BBC 6 Minute English | EVOLUTION BEFORE DARWIN

source: Daily Listening    2016年9月19日

0:06 Today we're talking about evolution.
0:08 Now the man most people think of when talking about evolution is of course Charles Darwin.
0:13 He was a bit of a genius, wasn’t he?
0:15 He was.
0:16 Evolution means the way living things change and develop over millions of years.
0:21 And a genius has great and unusual skills or abilities in a particular subject or area.
0:27 Well Charles Darwin was a clever man but I happen to know that another man actually came
0:33 up with the same idea, but many years before he did!
0:37 So how do you know that then, clever clogs – that's someone who thinks they know everything?
0:41 What was his name?
0:42 Well, his name was Patrick Matthew.
0:45 OK, well we’re going to learn more about him on today’s programme.
0:49 But first can you answer this, Neil?
0:51 What was Patrick Matthew’s job?
0:52 Was he … a) a politician?
0:54 b) a church minister?
0:57 Or c) a horticulturalist?
0:59 Well, I don’t know so I'll go for the most profession that sounds most interesting - a
1:05 horticulturalist, so I’ll choose that one!
1:08 That’s a person who studies plants.
1:10 OK.
1:11 We’ll find out later whether you are right or wrong.
1:13 But let’s listen now to Dr Mike Weale talking about Patrick Matthew.
1:19 Can you hear the word he uses to mean 'change-making'?...
1:23 He published a brief outline of the idea of species being able to change into other species
1:29 through natural selection – this great, transformative idea that unites us all in
1:34 a single tree of life.
1:35 And he did that 27 years before Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace did so.
1:41 And they recognized that he did so but other people since then have simplified the story
1:47 and tended to concentrate just on Darwin.
1:49 So, Matthew believed that evolution happened by natural selection.
1:55 And natural selection describes the way that plants and animals adapt to their environment,
2:00 because some individuals survive and reproduce, and others don’t.
2:04 And adapt means the way our bodies or our behaviour change to suit new conditions.
2:10 And what does Mike mean by ‘a single tree of life’?
2:14 Well, the basic idea behind evolution is that all the different species – or types of
2:19 living thing – have evolved from the same simple life form.
2:24 Just like a family tree describes how the members of your family are related to each
2:28 other, so the ‘tree of life’ describes how all living things are related.
2:32 So if this was a transformative – or change-making – idea, why don’t more of us know about
2:39 Patrick Matthew?
2:40 A good question, Neil.
2:42 We heard in the clip that Darwin acknowledged – or accepted - Matthew’s claim to the
2:46 idea.
2:47 But it seems to be down to us – the general public – wanting to simplify things.
2:52 Well, I like to keep things simple, Rob.
2:55 You don’t have to tell me that, Neil.
2:57 But let’s hear more on why Matthew might have been passed over – or ignored – by
3:02 some.
3:03 Here’s Dr Patricia Fara, senior tutor at Clare College Cambridge.
3:08 She tells us why Darwin was so successful.
3:12 And listen out for the word she uses to mean close friends and supporters.
3:17 He brought his allies on board.
3:19 And although he was publishing from his stronghold down in Kent he had the most famous, most
3:25 prominent, eminent members of the scientific society in Victorian times who were pushing
3:29 on his behalf.
3:31 Having a scientific theory being accepted is not just a matter of whether the theory’s
3:36 right.
3:37 The word she used was allies.
3:39 What are they Neil?
3:41 Allies are people who help or support us in something - having someone on board also means
3:47 to have someone’s support for an idea or project.
3:51 And Darwin’s allies weren’t just mates from down the pub, were they?
3:54 No, they weren’t!
3:56 They were famous, prominent and eminent scientists.
4:00 Prominent means important and well-known and eminent means important and respected.
4:03 Ah yes!
4:04 So you could say that I’m an eminent radio presenter, Rob?
4:07 Well, I could Neil, but…
4:09 OK, OK, OK moving on!
4:11 These eminent scientists were pushing on Darwin’s behalf.
4:14 In other words, they were taking strong action to promote his theory of evolution.
4:20 And it’s possible that Patrick Matthew did not enjoy the same level of support.
4:25 That could be true.
4:27 So do you remember the quiz question from the beginning of the show, Rob?
4:31 Indeed I do!
4:32 I asked: What was Matthew’s job?
4:35 Was he … a) a politician?
4:36 b) a church minister?
4:39 Or c) a horticulturalist?
4:41 And I said c) horticulturalist.
4:44 Yes.
4:45 And that was the right answer – so well done!
4:48 Just to remind you: a horticulturalist is a person whose job is to study and grow plants
4:53 such as flowers, fruit and vegetables.
4:56 But Matthew was interested in trees too.
4:58 In fact, his ideas about evolution appear in an appendix – or section giving extra
5:04 information – at the end of a 200-page book about wood!
5:08 So maybe that’s why we know Darwin’s name but not Matthew’s.
5:11 It doesn’t seem fair.
5:13 Well, life’s not fair, Neil.
5:15 You should know that by now!
5:16 I should, I should…
5:17 So why don’t we hear the words we learned today?
5:19 OK.
5:20 Here we go: evolution
5:22 genius, clever clogs
5:27 natural selection, adapt
5:31 species, transformative
5:35 passed over, allies
5:39 on board, prominent
5:43 eminent, horticulturalist
5:47 appendix. Thank you, Neil.