CHOOSING AN ANSWER JUST BECAUSE IT IS TRUE. THERE MAY BE A COUPLE O...

2. Choosing an answer just because it is true. There may be a couple of true answers, but only onewill answer the question best.Lyell’s manner of treating geology, compared withPracticethat of any other author, whose works I had with(30)The following excerpt tells of a defining chapter in theme or ever afterwards read. Another of my occu-life of a budding scientist.pations was collecting animals of all classes,briefly describing and roughly dissecting many ofThe voyage of the “Beagle” has been by far thethe marine ones; but from not being able to draw,most important event in my life, and has deter-and from not having sufficient anatomical knowl-(35)mined my whole career; yet it depended on soedge, a great pile of manuscripts which I madesmall a circumstance as my uncle offering to driveduring the voyage has proved almost useless. Ime thirty miles to Shrewsbury, which few uncles(5)thus lost much time, with the exception of thatwould have done, and on such a trifle as the shapespent in acquiring some knowledge of the Crus-of my nose. I have always felt that I owe to thetaceans, as this was of service when in after years I(40)voyage the first real training or education of myundertook a monograph of the Cirripedia.mind; I was led to attend closely to severalDuring some part of the day I wrote my Jour-branches of natural history, and thus my powers(10)nal, and took much pains in describing carefullyof observation were improved, though they wereand vividly all that I had seen; and this was goodalways fairly developed.practice. My Journal served also, in part, as letters(45)The investigation of the geology of all theto my home, and portions were sent to Englandplaces visited was far more important, as reason-whenever there was an opportunity.(15)ing here comes into play. On first examining aThe above various special studies were, how-new district nothing can appear more hopelessever, of no importance compared with the habit ofthan the chaos of rocks; but by recording theenergetic industry and of concentrated attention(50)stratification and nature of the rocks and fossils atto whatever I was engaged in, which I thenmany points, always reasoning and predictingacquired. Everything about which I thought orwhat will be found elsewhere, light soon begins to(20)read was made to bear directly on what I had seendawn on the district, and the structure of theor was likely to see; and this habit of mind waswhole becomes more or less intelligible. I hadcontinued during the five years of the voyage. I(55)brought with me the first volume of Lyell’s ’Prin-feel sure that it was this training which hasciples of Geology,’ which I studied attentively; andenabled me to do whatever I have done in science.the book was of the highest service to me in many(25)Looking backwards, I can now perceive howways. The very first place which I examined,my love for science gradually preponderated overnamely St. Jago in the Cape de Verde islands,every other taste.(60)showed me clearly the wonderful superiority of