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Research has shown that two-thirds of human conversation is taken up not with discussion ofthe cultural or political problems of the day, not heated debates about filmswe've just watched or books we've just finished reading, but plain and simple_______.

Language is our greatest treasure as a species, and what do we _______ do with it? We gossip. About others' behaviour and private lives, such as who's doing what with whom, who's in and who's out——and why; how to deal with difficult_______ situations involving children, lovers, and colleagues.

So why are wekeen on gossiping? Are we just natural _______, of both time and words? Or do we talk a lot about nothing in particular simply to avoid facing up to the reallyimportant issues of life? It's not the case according to Professor RobinDunbar. In fact, in his latest book, Grooming, Gossip and the Evolution of Language, the psychologist says gossip is one of these really_______issues.

Dunbar _______the traditional view that language was developed by the men at the early stage of social development in order to organize their manly hunting activities moreeffectively, or even to promote the exchange of poetic stories about their origins and the supernatural. Instead he suggests that language evolved among women. We don't spend two-thirds of our time gossiping just because we can talk, argues Dunbar —_______, he goes on to say, language evolved specifically to allow us to gossip.

Dunbar arrived at his cheery theory by studying the _______ of the higher primates likemonkeys. By means of grooming——cleaning the fur by brushing it,monkeys form groups with other individuals on whom they can rely for support inthe event of some kind of conflict within the group or_______ from outside it.

As we humanbeings evolve from a particular branch of the primate family, Dunbar __________that at one time in our history we did much the same. Grouping together made sense because the bigger the group, the greater the __________ it provided; on theother hand, the bigger the group, the greater the stresses of living close toothers. Grooming helped to __________ the pressure and calm everybody down.

But as thegroups got bigger and bigger, the amount of time spent in grooming activities also had to be __________ to maintain its effectiveness. Clearly, a more __________kind of grooming was needed, and thus language evolved as a kind of vocal grooming which allowed humans to develop relationship with ever-larger groups by exchanging information over a wider network of individuals than would bepossible by one-to-one __________ contact.

1.A.claim B.description C.gossip D.language

2.A.occasionally B.habitually C.independently D.originally

3.A.social B.political C.historical D.cultural

4.A.admirers B.masters C.users D.wasters

5.A.vital B.sensitive C.ideal D.difficult

6.A.confirms B.rejects C.outlines D.broadens

7.A.for instance B.in addition C.on the contrary D.as a result

8.A.motivation B.appearance C.emotion D.behavior

9.A.attack B.contact C.inspection D.assistance

10.A.recalls B.denies C.concludes D.confesses

11.A.prospect B.responsibility C.leadership D.protection

12.A.measure B.show C.maintain D.ease

13.A.saved B.extended C.consumed D.gained

14.A.common B.efficient C.scientific D.thoughtful

15.A.indirect B.daily C.physical D.secret

高三英语完形填空中等难度题

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