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第二篇
The Book of Life
So far,scientists have named about 1.8 million living species,and that's just a fraction of what proba-
bly exists on Earth.With so many plants,animals,and other creatures covering the planet,it can be tough
to figure out what type of spider is moving up your leg or what kind of bird is flying by.
A soon-to-be-launched Web site might help. An international team of researchers has announced the
creation of a Web-based Encyclopedia of Life(EoL).The project aims to catalog every species on Earth in a
single,easy-to-use reference guide.
To get the encyclopedia started,the creators will use information from scientific databases that already
exist.And eventually,in special sections of the site,nonscientists with specialized knowledge will get to join
in.Bird-watchers,for example,will be able to input which birds they've seen and where.The technology
for this kind of tool has only recently become available.
As the EoL develops, you might find it useful for school projects.The site will feature special pages for
kids who are studying ecosystems（生态系统）in their neighborhoods. To make sure the encyclopedia is
accurate,scientists will review much of the information added to it. People who visit the site will be able to
choose to leave out pages that haven't been reviewed.
Another convenient feature of the EoL is that you'll be able to pick the level of detail you see to match
your interests,age,and current knowledge.If you wanted to learn about bears for a science class report,for
example,you could use the"novice"setting to get basic information about the animals.On the"expert"
setting,on the other hand,you could get much more detailed information about the history,literature and
exploration of bears.
It now takes years for scientists to collect all the data they need to describe and analyze species.The
creators of the Encyclopedia of Life hope that their new tool will speed that process.
The word"novice"in Paragraph 5 could be best replaced by_______________.
A:beginner
B:scientist
C:creator
D:expert

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