Microbiological activity clearly affects the mechanical strength of leaves. Although it cannot be denied that with most species the loss of mechanical strength is the result of both invertebrate feeding and microbiological breakdown, the example of Fagus sylvatica illustrates loss without any sign of invertebrate attack being evident. Fagus shows little sign of invertebrate attack even after being exposed for eight months in either a lake or stream environment, but results of the rolling fragmentation experiment show that loss of mechanical strength, even in this apparently resistant species, is considerable. Most species appear to exhibit a higher rate of degradation in the stream environment than in the lake. This is perhaps most clearly shown in the case of Alnus. Examination of the type of destruction suggests that the cause for the greater loss of material in the stream-processed leaves is a combination of both biological and mechanical degradation. The leaves exhibit an angular fragmentation, which is characteristic of mechanical damage, rather than the rounded holes typical of the attack by large particle feeders or the skeletal vein pattern produced by microbial degradation and small particle feeders. As the leaves become less strong, the fluid forces acting on the stream nylon cages cause successively greater fragmentation. Mechanical fragmentation, like biological breakdown, is to some extent influenced by leaf structure and form. In some leaves with a strong midrib, the lamina breaks up, but the pieces remain attached by means of the midrib. One type of leaf may break cleanly, whereas another tears off and iseasily destroyed after the tissues are weakened by microbial attack. In most species, the mechanical breakdown will take the form of gradual attrition at the margins. If the energy of the environment is sufficiently high, brittle species may be broken across the midrib, something that rarely happens with more pliable leaves. The result of attrition is that where the areas of the whole leaves follow a normal distribution, a bimodal distribution is produced, one peak composed mainly of the fragmented pieces, the other of the larger remains. To test the theory that a thin leaf has only half the chance of a thick one for entering the fossil record, all other things being equal, Ferguson (1971) cut discs of fresh leaves from 11 species of leaves, each with a different thickness, and rotated them with sand and water in a revolving drum. Each run lasted 100 hours and was repeated three times, but even after this treatment, all species showed little sign of wear. It therefore seems unlikely that leaf thickness alone, without substantial microbial preconditioning, contributes much to the probability that a leaf will enter a depositional environment in a recognizable form. The results of experiments with whole fresh leaves show that they are more resistant to fragmentation than leaves exposed to microbiological attack. Unless the leaf is exceptionally large or small, leaf size and thickness are not likely to be as critical in determining the preservation potential of a leaf type as the rate of microbiological degradation. 1. The passage is primarily concerned with ...A. Why leaves disintegrate B. An analysis of leaf structure and composition C. Comparing lakes and streams D. The purpose of particle feeders E. How leaves’ mechanical strength is affected by microbiological activity 2. The conclusion that the author reached from Ferguson's revolving drum experiment was that: A. Leaf thickness is only a contributing factor to leaf fragmentation. B. Leaves submerged in water degrade more rapidly than leaves deposited in mud or silt. C. Leaves with a strong midrib deteriorate less than leaves without such a midrib. D.Microbial attack is made worse by high temperatures. E. Bimodal distribution reduces leaf attrition. 3. The tone of the passage is : A. Persuasive B. Biased C. Objective D. Argumentative E. Disparaging 4. Which would be an example of “energy of the environment” mentioned in the passage?A. Wind and rain B. Sunlight C. Animals that eat leaves D. Lumberjacks E. Fuel that may be harvested Questions 5-7 are from the following passage: Multinational corporations frequently encounter impediments in their attempts to explain to politicians, human rights groups, and (perhaps most importantly) their consumer base why they do business with, and even seek closer business ties to, countries whose human rights records are considered heinous by United States standards. The CEOs propound that in the business trenches, the issue of human rights must effectively be detached from the wider spectrum of free trade. Discussion of the uneasy alliance between trade and human rights has trickled down from the boardrooms of large multinational corporations to the consumer on the street who, given the wide variety of products available to him, is eager to show support for human rights by boycotting the products of a company he feels does not do enough to help its overseas workers. International human rights organizations also are pressuring the multinationals to push for more humane working conditions in other countries and to, in effect, develop a code of business conduct that must be adhered to if the American company is to continue working with the overseas partner.The president, in drawing up a plan for what he calls the “economic architecture of our times,” wants economists, business leaders, and human rights groups to work together to develop a set of principles that the foreign partners of United States corporations will voluntarily embrace. Human rights activists, incensed at the nebulous plans for implementing such rules, charge that their agenda is being givenlow priority by the State Department. The president vociferously denies their charges, arguing that each situation is approached on its merits without prejudice, and hopes that all the groups can work together to develop principles based on empirical research rather than political fiat, emphasizing that the businesses with experience in the field must initiate the process of developing such guidelines. Business leaders, while paying lip service to the concept of these principles, fight stealthily against their formal endorsement because they fear such “voluntary” concepts may someday be given the force of law. Few business leaders have forgotten the Sullivan Principles, in which a set of voluntary rules regarding business conduct with South Africa (giving benefits to workers and banning apartheid in the companies that worked with U.S. partners) became legislation. 5. Which of the following best states the central idea of the passage? A. Politicians are quixotic in their assessment of the priorities of the State Department. B. Multinational corporations have little if any influence on the domestic policies of their overseas partners.C. Voluntary principles that are turned into law are unconstitutional. D. Disagreement exists between the desires of human rights activists to improve the working conditions of overseas workers and the pragmatic approach taken by the corporations. E. It is inappropriate to expect foreign corporations to adhere to American standards. 6. According to the passage, the president wants the voluntary principles to be initiated by businesses rather than by politicians or human rights activists because... A. Businesses have empirical experience in the field and thus know what the conditions are and how they may/should be remedied. B. Businesses make profits from the labor of the workers and thus have a moral obligation to improve their employees’ working conditions. C. Workers will not accept principles drawn up by politicians whom they distrust but may agree to principles created by the corporations that pay them. D. Foreign nations are distrustful of U.S. political intervention and are more likely to accept suggestions from multinational corporations. E. Political activist groups have concerns that are too dramatically different from those of the corporations for the groups to be able to work together.7. Which of the following statements about the Sullivan Principles can best be inferred from the passage? A. They had a detrimental effect on the profits of those corporations doing business with South Africa. B. They represented an improper alliance between political and business groups. C. They placed the needs of the foreign workers over those of the domestic workers whose jobs would therefore be in jeopardy. D. They will be used as a model to create future voluntary business guidelines. E. They will have a chilling effect on future adoption of voluntary guidelines.