EWR #67 Talking about evolution

Today we are going to talk about evolution. As always you can read the text in the PDF which you can find in the description. Follow our podcasts on iTunes and Yandex Music. For more new dialogs subscribe to our channel.

How to work with the dialog?

1. Listen to the dialog and read the PDF transcript. Turn on subtitles if necessary.
2. Listen to the dialog again, repeating the questions and answers aloud (!!!).
3. Come up with your own answers to the questions. Use PDF vocabulary if needed.
4. Listen to the questions and answer them aloud (!!!), with a correct intonation, pronunciation and rhythm.
5. Go back to the video from time to time and repeat the exercise.

Talking about evolution in English

(1) What springs to mind when you hear the word ‘evolution’?

I think about changes in nature and our life. Everything we have around us today is a result of evolution.

(2) Do you believe the story of evolution as told in religious books?

Is it the story about Adam and Eve? I don’t think it’s true, but everything is possible.

(3) How do you think the world got here?

There is the Big Bang Theory, that describes the beginning of the universe. It’s interesting, but what is more interesting is what was before the Big Bang. That’s the question!

(4) How do you think we got here?

According to Darwin’s Theory we evolved slowly, starting from a tiny form of life and finishing by  becoming a human. 

(5) What do you think we will look like millions of years from now?

It’s a very interesting question. To be honest, I don’t think that people will still exist on our planet in millions of years from now. It’s a huge period of time!

(6) How old is our planet?

As far as I know our planet is 4.5 billion years old. 

(7) How was the very first life form created and what did it look like?

It was a microorganism, created by lucky chance! The earliest forms of life lived in the ocean.

(8) Why is Darwin’s Theory of Evolution discarded by so many religions?

This theory denies the story that we can find in religious books. So it’s obvious that so many religions discard Darwin’s Theory.

(9) Many schools in the USA teach creationism – the idea that God put humans on Earth as we are today. What do you think of this?

We can’t be 100% sure, but it sounds unreal to me. What about you?

(10) Do you think God created everything as it is outlined in the book of Genesis?

It’s a hard question and quite provoking! ? As I said, everything is possible in our world.

 Anya —-> Rinat

(1) What do you understand by the term ‘natural selection’?

It’s a selection of the most efficient and strong forms of life, made by nature. According to that only the most adaptable and strong species survive. 

(2) Do you think Darwin’s theory of evolution is the best?

Yes I do think that Darwin’s theory is the best. At least for now. 

(3) Do you think we descended from the apes? 

I think it’s true. We look similar and do many things the same way. So I think that we descended from the apes indeed. 

(4) Do you think humans are set apart from the animal kingdom?

No, I don’t think so. We are not set apart from animals. We are animals as well, but just more intelligent and cruel sometimes. People can do terrible things sometimes that even animals would never do. That’s crazy!

(5) Many followers of the ‘Intelligent Design’ theory say we were created by an intelligent designer. What do you think?

It sounds interesting and we can’t deny this theory. Everything is possible. Who knows, maybe one day our intelligent designers will come and tell us everything.

(6) What do you think of the ‘survival of the fittest’ theory?

It makes sense. I am not sure that it works in 100% of cases, but in general it’s pretty logical.

(7) Do you think evolution is a random process?

There is nothing random in nature. So no, I don’t think evolution is a random process.

(8) How long ago did human become human and what made us human?

The first humans emerged in Africa around two million years ago. “What made us human?” is a good question. We evolved and in a long period of time became who we are now. Or maybe some aliens made us!

(9) Can you watch evolution happening?

It’s a very slow process. And our life is just a short period of it. So I don’t think we can watch evolution happening.

(10) How can we know what happened millions of years ago?

Scientists carry out excavations and find out new things about our past. They also study old stones and ices that contain a lot of information about the evolution of our planet. It’s really interesting!