考研英语阅读短文练习.docx
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考研英语阅读短文练习.docx
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考研英语阅读短文练习
NationalGeographicSociety
Inspiringpeopletocareabouttheplanetsince1888
NationalGeographicDailyNewsValentine'sDay:
WhyDoWeCelebrateIt?
(Hint:
NakedRomans)
AncientRomanpriestsaredepictedstrikingwomeninaLupercaliafertilityrite.
IllustrationbyLabrousteDel.,MaryEvansPictureLibrary/Alamy
JohnRoach
forNationalGeographicNews
UpdatedFebruary13,2012
WheredidValentine'sDaycomefrom?
(ThinknakedRomans,paganism,andwhips.)Whatdoesitcost?
Andwhydowefallforit,yearafteryear?
Valentine'sDayHistory:
RomanRoots
MorethanaHallmarkholiday,Valentine'sDay,likeHalloween,isrootedinpaganpartying.(See"HalloweenFacts:
Costumes,History,UrbanLegends,More.")
Thelovers'holidaytracesitsrootstoraucousannualRomanfestivalswheremenstrippednaked,grabbedgoat-ordog-skinwhips,andspankedyoungmaidensinhopesofincreasingtheirfertility,saidclassicsprofessorNoelLenskioftheUniversityofColoradoatBoulder.
Theannualpagancelebration,calledLupercalia,washeldeveryyearonFebruary15andremainedwildlypopularwellintothefifthcenturyA.D.—atleast150yearsafterConstantinemadeChristianitytheofficialreligionoftheRomanEmpire.
Lupercaliawas"clearlyaverypopularthing,eveninanenvironmentwherethe[ancient]Christiansaretryingtocloseitdown,"Lenskisaid."Sothere'sreasontothinkthattheChristiansmightinsteadhavesaid,OK,we'lljustcallthisaChristianfestival."
ThechurchpeggedthefestivaltothelegendofSt.Valentine.
Accordingtothestory,inthethirdcenturyA.D.,RomanEmperorClaudiusII,seekingtobolsterhisarmy,forbadeyoungmentomarry.Valentine,itissaid,floutedtheban,performingmarriagesinsecret.
Forhisdefiance,ValentinewasexecutedinA.D.270—onFebruary14,thestorygoes.
Whileit'snotknownwhetherthelegendistrue,Lenskisaid,"itmaybeaconvenientexplanationforaChristianversionofwhathappenedatLupercalia."
Valentine'sDay2012:
AStrengtheningEconomy?
Today'srelativelytameValentine'sDaycelebrationisbigbusiness—the2012holidayisexpectedtogenerate$17.6billioninretailsalesintheUnitedStates.That'supfromlastyear's$15.7billion,accordingtoanannualsurveybytheU.S.NationalRetailFederation(NRF).
Thelevelof"discretionaryspending"exhibitedbysurveyresultsis"astrongindicationoureconomycontinuestomoveintherightdirection,"federationpresidentMatthewShaysaidinastatement.
Thatis,fromtheretailers'perspective,thefactthatAmericansaregoingshoppingforcandy,flowers,andjewelsisagoodsignfortheeconomy.
ButbehavioraleconomicsprofessorDanArielysaidthatsuggestingthatanuptickinValentine'sdayspendingisasignofwidespreadrecovery,"ispremature,Ithink."
"There'saquestionofwhetherpeoplearecompensating,"saidArielyofDukeUniversity."YoucouldsaythatValentine'sDayisperfectlycorrelatedwithotherexpendituresinlife,oryoucouldsaythatValentine'sDayiscompensatingforotherthings."
Ariely,whosebooksincludethebestsellerPredictablyIrrational:
TheHiddenForcesthatShapeourDecisions,saidthere'sgoodreasontosplurgeonValentine'sDay,eveninatougheconomy.
"IfyoutreatyourselftosomethingonnextThursday,justarandomdayoftheyear,there'sanissueofwhetheritbecomesaroutine,"heexplained."ButifyousplurgeonlyatValentine'sDay,nowyourspendingismoreconfined."
AndspendValentine'sDaycelebrantswill,accordingtotheretailfederationsurvey.TheaverageU.S.consumerisexpectedtoshellout$126.03onValentine'sDaygifts,meals,andentertainment—about$10moreperpersonthanin2011.
Spousesandsignificantothersplantoinvest$74.12onValentine'sDaygiftsfortheirsignificantother—upfromlastyear's$68.98average.Pets,however,aregettingalittlelessretaillovethisyear,withaverageplannedspendingonanimalgiftsdown52centsto$4.52.
WhywegoshoppingatallonValentine'sDay,Duke'sArielysaid,hasalottodowithherdmentality.
"Herdsgiveusasenseofwhatisnormativebehavior—notnormativeintermsofrationalbutnormativeintermsofthisishowpeoplebehave,"hesaid.
OnValentine'sDay,thenormativebehavioristogooutandspendmoneyonthingssuchaschocolateandflowersasanexpressionoflove.So,whenweaskourselveswhattodo,"theanswerisverysimple,"Arielysaid.
Valentine'sDayCards
Greetingcards,asusual,willbethemostcommonValentine'sDaygifts.Fifty-twopercentofU.S.consumersplantosendatleastone,accordingtotheNationalRetailFederationsurvey.
TheGreetingCardAssociation,anindustrytradegroup,saysabout190millionValentine'sDaycardsaresenteachyear.Andthatfiguredoesnotincludethehundredsofmillionsofcardsschoolchildrenexchange.
"Givingyoursweetheartorsomeone[else]aValentine'sDaycardisadeep-seatedculturaltraditionintheUnitedStates,"saidassociationspokespersonBarbaraMiller."Wedon'tseethatchanging."
ThefirstValentine'sDaycardwassentin1415fromFrance'sDukeofOrléanstohiswifewhenhewasaprisonerintheTowerofLondonfollowingtheBattleofAgincourt,accordingtotheassociation.
DuringtheRevolutionaryWar,Valentine'sDaycards—mostlyhandwrittennotes—gainedpopularityintheU.S.Massproductionstartedintheearly1900s.
Hallmarkgotinthegamein1913,accordingtospokespersonSarahKolell.Sincethen—perhapsnotcoincidentally—themarketforValentine'sDaycardshasblossomedbeyondloverstoincludeparents,children,siblings,andfriends.
Valentine'sDayCandy:
CashCow
Anestimated50.5percentofU.S.consumerswillexchangeValentine'sDaycandyin2012,accordingtotheretailfederationsurvey—addinguptoaboutasweetbilliondollarsinsales,theNationalConfectionersAssociationsays.
About75percentofthatbillionisfromsalesofchocolate,whichhasbeenassociatedwithromanceatleastsinceMexico's15th-and16th-centuryAztecEmpire,accordingtoSusanFussell,aspokespersonwiththeassociation.
Fifteenth-centuryAztecemperorMoctezumaIbelieved"eatingchocolateonaregularbasismadehimmorevirileandbetterabletoservehisharem,"shesaid.
(Related:
secretsofancientcandy.)
Butthere'snothingchocolatyaboutValentine'sDay'smosticoniccandy:
thosedemanding,chalkylittleheartsemblazoned"BEMINE,""KISSME,""CALLME."
Abouteightbillioncandyheartsweremadein2009,theassociationsays—enoughtostretchfromRome,Italy,toValentine(map),Arizona,andbackagain20times.
WhatIsLove?
EvolutionandInfatuation
Valentine'sDayisallaboutlove.Butwhat,exactly,isthat?
HelenFisherisananthropologistatRutgersUniversityinNewJerseyandauthorofseveralbooksonlove,includingWhyWeLove:
TheNatureandChemistryofRomanticLove.
Fisherbreaksloveintothreedistinctbrainsystemsthatenablematingandreproduction:
•Sexdrive
•Romanticlove(obsession,passion,infatuation)
•Attachment(calmnessandsecuritywithalong-termpartner)
.Thesearebrainsystems,Fishersaid,andallthreeplayaroleinlove.Theycanoperateindependently,butpeoplecraveallthreeforanidealrelationship.
"Ithinkthesexdriveevolvedtogetyououttherelookingforarangeofpartners,"shesaid.
"Ithinkromanticloveevolvedtoenableyoutofocusyourmatingenergyonjustoneatatime,andattachmentevolvedtotoleratethatpersonatleastlongenoughtoraiseachildtogetherasateam."
Valentine'sDay,Fisheradded,usedtoencompassonlytwoofthesethreebrainsystems:
sexdriveandromanticlove.
But"onceyoustartgivingthedogavalentine,youaretalkingaboutarealexpressionofattachmentaswellasromanticlove."
SpecialSeries:
7Billion
Population7Billion
Therewillsoonbesevenbillionpeopleontheplanet.By2045globalpopulationisprojectedtoreachninebillion.Cantheplanettakethestrain?
ByRobertKunzig
PhotographbyRandyOlson
OnedayinDelftinthefallof1677,AntonivanLeeuwenhoek,aclothmerchantwhoissaidtohavebeenthelong-hairedmodelfortwopaintingsbyJohannesVermeer—“TheAstronomer”and“TheGeographer”—abruptlystoppedwhathewasdoingwithhiswifeandrushedtohisworktable.ClothwasLeeuwenhoek’sbusinessbutmicroscopyhispassion.He’dhadfivechildrenalreadybyhisfirstwife(thoughfourhaddiedininfancy),andfatherhoodwasnotonhismind.“Beforesixbeatsofthepulsehadintervened,”ashelaterwrotetotheRoyalSocietyofLondon,Leeuwenhoekwasexamininghisperishablesamplethroughatinymagnifyingglass.Itslens,nobiggerthanasmallraindrop,magnifiedobjectshundredsoftimes.Leeuwenhoekhadmadeithimself;nobodyelsehadonesopowerful.ThelearnedmeninLondonwerestilltryingtoverifyLeeuwenhoek’searlierclaimsthatunseen“animalcules”livedbythemillionsinasingledropoflakewaterandeveninFrenchwine.Nowhehadsomethingmoredelicatetoreport:
Humansemencontainedanimalculestoo.“Sometimesmorethanathousand,”hewrote,“inanamountofmaterialthesizeofagrainofsand.”Pressingtheglasstohiseyelikeajeweler,Leeuwenhoekwatchedhisownanimalculesswimabout,lashingtheirlongtails.Oneimaginessunlightfallingthroughleadedwindowsonafacelostincontemplation,asintheVermeers.Onefeelsforhiswife.
Leeuwenhoekbecameabitobsessedafterthat.Thoughhistinypeepholegavehimprivilegedaccesstoanever-before-seenmicroscopicuniverse,hespentanenormousamountoftimelookingatspermatozoa,asthey’renowcalled.Oddlyenough,itwasthemilthesqueezedfromacodonedaythatinspiredhimtoestimate,almostcasually,justhowmany
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