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  3. Researchers at the University of California-Berkeley are challenging our long-held belief that humans are hard-wired to be selfi

Researchers at the University of California-Berkeley are challenging our long-held belief that humans are hard-wired to be selfi

admin2012-07-11  52
问题     Researchers at the University of California-Berkeley are challenging our long-held belief that humans are hard-wired to be selfish. Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection was misinterpreted by his male popularizers, the researchers say. Rather than "every man for himself," Darwin believed that humans are successful as a species precisely because of our nurturing, selfless and compassionate traits.
    Why has it taken so long for Darwin’s central revelation to be properly interpreted? "We’ve had too many men in social science," Berkeley psychology professor Dacher Keltner told me in an interview. " Female scientists acknowledge that ’ fight or flight’ is part of human nature, but so is caring for people. " This is no touchy-feely feminist theory. Hard science is showing how the human capacity to care is wired into our brains and nervous systems.
    In my book Passages in Caregiving, I urge women who assume the whole responsibility for taking care of an elderly parent or chronically ill spouse to build a Circle of Care. Reach out to your brothers and sisters,friends,neighbors and community volunteers to help you care,because no one can perform this overwhelming role alone. You will be as stunned as I to learn how the most selfless caregivers are rewarded with greater longevity. Stephanie Brown, associate professor of preventive medicine at SUNY-Stony Brook, followed a group of older adults caring for family members with dementia (痴呆) and other illnesses. If they offered care more than 14 hours a week, they were less likely to die in a seven-year period than their peers.
    "Survival of the Kindest" is not just a theory. It is becoming a revolutionary cultural movement. There are many signs that caring is gaining currency. Keltner,who has been studying the science of this instinct for 15 years, says we are coming to the end of our cycle of greed. Berkeley and Stanford universities now have compassion centers devoted to the study and teaching of this theory. It will run up against hostility among the Hobbseians. Ayn Rand wrote, " If any civilization is to survive, it is the morality of selfishness that men have to reject. " As Americans,we have a cultural bias against caring.
    Oh, sure, we give our families gifts generously during the holiday season, but in a capitalist system based on unrestrained competition, we worry that if we care, we lose. Compassion is a woman’s word. In men, it’s cast as weak, when in fact it makes us stronger under stress and more highly respected by our peers. For so long we have repeated the careless saying " Nice guys finish last. " But the 40 richest Americans who took the Giving Pledge to commit half their fortunes to doing good are no spring chickens. Here is my reinterpretation: Nice guys die last.
What is the significance to be a selfless caregiver according to the passage?
选项 A、The society can change the greedy reality.
B、Human can get their lifespan longer.
C、A circle of care in the society will be made.
D、They are less likely to die from loneliness.
答案B
解析 事实细节题。题十询问无私地关心别人会有什么意义。第三段中作者建议在家庭中建立“关爱圈”来一起承担照顾年老父母或者卧病在床的病人，定位句说这样做是值得的，因为无私关心别人的人会更长寿。故B)“人类的寿命会变长”为本题答案，其中lifespan longer是原文中greater longevity的同义转述。A)“能改变社会贪婪的现实”不符合原文，排除；C)“关爱圈从而建立起来”是对原文中事实的陈述，而非有关意义的陈述；D)“他们更不会死于孤独”与原文不符，故排除。
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