grow D.grown

9.A.many B.amount C.number D.supply

10.A.living B.cultivating C.reclaiming D.exploring

11.A.increase B.include C.add D.enrich

12.A.Later B.Further C.Then D.Subsequently

13.A.attendant B.keeper C.member D.aide

14.A.who B.they C.of which D.which

15.A.luckily B.gladly C.nearly D.successfully

16.A.pay B.provide C.allow D.finance

17.A.normally B.regularly C.usually D.often

18.A.expectations B.sorrows C.excitement D.disappointments

19.A.for B.with C.to D.from

20.A.excursion B.travel C.journey D.trip

Ⅶ.Translate the following sentences into English,using the words given in the parentheses.

1.许多父母在对子女们的教育上有所区别，这是错误的。（err in）

2.该公司将为他们提供住宿和交通工具。（furnish with）

3.两条河在这个山谷合并为一条。（merge in）

4.经历过艰苦训练的人们倾向于表现得更好。（tend to）

5.趋势与力量的汇聚又将会怎样带来更大的挑战或者机会呢？（converge）

Ⅷ.Writing.

What do you think of Darwin's famous statement“the fittest survives”？Do you agree with him as Huxley does？

Please write an essay of at least 400 words to state your own opinion.