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　　Millions of years ago dinosaurs(恐龙)lived on the earth．In the days of dinosaurs the whole earth was warm and wet．There were green forests and they could find enough to eat．Later, parts of the earth became cold and dry and the forests there died．Then dinosaurs could not find enough to cat．This must be one reason why dinosaurs died out．

　　We can guess another reason．New kinds of animals came on the earth．Some had big brains and were fast and strong．They could kill dinosaurs．There may be other reasons that we don’t know about yet．Scientists are trying to make more discoveries about dinosaurs．

　　Dinosaurs were of many sizes and shapes(形状)．Some were as small as chickens, while some were about 90 feet long．

　　There were also terrible fights between dinosaurs．They might have happened more than 100 million years ago．Though there was no man to see any of the fights, we can be told by the animal’s footprints(足迹)that fight did take place．

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　　Millions of people pass through the gates of Disney’s entertainment parks in California, Florida and Japan each year．What makes these places an almost universal attraction? What makes foreign kings and queens and other important people want to visit these Disney parks? Well, one reason is the way they’re treated once they get there．The people at Disney go out of their way to serve their “guests”, as they prefer to call them, and to see what they enjoy themselves．

　　All new employees, from vice presidents to part-time workers, begin their employment by attending Disney University and taking “Traditions Ⅰ”．Here, they learn about the company’s history, how it is managed, and why it is successful．They are shown how each department relates to the whole．All employees are shown how their part is important in making the park a success．

　　After passing “Traditions Ⅰ”, the employees go on to more specialized training for their specific jobs．No detail is missed．A simple job like taking tickets requires four eight-hour days of training．When one ticket taker was asked why it took so much training for such a simple, ordinary job, he replied, “What happens if someone wants to know where the restrooms are, when the parade starts or what bus to take back to the campgrounds? We need to know the answers or where to get them quickly．Our constant aim is to help our guests enjoy the party．”

　　Even Disney’s managers get involved in the daily management of the park．Every year, the managers leave their desks and business suits and put on special service clothes．For a full week, the bosses sell hot dogs or ice cream, take tickets or drive the monorail, and take up any of the 100 jobs that make the entertainment park come alive．The managers agree that this week help them to see the company’s goals more clearly．

　　All these efforts to serve the public well have make Walt Disney Productions famous．Disney is considered by many as the best mass service provider in America or the world．As one longtime business observer once said, “How Disney treats people, communicates with them, rewards them, is in my view the very reason for his fifty years of success．I have, watched, very carefully and with great respect and admiration, the theory, and practice of selling satisfaction and serving millions of people on a daily basis, successfully．It is what Disney does best．”

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　　Taiwan police cannot decide whether to treat it as an extremely clever act of stealing or an even cleverer cheat(诈骗)．Either way, it could be the perfect crime(犯罪), because the criminals are birds-homing pigeons!

　　The crime begins with a telephone message to the owner of a stolen car：if you want the car back, pay up．Then, the car owner is directed to a park, told where to find a bird cage and how to attach money to the neck of the pigeon inside．Carrying the money in a tiny bag, the pigeon flies off．

　　There have been at least four such pigeon pick-ups in Changwa．What at first seemed like the work of a clever stay-at-home car thief, however, may in fact be the work of an even lazier and more inventive criminal mind－one that avoids(避免)not only collecting money but going out to steal the car in the first place．Police officer Chen says that the criminal probably has pulled a double trick：he gets money for things he cannot possibly return．Instead of stealing cars, he lets someone else do it and then waits for the car-owner to place an ad(启事)in the newspaper asking for help．

　　The theory is supported by the fact that, so far, none of the stolen cars have been returned．Also, the amount of money demanded－under 3000 Taiwanese dollars－seems too little for a car worth many times more．

　　Demands for pigeon-delivered money stopped as soon as the press reported the story．And even if they start again, Chen holds little hope of catching the criminal．“We have more important things to do,” he said．

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　　Tom：I’m interested in gestures．

　　Ellen：Are you? Gestures differ from country to country．

　　Tom：Yes．Listening about gestures is a lot of fun．

　　Ellen：I’ve noticed that Japanese women often cover their mouths when they laugh．

　　Tom：They think it’s impolite to show their teeth．

　　Ellen：I once talked to some students from India．They moved their heads up and down when they meant “No”, and from side to side for “Yes”．That looked strange to us．

　　Tom：Is that right? I thought nodding meant “Yes” in all parts of the world．

　　Ellen：No, not in some parts of India．But those students said their gestures were so natural to them that they couldn’t change them．

　　Tom：This is one of the most popular comics in my country．Do people in American comics jump this way when they are surprised?

　　Ellen：Yes, they do．Comics always use big gestures, you know．(Ellen shows Tom a picture of a man．)

　　Tom：I’ve often seen this picture．He is shrugging his shoulders, isn’t he?

　　Ellen：Yes, he is．It means I don’t care or I give up．How do you gesture with your hand when you mean “Come here” in Japan?

　　Tom：We hold out our hand with the palm down, and move it up and down．

　　Ellen：That looks like “Sit down” “Be quiet” or “Get away” to us．When we mean “Come here”, we hold out our hand with the palms upward, and move our fingers toward our bodies．

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　　Some children are natural-born bosses．They have a strong need to make decisions, manage their environment, and lead rather than follow．Stephen Jackson, a Year One student, “operates under the theory of what’s mine is mine and what’s yours is mine, ” says his mother．“The other day I bought two new Star Wars light sabers(剑)．Later, I saw Stephen with the two new ones while his brother was using the beat-up ones．”

　　“Examine the extended family, and you’ll probably find a bossy grandparent, aunt, uncle or cousin in every generation．It’s an inheritable trait, ” says Russell Barkley, a professor at the Medical University of South Carolina．Other children who may not be particularly bossy can gradually gain dominance(支配地位)when they sense their parents are weak, hesitant, or in disagreement with each other．

　　Whether it’s inborn nature or developed character at work, too much control in the hands of the young isn’t healthy for children or the family．Fear is at the root of a lot of bossy behavior, says family psychologist John Taylor．Children, he says in his book From Defiance to Cooperation, “have secret feelings of weakness” and “a desire to feel safe”．It’s the parents’ role to provide that protection．

　　When a “boss child” doesn’t learn limits at home, the stage is set for a host of troubles outside the family．The overly willful and unbending child may have trouble obeying teachers or coaches, for example, or trouble keeping friends．It can be pretty lonely as the top dog if no one likes your bossy ways．

　　“I see more and more parents giving up their power, ” says Barkley, who has studied bossy behavior for more than 30 years．“They bend too far because they don’t want to be as strict as their own parents were．But they also feel less confident about their parenting skill．Their kids, in turn, feel more anxious．”

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　　In many countries today, laws protect wildlife．In India, the need for such protection was realized centuries ago．

　　About 300 B．C．an Indian writer described forests that were somewhat like national parks today．The killing of beasts was carefully supervised(监视)．Some animals were fully protected．Within the forest, nobody was allowed to cut wood for building, burn wood for charcoal(木炭), or catch animals for their furs．Animals that became dangerous to human visitors were caught or killed outside the park so that other animals would not caught or killed outside the park so that other animals would not become uneasy．

　　The need for wildlife protection is greater now than ever before．About a thousand species of animals are in danger of extinction, and the rate(速度)at which they are being destroyed has increased．With mammals(哺乳动物), for example, the rate of extinction was about one species every fifty years from A．D．1 to 1800, but now it is about one species every year．Everywhere, men are trying to solve the problem of protecting wildlife caring for the rapid growth of the world’s population．

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　　“Soon, you’re going to have to move out!” cried my neighbor upon seeing the largest tomato plant known to mankind, or at least known in my neighborhood．

　　One tiny 9-inch plant, bought for ＄1.25 in the spring, has already taken over much of my rose bed, covering much of other plants, and is well on its way to the front door．

　　Roses require a good deal of care, and if it weren’t for the pleasure they give, it wouldn’t be worth the work．As it is, I have a garden full of sweet-smelling roses for most of the year．Bushes must be pruned(剪枝)in early spring, leaving ugly woody branches until the new growth appears a few weeks later．It was the space available(可用的)in the garden that led me into planting just one little tomato plant．A big mistake．

　　Soil conditions made just perfect for roses turn out to be even more perfect for tomatoes．The daily watering coupled with full sun and regular fertilizing(施肥)have turned the little plant into a tall bush．The cage I placed around it as the plant grew has long since disappeared under the thick leaves．

　　Now the task I face in harvesting the fruit is twofold：First, I have to find the red ones among the leaves, which means I almost have to stand on my head, and once found I have to reach down and under, pick the tomatoes and withdraw(缩回)my full fist without dropping the prize so dearly won．I found two full-blown white roses completely hidden as I picked tomatoes in June, but they were weak and the leaves already yellow for lack of light．

　　Here I an faced with a painful small decision：To tear up a wonderful and productive tomato plant that offers up between ten and twenty ripe sweet tomatoes each day or say goodbye to several expensive and treasured roses．Like Scarlett in Gone With the Wind, I’ll think about that tomorrow．

阅读理解

　　Increasingly, over the past ten years, people－especially young people－have become aware of the need to change their eating habits, because much of the food they eat, particularly processed(加工过的)foods, is not good for health, so there has been a growing interest in natural foods：foods which do not contain chemical additives(添加剂)and which have not been affected by chemical fertilizers widely used in farming today．

　　Natural foods, for example, are vegetables, fruit and grain which have been grown in soil that is rich in organic matter．In simple terms, this means that the soil has been nourished by unused vegetable matter, which provides it with basic vitamins and minerals．This in itself is a natural process compared with the use of chemicals and fertilizers, the main purpose of which is to increase the amount but not the quality of foods grown in commercial farming(经济农场)areas．

　　Natural foods also include animals which have been allowed to feed and move freely in healthy grassland．Compare this with what happens in the mass production of poultry(家禽)：there are battery farms, for example, where thousands of chickens live crowded together in one building and are fed on food which is little better than rubbish．Chickens kept in this way are not only tasteless as food; but also produce eggs which lack important vitamins．

　　There are other aspects of healthy eating which are now receiving increasing attention from experts on diet．Take, for example, the question of sugar．This is actually an　unimportant food!Although a natural choice, such as honey, can be used to sweeten food if this necessary, we can in fact do without it．It is not that sugar is harmful in itself．Yet all it does is provide us with energy, in the form of calories．There are no vitamins in it, no minerals and no fiber．It is important that nowadays fiber is considered to be an important part of a healthy diet．In white bread, for example, the fiber has been removed．But it is present in unrefined(未精炼的)flour and of course in vegetables．Thus the emphasis is placed on the eating of whole meal bread and more vegetables by modern experts on “healthy eating”．

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　　Cannes will rock to the sound of a cancan dance this year when Moulin Rouge by the Australian director Baz Luhrmann opens the French film festival(电影节)in May．The musical stars Nicole Kidman as a singer, and John Leguizamo as the artist Henri de Youlouse-Lautree．It will be competing for the palme d’Or, the festival’s top prize．The festival runs to May 21．

　　The American actor Tommy Lee Jones, 54, has married his longtime girlfriend, Dawn Maria Laurel, 36, in a private wedding in San Antonio．“It wasn’t a big to-do, ” said Fred Biery, a U．S．District Judge who performed the service．He refused to discuss things further．“These are very private people, ” he said．

　　Loretta Lynn is being treated for a very bad cold in Tennessee and will miss several appearances．The country dinger, 65, was admitted to a hospital near her home in Hurricane Mills．“She is in good condition, but the doctors are watching her closely,” a spokeswoman said．

　　The Frech-Algerican singer Enrico Macias was named a United Nations peace messenger．Enrico joins eight other people who act as goodwill envoys(使者)for the writer Elie Wiesel and the basketball player Magie Johnson．

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I was very disappointed not to be able to go to the jazz concert last Friday．The advertisement in the paper said that you could buy tickets at the theatre box in Richland Hills any day between 10∶00 and 4∶00．Since I work from 9∶00 to 5∶30, the only time I could go to the theatre was during my 45-minute lunch break．Unfortunately, the theatre is on the other side of the town, and the bus service between my office and Richland Hills is not very good．But if you are lucky you can make the round trip in 45 minutes．Last Monday, I stood at the bus stop for fifteen minutes waiting for the bus．By the time I saw one come around the corner, there was not enough time left to make the trip．So I gave up and went back to the office．The same thing happened on Tuesday, and again the next day．On Thursday, my luck change．I got on a bus right away and arrived at the theatre in exactly twenty minutes．When I got there, however, I found a long line of people at the box office, I heard one man say he had been waiting in line for over an hour．Realizing I wound not have enough time to wait in line, I caught the next bus and headed back across the town．By Friday I realized my only hope was to make the trip by taxi, it was expensive, but I felt it would be worth it to hear the concert．The trip by taxi only took 10 minutes, but it felt like an hour to me．When I got to the theatre, I was relieved to see that nobody was waiting in line．The reason, however, I quickly discovered, was that they had already sold all the tickets．