When I was growing up, I had an old neighbor, Dr. Gibbs. He didn't look like any doctor I'd ever known. He never invited us to play in his yard, but he was a very kind person. When Dr. Gibbs wasn't saving lives, he was planting trees. He owned a large field and wanted to make it a forest. The good doctor had some interesting ideas about planting trees. He never watered his new trees. Once I asked why. He said that watering plants spoiled(毁坏) them, and that if you watered them, each baby tree would grow weaker and weaker, so you had to make things difficult for them and pick out the weaker trees early on.

He talked about how watering trees made for shallow(浅的) roots(根), and how trees that weren't watered had to grow deep roots in search of water under the earth by themselves. Deep roots were very important. So he never watered his trees. He'd planted an oak(橡树)and instead of watering it every morning, he'd beat it with a rolled-up newspaper. I asked him why he did that, and he said it was to get the tree's attention.

Dr. Gibbs died several years after I left home. Every now and then, I walked by his house and looked at the trees that I watched him plant about twenty-five years ago. They're very big and strong now. I planted some trees a few years back and carried water to them for a whole summer. After two years of caring too much, whenever a cold wind blows in, they shake a lot.

Every night before I go to bed, I check on my two sons. Mostly I pray (祈祷) that their lives will be easy. But lately I've been thinking that it's time to change my prayer. I know my children are going to face difficulties. There's always a cold wind blowing somewhere, so what we need to do is to pray for roots that reach deep into the brave heart, so when the rains fall and the winds blow, we could face it strongly and won't be beaten down.

1.We know from the passage, the doctor______.

A. didn't know how to plant trees at all 

B. wasn't good at his own medical job

C. had his own ways of planting trees   

D. had nothing to do but plant trees

2.When Dr. Gibbs said "... pick out the weaker trees early on.", he meant that______.

A. some weak trees would be easily found out at the beginning

B. he would choose the weak trees to water earlier

C. the weak trees would be sent to his patients later

D. he would not plant weak trees so early anymore

3.The passage tells us that the writer         。

A．should beat his trees with a rolled-up newspaper

B.didn’t often water his trees

C.didn’t have a large field

D.took too much care of his trees

4.The writer wants to change his prayer,hoping that       .

A.his trees will be stronger than Dr.Gibbs′

B. his trees will not be beaten down

C.his sons will be better at planting trees

D. his sons will be able to face difficulties

5.Which can be the best title of the reading?

A. Watering Trees                 B. Growing Roots 

C. Doctor and his Neighbor         D. Father and his Children

One of the most famous scientists to study adaptations (适应能力) was Charles Darwin (达尔文). He was born in England in 1809. He wasn't the best student in his school, but when he was 16, his father sent him to a medical school. Charles liked spending time outdoors observing (观察) nature more than attending medical classes and dropped out(辍学) without graduating.

??? Next, Charles' father sent him to school to become a minister (牧师). This time he made it to graduation. But he didn't want to do the work of a minister. His friends encouraged him to follow his interest in science.

??? After graduation, Charles was invited to sail on the Beagle as an unpaid scientist. He wasn't the first choice, but he was the lucky one to go. The Beagle was to travel to South America and then around the world. The crew's task was to make maps of the places they visited.

??? On December 27th, 1831 Charles Darwin sailed from England on the Beagle. The trip was planned to last two years. In fact, it lasted five. During this time, he saw many amazing things. He collected lots of plants and animals and took them back to England to study.

??? Twenty-three years later, Darwin published a scientific paper with another man named Wallace. Darwin described how some animals have adaptations that help them survive. They are passed on to offspring (后代). Darwin’s ideas about adaptations are still very important to the study of living things.

1.Darwin was very interested in _____.

A. attending medical classes???????????? B. the work of a minister

C. sailing around the world????????????? D. science

2.The Beagle was a(an) _____.

A. ship?????????????? B. plane??????????? C. plant???????? D. animal

3.When Darwin published the scientific paper, he was _____ years old.

A. twenty-three??????? B. twenty-two?????? C. forty-five????? D. fifty

4.The underlined word "they" in the last paragraph refers to (指的是) _____.

A. adaptations??????????????????????? B. Darwin and Wallace

C. animals?????????????????????????? D. Darwin's ideas

5.Which of the following is true?

A. Darwin graduated from a medical school.

B. Some animals have adaptations so that they can survive.

C. Darwin published a scientific paper by himself.

D. Darwin was first chosen to sail on the Beagle.