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词数：328 words
难度：★★★☆☆
小贴士：
这篇也挺有考相的~
关于段落中陌生词太多读不懂的一个小Tip：以本文第三段为例，文章中集中出现了大量陌生词汇，只要把握句子当中的动词，掌握主谓宾的含义，基本就可以理解段落的大致意思。
——大橙子留
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上期划线句答案
Shoppers who use “buy now, pay later” loans are to get new safeguards against unaffordable borrowing and credit card-style protection for their purchases, under rules outlined by the UK government.
英国政府提出的新规，将为使用“先买后付”贷款的消费者提供新的保障，以防消费者陷入无法负担的贷款中，并给他们的消费提供类似信用卡的保护机制。
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本期内容
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双语阅读
Para.1
In times gone by, left-handedness was drummed out of errant schoolchildren, and oddly negative connotations still linger in our language. The word ‘left’ comes from the Anglo-Saxon word ‘lyft’, meaning ‘weak’. And the opposite in Latin is ‘dexter’ which is associated with skill and righteousness.
Para.2
So what determines whether we are right- or left-handed?From an evolutionary standpoint, specialising with one hand makes sense. Chimpanzees tend to choose a favourite hand for different tasks.
Para.3
Take termite fishing. After selecting the perfect stick, the chimp pokes it into the termite mound, their sense of touch providing a host of information about how deep, wide and full of tasty termites their house may be. Then they’ll gently pull the stick out to reveal their prey, the termites’ jaws clamping down hard on the foreign invader. Unbeknown to them, they are about to get chomped by a hungry chimp. By specialising with one hand, chimps become more dexterous, and more termites bite the dust. But when primatologists study chimpanzees in the wild, their patterns of handedness look very different to ours. For each task around 50% are right-handed, and 50% left. So where in our evolutionary tree does this 1 in 10 ratio emerge?
Para.4
An important clue comes from Neanderthals’ teeth. Neanderthals, it turns out, were clever, but clumsy. Our ancestors used their teeth to anchor slabs of meat, whilst they held a knife in their dominant hand to carve it up. Now and again, they would scratch their teeth. The distinctive pattern of grooves in their front incisors reveals which hand must have been holding the food, and which was grasping the knife. Incredibly, when you compare the number of left- and right-handed Neanderthals, this same ratio of 1 in 10 left-handers that we see today pops out.
Para.5
We know that left- and right-handedness has a genetic origin. However, geneticists are still trying to pinpoint which bits of DNA are involved, and there may well be up to 40 different genes at play. As things stand, the answer to what determines left or right handedness and why lefties are in the minority remains a resounding “don’t know”.
本文节选自：BBC
发布时间：2024.10.6
作者：Hannah Fry
原文标题：The mystery of why left-handers are so much rarer
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写作句总结
原句：However, geneticists are still trying to pinpoint which bits of DNA are involved, and there may well be up to 40 different genes at play.
结构：However, [subject] are still trying to [verb phrase], and there may well be [quantifier] [adjective phrase] at play.
例句：However, researchers are still trying to understand the complexities of climate change, and there may well be multiple factors influencing its effects.
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阅读理解题
What can be inferred about the handedness of Neanderthals based on the passage?
A) Neanderthals were predominantly right-handed.
B) Neanderthals exhibited no handedness preferences.
C) Neanderthals used both hands equally for tasks.
D) Neanderthals had identifiable patterns of handedness.
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打卡作业
翻译文章中的划线句，文末留言打卡，下期推送会在文章开头处公布参考翻译答案，大家一起来学习英语吧~
翻译 | 大橙子
校对 | 李柚子
词汇词组 | 西西弗
划线句讲解 | 流木
写作句总结 | 沅沅
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