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New Moons and Old Wives' Tales, Reflections On The Moon
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SECTION A(Suggested time: 35 minutes)Answer Question 1.Write your answer on the RULED PAGE provided. There is a blank page for any notes youmay want to make. THIS WILL NOT BE MARKED.1. Read the following magazine article carefully and then write a summary of it in NOTMORE THAN 120 words. If this limit is exceeded, only the first 120 words of your answerwill be read and assessed. As far as possible, use your own words. Your summary must bein continuous prose.In your answer you will be assessed on how well you(a) were able to identify the main ideas and opinions in the extract(b) organized and expressed these ideas(c) used appropriate grammar, sentence structure, vocabulary, spelling and punctuationFor centuries the moon has been associated with various activities, phases and conditions in life.Insanity is an example — the word ‘lunatic’ comes from the Latin word for moon, ‘luna’. InBritain, the Lunacy Act of 1824 actually stated that people went mad when the moon was full.Today, despite the fact that many of the myths have been found to be invalid, the moon still gripsour imaginations and we are still caught between scientific and poetic attitudes to the moon.Researchers continue to study the moon, and many believe that there are clear links between itscycle, natural events and human activities like agriculture, crime, and even our health.The human body is 70% water, and since the moon has a gravitational effect on water, the moonshould therefore affect our bodies. The fact is, our moon has gravity which is about one-sixth ofthat on earth, and although that force is considered very small by the time it reaches us, it still hasan amazingly powerful effect on our planet. For instance, the moon’s gravitational pull causes thetides, shifting billion of tons of water twice a day. But lunar gravity only works on large masses,such as oceans. It has no effect on even very large lakes. So how can it affect us?Scientists accept the strange effect the moon seems to have on reproduction: on marine life itaffects the breeding patterns of oysters and crabs; with women it affects the menstrual cycle.Midwives say that they are busier delivering babies around the full moon, though this is notconfirmed by scientific statistics.One of the oldest beliefs is that a full moon can turn someone who is sane into a mad person. Thestory “Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde” was inspired by this belief. An investigation in Miami suggeststhat the homicide rate peaks with the full moon; in India there seems to be much more violentcrime around the time when the moon is full, but this might be influenced by their strong interestin astrology. Psychiatric nurses say patients become more disturbed when the moon is full, andfiremen report more cases of arson. The large number of anecdotes has inspired scientificresearch, and though it indeed shows a correlation between changed behaviour and the full moon,conclusions are mixed.
A lecturer in medical psychology, Dr David Nias, has suggested that the shifts in behaviour areexplained by the small number of people who believe in the “full moon effect” and change their behaviour accordingly, in much the same way as believers in astrology might modify their behaviour to match that associated with the star signs
