(Para 1) In the days of the Roman Empire, salt from the marshes was carried by camel caravans across arduous desert routes to the Phoenician seaboard and thence to Rome where soldiers were given allowances with which to buy salt. (Para 2) It has been suggested that the practice of adding salt to food began with man’s change from a nomadic flesh-eating mode of life to an agricultural and mainly vegetarian existence. If this is so, it seems probable that salt was sought after as a necessity of health and not merely as a culinary luxury. (Para 3) How much salt does the body need? An individual weighing 140 lbs. contains just over two ounces of salt. This total is maintained by dietary intake. Salt plays no part in the production of bodily energy or the repair of tissue; consequently, since wastage in sweat or tears is usually small, only small amounts are necessary in the diet. The average diet contains far more salt than is needed. The practice of adding yet more salt at the table to food which is already adequately salted can therefore by justly described as a useless habit. (Para 4) In hot climates, in boiler rooms and other heated places the body loses heat by evaporation of sweat, and about one-seventh of an ounce of salt is lost per hour. Such an high rate of sweating cannot be maintained for more than a few hours at a stretch, and in four hours a man can lose an amount of salt equal to the total salt-content of the average daily diet. 22. According to the writer, how did the practice of eating salt begin?
A)By giving Roman soldiers allowance to buy salt.
B)By man’s desire to live a nomadic lifestyle.
C)When man’s diet changed from eating meat to eating mainly vegetables.
D)When it was realized that salt was necessary for healthy living.

23. The word “arduous” in paragraph one suggests that:
A)the journey was difficult.
B)the desert was a dangerous place
C)the camels had a hard time lifting the heavy loads
D)it was difficult to procure the salt from the marshes

24. The human body requires a small amount of salt because
A)the average individual’s body contains only about two ounces of salt
B)salt does not produce energy and the wastage through bodily fluids is minimal
C)salt, even though a necessity for health, plays no part in tissue repair
D)salt is just a mere culinary delight and has no real nutritional value

25. How does the writer view the addition of salt to adequately salted food?
A)A dangerous habit
B)A culinary luxury
C)A necessity for good health
D)A wasteful practice

26. The phrase “not merely as a culinary luxury” at the end of paragraph 2 suggests that
A)Salt was used to flavor and had no nutritional value
B)Salt was considered important not just for flavor but for nutritional benefits
C)Salt was used as a necessity to enhance and maintain good health
D)Food prepared without the use of salt had no culinary appeal

27. What effect does the writer create by using a question at the start of paragraph 3?
A)It makes the paragraph interesting
B)The reader in encouraged to ask questions
C)It introduces the factual component of the passage
D)It gets the reader interested in reading further

28. According to the passage, the body uses a lot of salt
A)in high temperatures which causes an increase in the rate of sweating
B)through evaporation
C)through excessive periods of heat transfer in the body
D)through periods of intense crying

29. Which of the following words mean the same as “probable” as used in line 10 of the passage?
A)Possible
B)Definitely
C)Arguably
D)Intentionally

30. According to the information given in the passage which of the following sentiments is true? *
A)Some people eat more salt than is necessary
B)Salt is not needed in the body.
C)Sweating helps to maintain salt levels in the body
D)People who live in hot climates should eat more salt

HELP PLEASE!!!