1.

In hot climates such as Mexico, foods tend to be spicy because the spices actually have a cooling effect. The heat-causing chemical in chile peppers raises your heart rate and also causes you to perspire, especially on your head and face.As this moisture evaporates, heat is pulled away from the body. As a result, you feel cooler. This reaction explains why so many dishes in tropical areas are flavored with hot sauce. It also explains why people who live in these areas become fond of eating whole hot peppers straight from the jar. (Source of information: Joy E. Zacharia, "Cool Down With Hot Sauce," Southern Living, August 2004, p. 83.)

2.

Recyclable plastic containers are classified into seven groups, depending upon their type of plastic. Plastics stamped with 1 inside a small triangle or arrows include the thin type of plastic used to make drink bottles, such as those containing soda and water. Plastics labeled with a 2 are a thicker type used for containers of laundry detergent, bleach, milk, shampoo, and motor oil. Cooking oil bottles are examples of type 3 recyclable plastic. Type 4 plastics are the thinner kinds used to make grocery bags and sandwich bags. Harder and sturdier plastic containers, such as Tupperware® and yogurt containers, are labeled 5.Type 6 plastics include styrofoam cups and trays. Finally, any container labeled 7 contains either some combination of the other six types or another less commonly used plastic.

3.

A series of machines transforms ordinary carrots into the popular peeled "baby" carrots we buy in bags in our grocery's produce department. First, harvesting machines pull the ordinary carrots from the ground by their green tops. The carrots ride up conveyer belts to the top of the picker, where an automatic cutter chops off the greens. Next, the carrots are transported by truck to a processing plant, where they are plunged into icy water and cooled to 37 degrees. They are then sorted by thickness, and the thin carrots continue on to be shaped into two-inch pieces by automatic cutters. These pieces go to peeling tanks, where automatic peelers rotate, scraping the skin off the carrots. Finally, the carrots are weighed, bagged, and put into cold storage until they are shipped to grocery stores. (Source of information: "From Field to Shelf," no author credited, USA Today, August 12, 2004, p. 2D.)

4.

Oxidation is a chemical reaction that occurs when a material combines with oxygen and electrons (negatively-charged particles) are removed. Slow oxidation is occurring, for example, when metals such as iron and steel form rust. The tarnishing of silverware is another example of slow oxidation. Burning with fire is a faster oxidation reaction.The cells of the human body, too, convert food to energy through the process of oxidation. Bleaching, the removal of stains or color from fabric, is yet another process that involves oxidation. Oxidation is also an essential reaction within the batteries we use to power tools, vehicles, and toys.

5.

In some cases, analysis of texts has shown that men and women tend to have different styles of writing. They differ, first of all, in the amount of personal pronouns they use. For instance, women are far more likely than men to use pronouns like "I," "you," and "she." Men also tend to use words like "a," "the," "that," and "these" more than women do. They also are more inclined to use numbers and quantifying words like "more" and "several." In contrast to women, men more readily modify nouns with phrases rather than single words. For example, a woman will probably write "rose garden" whereas a man would write "garden of roses." (Source of information: Clive Thompson, "He and She: What's the Real Difference?" The Boston Globe, July 6, 2003.)