Normal physiological perspiration, if need be, may be reduced by several methods. One obvious method is the application of cold packs directly to the skin, particularly to areas such as the wrist and carotid artery, where larger blood vessels are closest to the skin's surface, or directly to sweat centers, such as the armpit, hand, foot, etc. Interestingly, while the application of cold packs will prevent sweating for several minutes, perspiration levels have been shown to return to normal quickly despite continued application. However, this effect can be avoided by shifting the location of the cooling pack every five minutes. Experts speculate that such shifting creates the perception of continuous cold drafts, which signals the body to reduce perspiration levels. One natural method of reducing body temperature without sweating, commonly seen among animals without sweat glands, is panting. A panting animal achieves the same effect - enhanced evaporation of hot fluids from the skin's surface - by exposing its saliva to the open air, where the evaporation exerts a cooling influence. While overheated humans can also pant, the gains for them are slighter, since their tongues provide (proportionally) less surface area, and the act of panting itself, since it is unnatural, actually faintly increases body temperature with predictable results.
Persons exposed to frequent high heat and/or humidity become acclimatized, developing the habitual tendency to perspire more, regardless of actual ambient heat. While one remains in the environment that one has adapted to, this is a highly efficient and desirable adaptation. However, a situation wherein one adapts to the Sahara desert only to return to humid New Orleans can very well be imagined, and is usually not desirable. Presumably, then, progressive reduction in a person's ambient temperature should have the opposite effect.
For the following question, consider each of the choices separately and select all that apply.
1. With regards to the ability to regulate body heat, which of the following can be inferred about humans and/or animals?
A. Application of ice packs may not be as beneficial to animals as it is to humans because animals do not contain sweat glands
B. When the body size of humans and an animals is discounted, the surface area of a human's tongue is more than the surface area of an animal's tongue
C. Indulging in a physical activity that is not natural can increase the body temperature of humans
Which of the following inferences is best supported by the last sentence of the passage?
A. If a person suddenly moves from a place with high temperatures to a place with low temperatures, he will tend to perspire more in the new place
B. If a person gradually moves from a place with high temperatures to a place with low temperatures, he will not notice any appreciable increase in his perspiration levels in the new place
C. If a person moves from a place with low temperatures to a place with high temperatures, he will tend to perspire less in the new place
D. If a person moves between two places with similar temperatures and humidity, there won't be any significant difference in his perspiration levels.
E. If a person gradually moves from a place with low temperatures to a place with high temperatures, his perspiration level will not change much