C

Long ago，Bluebird's feathers were the colour of dust. She did not like her ugly colour．She was attracted by the colour of the lake near her home．It was as blue as the sky after a storm．Bluebird wanted to be the colour of that beautiful lake very much．

Flapping her wings one morning，Bluebird flew from her tree to the blue lake. Then she bathed in the water three times．After each bath，she sang，“Blue water．Still water．I went in．I am blue．”Bluebird repeated this every morning. On the third day，she came out ot the lake with beautiful blue feathers.

Now Coyote was a trickster(骗子)---and hungry too. He stayed behind Bluebird ‘s tree for a long time every day and watched her go to the lake．He pretended(伪装)to be interested in everything she did．He wanted Bluebird for lunch，but he was afraid of the blue water. On the third

Morning, Coyote saw Bluebird come out of the lake with beautiful blue feathers．Impressed，he sat next to Bluebird’s tree and waited for her．When she returned, he asked，“How did you get blue feathers?I want to be blue like the mountains too．”Bluebird didn't believe Coyote，but she taught him how to bathe three times each morning and how to sing her song．Coyote did what she said, and after three days of bathing in the lake，his white fur turned deep blue．

Convinced(确信的)that blue fur was even more beautiful than blue feathers，Coyote forgot all about being hungry．He ran as fast as he could to the top of the hill. Standing on his back legs, he raised his front legs off the ground and howled．But Coyote slipped(滑倒)and rolled down the hill．He couldn’t stop himself，and the dust and dirt covered his new blue fur．He rolled and rolled until he hit into Bluebird’s tree heavily．No matter how much he tried，foolish Coyote could not shake the dust from his fur. And so the fur of all coyotes has the dull colour of dust to this very day.

36．How many times did Bluebird bathe every morning before she had beautiful blue feathers?，

A．Three times。  B．Four times．    C．Five times．D．Six times．

37．Why was Coyote a trickster?

A．He wanted to fly like Bluebird near the mountains．

B．He wanted to eat Bluebird but pretended to be curious．

C．He wanted to swim in the lake but was afraid of the water．

D．He wanted to sing Bluebird’s song but didn't know the words.

38．Where did Coyote go after his fur turned blue?

A．To the lake．  B．To the tree．    C．To the cave．D．To the hill．

39．Why did Coyote forget all about being hungry?

A．Because his fur had the dull colour of dust．

B．Because the dust and dirt covered his new blue fur．

C．Because he hit into Bluebird’s tree and hurt himself．

D．Because he thought blue fur was much more beautiful．

40．What words does the writer use to help you imagine the colour blue?

A．sky，lake，mountains     B．bird，coyote，storm

C．flapped，climbed，bathed  D．fur，feathers，dust

D

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, rnany 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．

41．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．

42．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．

43．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.

44．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．

45．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．