Look carefully at the back of a California state quarter. A man with a walking stick is pictured there. A bird called a California condor(大秃鹫)is flying overhead. Who is this man, and why is he so important that he is featured(处于显著地位)on the back of a coin?
The man on this quarter is John Muir. Even as a child, Muir loved watching nature. As a young man, he spent much of his life exploring the beauty of the wilderness. He walked more than a thousand miles across the country, through fields and woods. John Muir liked writing about the places he visited, describing their beauty.
Muir also wrote about problems. In order to create more farmland for sheep and cattle, many trees were being cut down. This made Muir unhappy and worried, because he knew that trees were important to forests and to the animals that lived in them.Muir believed that nature should be conserved(保护)instead of being changed by human beings. He wrote articles in magazines and newspapers to spread the word about conserving forests. Soon, others began to listen.
Muir wrote letters to important people, such as President Theodore Roosevelt. The president admired Muir’s love for nature. When Roosevelt came to visit Muir in California. Muir convinced(说服)the president to go camping with him for three nights under the trees so they could talk about conservation. Later, President Roosevelt set aside 148 million acres of land for national forests and established(建立)five national parks. National parks are large areas of land that are protected from development. This means that people cannot build homes or businesses there. One of these parks is Yosemite National Park, the area that is featured on the back of the California quarter.
Though it has been almost one hundred years since John Muir died, people continue his work today. His work as a conservationist helped us to see the beauty of our natural world. John Muir made us understand the importance of protecting our earth and our resources---then, now, and for the future.
【小题1】Why did President Theodore Roosevelt visit John Muir?

A.Because Roosevelt loved watching nature.
B.Because Roosevelt received letters from John Muir.
C.Because Roosevelt admired John Muir’s love for nature.
D.Because Roosevelt was sad about the problems with farmland.
【小题2】Why is John Muir featured on the back of a California state quarter?
A.Because he walked over a thousand miles across the country.
B.Because he helped people understand the importance of protecting the natural world.
C.Because he wrote articles to spread the word about conserving forests.
D.Because he once wrote several letters to President Theodore Roosevelt.
【小题3】What is the writer’s purpose of writing this article?
A.To advise readers to become active conservationists.
B.To make us interested in the story about a great man.
C.To tell us something about an important person in history.
D.To give information about how to conserve the environment.

Once when I was a teenager, my father and I were standing in line to buy tickets for the circus. Finally, there was only one family between the ticket office and us. This family made a big impression on me.

         There were eight children, all probably under the age of 12. You could tell they didn’t have a lot of money. Their clothes were not expensive, but they were clean. The children talked excitedly about the clowns. It was clearly a very important day out for them. The father and mother seemed happy as they could be.

         The tickets lady asked how many tickets the father wanted, he proudly answered, “Please let me buy eight children’s tickets and two adults’ tickets, so I can take my family to the circus.”

         The ticket lady told him the price.

         The man’s wife lowered her head. There was no longer a smile on the man’s face. He quietly asked, “How much did you say?”

         The ticket lady again told him the price.

         The man obviously didn’t have enough money. But how could he tell his kids the bad news?

         Seeing what was happening, my dad took a $20 note from his pocket and dropped in on the ground. (We were not rich ourselves at all!) He then tapped the man on the shoulder and said, “Excuse me, sir, you dropped this.”

         The man understood my father was helping him. He picked up the money, looked straight into my dad’s eyes, and in tears replied. “Thank you. This really means a lot to me and my family.”

         Although we did not go to the circus that night, we didn’t go without.

1.Why does the writer say “Their clothes were not expensive, but they were clean” ( Paragraph 2)?

A. To show the children were well looked after.

B. To show cheap clothes could be popular.

C. To show how hard the mother worked.

D. To show how rich the family were.

2.Why was the poor man unhappy after he spoke with the ticket lady?

A. He had lost his money.                     B. His children were noisy.

C. The tickets were sold out.                        D. The tickets were too expensive.

3.Who did the $20 note belong to?

A. The poor man                .                           B. The writer’s father.

C. The poor man’s wife.                                 D. The ticket lady.

4.Why was the poor man in tears at the end of the story?

A. He found the money he lost.                   B. He wanted others to help him.

C. He made his children unhappy.               D. He was thankful for the kindness.

5.Which of the following statements is probably true according to the passage?

A. The poor mans saw the circus that night.

B. The two families became close friends.

C. The writer’s father earned some money.

D. The writer saw the circs that night.

 

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