Question

It was a village in India. The people were poor. However, they were not unhappy. After all, their forefathers (祖先) had lived in the same way for centuries.

Then one day, some visitors from the city arrived. They told the villagers there were some people elsewhere who liked to eat frogs’ legs. However, they did not have enough frogs of their own, and so they wanted to buy frogs from other places.

This seemed like money for nothing. There were millions of frogs in the fields around, and they were no use to the villagers. All they had to do was to catch them. Agreement was reached, and the children were sent to the fields to catch frogs. Every week a truck arrived to collect the catch and hand over the money. For the first time, the people were able to dream of a better future. But the dream didn’t last long.

The change was hardly noticed at first, but it seemed as if (好像) the crops(庄稼) were not doing so well. More worrying was that the children fell ill more often, and there seemed to be more insects around lately.

The villagers decided that they couldn’t just wait to see the crops failing and the children getting weak. They would have to use the money they’d just had to buy pesticides (杀虫剂) and medicine. Soon there was no money left.

Then the people realized that what was happening. It was the frogs. They hadn’t been useless. They had been doing an important job—eating insects. Now with so many frogs killed, soon there were more and more insects. They were doing harm to both crops and people.

Now, the people are still poor. But in the evening they sit in the village square and listen to sounds of insects and frogs. These sounds of night now have a much deeper meaning.

1.Why did the villagers agree to sell frogs?

A. They needed money to buy medicine.

B. They wanted to please the visitors.

C. The frogs were easy money.

D. The frogs made too much noise.

2.What might be the cause of the children’s sickness?

A. The crops didn’t do well.

B. There were too many insects.

C. The visitors brought in disease.

D. The pesticides were overused.

3.What can we learn from the last sentence of the passage?

A. Good old days will never be forgotten.

B. Health is more important than money.

C. The harmony between man and nature is important.

D. Happiness comes from peaceful life in the country.

Answer

1.C

2.B

3.C

【解析】

试题分析：本文通过描写印度的一个小村庄因为过度捕杀青蛙而对庄稼和孩子造成损伤，然后幡然醒悟的故事，说明了人与自然应和平相处的道理。

1.细节理解题。由第三段首句“This seemed like money for nothing.”及其后叙述可知，村民们认为青蛙是无用却能让他们快速发财致富的东西。故选C。

2.细节理解题。由倒数第二段最后一句“They were damaging the crops and spreading diseases.”可知，由于昆虫增加，导致农作物损失，疾病蔓延，从而引起儿童患病，体质虚弱。故选B。

3.推理判断题。最后一段提到：村民现在仍贫穷，但在落日的黄昏，聚坐广场，聆听夜晚的昆虫叫与蛙鸣声——这些声音赋予人们更深刻的含义，那就是：人与自然的和谐相处。故选C。

考点：日常生活类短文阅读。