28. According to the passage, which of the following statements is probably not true? (A) Human mental processes have always been fascinating. (B) Once the functioning of the nervous system is understood, all the mysteries of the human mental processes will disappear. (C) Experimental studies of man’s mental processes have appeared only recently. (D) The scientific studies of the mind have greatly advanced our knowledge of it.

37. In the last sentence of the first paragraph, what does the boldfaced word “deleterious” most likely mean? (A) Calming. (B) Deliberate. (C) Beneficial. (D) Harmful. Wherever people live together in communities, disputes are bound to arise. Among animals, conflicts result in victory for the stronger or quicker. But human beings believe that in an argument the one who is right should win. Sometimes an argument can be settled quickly. But sometimes the problem is more complicated and can be settled only in a court. A court is a forum, or meeting place, established by the government for the just and peaceful settlement of disputes and the enforcement of laws. Courts and methods of carrying out justice have changed as society has changed. Over the centuries the changes have been enormous. Europeans in the Middle Ages often settled the disputes in ways that seem extremely crude and unfair to us today. One method was called trial by ordeal. There were four forms of ordeal—“cold water,” “hot water,” “hot iron,” and the “morsel.” In the cold water ordeal, the accused person was tied and lowered into water. If he sank, he was declared innocent. If he floated, he was considered guilty and was punished. In ordeal by hot water, the accused plunged his hand into boiling water and pulled out a stone. If his hand showed no injury after three days, he was considered innocent. In the hot iron ordeal, the accused had to carry a red-hot iron bar nine feet. As in the boiling water ordeal, his hands were inspected three days later to determine guilt. The morsel ordeal, although not so painful, was as hard to pass as the other three. The accused had to swallow a big piece of food without choking on it.

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