Corey Fincher，of the University of New Mexico，has a different hypothesis for the origin of religious diversity．He thinks not that religions are like disease but that they are responses to disease—or，rather，to the threat of disease．If he is right，then people who believe that their religion protects them from harm may be correct，although the protection is of a different sort from the supernatural one they perceive.

Mr．Fincher is not arguing that disease-protection is religion's main function．Biologists have different hypotheses for that．Not all follow Dr Dawkins in thinking it pathological．Some see it either as a way of promoting group solidarity in a hostile world，or as an accidental consequence of the predisposition to such solidarity．This solidarity-promotion is one of Mr．Fincher's starting points．The other is that bacteria，viruses and other parasites are powerful drivers of evolution．Many biologists think that sex，for example，is a response to parasitism．The continual mixing of genes that it promotes means that at least some offspring of any pair of parents are likely to be immune to a given disease.

Mr．Fincher and his colleague Randy Thornhill wondered if disease might be driving important aspects of human social behaviour，too．Their hypothesis is that in places where disease is rampant，it behoves groups not to mix with one another more than is strictly necessary，in order to reduce the risk of contagion．They therefore predict that patterns of behaviour which promote group exclusivity will be stronger in disease-ridden areas．Since religious differences are certainly in that category，they specifically predict that the number of different religions in a place will vary with the disease load.

Proving the point involved collating a lot of previous research．Even defining what constitutes a religion is fraught with difficulty．But using accepted definitions of uniqueness，exclusivity，autonomy and superiority to other religions they calculated that the average number of religions per country is 31．The range，though，is enormous—from 3 to 643．C觝te d’lvoire，for example，has 76 while Norway has 13，and Brazil has 159 while Canada has 15．They then did the same thing for the number of parasitic diseases found in each country．The average here was 200，with a range from 178 to 248.

Obviously，some of the differences between countries are caused by differences in their areas and populations．But these can be accounted for statistically．When they have been，the correlation between the number of religions in a place and how disease-ridden it is looks impressive．There is less than one chance in 10,000 that it has come about accidentally.

The two researchers also looked at anthropological data on how much people in“traditional”（i.e.，non-urban）societies move around in different parts of the world．They found that in more religiously diverse（and more disease-ridden）places people move shorter distances than in healthier，religiously monotonous societies．The implication is that religious diversity causes people to keep themselves to themselves，and thus makes it harder for them to catch germs from infidels.

Of course，correlation is not causation．But religion is not the only cultural phenomenon that stops groups of people from mixing．Language has the same effect，and in another，as yet unpublished study Mr．Fincher and Dr Thornhill found a similar relationship there too．Moreover，their search of the literature turned up work which suggests that xenophobia is linked psychologically with fear of disease （the dirty foreigner...）．Perhaps，then，the underlying reason why there is so much hostility between ethnic groups is nothing to do with the groups themselves，but instead with the diseases they may bring.


注（1）：本文选自Economist；

注（2）：本文习题命题模仿对象：第1、2题分别模仿1998年真题Text 5第1题和Text 4第2题；第3题模仿1993年真题Text 2第1题；第4题模仿1999年真题Text 1第3题；第5题模仿1997年真题Text 4第4题。



1．What can we know about the views of Richard Dawkins and Corey Fincher from the first two paragraphs?

A) They disagree on which kind of mental disease religion belongs to.

B) Fincher hypothesizes that religion results from how people react to disease.

C) Fincher thinks it is inappropriate to compare religion with computer virus.

D) Dawkins opposes the viewpoint that religion is a response to disease.

2．Which of the following best describes the two starting points of Mr．Fincher's hypothesis?

A) Group survival and immunity．B) Group solidarity and genetic mutation.

C) Group connection and parasitism drive．D) Group hostility and parenting.

3．By saying the areas are“disease-ridden”（Line 5，Paragraph 4），the author means those areas are ______.

A) driven by diseases

B) with relatively fewer diseases

C) rife with various diseases

D) featured with incurable diseases

4．The anthropological data that they studied demonstrates that ______.

A) the sanitation of an area is closely relevant to the number of its religions

B) it is strongly convincing that religious diversity restricts people from traveling

C) people who live in healthier areas are aware that religious diversity brings disease

D) religious and language work together to cause xenophobia

5．The best title for this passage could be ______.

A) Religion as a Response to Disease

B) Religion as a Disease

C) Religion Diversity and Disease

D) Religion and Biological Research





篇章剖析


本文是一篇说明文，主要介绍了新墨西哥大学的科里·芬彻提出的新假设，即宗教是人类对疾病，或者说是对疾病威胁的反应。第一段首先简单介绍了前人（理查德·道金斯）的观点，引出文章话题；第二段进入正题，说明芬彻提出的观点；第三段介绍了生物学上的相关假设和解释；第四至七段具体介绍了芬彻及其同事有关宗教与疾病关系的研究；第八段则提出，除了宗教之外，语言也是阻止人们接触的一个文化现象。





词汇注释


irrational /ɪˈræʃənl/ adj. 非理性的

hypothesis /haɪˈpɒθəsɪs/ n. 假说；前提

pathological /ˌpæθəˈlɒdʒɪkl/ adj．病理上的；疾病的，病态的

solidarity /ˌsɒlɪˈdærəti/ n. 团结

predisposition /ˈpriːdɪspəˈzɪʃn/ n. 倾向；素质

parasite /ˈpærəsaɪt/ n. 寄生生物

parasitism /ˈpærəsaɪtɪzəm/ n. 寄生状态

collate /kəˈleɪt/ v. 校对，核对；对照

constitute /ˈkɒnstɪtjuːt/ v. 构成，组成

fraught /frɔːt/ adj. 充满…的；伴随…的

anthropological /ˌænθrəpəˈlɒdʒɪkl/ adj. 人类学的

xenophobia /ˌzenəˈfəʊbɪə/ n. 对外国（人）的无理仇视（或畏惧）





难句突破


But using accepted definitions of uniqueness，exclusivity，autonomy and superiority to other religions they calculated that the average number of religions per country is 31.

主体句式：But they calculated that...

结构分析：本句的主干比较简单，不过在主语前面有一个很长的状语，增加了理解本句的难度。“using accepted definitions of uniqueness，exclusivity，autonomy and superiority to other religions”是状语部分，用来说明他们用什么样的方法取得了这个平均数。英语中，状语的位置比较灵活，因此这个部分也可以放在句子最后。本句中状语出现在句子开头主要是为了强调研究方法，同时也可以自然地承接上一个句子。

句子译文：但根据一些公认的定义，如独特性、排他性、自治及相对其他宗教的优越性，芬彻和他的同事计算出平均每个国家的宗教数量为31个。





题目分析


1．B 细节题。文章前两段列举了理查德·道金斯和科里·芬彻各自的观点和假设。第二段指出，芬彻认为“宗教并不像疾病，而是对疾病的反应——或者说是对疾病威胁的反应”，这是两人观点的最大不同，所以应该选B，而A项显然是错的。C项文中没有提及，同样，文中也没有提及道金斯对芬彻观点的态度，因此D也不正确。

2．C 细节题。文中第三段说明了芬彻教授的两个理论起点，其一是团结促进说，其二是“细菌、病毒及其他一些寄生物是推动进化的强大动力”，只有C项最准确地概括了这两点，所以正确答案是C。

3．C 推理题。做对这道题不一定要认识disease-ridden这个词，根据上下文就可以推出这个词的意思。第四段这个词所在句子的上文指出“他们假定在疾病泛滥的地区，为了降低传染风险，各个群体之间除了在非常必要的情况下有责任避免彼此接触”，因此很容易就可以猜出来“排他的行为模式更加明显”的地区应该是流行着各种疾病的地区，所以答案是C，rife with意为“充满”。

4．A 细节题。第七段主要分析了宗教多样性和一个地区人们健康之间的关系，第八段随之指出“相关关系并不是因果关系”，因此现在能够得出的结论只能是二者之间的相关关系，所以A正确。B项关于两者之间关系的描述与原文相反；C项文中没有提到；D与最后两段的描述不符，因此这三个选项都不正确。

5．A 主旨题。文章主要就是介绍科里·芬彻关于宗教是人类对疾病的反应这一理论，所以很显然A项最为合适。B项是第一段道金斯的观点；C项提到的宗教多样性与疾病只是文章部分内容；D项也不正确，因为文中不仅仅是说宗教与生物研究，还提到了人类学研究等。





参考译文



有些人认为宗教是一种疾病，牛津大学进化生物学家理查德·道金斯就是这一观点的代表。持这一观点的人认为，宗教像病毒一样到处传播，只不过这种“病毒”更像是计算机病毒——一些文化软件被恶意植入人们的大脑硬件中，从而控制大脑硬件，使其做出各种不理性的事情。

关于宗教多样性问题的起源，新墨西哥大学的科里·芬彻则有不同的假设。他认为宗教并不像疾病，而是对疾病的反应——或者说是对疾病威胁的反应。如果他的假设成立，那些相信宗教可以保佑自己免受伤害的人们或许是有道理的，尽管这种保护并非来自他们所信奉的超自然的力量。

芬彻教授的观点并不是说宗教的主要功能是防御疾病。关于这一点生物学家提出了诸多假设，而并不是所有人都接受道金斯先生关于宗教是一种疾病的假设。一些人将宗教视为乱世之中促进群体团结的途径，抑或是追求团结过程中的一个意外结果。这种团结促进说正是芬彻教授的理论起点之一。另一个理论起点是，细菌、病毒及其他一些寄生物是推动进化的强大动力。比如，许多生物学家认为性是对寄生病菌的一种反应。其后的基因结合意味着任何父母至少有某一子女很可能对某一特定疾病免疫。

芬彻教授和他的同事兰迪·桑希尔的研究问题是：疾病是否同样也是引起人类社会行为的重要诱因？他们假定在疾病泛滥的地区，为了降低传染风险，各个群体除了在非常必要的情况下有责任避免彼此接触。因此他们推断，在多病地区排他的行为模式将更加明显。宗教当然属于排他行为，他们还具体地预测出随着疾病数量不同，某一地区不同宗教的数量也会不同。

证实这一观点需要对大量以往的研究进行整理。甚至定义什么组成了宗教都十分困难。但根据一些公认的定义，如独特性、排他性、自治及相对其他宗教的优越性，芬彻和他的同事计算出平均每个国家的宗教数量为31个，不过跨度范围很大，从3个到643个不等。例如，科特迪瓦有76个不同的宗教，而挪威有13个；巴西有159个，而加拿大有15个。他们又同样统计了各国寄生性疾病的数量，平均值为200，跨度为178到248。

显然，国家间的某些不同是由地理位置和人口数量的不同造成的。但宗教数量及疾病数量的不同是可以由统计数据解释的。芬彻及其同事这样做了，他们得出的宗教数量与疾病泛滥情况相关的结论让人印象深刻。仅仅由于偶然得出这一结论的几率小于万分之一。

两位专家也参阅了人类学的某些数据，了解“传统”社会（也就是城市出现之前）人们在世界各地迁徙的情况。他们发现，在宗教更为多样的（以及疾病更泛滥）的地方，人们迁徙的路途要短于那些生活较为健康、宗教单一的人群。这意味着宗教多样性减少了人们与他族的接触，因而这使他们不易受到异族病菌的侵染。

当然，相关关系并不是因果关系。宗教也不是唯一一个阻止人们接触的文化现象。语言也有相同的效果，在另外一篇由芬彻先生和桑希尔博士撰写但尚未发表的论文中，他们也发现了类似的相关关系。此外，通过对文学作品的研究，他们发现对外国人的憎恶感也与心理上恐惧疾病有关（肮脏的外国人…）。那么，或许少数民族之间充满敌意背后的原因与民族本身无关，而是因为对异族可能带来疾病的憎恶。





模拟自测题



Text 1


The sun is not growing weaker，yet its light appears to be dimming．Between 1960 and 1990，some scientists believe，the amount of solar radiation reaching Earth's surface may have declined as much as 10%—and in some places，Hong Kong，for example，more than 35%.

What was going on? Well，it appears that increased air pollution during those 30 years—over Asia，in particular—with the help，perhaps，of some increased cloudiness，may have exerted a cooling influence on the surface of the planet even as carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases were encouraging the atmosphere to warm．The impacts of that tug-of-war on the climate system could be devilishly difficult to untangle．At the same time，no task could be more urgent．For if global pollution has helped keep global warming in check，says Veerabhadran Ramanathan，an atmospheric scientist at the University of California at San Diego，then the full impact of the buildup of greenhouse gases has yet to be felt．This week，at the American Geophysical Union meeting in Montreal，Ramanathan and others will be presenting the latest data on the solar-dimming problem and pondering its implications for the climate system as a whole.

Many scenarios for global warming，for example，invoke a speedup in the hydrological cycle by which water evaporates and then comes down as rain．The cooling produced by solar dimming，however，may slow the rate of evaporation，while higher up in the atmosphere the pollutants responsible for absorbing and reflecting sunlight are likely to interfere with the process that produces rain.

Why? These pollutants，which take the form of tiny，airborne particles called aerosols，act as nuclei around which cloud droplets form．The problem is，there are too many aerosols in the atmosphere competing for water molecules，so the cloud droplets that form are too small and never become weighty enough to fall to the ground．As a result，says Beate Liepert，an atmospheric physicist at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory，the atmosphere could be filled with moisture while Earth's surface thirsts for rain.

Many questions remain，including the true extent of the dimming．One analysis pegs the average worldwide darkening to be about 4% over three decades，while another computes it to be more than twice that much．There are also questions about the reliability of the devices that measure the sunlight reaching Earth's surface．Known as radiometers，these instruments are nothing more than flat，black solar collectors capped with glass．They are sometimes finicky; a smudge of dirt or a speck of dust can cause bogus readings and change the calculated results.

Solar dimming，in other words，is a problem still in the process of being defined，and as its dimensions become clearer，so will the nature of the challenge the world faces．Although scientists have done a lot of thinking about global warming，they are just beginning to grapple with the problem of how global warming and solar dimming interact．As Ramanathan puts it，“It's like we have a new gorilla sitting down at the table”—and it could turn out to be a very big gorilla indeed.

1．By“tug-of-war”（Line 4，Paragraph 2），the author means ______.

A) the different effects of solar dimming and global warming

B) the impact of the solar dimming on the climate system

C) the influence of the solar dimming on the global warming

D) the interaction between the solar dimming and global warming

2．How do the scientists feel about the current climate situation?

A) Serious.

B) Optimistic.

C) Carefree.

D) Panicked.

3．When mentioning“It's like we have a new gorilla sitting down at the table”（Lines 4～5，Paragraph 6），the author implies that ______.

A) scientists should have a close look at the solar dimming problem

B) we are facing a new problem which is very complicated and difficult to manage

C) we are just beginning to have research on this new field

D) the new solar dimming problem is beyond scientists’ ability to tackle

4．Which of the following cannot serve as a factor of causing the cooling surface of the planet?

A) The lack of the rain in the earth.

B) The increasing of the pollutants.

C) The forming of the cloud droplets.

D) The less weight of the cloud droplets.

5．Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?

A) The instruments used in the study are too simple to function well.

B) Living things in the earth will be greatly influenced by solar dimming.

C) There is still a long way to go in the study of solar dimming.

D) The findings that solar dimming has influence on the surface of the planet are doubtful.





题目分析


1．D 语义题。从句子“it appears that increased air pollution during those 30 years—over Asia，in particular—with the help，perhaps，of some increased cloudiness，may have exerted a cooling influence on the surface of the planet even as carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases were encouraging the atmosphere to warm．”我们可看出，一方面空气污染物及其形成的云层对地球表面有一种冷却作用，另一方面二氧化碳和其他温室气体却促使大气变暖。这是一种相互作用，一方强，另一方就弱，就像是在进行“拔河比赛”。文章最后一段的一句话“they are just beginning to grapple with the problem of how global warming and solar dimming interact”可以进一步印证这一判断。

2．A 情感态度题。原文对应信息是“no task could be more urgent”。注意含有比较级的否定式的理解，这句话的意思是“This task is the most urgent．”，从这句话我们可看出气候学家们对待此事的态度。

3．B 推理题。文章最后一段的中心思想是：太阳变暗这一问题的研究还只是刚刚开始，还有很多东西我们不了解。然后以Ramanathan的一句话结束全文，就此我们可判断他的话也应该是符合这段文章的中心大意的。

4．A 细节题。原文对应信息是“it appears that increased air pollution during those 30 years—over Asia，in particular—with the help，perhaps，of some increased cloudiness，may have exerted a cooling influence on the surface of the planet”。这句话的意思是“全球——特别是亚洲——大气污染不断加剧，或许借助数量有所增加的云可以对整个地球表面形成一种冷却作用”，而在形成云层的过程中由于“the cloud droplets that form are too small and never become weighty enough to fall to the ground”（所形成的云状水滴显得又太小，永远达不到足够的重量以落到地面上），所以这些云层无法变成雨滴落在地面，而是停留在大气层，从而对大气层起到一种冷却作用。选项A是这种现象所造成的结果。

5．C 细节题。文章最后一段提到对太阳变暗这一问题的研究还只是刚刚开始，还有很多东西我们不了解。由此可做出判断。