Text b. Time's arrows

Exercise 5. Discuss the questions:

1. When did human ancestors conceive the idea of making tools?

2. What tools did they make? How?

Exercise 6. Listen to the text (Script 32) which investigates the correlation between ancient weapons and modern man's evolution. What insights into the evolution of the human psyche are provided by ancient tools?

shard – осколок lump – кусок, глыба to bash – сильно ударить to ascribe – приписывать threshold – порог, черта to annihilate – истребить, уничтожить self-sacrifice – самопожертвование

Exercise 7. Listen to the text again and explain what the following figures refer to in the text:

30 mm 1.2 inches 71,000 9,000

40,000 60,000 150,000-200,000 50,000-60,000

Exercise 8. Are the following statements true or false according to the text? Correct the false ones.

1. Producing microliths required considerable skill.

2. Microliths have still been used in modern human history.

3. About 150,000 yers ago Homo sapiens left Africa.

4. About 150,000 yers ago Homo sapiens crossed a threshold in mental development.

5. Somу experts use microliths to demonstrate that anatomic transformations predated mental development during human evolution.

6. The microliths demonstrate that 71,000 years ago ancient people could not invent and produce any relatively complex weapon.

7. The discovery of the 71,000-years-old microliths confirms that mentally and psychologically ancient people were not signicantly different from modern people.

8. Extreme altruism is believed to be one of the features that distinguish humans from other species.

9. Evolutionary biologists suggest that invention of weapons like bow and arrows resulted in wars.

10. Altruism is evolutionary reasonable.

Exercise 9. How does the information presented in the lecture Text A. relate to the facts presented in the listening passage Text B? Summarise all common points and differences (about 300 words).

Text c. The neurons that shaped civilization

Exercise 10. Before listening to the text discuss the questions:

1. What do you know about mirror neurons? Speak on their functions and evolutionary significance.

2. What is the difference between Darwinian and Lamarckian evolution? Give examples of evolutionary adaptations.

to contemplate – обдумывать, размышлать; созерцать to eavesdrop on – подслушивать to grab – хватать literally – буквально, в прямом смысле consciousness – сознание, самознание

Exercise 11. Watch the talk given by Vilayanur Ramachandran: The neurons that shaped civilization (Video 9, listening for the main idea) to check your answers in Exercise 10. According to Professor Ramachandran, what is the evolutionary significance of mirror neurons?

Exercise 12. Watch the talk again. What do the following figures refer to in the text:

three pounds 100 billion 1,000 to 10,000 50 years

20 percent 75,000 to 100,000 thousands of generations five minutes, 10 minutes

Exercise 13. What information does the lecturer provide on:

1. structure and capacity of the human brain

2. methodology of brain research

3. motor command neurons

4. mirror neurons

5. touch and pain receptors

6. “Ghandi neurons”

7. cultural differences between global regions

8. phantom limb sensations

9. relations between science and humanitites

Exercise 14. Write a summary of the text (about 150 words).