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Unit 4
Historical Figures
Further Reading
Look at the cover of the book. Do you know
the Chinese name of the book?
《物种起源》
Do you know who wrote it?
It was written by Charles Darwin.
Charles Darwin’s The Origin of Species,
published on 24 November 1859, is a
work of scientific literature which is
considered to be the foundation of
evolutionary biology.
Darwin’s book introduced the scientific
theory that populations evolve over the
course of generations through a process
of natural selection.
Read the text and tick the facts which are true
about Charles Darwin.
√
□ came up with the idea of natural
selection
√□ did famous scientific research
□ rich businessman
□ professor at Cambridge
√□ observer
□ tourist
√□ British
□ clergyman
Skim the text to complete each of the
following topic sentences and then write
the corresponding letter at the beginning
of each paragraph.
Para. 1
Para. 2
Para. 3
Para. 4
Para. 5
A. At first, Darwin had _______
unclear or
even no thoughts of _________.
evolution
suggestion of one
B. Following the _________
friend, Darwin _________
boarded the ship.
C. The __________
information collected during the
voyage led to The origin of Species
published almost _____
30 years later.
D. A ship named__________________
the H.M.S. Beagle
left Plymouth to begin a journey in
coast of South
order to study the _____
America.
stopped in the
E. When the ship ________
Galapagos Islands, Darwin studied a
animalsand birds.
lot of ______
Answer the following questions according to
the text.
1) What was the major aim of Charles Darwin’s
voyage?
To study the coast of South America.
2) Why was Charles Darwin chosen as a member
of the Beagle’s crew?
The ship needed naturalist and he was
3) one.
What was Charles Darwin’s interest while
studying at Cambridge?
His interest was looking at beetles, shooting
birds and reading books on plants and
4) What did he do in South America?
He collected rocks, plants, animals and fossils.
5) How do you understand the underlined
sentence in the last but one paragraph?
It was very important for Darwin that the
ship stopped in Tierra del Fuego.
6) Where did the ship leave for?
The ship left for South America.
7) How old was he when he finished
the voyage? He was 27 years old.
Read the passage and decide which of the
following statements are true or false.
___1)
F
Darwin was such a brilliant scientific thinker
that he was chosen as a member of the Beagle’s
crew. It was a friend who suggested that he be
given a job as naturalist aboard the Beagle
and he received no payment for the job.
F
___2)
Darwin’s aim of the voyage was to study the
coast of South America.
Darwin went out of simple curiosity and for
want of anything else to do.
T
___3)
Darwin had studied at Cambridge University
to become a clergyman.
T
___4) The trip in the Beagle’s was the only
scientific abroad for Darwin.
Surprisingly, he never made another
scientific trip abroad.
F
___5) At the end of the voyage, Darwin finished
The Origin of Species.
Thirty years later Darwin finished The
Origin of Species.
___6)
The Origin of Species is often described as
F
“the most important book of the ___
18th
19th century”.
Read the text carefully and put them in the
correct order.
⑥
__He
1) He
published
the book
The Origin
1)
became
a student
of medicine
at of Species.
①
__ 2) He became a student of medicine at
Edinburgh.
Edinburgh.
2)
He
had
spent
more
time
looking
at
beetles,
③
__ 3) He was on a journey to South America.
birds and
reading
④
__shooting
4) He collected
what
he had books
found on
andplants.
made
3)
He of
was
a journey to South America.
notes
hisonobservations.
⑤
__He
5) He
had stored
4)
collected
whatenough
he hadinformation
found and which
made
finally
conclusions.
notesled
of to
hishis
observations.
②
__ 6) He had spent more time looking at beetles,
5) He had stored enough information which
shooting birds and reading books on plants.
finally led to his conclusions.
Read the following sentences carefully and decide
what each of the coloured words refers to.
1)... Darwin had no thoughts of evolution and only
unclear thoughts of it when it finished. (Para. 3)
√ B. evolution
A. thoughts of evolution
C. the journey
D. the beginning of the journey
2) The Beagle started out from Plymouth, made its
first stop in the Cape Verde Islands... (Para. 4)
A. Darwin’s
B. Plymouth’s
D. the Cape Verde Islands’
√C. the Beagle’s
3) If the ship had not stopped there, it is still
doubtful whether Darwin would have come to
the conclusions he did. (Para. 4)
A. islands
√B. the Galapagos Islands
C. Chile and Peru
D. the western coast of Chile and Peru
4) Often described as “the most important book of
the 19th century”, that book was to change forever
man’s considerations about his origins. (Para. 5)
B. considerations
√A. man’s
C. Darwin’s
D. The Origin of Species
Put the places in order according the voyage of
H.M.S. Beagle.
① Plymouth.
② The Cape Verde Islands.
③ The western coast of Chile and Peru
④ Galapagos Islands.
⑤ Tierra del Fuego.
⑥ The eastern tip of Brazil.
①②⑥⑤③④
______________
Complete the summary about Charles Darwin
and his voyage with the information you get
from the text.
On December 27, 1831, a ship called
________________
the H.M.S. Beagle left England for the coast of
naturalist
South America. Charles Darwin, as a __________,
had gone on the voyage without any payment but
only out of simple scientific __________.
curiosity At the
beginning of the voyage, Charles Darwin had not
got any idea about _________.
evolution But the experience
aboard gave him good chances to study and
discover.
collected rocks, plants, animals and fossils,
He ________
made notes of his observations and classified
________ and
listed his __________.
collection The Beagle made several
stops on the way and the most famous stop was in
the Galapagos Islands where Charles Darwin could
study many ____________
extraordinary animals. The
observations there helped him to form his theory.
Charles Darwin got a lot of useful information
after this five-year voyage and almost thirty years
later he published his famous book
____________________,
The Origin of Species which completely
changed man’s idea about his _________.
origins
Darwin Day is a recently instituted
celebration intended to commemorate the
anniversary of the birth of Charles
Darwin on February 12, 1809. The day is
used to highlight Darwin's contribution to
science and to promote science in general.
The first organized Darwin Day events
took place in 1995, and were organized by
the Humanist Community of Palo Alto,
California.
What can we learn from Darwin? Have a
discussion and then report in groups.