Section: Critical Reading Section 2

48)

	While it is often helpful to think of humans as simply another successful type of mammal, a vital distinction remains. When a pride of lions enjoys a surfeit of food, they are likely to hunt quickly,
(5)	eat all they can, then spend the remainder of the day sleeping. When people enjoy such easy living, we see a markedly different pattern—our big brains cause us to be restless, and we engage in play. This takes the form of art, philosophy, sci-
(10)	ence, even government. So the intelligence and curiosity that allowed early humans to develop agriculture, and thus a caloric surplus, also led to the use of that surplus as a foundation for culture.

The author most likely cites the behavior of lions in order to

1. provide an example of an even more successful mammalian species
2. question the efficiency of the lion’s feeding behavior
3. provide a contrast to the image of humans as industrious and resourceful
4. help illustrate the distinguishing characteristic of humans that led to the development of culture
5. explore the range of hunting behaviors in different successful species

The author says that there’s a difference between humans and other mammals, and uses the lions to illustrate this point. Lions sit around or nap after they eat a lot. People get bored and do stuff. Why is this important? Because this led to the ultimate development of culture. However, only the correct answer includes the author’s point about culture.