Cambridge 20 · Academic Reading Test 2

Manatees, also known as sea cows, are aquatic mammals that belong to a group of animals called Sirenia. This group also contains dugongs. Dugongs and manatees look quite alike – they are similar in size, colour and shape, and both have flexible flippers for forelimbs. However, the manatee has a broad, rounded tail, whereas the dugongs is fluked, like that of a whale. There are three species of manatees: the West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus), the African manatee (Trichechus senegalensis) and the Amazonian manatee (Trichechus inunguis). Unlike most mammals, manatees have only six bones in their neck – most others, including humans and giraffes, have seven. This short neck allows a manatee to move its head up and down, but not side to side. To see something on its left or its right, a manatee must turn its entire body, steering with its flippers. Manatees have pectoral flippers but no back limbs, only a tail for propulsion. They do have pelvic bones, however – a leftover from their evolution from a four-legged to a fully aquatic animal. Manatees share some visual similarities to elephants. Like elephants, manatees have thick, wrinkled skin. They also have some hairs covering their bodies which help them sense vibrations in the water around them. Seagrasses and other marine plants make up most of a manatee’s diet. Manatees spend about eight hours each day grazing and uprooting plants. They eat up to 15% of their weight in food each day. African manatees are omnivorous – studies have shown that molluscs and fish make up a small part of their diets. West Indian and…

A psychologist explains why we put off important tasks and how we can break this habit A Procrastination is the habit of delaying a necessary task, usually by focusing on less urgent, more enjoyable, and easier activities instead. We all do it from time to time. We might be composing a message to a friend who we have to let down, or putting together an important report for college or work, we’re doing our best to avoid doing the job at hand, but deep down we know that we should just be getting on with it. Unfortunately, berating ourselves won’t stop us procrastinating again. In fact, it’s one of the worst things we can do. This matters because, as my research shows, procrastination doesn’t just waste time, but is actually linked to other problems, too. B Contrary to popular belief, procrastination is not due to laziness or poor time management. Scientific studies suggest procrastination is, in fact, caused by poor mood management. This makes sense if we consider that people are more likely to put off starting or completing tasks that they are really not keen to do. If just thinking about the task threatens our sense of self-worth or makes us anxious, we will be more likely to put it off. Research involving brain imaging has found that areas of the brain linked to detection of threats and emotion regulation are actually different in people who chronically procrastinate compared to those who don’t procrastinate frequently. C Tasks that are emotionally loaded or difficult, such as preparing for exams, are prime candidates for procrastination. People with low self-esteem are…

A few years ago, Fred DeJesus from Brooklyn, New York became the first umpire in a minor league baseball game to use something called the Automated Ball-Strike System (ABS), often referred to as the ‘rob-umpire’. Instead of making any judgments himself about a strike*, DeJesus had decisions fed to him through an earpiece, connected to a modified missile-tracking system. The contraption looked like a large black pizza box with one glowing green eye, it was mounted above the press stand. Major League Baseball (MLB), who had commissioned the system, wanted human umpires to announce the calls, just as they would have done in the past. When the first pitch came in, a recorded voice told DeJesus it was a strike. Previously, calling a strike was a judgment call on the part of the umpire. Even if the batter does not hit the ball, a pitch that passes through the ‘strike zone’ (an imaginary zone about seventeen inches wide, stretching from the batter’s knees to the middle of his chest) is considered a strike. During that first game, when DeJesus announced calls, there was no heckling and no shouted disagreement. Nobody said a word. For a hundred and fifty years or so, the strike zone has been the game’s animating force – countless arguments between a team’s manager and the umpire have taken place over its boundaries and whether a ball had crossed through it. The rules of play have evolved in various stages. Today, everyone knows that you may scream your disagreement in an umpire’s face, but you must never shout personal abuse at them or touch them. That’s a no-no. When the…