Inside the Rain Room

The Rain Room has arrived and local art lovers are taking notice. Is it worth the wait? Yes, I assure you it is. Once inside, visitors find a long, dark room with a high ceiling. A single bright light shines through heavy rain falling around visitors. The mist. The damp air. The noise. It feels like a mighty storm is pouring down. But the storm is inside. And visitors aren’t getting wet. Instead, visitors wander in awe, admiring the rain and the artists who created it.

The Rain Room was created to highlight the connection between humans, nature and technology. With a tracking system that senses movement and stops the rain wherever visitors move, it does just that. Light and sound produce an experience that feels both natural and foreign. The exhibit is moving on to Atlanta next month. I urge you to visit before then. It’s time to experience the Rain Room for yourself!

Welcome to the Rain Room The Rain Room features falling water. Please be aware you may get slightly wet. However, visitors wearing raincoat will be turned away. This exhibit features advanced technology. To ensure its effectiveness, please avoid wearing dark or reflective clothing. Visitors are welcome to take photographs of the exhibit. Children must be accompanied by an adult. For the convenience of all guests, visits are limited to 10minutes.

1. What’s the purpose of the text?

A．To attract visitors to a new art exhibit.

B．To explain how an exhibit has been created.

C．To describe the technology used in the exhibit.

D．To promise the artists taking part in an exhibit.

2. What’s the function of the exhibit’s tracking system?

A．To keep visitors from getting wet.

B．To protect the exhibit from water damage.

C．To time how long visitors are in the room.

D．To count the number of visitors in the room.

3. What must you do when visiting the Rain Room?

A．Wear a raincoat

B．Wear dark clothing

C．Leave your camera outside.

D．Pass through within 10 minutes.

Dujiangyan is the oldest man-made water system in the world, and a wonder in the development of Chinese science. Built over 2,200 years ago in what is now Sichuan Province in Southwest China, this amazing engineering achievement is still used today to irrigate over 6,000 square kilometres of farmland, take away floodwater and provide water for 50 cities in the province.

In ancient times, the region in which Dujiangyan now stands suffered from regular floods caused by overflow from the Minjiang River. To help the victims of the flooding, Li Bing, the region governor, together with his son, decided to find a solution. They studied the problem and discovered that the river most often overflowed when winter snow at the top of the nearby Mount Yulei began to melt as the weather warmed.

The simplest fix was to build a dam, but this would have ruined the Minjiang River. So instead Li designed a series of channels built at different levels along Mount Yulei that would take away the floodwater while leaving the river flowing naturally. Better still, the extra water could be directed to the dry Chengdu Plain, making it suitable for farming.

Cutting the channels through the hard rock of Mount Yulei was a remarkable accomplishment as it was done long before the invention gunpowder and explosives. Li Bing found another solution. He used a combination of fire and water to heat and cool the rocks until they cracked and could be removed. After eight years of work, the 20-metre-wide canals had been carved through the mountain.

Once the system was finished, no more floods occurred and the people were able to live peacefully and affluently. Today, Dujiangyan is admired by scientists from around the world because of one feature. Unlike modern dams where the water is blocked with a huge wall, Dujiangyan still lets water flow through the Minjiang River naturally, enabling ecosystems and fish populations to exist in harmony.

4. What are the benefits of Dujiangyan according to the first paragraph?

A．Reducing flooding and watering farmland.

B．Protecting the mountain and reducing flooding.

C．Watering farmland and improving water quality.

D．Drying the river and supplying cities with water.

5. What was the main cause of the Minjiang Rivers flooding?

A．Heavy rains.	B．Melting snow.
C．Low river banks.	D．Steep mountains.

6. How was Li Bing able to break through the rocks of Mount Yulei?

A．By using gunpowder.

B．By flooding the rocks with water.

C．By applying a heating and cooling technique.

D．By breaking the rocks with hammers and spades.

7. Why is Dujiangyan greatly admired by scientists today?

A．It preserves much of the natural river life.

B．It took very little time to complete the project.

C．The building techniques used were very modem.

D．It has raised the living standards of the local people.

Bill Gates recently has predicted that online learning will make place-based colleges less significant, and five years from now, students will be able to find the best lectures in the world online. I applaud Mr. Gates. But what’s taking us so long?

As early as 1997, MIT(麻省理工) decided to post videos of all university lectures online, for free, for all people. But today, how many students have you met who mastered advanced mathematics or nuclear physics from an MIT online video? Unfortunately, the answer is not many. The problem is the poor quality of online education websites and the experience they provide to students. Those who go to the MIT website and watch courses online are surely very smart people, but it’s not like playing a video game such as World of Warcraft. Only the most ardent students, those who are highly motivated, will devote themselves to studying these boring online videos.

The real question is why we aren’t spending more to develop better online education platforms. Where is the Avatar of education? Think about this. The market for Hollywood films per year is worth around 30 billion USD. Education in the world is a trillion-dollar-a-year market, hundreds of times bigger than Hollywood movies. Yet the most expensive digital learning system ever built cost well under 100 million dollars.

Bill Gates’ prediction is going to happen. There is no doubt about it. But it will only happen when we create high level educational content and experiences that engage and excite more than has ever been possible in the real world.

8. What has Bill Gates forecast about online learning?

A．It will concentrate on physics lectures

B．It will completely replace real universities

C．It will help to make universities more successful

D．It will play an increasingly important role in education

9. What does the underlined word “ardent” in Paragraph 3 mean?

A．Creative	B．Enthusiastic
C．Well-behaved	D．Experienced

10. According to the author, what is holding back the popularity of online learning?

A．The lack of lectures available online

B．The high cost of access to the websites

C．The low standard of educational websites

D．The competition with online computer games

11. Why does the author mention Hollywood?

A．To show that Hollywood produces many successful movies

B．To prove that education is more profitable than entertainment

C．To argue that movie directors should produce educational content

D．To urge that more money be spent developing educational websites

Persuasion is the art of convincing someone to agree with you. According to the ancient Greeks，there are three basic tools of persuasion：ethos，pathos，and logos.

Ethos is a speakers way of convincing the audience that she is trustworthy，honest and reliable. One common way a speaker can develop ethos is by explaining how much experience or education she has in the field. After all，you’re more likely to listen to advice about how to take care of your teeth from a dentist than a fireman. A speaker can also create ethos by convincing the audience that she is a good person. If an audience cannot trust you，you will not be able to persuade them.

Pathos is a speaker’s way of connecting with an audience’s emotions. For example，a politician who is trying to convince an audience to vote for him might say that he alone can save the country from a terrible war. These words are intended to fill the audience with fear，thus making them support him. Similarly，an animal charity might show an audience pictures of injured dogs and cats，to make the viewers feel pity. If the audience feels bad for the animals，they will be more likely to donate money.

Logos is the use of facts，statistics，or other evidence to support your argument. An audience will be more likely to believe you if you have convincing data to back up your claims. Presenting this evidence is much more persuasive than simply saying "believe me".

Although ethos，pathos，and logos all have their strengths，they are often most effective when used together. Indeed，most speakers use a combination of ethos，pathos，and logos to persuade their audiences. So，the next time you listen to a speech，watch a commercial，or listen to a friend try to convince you to lend him some money，be on the lookout for these ancient Greek tools of persuasion.

12. Why does the author say persuasion is an art？ ______

A．They both entertain the audience.

B．They both require great skills to achieve.

C．They both demand full attention from the audience.

D．They were both common topics of ancient Greek writers.

13. How is a speaker able to show her ethos to the audience？ ______

A．By expressing her sympathy with the audience.

B．By telling the audience about her personal preference.

C．By using beautiful language to make her statements attractive.

D．By showing her knowledge and experience relating to the topic.

14. What can we learn about the three aspects of persuasion？ ______

A．Ethos is the most important aspect of persuasion.

B．Each aspect has a different effect on the audience.

C．Honesty is the key to making your arguments believable.

D．Political leaders mostly use pathos to persuade their audience.

15. An advertisement for washing powder which claims that “scientific tests show that our powder kills 95% of all bacteria” is mainly using ______ .

A．ethos	B．pathos
C．logos	D．a combination of all three