阅读理解。
If you were to walk up to Arthur Bonner 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 (蝴蝶), 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 hurried 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 (栖息地) for an endangered
butterfly called El 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. Mattoni
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. When he was young, Arthur Bonner _____.
A. broke the law and ended up in prison
B. was fond of shooting and hurt his mom
C. often laughed at people on the streets
D. often caught butterflies and took them home
2. 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
3. From the last sentence of the text, we learn that raising butterflies has _____.
A. made Bonner famous
B. changed Bonner'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 Man Saved by Butterflies
C. A Story of Butterflies
D. A Job Offered by Dr. Mattoni
