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Consider these lines: "Unlike neurotransmitters, which are released in close proximity to cells with their receptors, hormones are secreted into the bloodstream and travel throughout the body, affecting any cells that contain receptors for them. Thus, whereas neurotransmitters' effects are localized, the effects of hormones are widespread." As used in the quoted lines, "localized" most nearly means:
Aconfined to a small area
Bspread through the blood
Cslower to take effect
Dchemically unstable
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: A. confined to a small area
1. The quoted lines are built on a contrast: neurotransmitters act in close proximity, hormones travel throughout the body.
2. The word whereas pairs localized with its opposite, widespread.
3. The opposite of widespread is confined to a small area, so option A gives the meaning of localized.
4. Option B describes the hormones' side of the contrast, the very thing localized is being distinguished from.
5. Option C picks up a different hormone property, speed, which is not what localized measures.
_Source: OpenStax Psychology 1e (CC BY 4.0), Ch 3 "Biopsychology", section 3.5 The Endocrine System_
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