Looking back on my childhood, I am convinced that naturalists are born and not m

Looking back onmy childhood, I am convinced that naturalists are born and not made．Although we were all brought upin the same way, my brothers and sisters soon abandoned their pressed flowersand insects．Unlikethem, I had no ear for music and languages．I was not an early reader and I could not do mental arithmetic．

Before World WarI we spent our summer holidays in Hungary．I have only the dim memory of the house we lived in, of my room andmy toys．Nor do Irecall clearly the large family of grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins whogathered next door．ButI do have a clear memory of the dogs, the farm animals, the local birds, andabove all, the insects．

I am anaturalist, not a scientist．I have a strong love of the natural world and my enthusiasm led meinto varied investigations．I love discussing my favorite topics and enjoy burning the midnightoil while reading about other people’s observations and discoveries．Then something happens thatbrings these observations together in my conscious mind．

Suddenly youfancy you see the answer to the riddle, because it all seems to fit together．This has resulted in mypublishing 300 papers and books, which some might honor with the title ofscientific research．

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

1.The firstparagraph tells us the author _____．

      A．was interested in flowers and insects in his childhood

      B．lost his hearing when he was a child  

       C．didn’t like his brothers and sisters  

       D．was born to a naturalist’s family

2.The author can’tremember his relatives clearly because _____．

      A．he didn’t live very long with them        

       B．the family was extremely large  

       C．he was too young when he lived withthem                         

       D．he was fully occupied with observing nature

3.The author saysthat he is a naturalist rather than a scientist probably because he thinks he_____．

      A．has a great deal of trouble doing mental arithmetic

      B．lacks some of the qualities required of a scientist

      C．just reads about other people’s observations and discoveries

      D．comes up with solutions in a most natural way

试题答案

【答案】

1.A

2.D

3.B