Department of Agriculture's research center in Beltsville, Maryland, have shown
that plants can be helped to develop faster in less time. By increasing or lessening
the hours of darkness in each day, the scientists have been able to mm plant growth
off and on like an electric switch.
New knowledge about nature's living clocks has practical applications. For man,
too, seems to follow daily rhythms. The amount of sugar in our blood stream varies
with the time of day, as does our temperature. More of the cells in our skin and
muscles divide during the night hours than during the day. By tinkering with the
clocks of plants and animals, scientists may learn more about the fascinating way our bodies work.
41. Although scientists know that the number of hours of daylight controls the
actions of some living things, they know that this is not the only factor because
A. the fiddler crab's shell reached the darkest color at the same time in Cape
Cod, Massachusetts and its neighboring island B. the fiddler crab continued to change color in the dark C. plants will not grow without sunlight D. all of the above
42. From this article we conclude that these rhythms in nature occur most spectacularly __
A. in the higher orders of living things B. in the lower orders of living things C. in birds and animals
~:i~ ~: 08 D. in man
43. Scientists have learned to control to some extent the naturally rhythmical activities of A. migrating birds B. growing plants C. body cells D. fiddler crabs 44. This article is basically __ A. informational
B. entertaining C. inspirational D. controversial
Questions 45 to 48 are based on the following passage:
There are several ways of listening that net us nothing but trouble, according to
Dr. Ralph Nichols of the University of Minnesota. If we recognize and try to
conquer them, we can step up our listening ability by about twenty-five percent and
thereby greatly increase our chances for success in our daily lives. Unless you are very unusual indeed, says Dr. Nichols, you must plead guilty to
several of the following bad listening habits:
Shut-Ear Listening: Maybe you feel you already know what the speaker is
going to say. Or his subject couldn't interest you less. You mm off your ears--and
who knows what you may be missing or when a little knowledge on that subject
may come in mighty handy? Anyway, why take the risk?
Over-My-Head Listening: You are convinced that the subject is
beyond you,
so you depart, at least in spirit. You may be right. And then again you may be wrong.
If you let the words enter your mind, you may be surprised to discover that they
make sense. But even if they are as strange as Greek to you, you should try to listen
and understand. Otherwise you may find some day that you must attempt to grasp an
over-your-head idea and be totally unable even to try.
Memory Test Listening: Some people think that trying to memorize a series of
facts is good listening. They are wrong. For instance, you are getting a story for your
school paper on an assembly speaker. He makes a series of points. You try to
memorize them. But while you are busy planting facts A, B, and C in your mind,
repeating them over and over, you are losing out on facts D and E. Better to look for
main ideas. You will find them more useful and easier to recall later. Take-It-All-Down Listening: When you try to get too many of the
speaker's
words on paper, part of your mind must be concerned with your note-taking. You are
unable to concentrate fully on what he is saying. You risk losing valuable points.
Where note-taking is necessary--and you may be surprised to find out how often it
isn't if you concentrate fully on listening--try to jot down only a memory-jogging
word or two. Or put the main ideas on paper after the speaker has finished. The more
complete attention you give the speaker, the easier it will be to recall his ideas later.
Personality Listening: You become so concerned with the way the speaker
looks or how he talks that what he says fails to penetrate. Perhaps unconsciously you
decide that a person who dresses or speaks like that can't have much to say. That
could be a very false conclusion. Who knows what you may be missing? It's the old
story: you can't judge a gift by the package. Better to judge him after you