Evolution, YOLO Lifestyle, and Distorted History - Insights from Reader's Bank Level 9

PPT Reader s Bank Level 9 Unit 03

09 _1 / p. 32 Reader s Bank Level 9 In 1962, James Neel, a world-famous biologist, explained how modern obesity is related to evolution. ( ) According to him, obesity was essential to humans survival in primitive times when food was not always available. ( ) Back then, humans often had to face hunger. ( ) As a result, they evolved to develop the fat-saving genes, which stored fat in their bodies to prepare for times of food shortage. ( ) Still, these fat-saving genes, commonly known as thrifty genes, continue to exist and work within modern human bodies. ( ) Why didn t the fat-saving genes disappear even though they are not useful anymore? Compared to 2 million years of human

09 _2 / p. 32 Reader s Bank Level 9 history of hunger and food shortage, the last 100 years of food abundance is too short. Therefore, the genes did not have enough time to adapt to this sudden change. Now you can see why one third of the world s population are overweight. In the 21st century, however, food is now abundant, so the fat- saving genes are no longer needed.

10 You Only Live Once!_1 / p.34 Reader s Bank Level 9 YOLO is short for You Only Live Once. People with this YOLO way of thinking seek to enjoy the present instead of worrying about future happiness. They spend money on things that can bring immediate pleasure like sports, travel, fancy dinners or fashionable clothes. According to social scientists, the younger generation has adopted the YOLO lifestyle due to ___________________________. Many young adults have difficulty finding jobs even if they are highly educated. In addition, housing prices have risen sharply over the last decade, so young adults feel that buying a house is simply not possible. Therefore, instead of wasting the best years of their lives saving money just to secure a tiny living space, they prefer to spend money on unique experiences which give them immediate happiness.

10 You Only Live Once!_2 / p.34 Reader s Bank Level 9 However, the YOLO way of living is criticized by the older generation, who focused more on financial freedom and future stability. They tried hard to save money to the point that they ended up missing out on many great experiences in life. So what is the right way to live life? There is no right or wrong answer. Instead, it is a matter of priority. People should choose what they believe is the most important to them.

11 ! / p.36 Reader s Bank Level 9 Whoever wins the war gets to write history. Winners decide what is good or evil. For this reason, history is often full of distortions and one-sided views. So-called historical facts are determined by the winner, so if the winner changes, the facts may be completely altered. (A) , if Lincoln had lost the Civil War, he would have been viewed as a national traitor. If Japan had won World War II, many American officers would have been considered war criminals for killing hundreds of thousands of Japanese civilians with atomic bombs. Throughout history, the winners constantly change. Sometimes people who win in one era would lose in another and vice versa. (B) , history is bound to be continuously reconstructed and reinterpreted by all sorts of people with different motives.

12 ? !_1 / p.38 Reader s Bank Level 9 The human brain has two parts: an emotional brain and a thinking brain. The emotional brain, called the limbic brain, is responsible for your feelings, such as anger, fear, or love. The thinking brain, called the neocortex, is responsible for logic, reason, imagination, and language. (A) Therefore, when you want to persuade someone, try expressing your thoughts and feelings calmly instead of relying on logical reasoning alone. If you don t criticize them or provoke their emotional brain, you have a better chance of changing their mind. (B) Which of the two brains has more power over your thoughts and behavior? Contrary to popular belief, the emotional brain is much more powerful and influential than the thinking brain; the emotional brain is like a (A) __ and the thinking brain like a (B) .

12 ? !_2 / p.38 Reader s Bank Level 9 (C) So if you want to persuade someone, you should appeal to their emotional brain. If you just appeal to their thinking brain, you will likely get nowhere. Using logic only may help you win the argument, but it may hurt their pride and provoke their emotional brain. When their emotional brain takes over, it paralyzes their thinking brain, the area that is responsible for logical thinking. * limbic brain ( ) ( ) * neocortex ( ) ( , )