Once there was a poor farmer and his farm belonged to(屬于) a rich man. One day he brought a basket of apples to the rich man’s house. On the doorsteps, he met two monkeys dressed like children. They jumped onto the basket to eat the apples and threw some on the ground. The farmer politely took off his hat and asked the monkeys to get off. They obeyed(服從) and the farmer went into the house. He asked to see the rich man. A servant took him to the room where the rich man was sitting.
“I have brought you the basket of apples you asked for,” he said.
“But why have you brought a half-empty basket?” the rich man asked.
“I met your children outside, and they stole some of the apples.”
【小題1】Why did the farmer bring apples to the rich man? Because        .

Once there was a poor farmer and his farm belonged to(屬于) a rich man. One day he brought a basket of apples to the rich man’s house. On the doorsteps, he met two monkeys dressed like children. They jumped onto the basket to eat the apples and threw some on the ground. The farmer politely took off his hat and asked the monkeys to get off. They obeyed(服從) and the farmer went into the house. He asked to see the rich man. A servant took him to the room where the rich man was sitting.

“I have brought you the basket of apples you asked for,” he said.

“But why have you brought a half-empty basket?” the rich man asked.

“I met your children outside, and they stole some of the apples.”

1.Why did the farmer bring apples to the rich man? Because        .

2.What did the monkeys do when the farmer was on the doorsteps?

3.The monkeys left the basket because         .

4.How did the rich man feel when he saw the basket?  He felt        .

Once there was a poor farmer and his farm belonged to(屬于) a rich man. One day he brought a basket of apples to the rich man’s house. On the doorsteps, he met two monkeys dressed like children. They jumped onto the basket to eat the apples and threw some on the ground. The farmer politely took off his hat and asked the monkeys to get off. They obeyed(服從) and the farmer went into the house. He asked to see the rich man. A servant took him to the room where the rich man was sitting.
“I have brought you the basket of apples you asked for,” he said.
“But why have you brought a half-empty basket?” the rich man asked.
“I met your children outside, and they stole some of the apples.”

1. 1.

   Why did the farmer bring apples to the rich man? Because        

   1. A.
      he was poor
   2. B.
      he liked the rich man
   3. C.
      his farm belonged to the rich man
   4. D.
      the rich man’s children liked apples
2. 2.

   What did the monkeys do when the farmer was on the doorsteps?

   1. A.
      They jumped and jumped
   2. B.
      They played
   3. C.
      They ran away
   4. D.
      They ate some of the apples
3. 3.

   The monkeys left the basket because         

   1. A.
      they had thrown apples on the ground
   2. B.
      the farmer had politely asked them to get off
   3. C.
      they were afraid of the hat
   4. D.
      the farmer was angry wit h them
4. 4.

   How did the rich man feel when he saw the basket?  He felt        

   1. A.
      pleased
   2. B.
      moved
   3. C.
      excited
   4. D.
      unhappy

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(放大鏡) , ‘Look at the leaves.’ I could see all these caterpillars(蝴蝶的幼蟲(chóng)) 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 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 astragalus, 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.

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. What does the underlined phrase “put through” mean in the 3rd paragraph?

A. hurt                         B. recall                C. remember                 D. experience

15. 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