Chap 2 - Explorer 4
Chap 2 - Explorer 4
Chap 2 - Explorer 4
B. Scan. You are going to read about some specialists' beliefs about love.
Quickly scan the reading on pages 27-29. Then match the people on
the left with their professions on the right.
26 Unit 2A
Newlyweds dressedin Han-dynasty costumesface
each other during a traditional group wedding
ceremony in Xi'an, China.
SOME ANTHROPOLOGISTS! ONCE THOUGHT that In India, marriages have traditionally been
romance was a Western idea, developed in arranged, usually by the bride's and groom's
the Middle Ages.2 Non-Western societies, they parents, but today love marriages appear to
thought, were too occupied with social and be on the rise, often in defiance of parents'
5 family relationships for romance. Today, scientists 25 wishes. The victory of romantic love is celebrated
believe that romance has existed in human in Bollywood films. However, most Indians still
brains in all societies since prehistoric3 times. In believe arranged marriages are more likely to
one study, for example, men and women from succeed than love marriages. In one survey of
Europe, Japan, and the Philippines were asked to Indian college students, 76 percent said they
10 fill out a survey to measure their experiences of 3D would marry someone with all the right qualities
passionate love. All three groups said that they even if they weren't in love with the person.
felt passion with the same extreme intensity. Marriage is considered too important a step to
leave to chance.
But though romantic love may be universal, its
cultural expression is not. To the Fulbe people of
1 An anthropologist studies people, society. and culture.
15 northern Cameroon, men who spend too much
2 The Middle Ages was the period in European history between
time with their wives are insulted4 and looked- ,,,about 500 A.D. and about 1500 A.D.
down on. Those who fall deeply in love-ar~'- '0,- 3. Prehistoric people and things existed at a time before
information was written down.
thought to have fallen under a dangerpus spell.
4 If someone il.'sults you, they say or do something that
For the Fulbe, to be controlled by love is seen is rude or off~nsive.
,
20 as shameful.
Unit 2A 27
-.
Finding the Right Person Is It All Just Chemicals?
35 Some psychiatrists,S such as Thomas Lewis from 75 According to other researchers, love may be caused
the University of California, hypothesize that by chemicals in the body. Donatella Marazziti,
romantic love is rooted in experiences of physical a professor at the University of Pisa in Italy, has
closeness in childhood-for example, how we felt studied the biochemistry8 of lovesickness.9 Having
in our mother's arms. These feelings of comfort been in love twice herself and felt its overwhelming
40 and affection are written on our brain, and as 80 power, Marazziti became interested in exploring
adults, our constant inclination is to find them the similarities between love and obsessive-
again. According to this theory, we love whom we compulsive disorder (OCD).IO
love not so much because of the future we hope
to build, but rather because of the past we hope Marazziti examined the blood of 24 people
45 to live again. The person who "feels right" has a who had fallen deeply in love within the past six
certain look, smell, sound, or touch that activates 85 months, and measured their levels of serotonin.
very deep memories. Serotonin is a powerful chemical in the brain
and body that is connected with our moods,
Evolutionary psychologists explain, however, that emotions, and desires. She found that their levels
survival skills are inherent in our choice of a mate. of serotonin were 40 percent lower than normal
50 According to this hypothesis, we are attracted to 90 people-the same results she found from people
people who look healthy-for example, a woman with OCD. Her conclusion was that love and
with a 70 percent waist-to-hip ratio is attractive mental illness may be difficult to tell apart.
because she can likely bear children successfully.
A man with rugged features probably has a Another scientist, anthropologist Helen Fisher, from
55 strong immune systemSand therefore is more Rutgers University, U.S.A., has been looking at love
likely to give his partner healthy children. 95 with the aid of an MRI machine.H She recruited
subjects who were "madly in love," and once they
On the other hand, perhaps our choice of a were inside the MRI machine, she showed them
mate is a simple matter of following our noses. two photographs, one neutral, the other of their
Claus Wedekind, a professor at the University of loved one.
60 Lausanne in Switzerland conducted an interesting
experiment with sweaty7 T-shirts. He asked 49 100 What Fisher saw fascinated her. When each subject
women to smell T-shirts previously worn by a looked at his or her loved one, the parts of the
variety of unidentified men. He then asked the brain linked to reward and pleasure" lit up." Love
women to rate which T-shirts smelled the best "lights up" these areas using a chemical called
65 and which the worst. dopamine. Dopamine creates intense energy,
105 exhilaration, focused attention, and motivation to
He found that women preferred the smell of win rewards. Dopamine levels do eventually drop,
a T-shirt worn by a man who was the most though, and studies around the world confirm that
genetically different from her. This genetic a decrease in passion is the norm.
difference means that it is likely that the man's
70 immune system possessessomething hers does Fisher has suggested that relationships frequently
not. By choosing him as the father of her children, 110 break up after about four years because that's
she increases the chance that her children will
be healthy. 8 Biochemistry is the study of the chemical processes that
occur in living things.
9 A lovesick person experiences overwhelming feelings
5 A psychiatrist is a doctor who treats people with a particular . of love.
mental condition or illness. 10 Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental
S The body's immune system protects it from diseases of all kinds. illness that Involves repeating actions or thinking about
7 Sweat is the salty, colorless liquid that comes through your certain things too much.
skin when you are hot, sick, or afraid.
28 Unit2A
about how long it takes to raise a child through mutual feelings of connection and bonding.
infancy.12 Passion, that wild feeling, turns 125 It is produced when we hug our long-
out to be practical after all. A couple not only term partners or our children. In long-term
needs to bring a child into this world; they also relationships that work, oxytocin is believed
115 need a bond that continues long enough to to be abundant in both partners. According
raise a helpless human infant. to Helen Fisher, couples who want their
130 relationship to last should make an effort to
Unit 2A 29
Reading Comprehensio_n _
Multiple Choice. Choose the best answer for each question.
A. Scanning. Look back at the reading on pages 27-29. Find and underline
the following information.
1. --- Romance has existed in human brains in all societies since
prehistoric times. (lines 6-7)
2. The cultural expression of love is not universal. (lines 13-14)
3. Arranged marriages in India are more likely to succeed than love
marriages. (lines 27-28)
4. Romantic love is rooted in experiences of physical closeness in
childhood. (lines 37-38)
5. We love whom we love because of the past we hope to live again.
(lines 42-45)
6. We are attracted to people who look healthy. (lines 50-51)
7. In one study, women preferred the smell of a T-shirt worn by a man
who was the most genetically different from her. (lines 66-68)
8. Love is caused by chemicals in the body. (lines 75-76)
9. Serotonin is a powerful chemical in the brain and body that is
related to our moods, emotions, and desires. (lines 86-88)
10. Love and mental illness are difficult to tell apart. (lines 91-92)
11. The reason relationships often break up after four years is that it
takes that long to raise a child through infancy. (lines 109-112)
12. All couples find that their passion declines over time.
(lines 118-119)
13. In long-term relationships that work, oxytocin is abundant in
both partners. (lines 126-128)
B. Fact or Theory. Which of the statements above are facts and which are
theories? Write F (Fact) or T (Theory) next to each statement. Then circle the
words in the reading that indicate the theories.
Unit 2A 31
Vocabulary Practice
A. Matching. Read the information below and match each word in red
with its definition.
32 Unit 2A
Before You Read A Wilson's bird
of paradise
A. Quiz. Guess the answers to the questions below. Then use the captions, displays his
maps, and images on pages 33-37 to check your answers. elaborate tail
1. Most birds of paradise live in Australia. Yes No feathers. Like
other birds of
2. The female birds of paradise are more colorful than the males. Yes No
paradise, male
3. The male bird of paradise dances to attract females. Yes No Wilson birds are
4. Most birds of paradise live at very low altitudes. Yes No more colorful
than their female
B. Predict. Look again at the title, headings, photos, and captions on
counterparts.
pages 33-37. Check (./) the information about birds of paradise you
think you'll read about.
o what they eat o their commercial uses
o why they have such beautiful o how they attract a mate
feathers
Unit 28 33
COVERED IN SOFT, BLACKFEATHERS,the noble Not only do most male birds of paradise have
performer bows deeply to his audience. From 30 extremely beautiful feathers, they know how
the top of his head grow several long feathers to use them. Each species has its own type
that tap the ground as he begins his dance. This of display behavior. Some dance remarkably
5 dancing bird is Carola's parotia, just one of the complex dances on the ground, in areas that
fascinating and unique birds of paradise that live they have cleared and prepared like their own
on the island of New Guinea. What is the reason 35 version of a dance floor.! Others perform their
for the dance show? This male bird is attempting display high in the trees.
to impress a row of females that are watching
10 him from a branch above. The male red bird of paradise shows off his
delightful red and yellow feathers in a display
Keeping the females' attention isn't easy, so he sometimes called a "butterfly dance." He
really gives it his all. He pauses for dramatic 40 spreads and moves his wings intensely like some
effect, and then commences his dance again. giant butterfly. The male Carola's parotia has at
His neck sinks and his head moves up and least six different dance moves. These include
15 down, head feathers bouncing. He jumps one in which he spreads out his feathers like a
and shakes his feathers until his performance dress in a move called the "ballerina2 dance."
attracts the attention of one of the females- 45 While some birds of paradise perform alone,
the one that will be his mate. others, like Goldie's birds of paradise, often
perform together, creating an eye-catching
BIRD OF PARADISE
• RANGE
",
AUSTRALIA
Y mi iIi 1,0,00
Okm 1.000 )
Omi 100
NEW GUINEA f---r--'
o km 100
34 Unit 28
AUSTRALIA
The island of New Guinea is home to 38 species of
birds of paradise, more than anywhere else in the
world. Most birds of paradise, including the Red bird
of paradise (above), live within a single mountain
range and altitude.4 This isolation reduces the Western
flow of genes between populations, allowing parotia
(Parotia
the birds to evolve separately into their sefifataJ I,OOOm
wonderful varieties.
Unit 28 35
55 The Evolution of Color
These brilliantly colored birds of paradise have
evolved over millions of years from ancient
birds whose feathers were dark and boring in
comparison. Of today's 43 brightly colored birds
60 of paradise species, most live only on the island
of New Guinea. These birds of paradise invite
us to solve a mystery of nature. It seems to be
a contradictionS that such extreme feathers and
colors could have been favored by the process of
65 evolution. After all, these same brightly colored
feathers that attract mates also make them much
more noticeable to predators6 and slow the birds
down, making fleeing from those predators more
difficult. The answer lies in the safe environment
70 in which the birds live, and a process of evolution
known as "sexual selection."
36 Unit 28
of the trade, in the early 1900s, 80,000 skins David Mitchell, a conservationist, is using local
115 a year were exported from New Guinea for 135 villagers to record where the birds display and what
European ladies' hats. However, surprisingly they eat. He hopes not only to gather data, but
few birds die for these costumes nowadays. also to encourage protection of the birds' habitat.
Ceremonial feathers are passed down from The strategy seems to be working. "I had come to
generation to generation. Local people are still cut down some trees and plant yam vines," 10 says
120 permitted to hunt birds of paradise for traditional 140 Ambrose Joseph, one of Mitchell's farmers. "Then
uses. However, hunters usually target older I saw the birds land there, so I left the trees alone."
male birds, leaving younger males to continue For millions of years, these impressive birds have
breeding. danced to find their mates. They'll keep dancing
for as long as the forest offers them a stage.
There are more serious threats to the birds'
125 welfare. An illegal market in feathers still exists. 8 Logging is the business of cutting down trees for use as wood.
Large farms use up thousands of hectares of 9 Mining is the business of digging deep into the earth to
forest where birds of paradise once lived, as does obtain valuable materials.
10 A yam is a root vegetable. like a potato. that grows in tropical
large-scale industriallogging.8 Oil prospecting
areas. A vine is a plant that grows up or over things.
and mining9 also present dangers to New
130 Guinea's wildest forests. Meanwhile, human
populations continue to grow. Land is owned by
different local families whose leaders disagree
about which areas should be protected.
Unit 28 37
Reading Comprehension
Multiple Choice. Choose the best answer for each question.
38 Unit 28
Recognizing Figurative Language
Figurative language is a creative way to use language to describe someone
or something. Writers use it to create an image in the reader's mind.
Examples include similes, metaphors, and personification.
A simile compares two different things using like or as.
Her skin was as cold as ice.
A metaphor says one thing is another thing.
The road during rush hour is a parking lot.
Personification gives humanlike qualities to something nonhuman.
Lightning danced across the sky.
A. Analyzing. Look at these examples from the reading. Mark each one
as an example of a simile (S), a metaphor (M), or personification (P).
Some have more than one answer.
1. Covered in soft, black feathers, the noble performer bows
deeply to his audience. (lines 1-2)
2. To attract females, males' feathers are costumes worthy
of the stage. (lines 22-24)
3. He spreads and moves his wings intensely like some
giant butterfly. (lines 39-41)
4. These include one in which he spreads out his feathers
like a dress. (lines 42-44)
5. For millions of years, these impressive birds have danced
to find their mates. (lines 142-143)
Unit 2B 39
Vocabulary Practice
A. Completion. Complete the information using the correct form
of words from the box. Five words are extra.
40 Unit 28
VIEWING
Before You Watch
A. Definitions. Look at the picture and read the caption. Then match each word
in bold with its definition.
Viewing 41
B. Completion. Complete each caption with the correct words from the box.
It's usually the female that gets to choose a mate, and the
male must demonstrate that his 5. _
are worth passing along to 6. _
offspring.
42 Viewing