【正文】 f trees:l they can make local areasmore 34coolermore humidless windyless 35Comparing trees and buildingsTemperature regulation:l trees evaporate water through their 36l building surfaces may reach high temperaturesWind force: l tall buildings cause more wind at 37 level l trees 38 the wind forceNoise:l trees have a small effect on traffic noisel 39 frequency noise passes through treesImportant points to consider:l trees require a lot of sunlight, water and 40 to grow READING READING PASSAGE 1 You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 114 which are based on Reading Passage 1 below. Adults and children are frequently confronted with statements about the alarming rate of loss of tropical rainforests. For example, one graphic illustration to which children might readily relate is the estimate that rainforests are being destroyed at a rate equivalent to one thousand football fields every forty minutes—about the duration of a normal classroom period. In the face of the frequent and often vivid media coverage, it is likely that children will have formed ideas about rainforests—what and where they are, why they are important, what endangers them—independent of any formal tuition. It is also possible that some of these ideas will be mistaken.Many studies have shown that children harbour misconceptions about 39。, curriculum science. These misconceptions do not remain isolated but bee incorporated into a multifaceted, but organised, conceptual framework, making it and the ponent ideas, some of which are erroneous, more robust but also accessible to modification. These ideas may be developed by children absorbing ideas through the popular media. Sometimes this information may be erroneous. It seems schools may not be providing an opportunity for children to reexpress their ideas and so have them tested and refined by teachers and their peers. Despite the extensive coverage in the popular media of the destruction of rainforests, little formal information is available about children39。s scientific knowledge and attitudes to rainforests. Secondary school children were asked to plete a questionnaire containing five openform questions. The most frequent responses to the first question were descriptions which are selfevident from the term 39。. Some children described them as damp, wet or hot. The second question concerned the geographical location of rainforests. The monest responses were continents or countries: Africa (given by 43% of children), South America (30%), Brazil (25%). Some children also gave more general locations, such as being near the Equator.Responses to question three concerned the importance of rainforests. The dominant idea, raised by 64% of the pupils, was that rainforests provide animals with habitats. Fewer students responded that rainforests provide plant habitats, and even fewer mentioned the indigenous populations of rainforests. More girls (70%) than boys (60%) raised the idea of rainforest as animal habitats.Similarly, but at a lower level, more girls (13%) than boys (5%) said that rainforests provided human habitats. These observations are generally consistent with our previous studies of pupils39。we are39。 a similar proportion said that pollution is destroying rainforests. Here, children are confusing rainforest destruction with damage to the forests of Western Europe by these factors. While two fifths of the students provided the information that the rainforests provide oxygen, in some cases this response also embraced the misconception that rainforest destruction would reduce atmospheric oxygen, making the atmosphere inpatible with human life on Earth.In answer to the final question about the importance of rainforest conservation, the majority of children simply said that we need rainforests to survive. Only a few of the pupils (6%) mentioned that rainforest destruction may contribute to global warming. This is surprising considering the high level of media coverage on this issue. Some children expressed the idea that the conservation of rainforests is not important.The results of this study suggest that certain ideas predominate in the thinking of children about rainforests. Pupils39。 ecosystems such as their ideas about rainforests as habitats for animals, plants and humans and the relationship between climatic change and destruction of rainforests.Pupils did not volunteer ideas that suggested that they appreciated the plexity of causes of rainforest destruction. In other words, they gave no indication of an appreciation of either the range of ways in which rainforests are important or the plex social, economic and political factors which drive the activities which are destroying the rainforests. One encouragement is that the results of similar studies about other environmental issues suggest that older children seem to acquire the ability to appreciate, value and evaluate conflicting views. Environmental education offers an arena in which these skills can be developed, which is essential for these children as future decisionmakers. Questions 18Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?In boxes 18 on your answer sheet writeTRUE if the statement agrees with the informationFALSE if the statement contradicts the informationNOT GIVEN if there is no information on this1 The plight of the rainforests has largely been ignored by the media.2 Children only accept opinions on rainforests that they encounter in their classrooms.3 It has been suggested that children hold mistaken views about the ‘pure’ science that they study at school.4 THE fact that children’s ideas about science form part of a larger framework of ideas means that it is easier to change them.5 The study involved asking children a number of yes/no questions such as ‘Are there any rainfor