Free levelled English reading practice. Read for meaning first, then use the full Speed Reading tool to time yourself and track your progress.
Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection emerged from decades of observation, reading, specimen collection and correspondence rather than from a sudden moment of inspiration. The voyage of HMS Beagle exposed him to striking geographical patterns in fossils and living species, but his argument matured after his return to Britain. Darwin recognised that populations vary, that more offspring are produced than can survive, and that heritable variations affecting survival or reproduction can become more common over generations. Alfred Russel Wallace independently developed a similar mechanism, prompting a joint presentation in 1858. Darwin’s On the Origin of Species appeared the following year. Natural selection did not explain heredity itself; genetics would later provide mechanisms Darwin lacked. The enduring power of his theory lies in showing how cumulative, non-directed processes can generate adaptation and biological diversity.
Comprehension questions
What voyage influenced Darwin?
What three ingredients support natural selection?
Who independently developed a similar idea?
When was Origin published?
What later field supplied missing heredity mechanisms?
