Unfortunalely, the more industrialized we become the farther away we move from direct contact with plants, and the less distinct our knowledge of botany grows. Yet everyone comes unconsciously on an amazing amount of botanical knowledge,and few people will fail to recognize a rose, an apple,or an orchid. When our Neolithic ancestors, living in the Middle East about 10,000 years ago, discovered that certain grasses could be harvested and their seeds planted for richer yields the next season, the first great step in a new association of plants and humans was taken. Grains were discovered and from them flowed the marvel of agriculture : cultivated crops. From then on, humans would increasingly take their living from the controlled production of a few plants, rather than getting a little here and a little there from many varieties that grew wild--- and the accumulated knoweldge of tens of thousands of years of experience and intimacy with plants in the wild would begin to fade away.
41 . Which of the following assumptions about early humans is expressed in the passage? (A) They probably had extensive knowledge of plants. (B) They divided knowledge into well-defined fields . (C) They did not enjoy the study of botany. . (D) They placed great importance on ownership of property.
42. The word "peculiar" in line 1 is closest in meaning to (A) clear (B) large (C) unusual (D) important
43. What does the comment "This is logical" in lines 5-6 mean ? (A) There is no clear way to determine the extent of our ancetors knowledge of plants. (B) It is not surprising that early humans had a detailed knowledge of plants . (C) It is reasonable to assume that our ancestors behaved very much like people in preindustrial societies . (D) Human knowledge of plants is well organized and very detailed.
44. The phrase "properties of each" in line 10 refers to each