Question

If you were to walk up to Arthur Bonnet 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 EI 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 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. Matoni 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.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

2.From the passage we know that before Bonnet met Professor Mattoni, he was ________.

A. interested in butterflies    B. a tough boy on the streets

C. known as Butterfly Man    D. a good student in a university

3.From the last sentence of the text, we learn that raising butterflies has ________.

A. made Bonner famous    B. changes Bonnet’s life

C. brought Bonner wealth    D. enriched Bonner’s knowledge

4.Which of the following would be the best title for the text?

A. A Promise to Mom    B. A Story of Butterflies

C. A Man Saved by Butterflies    D. A Job Offered by Dr. Mattoni

Answer

1.C

2.B

3.B

4.C

【解析】本文主要讲述了一个叫阿瑟的人通过养蝴蝶既拯救了蝴蝶,又拯救了自己的故事。

1.细节理解题．根据第六段的第一、二句话 Weeks later，Bonner received a call from Dr．Mattoni，who told him there was a butterfly that needed help．That was how he met the Palos Verdes blue．得知，几周后阿瑟收到了教授的电话，告诉他有一种蝴蝶需要他的帮助，那就是他怎样遇到这种蝴蝶的．故选C．

2.细节理解题。根据第二段中的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.句意：在他十三岁的时候，因为偷东西被警察抓。十八岁的时候因射伤了人而入狱。从这里得知阿瑟曾因伤人，偷窃等原因入狱。故选B。

3.细节理解题．根据短文最后一句话"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．"可知出狱六年来Bonner遵守着自己远离监狱的诺言，所以饲养蝴蝶改变了Arthur Bonner的生活；故选B．

4.主旨大意题。这篇短文讲述了Arthur Bonner在年轻人因为无违法而蹲进了监狱，后来通过饲养蝴蝶而改变了生活，是蝴蝶挽救了他．因此最好的题目是：A Man Saved by Butterflies；故选C．