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If you were to walk up to Arthur Bonner and say, “Hey, Butterfly Man,” his face would break into a smile. The title suits him. And he loves it.
Arthur Bonner works with the Palos Verdes blue butterfly, once thought to have died out. Today the butterfly is coming back — thanks to him. But years ago if you’d told him this was what he’d be doing someday, he would have laughed, “You’re crazy.” As a boy, he used to be “a little tough guy on the streets”. At age thirteen, he was caught by police stealing. At eighteen, he landed in prison for shooting a man.
“I knew it had hurt my mom,” Bonner said after he got out of prison. “So I told myself I would not put my mom through that pain again.”
One day he met Professor Mattoni, who was working to rebuild the habitat for an endangered butterfly called El Segundo blue.
“I saw the sign ‘Butterfly Habitat’ and asked, ‘How can you have a habitat when the butterflies can just fly away?’” Bonner recalls. “Dr. Mattoni laughed and handed me a magnifying glass (放大镜), ‘Look at the leaves.’ I could see all these caterpillars(蝴蝶的幼虫) on the plant. Dr Mattoni explained, ‘Without the plant, there are no butterflies.’”
Weeks later, Bonner received a call from Dr. Mattoni, who told him there was a butterfly which needed help. That was how he met the Palos Verdes blue. Since then he’s been working for four years to help bring the butterfly back. He grows astragals, the only plant the butterfly eats. He collects butterflies and brings them into a lab to lay eggs. Then he puts new butterflies into the habitat.
The butterfly’s population, once almost zero, is now up to 900. For their work, Bonner and Dr. Mattoni received lots of awards. But for Bonner, he earned something more: he turned his life around.
For six years now Bonner has kept his promise to stay out of prison. While he’s bringing back the Palos Verdes blue, the butterfly has helped bring him back, too.
1.When he was young, Arthur Bonner _______.
A. broke the law and ended up in prison
B. was fond of shooting and hurt his mom
C. often laughed at people on the streets
D. often caught butterflies and took them home
2.Bonner came to know the Palos Verdes blue after he _______.
A. found the butterfly had died out
B. won many prizes from his professor
C. met Dr. Mattoni, a professor of biology
D. collected butterflies and put them into a lab
3. From the last sentence of the text, we learn that raising butterflies has ________.
A. made Bonner famous B. changed Bonner’s life
C. brought Bonner wealth D. enriched Bonner’s knowledge
4.What does the underlined phrase “put through” mean in the 3rd paragraph?
A. hurt B. recall C. remember D. experience
5.Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
A. A Promise to Mom B. A Man Saved by Butterflies
C. A Story of Butterflies D. A Job Offered by Dr. Mattoni
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Many people who work in London prefer to live outside it, and to go in to their offices or schools every day by train, car or bus, even though this means they have to get up early in the morning and reach home late in the evening.
One advantage of living outside London is that houses are cheaper. Even a small flat in London without a garden costs quite a lot to rent. With the same money, one can get a little house in the country with a garden of one’s own.
Then, in the country one can rest from the noise and hurry of the town. Even though one has to get up earlier and spend more time in trains or buses, one can sleep better at night and during weekends and on summer evenings, one can enjoy the fresh, clean air of the country. If one likes gardens, one can spend one’s free time digging, planting, watering and doing the hundred and one other jobs which are needed in a garden. Then, when the flowers and vegetables come up, one has the reward of one who has shared the secret of Nature.
Some people, however, take no interest in country things: for them, happiness lies in the town, with its cinemas and theatres, beautiful shops and busy streets, dance-halls and restaurants. Such people would feel that their life was not worth living if they had to live it outside London. An occasional walk in one of the parks and a fortnight’s (two weeks) visit to the sea every summer is all the country they want: the rest they are quite prepared to leave to those who are glad to get away from London every night.
1. Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A. People who like country things prefer to live outside the city.
B. People who work in London prefer to live in the country.
C. Because of certain disadvantages of living outside London, some people who work in London prefer to live inside London.
D. Because of certain advantages of living outside London, many people who work in London prefer to live outside London.
2.One can use the same money for ________ to buy a little house with a garden in the country.
A. getting a small flat with a garden B. having a small flat with a garden
C. renting a small flat without a garden D. buying a small flat without a garden
3.When the flowers and vegetables in the garden come up, those _______ have the reward of one who has shared the secret of Nature.
A. who live in the country
B. who have spent time working in the garden
C. who have a garden of their own
D. who have been digging, planting and watering
4. People who think happiness lies in the town would feel that _______ if they had to live it outside London.
A. their life was meaningless B. their life was invaluable
C. they didn’t deserve a happy life D. they were not worthy of their happy life
5.The underlined word “rest” in the last paragraph refers to ________.
A. the rest time B. the rest people
C. the rest of the country D. the rest of the parks and of the sea
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TAIBEI － Increasing numbers of Taiwanese students are joining the island’s “China rush”, seeking education on the Chinese mainland．
According to official Chinese figures, the number of Taiwanese students admitted into college and postgraduate（研究生）programs on the mainland totaled 461 in 1996, 928 in 1997 and 839 in 1998．Although no latest official numbers were available,” Netbig.Com said this number had risen between 30 to 50 percent annually in the past two years with well over 1000 entering mainland campuses last year.
The Internet site, based in the Chinese city of Shenzhen, provides education service and information on Chinese mainland college and universities. “Many Taiwanese believe a Chinese education giving more knowledge about the people and culture in the mainland will increase their chances in the Chinese job market, Net. Com vice-president Ingrid Huang said．“I believe it will give me hands-on experience in the business field in the Chinese mainland and a better understanding of the Chinese mainland people,” said Lydia Chang, a 19-year-old majoring in journalism at Shih Shin University. Chang plans to go on to get a master’s degree in business administration in Shanghai, which she says offers the best environment for such studies.
A journalism graduate student, surnamed Lin, at the National Taiwan University said he would like to study law on the Chinese mainland since “there will be better career prospects now that more Taiwanese companies are going there”. “They hope the children could build up connections which could later become useful in their business operations,” said Yang Ching-yao, professor of the Chinese mainland studies. A Netbig.Com survey showed the campuses favored by Taiwan students included Beijing, Qinghua and Renmin universities in Beijing, and Jinan and Zhongshan universities in Guangzhou. The most popular studies were law, business and Chinese medicine.
At present, Chinese Taibei doesn’t recognize diplomas earned in the Chinese mainland nor help with any inquiries about studying there. But recognizing the trend, education authorities are giving a final form to a policy accepting certificates（证书）from selected universities.
1.More Taiwanese students study on the Chinese mainland because ___________.
A．Taiwan will reunite with the mainland sooner or later
B．the fees asked for are lower than those of Taiwan
C．what they have learned on the mainland will bring them a bright future
D．there are many famous universities for them to choose
2.Some business executives were sending their children to study in the Chinese mainland so that their children ___________.
A．could receive better education B．could learn more about the policy there
C．could do well in the business operations D．could make more friends there
3.The underlined word “it” in the third paragraph refers to __________.
A．Netbig.Com B．a Chinese education on the mainland
C．the Chinese job market D．the university
4. The author wrote the article to tell us ______________.
A. more Taiwanese students are studying on the mainland
B. the number of Taiwanese students going to universities on the mainland had been increasing year after year
C. education on the mainland is more attractive compared with that of Taiwan
D. Taiwan and the mainland should cooperate with each other in every field.
5.Which is true according to the passage?
A. Chinese Taibei recognizes diplomas earned on the Chinese mainland
B. The number of Taiwanese students going to study on the mainland will surely be increasing in the next few years.
C. Chinese Taibei doesn’t help with any inquiries about Taiwanese studying in the mainland
D. Education of Taiwan is far behind the mainland.
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Some disabled people use a special card when they park their cars. These are called disabled placards, which are removable signs that can be hung from the rear-view(后视) mirror of a car. These placards are only supposed to be for disabled people.
These placards are meant to help disabled people in a number of ways. They allow the person to park in special parking spaces. They can also be used when disabled people are being dropped off or picked up. Disabled people can even use them to park without having to pay.
Parking officials think that some people are cheating. Not all people who have these placards are disabled. Today, one in sixteen drivers in California carries the sign. There are a lot more people who have disabled placards today than ten years ago. An official from the DMV(加州车辆管理局) says that there are many reasons for the increase. As people get older, they may develop health problems and need to have one. There are also other reasons why more drivers have them today. Finally, there are a number of people who have them that should not.
Last year the DMV cancelled more than 25,000 permits. They found that lots of people who had the disabled placards had died. These permits are no longer valid.
Some people are worried that the system is being abused. They are worried that access to the program could be limited because of the misuse. More rules could make it harder for people with real disabilities to get these placards.
1.What do we know about placards?
A. They are all used by disabled people.
B. They are cards designed by disabled people.
C. They can help disabled people park their cars.
D. They allow disabled people to drive anywhere.
2.The DMV canceled many permits because_________.
A. the number of old people is growing
B. the number of disabled people is on the rise
C. they want to make it harder for people to get them
D. some people who have the placards have died
3.What can people do with the placards?
A. Drivers can use them when picking up disabled people
B. Disabled people can pay for parking with them.
C. Drivers can use them to drive their cars.
D. People can have access to DMV with them.
4. What does the third paragraph mainly talk about?
A. The reasons why disabled placards are also popular among drivers.
B. Some healthy people also use the disabled placards.
C. The number of disabled placard users had increased.
D. More reasons for drivers to use disabled placards.
5.We learn from the passage that_________.
A. disabled placards will be stopped by the government
B. some people will be punished for breaking the law
C. some disabled people will be forbidden to use disabled placards
D. some rules will be made related to disabled placards
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