雅思阅读

📖 Reading Passage

The concept of 'environmental determinism' has long been debated in geography. Early theorists, such as Ellsworth Huntington, argued that climate was the primary driver of human civilization, suggesting that temperate zones fostered intellectual advancement while tropical regions hindered progress. However, this view was heavily criticized for its oversimplification and potential racial bias. Modern geographers, like Jared Diamond, have refined this idea, proposing that environmental factors such as the availability of domesticable species and geographic axes influenced the unequal development of societies. Yet, Diamond's critics contend that his framework underestimates human agency and cultural innovation. Recent research emphasizes a more nuanced interaction, where environment offers constraints and opportunities, but human decisions and historical contingencies play equally vital roles in shaping outcomes.