The production of coffee beans is a huge, profitable business, but, unfortunately, full-sun production is taking over the industry and bringing about a lot of damage. The change in how coffee is grown from shade-grown production to full-sun production endangers the very existence of, certain animals and birds, and even disturbs the world's ecological balance.

    On a local level, the damage of the forest required by full-sun fields affects the area's birds and animals. The shade of the forest trees provides a home for birds and other special(物种) that depend on the trees' flowers and fruits. Full-sun coffee growers destroy this forest home. As a result, many special are quickly dying out.

    On a more global level, the destruction of the rainforest for full-sun coffee fields also threatens(威胁)human life. Medical research often makes use of the forests' plant and animal life, and the destruction of such species could prevent researchers from finding cures for certain diseases. In addition, new coffee-growing techniques are poisoning the water locally, and eventually the world's groundwater.

    Both locally and globally, the continued spread of full-sun coffee plantations (种植园)could mean the destruction of the rainforest ecology. The loss of shade trees is already causing a slight change in the world's climate, and studies show that loss of oxygen-giving trees also leads to air pollution and global warming. Moreover, the new growing techniques are contributing to acidic(酸性的) soil conditions.

    It is obvious that the way much coffee is grown affects many aspects many aspects of life, from the local environment to the global ecology. But consumers do have a choice. They can purchase shade-grown coffee whenever possible, although at a higher cost. The future health of the planet and mankind is surely worth more than an inexpensive cup of coffee.

阅读短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

    OPENINGS AND PREVIEWS

    Antlia Pneumatica

    In a new play by Anne Washburn, directed by Ken Rus Schmoll, a group of estranged friends gather at a Texas farm house to bury one of their peers. (Peter Jay Sharp, 416 W. 42nd St. 212-279-4200. In previews.)

    Bright Star

    Steve Martin and Edie Brickell wrote this bluegrass-and-Americana musical, in which a magazine editor meets a soldier returning from the Second World War. Walter Bobbie directs. (Cort, 138 W. 48th St. 212-239-6200. In previews.)

    The Crucible

    Ivo van Hove directs Arthur Miller's classic drama about the Salem witch trials, starring Saoirse Ronan, Ben Whishaw, Ciaran Hinds, and Sophie Okonedo. (Walter Kerr, 219 W. 48th St. 212-239-6200. In previews.)

    Dry Powder

    John Krasinski, Claire Danes, and Hank Azaria star in Sarah Burgess's play, in which an executive at a private-equity firm (私人股本公司) tries to rebound from a P.R. disaster. Thomas Kail directs. (Public, 425 Lafayette St. 212-967-7555. In previews. Opens Oct. 28, 2017)

    The Father

    Frank Langella stars in a play by the French writer Florian Zeller, translated by Christopher Hampton and directed by Doug Hughes for Manhattan Theatre Club, about an eighty-year-old man who is losing his grip on his own life story. (Samuel J. Friedman, 261 W. 47th St. 212-239-6200. Previews begin Oct. 28, 2017)

Amsterdam Destination Guide

    Amsterdam is one of the most popular travel destinations in the world, famous for its beautiful canals, top art museums, cycling culture and so on. It is the capital and most populous city in the Netherlands and often referred to as the “Venice of the North” because of its expansive system of bridges and canals. Here are some of the key points to remember as you plan your trip to Amsterdam.

    Must-See Attractions

    Most visitors begin their Amsterdam adventure in the Old Centre, which is full of traditional architecture, shopping centers, and coffee shops. You'll also want to check out Amsterdam's Museum Quarter in the South District, which is great for shopping at the Albert Cuyp Market and having a picnic in the Vondel park. The top museums to visit there are the Rijks musuem, the Ann Frank House, and the Van Gogh Museum.

    If You Have Time

    There are several other unique districts in Amsterdam, and you should try to explore as many of them as time allows. The Canal Ring is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that was originally built to attract wealthy home owners and is a center for celebrity spotting and nightlife today. The Plantage area has most of the city's museums, including the Jewish Historical Museum, the Scheepvaart Museum, and the botanical gardens.

    Money Saving Tips

    Unless you really want to see the tulips (郁金香) blooming, avoid booking between mid-March and mid-May. This is when hotel and flight prices rise.

    Look for accommodations in Amsterdam's South District, where rates are generally cheaper than in the city center.

    Buy train tickets at the machine instead of the counter to save a bit of money.

    Instead of hiring a tour guide, hop on a canal boat. They're inexpensive and will give you a special point of view of the city.

    Check out our homepage to view price comparisons for flights, hotels, and rental cars before you book.

    Throughout history scientists have risked their health and their lives in their search for the truth.

    Sir Isaac Newton, the seventeenth century scientist, was very smart, but that didn't stop him from doing some pretty stupid things. In his laboratory in Cambridge he often did the strangest experiments. Once, while testing how light passes through lenses (晶状体), he put a long needle into his eye, pushed it to the back, and then moved it around just to see what would happen. Luckily, nothing long-lasting did. On another occasion he stared at the sun for as long as he could bear, to discover what effect this would have on his sight. Again he escaped suffering permanent damage, though he had to spend some days in a darkened room before his eyes recovered.

    In the 1750s the Swedish chemist Karl Scheele was the first person to find a way to produce phosphorus (磷). He in fact discovered eight more chemical elements including chlorine (氯), though he didn't get any praise for them. He was a very clever scientist, but his one failing was a curious habit of tasting a little of every substance he worked with. This risky practice finally caught up with him, and in 1786 he was found dead in his laboratory surrounded by a large number of dangerous chemicals, any of which might have been responsible for his death.

    Eugene Shoemaker was a respected geologist. He spent a large part of his life studying craters (火山口) on the moon, and how they were formed, and later did research into the comets of the planet Jupiter. In 1997 he and his wife were in the Australian desert where they went every year to search for places where comets might have hit the earth. While driving in the Tanami desert, normally one of the emptiest places in the world, another vehicle crashed into them and Shoemaker was killed on the spot. Some of his ashes (骨灰) were sent to the moon aboard the Lunar Prospector spacecraft and left there — he is the only person who has had this honor.

    A good modern newspaper is an extraordinary piece of reading. It is remarkable first for what it contains: the range of news from local crime to international politics, from sports to business to fashion to science, and the range of comment and special features as well, from editorial page to feature articles and interviews to criticism of books, art, theatre, and music.

    A newspaper is even more remarkable for the way one reads it: never completely, never straight through, but always by jumping from here to there, in and out, glancing at one piece, reading another article all the way through, reading just a few paragraphs of the next. A good modern newspaper offers a variety to attract many different readers, but far more than any one reader is interested in. What brings this variety together in one place is its topicality(时事性), its immediate relation to what is happening in your world and your locality now. But immediacy and the speed of production that goes with it mean also that much of what appears in a newspaper has no more than transient value.

    For all these reasons, no two people really read the same paper: what each person does is to put together, out of the pages of that day's paper, his own selection and sequence, his own newspaper. For all these reasons, reading newspapers efficiently, which means getting what you want from them without missing things you need but without wasting time, demands skill and self-awareness as you modify and apply the techniques of reading.