Reading Comprehension Test 46

     The ground is full of seeds that cannot rise into seedlings; the seedlings rob one another of air, light and water, the strongest robber winning the day, and extinguishing his competitors. Year after year, the wild animals with which man never interferes are, on the average, neither more not less numerous than they were; and yet we know that the annual produce of every pair is from one to perhaps a million young; so that it is mathematically certain that, on the average, as many are killed by natural causes as are born every year, and those only escape which happen to be a little better fitted to resist destruction than those which die. The individuals of a species are like the crew of a foundered ship, and none but good swimmers have a chance of reaching the land.
[passage-footer]Adapted from an essay by T.H Huxley[/passage-footer]

             "The Errand"
"On you go now! Run, son, like the devil
And tell your mother to try
To find me a bubble for the spirit level
And a new knot for this tie."
But still he was glad, I know, when I stood my ground,
Putting it up to him
With a smile that trumped his smile and his fool's errand,
Waiting for the next move in the game.

             "The Errand"
"On you go now! Run, son, like the devil
And tell your mother to try
To find me a bubble for the spirit level
And a new knot for this tie."
But still he was glad, I know, when I stood my ground,
Putting it up to him
With a smile that trumped his smile and his fool's errand,
Waiting for the next move in the game.

     The literature on drug addiction has grown at a rate that defies anyone to keep abreast of the literature, and apparently in inverse proportion to our understanding of the subject. Addiction, or dependence, as it is more fashionable to call it, excites controversy and speculation yet true understanding of the phenomenon remains elusive. In fact, the area is fraught with speculation and acrimonious debate. Definition of terms such as 'drug', 'addiction' and 'abuse' is obviously less controversial than attempts to explain the nature of drug dependence, yet even the terminology is imprecise and overlain with subjective connotations. At its most basic, a drug, as defined by the World Health Organisation, is simply 'any substance which when taken into the living organism may modify one or more of its functions'. This kind of definition is too wide to be any use in a discussion of dependence: it covers everything from insulin to aspirin, penicillin to alcohol.

             "The Errand"
"On you go now! Run, son, like the devil
And tell your mother to try
To find me a bubble for the spirit level
And a new knot for this tie."
But still he was glad, I know, when I stood my ground,
Putting it up to him
With a smile that trumped his smile and his fool's errand,
Waiting for the next move in the game.

       "Promises Like Pie-Crust"
Promise me no promises,
So will I not promise you:
Keep we both our liberties,
Never false and never true:
Let us hold the die uncast,
Free to come as free to go:
For I cannot know your past,
And of mine what can you know?

             "The Errand"
"On you go now! Run, son, like the devil
And tell your mother to try
To find me a bubble for the spirit level
And a new knot for this tie."
But still he was glad, I know, when I stood my ground,
Putting it up to him
With a smile that trumped his smile and his fool's errand,
Waiting for the next move in the game.

[passage-header]Read the passage given below and answer the question that follows:[/passage-header]     I have previously defined a sanctuary as a place where a man is passive and the rest of Nature active. But this general definition is too absolute for any special case. The mere fact that man has to protect a sanctuary does away with his purely passive attitude. Then, he can be beneficially active by destroying pests and parasites, like botflies or mosquitoes, and by finding antidotes for diseases like the epidemic which periodically kills off the rabbits and thus starves many of the carnivores to death. But, except in cases where an experiment has proved his intervention to be beneficial, the less he upsets the balance of Nature the better, even when the tries to be an earthly Providence.
[passage-footer]Adapted from: Animal Sanctuaries in Labrador, W. Wood (1911)[/passage-footer]

     The literature on drug addiction has grown at a rate that defies anyone to keep abreast of the literature, and apparently in inverse proportion to our understanding of the subject. Addiction, or dependence, as it is more fashionable to call it, excites controversy and speculation yet true understanding of the phenomenon remains elusive. In fact, the area is fraught with speculation and acrimonious debate. Definition of terms such as 'drug', 'addiction' and 'abuse' is obviously less controversial than attempts to explain the nature of drug dependence, yet even the terminology is imprecise and overlain with subjective connotations. At its most basic, a drug, as defined by the World Health Organisation, is simply 'any substance which when taken into the living organism may modify one or more of its functions'. This kind of definition is too wide to be any use in a discussion of dependence: it covers everything from insulin to aspirin, penicillin to alcohol.

     Much of what goes by the name of pleasure is simply an effort to destroy consciousness. If one started by asking, what is man? What are his needs? How can he best express himself? One would discover that merely having the power to avoid work and live one's life from birth to death in electric light and to the tune of tinned music is not a reason for doing so. Man needs warmth, society, leisure, comfort and security: he also needs solitude, creative work and the sense of wonder. If he recognized this he could use the products of science and industrialism eclectically, applying always the same test: does this make me more human or less human? He would then learn that the highest happiness does not lie in relaxing, resting, playing poker, drinking and making love simultaneously.
[passage-footer]Adapted from an essay by George Orwell.[/passage-footer]