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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 is flying overhead.Who is this man,and why is he so important that he is featured 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 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 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 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.
生詞
quarter n. 四分之一元;(美國和加拿大的)25分硬幣:I deposited a quarter and two dimes in the slot.我往槽縫里投了一個25分幣和兩個10分幣。
feature v. 專題介紹;以……為主要內(nèi)容:The scenery is featured in railway advertising.鐵路廣告以介紹風景為主。
wilderness n. 荒野,不毛之地:The whole region is just a dry wilderness,where no plants grow.整個地區(qū)只是干旱荒野,沒有植物生長。
conserve v. 保護,保存:conserve national forests保護國有森林
set aside 留出,撥出:The government set aside barely thirteen percent of this money for health and education.政府只撥出這筆款的13%用于衛(wèi)生教育事業(yè)。
1.What did John Muir spend much of his life doing when he was a young man?
A.Watching natural views.
B.Writing about the places he visited.
C.Exploring the beauty of the wilderness.
D.Creating farmland for sheep and cattle.
2.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.
3.What happened after President Roosevelt went camping with John Muir?
A.Many trees were cut down.
B.Five national parks were established.
C.More homes and businesses were built.
D.More farmland was used for sheep and cattle.
4.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.
5.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.
參考譯文
仔細觀察加利福尼亞州25美分硬幣的背面,你會發(fā)現(xiàn)上面印著一個拄拐杖的人。一只名為加利福尼亞大禿鷲的鳥在頭頂盤旋。這個男人是誰?為什么他如此重要,以至于竟被印在硬幣背面的顯要位置?
硬幣上的人就是約翰·繆爾。很小的時候,繆爾就非常熱愛觀察自然。年輕時,他把生命中的大部分時間都用在了探索荒原之美上。他徒步跨越了1000英里的國土,走過田野,穿過叢林。約翰·繆爾喜歡撰寫與到訪之地有關(guān)的文章,暢言其美。
當然,繆爾也會揭露存在的問題。為了給牛羊創(chuàng)造更多的牧場,大量樹木遭到砍伐。這使繆爾難過、憂慮,因為他知道樹木之于森林以及居住其中的動物的重要性。繆爾認為,自然應當受到保護而不是被人為改變。他在雜志、報紙上發(fā)表文章,傳播保護森林的理念。很快,其他人開始傾聽他的意見。
繆爾曾給西奧多·羅斯??偨y(tǒng)之類的要人寫信??偨y(tǒng)很欣賞繆爾對自然的熱愛。當羅斯福到加利福尼亞拜訪繆爾時,繆爾說服總統(tǒng)和他一起在樹下露營3晚,這樣就可以暢談保護自然的問題了。后來,羅斯??偨y(tǒng)將1.48億英畝土地上的森林劃歸國有,并設立5處國家公園。國家公園是受到保護、不能用于開發(fā)的大片土地。也就是說,人們不能在那里建造房屋或開辦企業(yè)。優(yōu)山美地國家公園就是其中之一,它的名字也刻在加利福尼亞25美分硬幣的背面。
盡管約翰·繆爾去世已近百年,但今天的人們?nèi)栽谘永m(xù)他的工作。作為環(huán)保主義者,他的工作幫助我們認識到這個世界的自然之美,并使我們明白保護地球及資源的重要性——無論過去、現(xiàn)在,還是將來。
參考答案
Thursday 1.C 2.C 3.B 4.B 5.C