Download LAZ B1 Simulation Listening Exam 2 04 2014

LAZ Simulation Listening Exam 2 – Level B1
Prof. Peter Cullen
Spring 2014
Text
In the chapters that follow, I investigate how language differs from other forms of
communication, why other species encounter virtually impossible difficulties when it comes
to learning even simple language, how human brain structure has evolved to overcome
these difficulties, and what forces and conditions initiated and directed us along this
unprecedented evolutionary course. What results is a detailed estimation of human brain
and language evolution that emphasizes the unbroken continuity between human and non
human brains, and yet, at the same time, describes a singular discontinuity between
human and non-human minds, or – to be more precise, between brains that use this form
of communication and brains that do not.
My unprecedented approach to these questions develops as a step-by-step argument, in
which each chapter builds on the questions, analyses and evidence provided in previous
chapters. At almost every step of the argument, I arrive at different interpretations from
what might loosely be called the accepted theories in the field. So I suggest approaching
this narrative the way one might approach a mystery novel. The order and presentation of
clues are critical to the plot, because encountering the clues and unexpected conclusions
out of context might require some difficult mental gymnastics to discover how they fit
together.
The presentation is divided into three major sections. The first part of the book –
Language – focuses on the nature of language and the reasons that it is virtually confined
to the human species. The second part of the book – Brain – looks at the problem of
identifying what is unusual about human brain structure that corresponds with the unique
problems posed by language. The third part of the book – Co-Evolution – examines the
peculiar extension of natural selection logic that is behind human brain and language
evolution, and tries to identify what sort of communication “problem” precipitated the
evolution of our unprecedented mode of communication. The book ends with some
speculations on the significance of these new findings for the understanding of human
consciousness.
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LAZ Simulation Listening Exam 2 – Level B1
Spring 2014
______/30
Prof. Peter Cullen
___________________________________________
Name, Date, and Registration Number
Questions: You do not have to use complete sentences! This is a listening exam.
SIMPLE AND CORRECT IS BETTER THAN COMPLICATED AND WRONG.
1. What does the author investigate?
2. What is unbroken?
3. What does the author’s approach develop?
4. What does the author suggest?
5. What does the third part of the book examine?
______/20
True or False: Write “True” or “False” in the space next to each statement
1. other species encounter virtually impossible difficulties when it comes to learning even
simple language .
________________
2. What results is a detailed estimation of human brain and language evolution.
________________
3. because encountering the clues and unexpected conclusions out of context might
require some difficult mental exercises.
________________
4. The first part of the book focuses on the nature of language and the reasons that it is
not confined to the human species.
________________
5. The second part of the book is called “Co-Evolution”.
________________
______/10
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LAZ Listening Exam 2 – Level B1
Prof. Peter Cullen
Spring 2014
Answer Sheet
1. What does the author investigate?
I investigate how language differs from other forms of communication, why other species
encounter virtually impossible difficulties when it comes to learning even simple language,
how human brain structure has evolved to overcome these difficulties, and what forces
and conditions initiated and directed us along this unprecedented evolutionary course.
2. What is unbroken?
continuity between human and non human brains
3. How does the author’s approach develop?
as a step-by-step argument, in which each chapter builds on the questions,
analyses and evidence provided in previous chapters.
4. What does the author suggest?
To read the text like a mystery novel
.
5. What does the third part of the book examine?
examines the peculiar extension of natural selection logic that is behind human brain and
language evolution
True or False: Write “True” or “False” in the space next to each statement
1
2
3
4
5
T
T
T
F
F
3