第2篇
Urban Rainforest
On the west side of the island of Manhattan in New Y0rk City，tree by tree，leaf by leaf, a 2,500 square foot sector of the Central African Republic’s Dzanga Ndoki Rainforest has been transported to，or recreated at，the American Museum of Natural History’s new hall of biodiversity．When the hall opens this May, visitors will visit one of the world’s biggest and most accurate reproduction of one of nature’s most threatened creations．
To bring the rainforest to New Y0rk．a(chǎn) team of nearly two dozen scientists—the largest collecting expedition the museum has ever organised for an exhibit — spent five weeks in the African rainforest collecting soil，plants，and leaves；recording and documenting species；studying trees；shooting videotape and still photos；and interviewing local people．“This area has been explored very little,” says Hoel Cracraft who estimates that the museum will eventually collect 150 to 180 mammals，more than 300 species of birds，hundreds of butterflies，and hundreds of thousands，if not 111illions，of organisms．The exhibition may even have produced a special prize - scientists suspect they have uncovered several new species．
To give the forest a sense of realness，the back wall of the exhibit is an enormous videoscreen，sounds will come out from hidden speakers．a(chǎn)nd plans even call for forest smells．Computer controls will vary the effects so that no two walkthroughs will ever be exactly the same．
After the team returned to New York．the forest was reproduced with the help of the computer Computer modelling programmes plotted distances and special relationships．Artists studied photos and brought what they saw to 1ife．Plaster trees were made．Recreated animals began to stand in the rainforest of the hall．Flying creatures will hang from the ceiling．The 1ight in the forest—one of the exhibit’s cleverest re-creations—will seem real．Long tube 1ights will have the correct colour and temperature to produce a natural effect．The plants and animals exhibited throughout the hall exist naturally in a perfect balance—remove one．a(chǎn)nd the whole is imperfect if not endangered．The exhibit is proof to the hope that the world’s rainforests will never exist solely as a carefully preserved artifact．
詞匯：
biodiversity n．生物多樣性
document v．紀(jì)實(shí)性地描述
mammal n．哺乳類動(dòng)物
organism n．微生物
exhibit n．展品
walkthrough n．開拍前的排練，預(yù)排
plot v．為……設(shè)定
plaster n．熟石膏
artifact n．人工制品
1． What is this passage mainly about?
A) The history of the American Museum of Natural History．
B)The reproduction of the rainforest at a New York museum．
C)Visitors’ interest in the rainforest reproduction at a New York museum
D)Saving rainforests in the Central African Republic．
2．How did the museum collect the data in the Central African Republic?
A)It sent a large team of scientists there．
B)It cooperated with many African scientists．
C)It recruited local people to collect mammals，etc．．
D)It sent cameramen to shoot videotapes．
3．To give the forest a sense of realness．a(chǎn)ll the following are used EXCEPT that
A)hidden loudspeakers are used to produce forest sound．
B)a huge videoscreen is put up on the back wall．
C)special equipment is employed to produce forest smells．
D)the forest is surrounded by front and back walls．
4．What is the main theme of the last paragraph?
A)The layout of the rainforest exhibition．
B)The balance between animals and plants．
C)The clever design of lighting．
D)Preservation of the rainforest exhibition as an artifact
5．What does the last sentence of the passage most probably mean?
A)The rainforest in the Central African Republic will be preserved forever．
B)The well-designed exhibit will be preserved as an artifact．
C)The exhibit reflects the hope that natural rainforests will be well preserved
D)The exhibit of the rainforest in the museum is the sole one in the world．
Urban Rainforest
On the west side of the island of Manhattan in New Y0rk City，tree by tree，leaf by leaf, a 2,500 square foot sector of the Central African Republic’s Dzanga Ndoki Rainforest has been transported to，or recreated at，the American Museum of Natural History’s new hall of biodiversity．When the hall opens this May, visitors will visit one of the world’s biggest and most accurate reproduction of one of nature’s most threatened creations．
To bring the rainforest to New Y0rk．a(chǎn) team of nearly two dozen scientists—the largest collecting expedition the museum has ever organised for an exhibit — spent five weeks in the African rainforest collecting soil，plants，and leaves；recording and documenting species；studying trees；shooting videotape and still photos；and interviewing local people．“This area has been explored very little,” says Hoel Cracraft who estimates that the museum will eventually collect 150 to 180 mammals，more than 300 species of birds，hundreds of butterflies，and hundreds of thousands，if not 111illions，of organisms．The exhibition may even have produced a special prize - scientists suspect they have uncovered several new species．
To give the forest a sense of realness，the back wall of the exhibit is an enormous videoscreen，sounds will come out from hidden speakers．a(chǎn)nd plans even call for forest smells．Computer controls will vary the effects so that no two walkthroughs will ever be exactly the same．
After the team returned to New York．the forest was reproduced with the help of the computer Computer modelling programmes plotted distances and special relationships．Artists studied photos and brought what they saw to 1ife．Plaster trees were made．Recreated animals began to stand in the rainforest of the hall．Flying creatures will hang from the ceiling．The 1ight in the forest—one of the exhibit’s cleverest re-creations—will seem real．Long tube 1ights will have the correct colour and temperature to produce a natural effect．The plants and animals exhibited throughout the hall exist naturally in a perfect balance—remove one．a(chǎn)nd the whole is imperfect if not endangered．The exhibit is proof to the hope that the world’s rainforests will never exist solely as a carefully preserved artifact．
詞匯：
biodiversity n．生物多樣性
document v．紀(jì)實(shí)性地描述
mammal n．哺乳類動(dòng)物
organism n．微生物
exhibit n．展品
walkthrough n．開拍前的排練，預(yù)排
plot v．為……設(shè)定
plaster n．熟石膏
artifact n．人工制品
1． What is this passage mainly about?
A) The history of the American Museum of Natural History．
B)The reproduction of the rainforest at a New York museum．
C)Visitors’ interest in the rainforest reproduction at a New York museum
D)Saving rainforests in the Central African Republic．
2．How did the museum collect the data in the Central African Republic?
A)It sent a large team of scientists there．
B)It cooperated with many African scientists．
C)It recruited local people to collect mammals，etc．．
D)It sent cameramen to shoot videotapes．
3．To give the forest a sense of realness．a(chǎn)ll the following are used EXCEPT that
A)hidden loudspeakers are used to produce forest sound．
B)a huge videoscreen is put up on the back wall．
C)special equipment is employed to produce forest smells．
D)the forest is surrounded by front and back walls．
4．What is the main theme of the last paragraph?
A)The layout of the rainforest exhibition．
B)The balance between animals and plants．
C)The clever design of lighting．
D)Preservation of the rainforest exhibition as an artifact
5．What does the last sentence of the passage most probably mean?
A)The rainforest in the Central African Republic will be preserved forever．
B)The well-designed exhibit will be preserved as an artifact．
C)The exhibit reflects the hope that natural rainforests will be well preserved
D)The exhibit of the rainforest in the museum is the sole one in the world．