题目内容
Looking back on my childhood, I am convinced that naturalists are born and not made. Although we were all brought up in the same way,my br others and sisters soon abandoned their pressed flowers and insects. Unlike them,I had no ear for music and languages. I was not an early reader and I could not do mental arithmetic.
Before World War I we spent our summer holidays in Hungary. I have only the dim memory of the house we lived in, of my room and my toys. Nor do I recall clearly the large family of grandparents,aunts, uncles and cousins who gathered next door. But I do have a clear memory of the dogs, the farm animals, the local birds, and above all, the insects.
I am a naturalist, not a scientist. I have a strong love of the natural world and my enthusiasm had led me into varied investigations. I love discussing my favorite topics and enjoy burning the midnight oil reading about other people's observations and discoveries. Then something happens that brings these observations together in my conscious mind. Suddenly you fancy you see the answer to the riddle, because it all seems to fit together. This has resulted in my publishing 300 papers and books, which some might honor with the title of scientific research.
But curiosity,a keen eye,a good memory and enjoyment of the animal and plant world do not make a scientist: one of the outstanding and essential qualities required is self?discipline, a quality I lack. A scientist, up to a certain point,can be made. A naturalist is born. If you can combine the two,you get the best of both worlds.
1.The first paragraph tells us the author .
A.was interested in flowers and insects in his childhood
B.lost his hearing when he was a child
C.didn’t like his brothers and sisters
D.was born to a naturalist’s family
2.The author can’t remember his relatives clearly because .
A.he didn’t live very long with them
B.the family was extremely large
C.he was too young when he lived with them
D.he was fully occupied with observing nature
3.It can be inferred from the passage that the author was .
A.a scientist as well as a naturalist
B.a naturalist but not a scientist
C.no more than a born naturalist
D.first of all a scientist
4.The author says that he is a naturalist rather than a scientist probably because he thinks he .
A.has a great deal of trouble doing mental arithmetic
B.lacks some of the qualities required of a scientist
C.just reads about other people’s observations and discoveries
D.comes up with solutions in a most natural way
Going on a road trip? The St．Louis Arch，Statue of Liberty and Golden Gate Br_[dga are great tourist sites．But if you prefer offbeat destinations, check out the following roadside attractions．
World's Largest Ball of Paint
Alexandria, Ind．
In 1977, Michael Carmichael set out to create the biggest ball of paint anywhere．Starting with a base-ball as center, he painted layer after layer of paint day after day, year after year．The ball weighs more than 1,300 pounds, with more than 20,000 coats of paint, which is recognized by Guinness World Records．Visitors can paint the ball themselves and become part of history．
The Museum of Dirt
Boston, Mass．
The museum is the idea of Glenn Johnson．Labeled （贴有标签的） glass bottles contain such treasures as dirt from the Great Wall of China, as well as sand from a desert in Saudi Arabia and Omaha Beach in France．Best of all, the cost of seeing this museum is dirt cheap: It's free．
Mount Horeb Mustard Museum
Mount Horeb，Wis．
It's heaven for hotdog lovers! This museum claims to have the world's largest collection of prepared mustards （芥末）．Its more than 4,100 bottles of spices come from 60 nations, including Turkey and China．Visitors learn the history of mustard, from how it's made to how it's advertised and sold．The museum's creator, Barry Levenson, loves mustard so much, he even puts it on ice cream!
Paper House
Rockport, Mass．
Swedish immigrant （移民） Ellis Stenman was much ahead of his time in 1922, when he started to build a two-room house almost entirely out of newspaper．At the time, people didn't give much — if any —thought to recycling paper．In fact, "recycling" wasn't even a word yet．The house is framed with wood, but the walls are made of 215 layers of newspaper．In all, he used about 100,000 newspapers．
1．The underlined word "offbeat" in the first paragraph can be best replaced by______．
A．great B．foreign C．unusual D．historical
2．If you want to add your own work to what you visit, you may choose______ ．
A．World's Largest Ball of Paint B．The Museum of Dirt
C．Mount Horeb Mustard Museum D．Paper House
3．Which of the following is true of Barry Levenson according to the text?
A．No spices but mustards can be found in his museum．
B．He travels around the world to collect mustards．
C．Mustard is advertised and sold in his museum．
D．In a way, he shows much preference for mustard．
4．What can be inferred from the text?
A．Michael must have the largest ball in the world．
B．Glenn must have paid a visit to China．
C．Lots of hotdog lovers will travel to Mount Horeb．
D．Ellis could be seen as a pioneer in his time．
5．According to the text, we know that
A．Michael will never stop painting the large ball
B．there is no charge at the Museum of Dirt
C．Barry is the owner of the mustard museum
D．Paper House was completely made of paper
