【题目】 Naturalist John Muir called the Marin County woods named for him “the best tree-lover's monument that could possibly be found in all the forests of the world.”

Located only 11 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge near San Francisco, California, USA. Muir Woods puts some of nature's most huge creations within reach of little feet, hands, and imaginations.

“Muir Woods is home to a small forest of redwood trees that reach to the sky,” says David Shaw of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy. “Redwoods grow taller than any other tree species in the world. The average age of the redwoods here ranges from 400 to 800 years old and many ancient specimens have been around for more than a thousand years.”

William Kent, the man who donated the 295 acres to create the Muir monument, grew up in Marin and played in similar redwood forests. That childhood experience inspired him to save the redwoods as an adult.

“Young people can learn about young William Kent when they visit here,” says ranger(护林员) Timothy Jordan. “Kent’s early connection with nature developed his love of the outdoors. As an adult, he witnessed the destruction of many Bay Area redwood forests. This, with the writings of John Muir, inspired Kent's conservationism.”

Walking (and playing)in, on, and around the redwoods will help kids understand why young Kent was so fascinated(深深吸引) by the trees. Ranger Jordan encourages children to lie down and look up at the treetops, hug a redwood tree, and start a nature journal like John Muir.

Have kids find a redwood spray(小树枝)the same age as them, count the rings in trees, and sit inside of a hollow redwood tree on Fern Creek.” he advises.

After all the interaction, the kids just may be ready to rest. Take this time to “be quiet and listen to the sounds of the forest,” says Shaw. "Encourage kids to think about how these trees have stood quietly through year after year of rain, sun, and sometimes even snow.”

1What do we know about Muir Woods from Shaw's words?

A. It is America s largest redwood forest.

B. It has redwoods of a very great age.

C. It receives child visitors only.

D. It is home to many rare trees.

2Which was one of the reasons that Kent wanted to protect the redwoods?

A. He had an unusual adult life.

B. The Golden Gate Bridge was constructed.

C. He was inspired by the works of John Muir.

D. The redwood forests attracted a lot of young people.

3What are children advised to do when taking a break in the forest?

A. Experience Muir Woods silently.

B. Look for special redwood sprays.

C. Sit inside of a hollow redwood tree.

D. Write a nature journal like John Muir.

4What is the purpose of the text?

A. To remember a famous naturalist.

B. To discuss the protection of forests.

C. To share knowledge about redwoods.

D. To introduce a famous redwood forest.

【题目】 Microsoft PowerPoint is the world’s most common presentation tool. It emerged from software company Forethought Inc in the 1980s. Bob Gaskins was the man behind it.

“I knew in the early 80s that there were as many as a billion, a thousand million presentation slides being made per year just in America,” Gaskins says,“ but they were all made by hand and almost nobody was using computers to do them.

“It was clear to me that here was a huge application worth billions and billions of dollars a year that could be done on computers as soon as there was a revolution in the kinds of computers that we had.”

Gaskins was onto something, but it was a hard sell at the time. The software wouldn’t run on any existing personal computers. Anyone wanting to use it had to buy a new machine. Even so, people bought personal computers for the first time in order to be able to use PowerPoint, says Wired magazine journalist Russell Davies.

Davies explains that before PowerPoint, people used slides to convey information to groups --- but anyone creating a presentation had to send away to get their materials made. It took a long time to do, was difficult to make changes and because it was so expensive, only the most senior people in an organisation got to do it.

PowerPoint,” Davies says,“made it possible for everyone in an organisation to stand up and say their piece.

PowerPoint has helped turn us all into presenters --- but it’ s also been accused of over-simplifying ideas and distracting (干扰)us from clear thinking.

Sarah Kaplan is a management professor at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management. She has noticed that, rather than people asking for new analysis or insights in meetings, they were asking for more PowerPoint slides.

Kaplan says that some CEOS, such as Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, have banned its use. “He felt, and I think many people feel, that PowerPoint became such an object of the process that they lost the ideas inside of it and that is the risk.”

1What drove Bob Gaskins to develop PowerPoint?

A. His personal needs at the office.

B. The support from Forethought Inc.

C. The great potential market demand.

D. His interest in science and technology.

2What was the problem with Bob Gaskin’s PowerPoint in the 1980s?

A. It was very expensive.

B. It was very difficult to use.

C. It couldn’t t be used on old computers.

D. It couldn’t satisfy young people’s needs.

3What might be Russell Davies’s attitude to PowerPoint?

A. Critical.B. Appreciative.C. Cautious.D. Contradictory.

4Why does Jeff Bezos ban the use of PowerPoint?

A. It fails to solve practical problems.

B. It fails to convey messages effectively.

C. It makes something valuable unavailable.

D. It results in creative thinking getting ignored.

【题目】Dogs are likely to have complex emotions such as jealousy(嫉妒)and pride, according to a new scientific research.

Dogs feel very jealous when they find that they are unfairly treated. And they do not like seeing their owners being kind to other creatures, especially other dogs. They often react negatively(消极地)when their owners bring home new pets, the research found. “Dogs show a strong aversion to unfair treatment,” Dr. Friederike Range of the Vienna University said.

At first, people believed most animals lack(缺少)the “sense of self” , which is needed to experience so-called secondary emotions such as jealousy, embarrassment or guilt. These emotions are more complex than feelings such as anger or joy.

Besides dogs research, another research includes cows, horse, cats and sheep, and all the results have shown that animals are far more self-aware than we thought.

Dr Paul Morris, a psychologist at the University of Portsmouth who studies animal emotions, told The Sunday Times, “We are learning that dogs, horses, and perhaps many other species are far more emotionally complex than we ever realized. They can suffer simple forms of many emotions we once thought only primates (灵长类) could experience.”

In research among dog owners, Dr Morris found almost all of them reported jealous behavior by their pets. The dog often tried to keep their owner away from a new lover in the early days of a relationship.

Behavioral experts suggest that owners should keep a close relationship with the dog as usual when a new pet or child comes along in order to prevent jealous activity from the dog such as interruptions with barking.

1What is the new discovery about the relationship between dogs and human?

A. Dogs usually have more emotions than humans.

B. Dogs are often treated unfairly by humans.

C. Humans are angry about their dogs’ negative reactions.

D. Dogs feel unhappy when their owners show kindness to other creatures.

2What does the underlined word “aversion” in the second paragraph mean?

A. Internet B. Dislike

C. Concern D. Fear

3What does the “the sense of self” in the third paragraph probably mean?

A. It is a complex feeling that belongs to humans.

B. It is a kind of ability to feel other people’s emotions.

C. It is a necessary awareness to feel some complex emotions.

D. It is a kind of emotion which is based on anger or joy.

4Which of the following statements is TRUE, according to the fourth and fifth paragraphs?

A. The research includes four kinds of animals.

B. Animals are more self-aware than humans.

C. Dogs experience more emotions than primates.

D. Animals are emotionally complex.

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