Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the question from 18 to 25.
The principle of use and disuse states that those parts of organisms' bodies that are used grown larger. Those parts that are not tend to wither away. It is an observed fact that when you exercise particular muscles, they grow. Those that are never used dimish. By examining a man's body, we can tell which muscles he uses and which he doesn't. We may even be able to guess his profession or his reaction. Enthusiasts of the "body- building" cult make use of the principle of use and disuse to "build" their bodies, almost like a piece of sculpture, into whatever unnatural shape is demanded by fashion in this peculiar minority culture. Muscles are not the only parts of the body that respond to use in this kind of way. Walk barefoot and you acquire harder skin on your soles. It is easy to tell a farmer from a bank teller by looking at their hands alone. The farmer's hands are horny, hardened by long exposure to rough work. The teller’s hands are relatively soft.
The principle of use and disuse enables animals to become better at the job of surviving in their world, progressively better during their lifetime as a result of living in that world. Humans, through direct exposure to sunlight, or lack of it, develop a skin color which equips them better to survive in the particular local conditions.
Too much sunlight is dangerous. Enthusiastic sunbathers with very fair skins are susceptible to skin cancer. Too little sunlight, on the other hand, leads to vitamin-D deficiency and rickets. The brown pigment melanin which is synthesized under the influence of sunlight, makes a screen to protect the underlying tissues from the harmful effects of further sunlight. If a suntanned person moves to a less sunny climate, the melanin disappears, and the body is able to benefit from what little sun there is. This can be represented as an instance of the principle of use and disuse: skin goes brown when it is "used", and fades to white when it is not.
According to the passage, men who body build _______.
A. appear like sculptures
B. change their appearance
C. belong to strange cults
D. are very fashionable
Đáp án B.
Key word: men who body build
Clue: “Enthusiasts of the "body-building" cult make use of the principle of use and disuse to "build" their bodies, almost like a piece of sculpture, into whatever unnatural shape is demanded by fashion in this peculiar minority culture”: Những người ủng hộ trường phái ‘‘tập thể hình” sử dụng nguyên tắc dùng và không dùng để xây dựng cơ thể, gần giống như một tác phẩm điêu khắc, họ biến đổi thành những hình thù không tự nhiên tùy theo xu hướng thời trang trong cái xã hội nhỏ khác lạ đó.
Phân tích đáp án:
A. appear like sculpture: trông như một bức tượng điêu khắc
B. change their appearance: thay đổi ngoại hình của họ
C. belong to strange cults: thuộc về những trường phái lạ
D. are very fashionable: rất hợp thời trang
Dựa vào clue ta thấy rằng những người này thuộc về trường phái thể hình (the "body-building" cult) và họ thay đổi cơ thể để hợp mốt thời trang nên do đó đáp án C và D sai. Tác giả dùng tác phẩm điêu khắc để nói về cách những người này thay đổi cơ thể của họ chứ không phải là nhìn họ như những tấm điêu khắc (cứng đơ, bất động). Do đó đáp án chính xác là B.