Question

  Looking back on my childhood, I get to believe that naturalists are born and not made． Although we were all brought up in the same way, my brothers and sisters soon threw away their pressed flowers and insects． Unlike them, I had no ear for music and languages． I was not an early reader and I could not do mental arithmetic．

  Before World War I we spent our summer holidays in Hungary． I have only the unclear memory of the house we lived in, of my room and my toys． Nor do I recall clearly the large family of grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins who gathered next door． But I do have a clear memory of the dogs, the farm animals, the local birds and, above all, the insects．

  I am a naturalist, not a scientist． I have a strong love of the natural world, and my enthusiasm（熱情） has led me into varied investigations（調(diào)查）． I love discussing my favorite topics and enjoy burning the midnight oil while reading about other people’s observations and discoveries． Then something happens that brings these observations together in my conscious mind． Suddenly you wonder you see the answer to the riddle（迷）, because it all seems to fit together． This has resulted in my publishing 300 papers and books, which some might honour with the title of scientific research．

  But curiosity, a keen eye, a good memory and enjoyment of the animal and plant world do not make a scientist; one of the outstanding qualities required is self-discipline, a quality I lack． A scientist requires not only self-discipline but hard training, determination and a goal． A scientist, up to a point, can be made． A naturalist is born． If you can combine the two, you get the best of both worlds．

53． The first paragraph tells us that the author ___．

     A． was born to a naturalist’s family

     B． lost his hearing when he was a child

     C． didn’t like his brothers and sisters

     D． was interested in flowers and insects

54． The author can’t remember his relatives clearly because ____．

     A． he didn’t live long with them

     B． he was fully busy observing nature          

       C． the family was too large to remember

     D． he was too young when he lived with them

55． It can be inferred from the passage that the author was ____

     A． a naturalist but not a scientist    

     B． more a good observer than a listener

     C． no more than a born naturalist

     D． a scientist as well as a naturalist

56． The author says he’s a naturalist rather than a scientist probably because he thinks he ___．

     A． lacks some of the qualities required of a scientist

     B． he couldn’t do mental arithmetic

     C． he was brought up in a family of farmers

     D． he was not knowledgeable enough

Answer 1

DBDA