Victory for the ACT Student Text 15e

148 • R EADING

13. Which of the following statements can be inferred from the passage? A. Human beings are today less sexually active than were our ancestors during the Pleistocene era. B. During the Pleistocene era, a fondness for fats and sweets was a trait that contributed to human survival. C. Mathematics was invented by human beings during the latter half of the Pleistocene era. D. The use of language and tools is a trait that is genetically transmitted from one generation to the next. 14. • ‹– ‹• —•‡† ‹ Ž‹‡ ͵ͷǡ –Š‡ ™‘”† preadaptations refers to traits that: F. were useful to earlier human beings but have since lost their utility. G. appeared in response to the need to learn a natural language and the use of tools. H. humans currently exhibit but that developed in response to conditions of an earlier age. J. are disadvantageous to creatures whose way of life is primarily technical and social. 15. The author mentions contraception to demonstrate that: A. human beings may adapt to new conditions by technological invention rather than by changing their behavior. B. sexual promiscuity is no longer an aid to the survival of the human species. C. technological innovation is a more important adaptive mechanism than either heredity or direct encounter. D. conditions during the upper Pliocene and Pleistocene eras no longer affect the course of human evolution.

16. With which of the following statements ™‘—Ž† –Š‡ ƒ—–Š‘” Ž‹‡Ž› ƒ‰”‡‡ǫ F. The technical-social way of human life is an adaptive mechanism that arose in response to environmental pressures. G. The possibility of technical innovation makes it unlikely that the physical appearance of humans will change radically in a short time. H. Technological innovations can result in changes in the social structures in which humans live. J. The fact that humans have a technical- social way of life makes the species immune from evolutionary pressures. 17. The author is most probably addressing which of the following audiences? A. Medical students in a course on human anatomy B. College students in an introductory course on archaeology C. Psychologists investigating the uses of human immaturity D. Biologists trying to trace the course of human evolution