Monitoring global warming usually requires a Ph. D. and enough maths to glaze your eyes. But that Francisco Lopez and Ruby Nostrant track what climate change is doing to five different plants in Tucson, Arizona and they are only in the second grade. "We are collecting data because the weather is changing and the plants are blooming," Ruby explained. Scores of other students at Borton Primary Magnet School and Sunnyside High School in Tucson are heading outdoors to be part of a new scientific push to figure out how the biological timing of the earth is changing. It's a research project that the average person, even a kindergartner, can join in. The National Phenology Network is calling on volunteers to help track early spring blooms and eventually changes in animals caused by global warming. It's called Project Budburst. When it was first open to the public last year, thousands of people participated in 26 states. "All people can contribute to it by tracking the timing of flowering events or leaf-out events for plants and animals in their backyard," said Phenology Network director Jake Weltzin. He calls the volunteers "citizen-scientists." The idea is that tracking flowers blooming--especially lilacs ; which everyday people have helped track for decades--is fairly simple. The Website http://www.Windows.ucar.edu/ citizen _ science/budburst/index.html gives directions on what to look for in different parts of the country. University of Maryland professor David Inouye said it's so easy to figure out what's blooming that a lack of special knowledge isn't a problem. University of Arizona ecology graduate student Lisa Benton coordinated the Tucson high school students as they looked at plants five minutes from their high school. Each student has specific guidelines and she's been happy so far with the data she is getting. For his part, second-grader Francisco said he had fun helping out. "I like going out in the desert," he said. "I want to be an Einstein." Who is primary school student joining in the Project Budburst? A) Lisa Benton. B) David Inouye C) Francisco Lopez. D) Jake Weltzin.
C
During my elementary school years,I used to compare my mom with my best friend Tiffany's mom. Tiffany's mom always gave her lots of money to buy the most fashionable clothes and favorite food. Her morn allowed her to do anything she liked. I really admired Tiffany. My mom didn't give me much pocket money and she always told me that I should behave my self. 1 was annoyed with her. Whenever I didn't get what 1 wanted,1 would complain to my mom,Tiffany's mom would give her that!1 wish she were my mom. "Every time,my mom would calmly say "Poor Tiffany". I couldn't understand her. "She shouldn't be feeling sorry for Tiffany!"I thought. "She should be feeling sorry for me. " One day,I couldn't help saying to Morn,"Poor Tiffany?Lucky Tiffany! She gets everything she wants! Why do you feel sorry for her?"I burst into tears. My mom sat down next to me and said softly , "Yes,I do feel sorry for her. I have been teaching you a lesson that she will never be taught. " I looked up at her. "What are you talking about?" Mom said with care,"One day she will really want something. Maybe she'11 find out that she can't have it. Her mother won't always be around to give her money,and what's more,money can't buy everything. " She continued,"I have taught you valuable lessons by not giving you everything you want. You'11 know how to look for bargains and save money,but she won't. You'11 under stand that you need to work hard to get the things that you want but she won't. When Tiffany is a grown woman,she'11 wake up one day and she will be wishing that she had a mom like the one you've got. Life lessons are more important than modern clothes and delicious food. '' It took some time,but I eventually understood my mom's words. Now I am a happy and successful woman. During the author's elementary school years,she_. A) wished that her mom were as good as Tiffany's B) went to school with Tiffany every day C) usually compared her lesson with Tiffany's D) sometimes gave lots of money to Tiffany
A
Q: Speed-reading is a necessary skill in the Internet age.We skim over articles, e-mails and WeChat to try to grasp key words and the essential meaning of a certain text.Surrounded with information from our electronic devices, it would be impossible to cope if we read word by word, line by line.But a new trend calls on people to unplug and enjoy reading slowly, listing benefits beyond the intelligent stimulation. A recent story from The Wall Street Journal reported on a book club in Wellington, New Zealand, where members meet in a cafe and turn off their smartphones.They sink into cozy chairs and read in silence for an hour. Unlike traditional book clubs, the point of the slow reading club isn't exchanging ideas about a certain book, but to get away from electronic devices and read in a quiet, relaxed environment. According to the Journal, the Wellington book club is just one example of a movement started by book lovers who miss the old-fashioned way of reading before the Internet and smartphones. Slow readers, such as The Atlantic's Maura Kelly, say a regular reading habit sharpens the mind, improves concentration, reduces stress levels and deepens the ability to sympathize. Another study published last year in Science showed that reading novels helps people understand other's mental states and beliefs, a fundamental skill in building relationships. Yet technology has made us less attentive readers. Screens have changed our reading patterns from the straight and information.left-to-right sequence to a wild skimming and skipping pattern as we hunt for important words and information. Reading text punctuated with links leads to weaker comprehension than reading plain text. The Internet may have made us stupider, says Patrick Kingsley from The Guardian. Because of the Internet, he says, we have become very good at collecting a wide range of interesting news, but we are also gradually forgetting how to sit back, reflect, and relate all these facts to each other. Slow reading means a return to an uninterrupted,... According to the passage, slow reading _ . A) contributes to understanding among people B) promotes the current technology advances C) provides people with a quiet environment D) cures the memory loss of elderly people
A: A