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 frog's 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 catch them. Agreement was reached, and the children were sent into 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. 

No one noticed the change at first, but it seemed to be more insects around recently. So they had to use the money they made to buy pesticides(杀虫剂)and medicines. Soon there was no money left.

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

Then the people realized what was happening. It was the frog. They hadn't been useless. They had been doing an important job-eating insects. Now with so many frogs killed, the insects were increasing more rapidly. They were damaging the crops and spreading(传播) diseases.

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

1.From Paragraph 1 we learn that the villagers _____.

A.worked very hard for centuries

B.dreamed of having a better life

C.were poor but somewhat content

D.lived a different life from their forefathers

2.Why did the villagers agree to sell frogs?

A.The frogs were easy money.

B.They needed money to buy medicine.

C.They wanted to please the visitors.

D.The frogs made too much noise.

3.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 diseases.

D.The pesticides were overused.

4.What can we infer from the last sentence of the text?

A.Happiness comes from peaceful life in the country.

B.Health is more important than money.

C.The harmony between man and nature is important.

D.Good old days will never be forgotten.

Answer

1.C

2.A

3.B

4.C

【解析】

本文是一篇记叙文，文章讲印度一个小村庄的村民为了赚钱大量捕捉青蛙，导致昆虫数量增加，农作物损失严重。同时疾病肆虐，许多儿童染病。这种破坏生态平衡的做法害人害已，村民们终于明白了人与自然和谐相处的重要性。

1.细节理解题。根据第一段第二、三句“The people were poor. However, they were not unhappy.”可知，他们虽清贫但还算幸福，故选C。

2.细节理解题。根据第三段第一句“This seemed like money for nothing.”及下文可知，村民们认为青蛙是无用却能让他们快速发财致富的东西，easy money意为“很容易赚的钱”，故选A。

3.细节理解题。由倒数第二段最后两句“…the insects were increasing more rapidly. 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，故选B。

4.推理判断题。根据上文村民与青蛙的故事可知，人类与自然应该和谐相处，如果为了眼前的利益而破坏这种和谐，会给人类带来更大的危害。故选C。