Examine the recently laid egg of some common animal, such as
a salamander or newt. It is a minute spheroid – an apparently
structureless sac, enclosing a fluid, holding granules in
suspension. But let a moderate supply of warmth reach its
5 watery cradle, and the plastic matter undergoes changes so
rapid, yet so steady and purposeful in their succession, that
one can only compare them to those operated by a skilled
modeler upon a formless lump of clay. As with an invisible
trowel, the mass is divided and subdivided into smaller and
10 smaller portions. And, then, it is as if a delicate finger
traced out the line to be occupied by the spinal column, and
molded the contour of the body; pinching up the head at one
end, the tail at the other, and fashioning flank and limb
into due proportions, in so artistic a way, that, after
15 watching the process hour by hour, one is almost
involuntarily possessed by the notion, that some more subtle
aid to vision than a microscope, would show the hidden
artist, with his plan before him, striving with skilful
manipulation to perfect his work.
Adapted from an essay by T H Huxley
3. The author makes his main point with the aid of
A. logical paradox
B. complex rationalization
C. observations on the connection between art and science
D. scientific deductions
E. extended simile
4. In the context of the final sentence the word “subtle” most nearly means
A. not obvious
B. indirect
C. discriminating
D. surreptitious
E. scientific