III. Cloze Test A. The earliest theoretical attempts to describe and explain the universe involved the idea that events and natural phenomena were controlled by spirits ___16___ human emotions who acted in a very humanlike and ___17___ manner. These spirits had to be placated and their favor sought in order to ensure the fertility of the soil and the rotation of seasons. Gradually, however, it must have been noticed that there were certain ___18___: the sun always ___19___ in the east and set in the west, ___20___ a sacrifice had been made to the sun god. Further, the sun, the moon, and the planets followed precise paths across the sky that could be predicted in advance with considerable accuracy.