Helping butterflies spread their wings“蝴蝶奶爸”，与蝶共舞

主题语境：环保名人 篇幅：362词 建议用时：7分钟

1 In late spring and early summer each year， tens ofmillions of butterflies come out of their chrysalises（蝶蛹） in the butterfly valley in southwest ChinasYunnan Province. For butterfly expert Yang Zhenwen，it is the busiest time of the year， but he greetsit with great enthusiasm.

2 Before the break of dawn， Yang has already arrived at the observation point， diligentlytending to the needs of the awakening butterflies.“ Due to warmer temperatures， the‘butterfly explosion’ this year occurred slightly earlier than usual， and the size of thebutterflies is larger than that in previous years，” said 46‑year‑old Yang， curator （馆长）of the butterfly valley museum.“ We expect that there will be about 80 million to 100million butterflies in the valley during this years‘ butterfly explosion’. Thats seems socrazy，” said Yang. According to Yang， in the valley， more than 320 butterfly specieshave been identified in specimens or photographs， including the rarest， most primitive，largest and smallest butterflies in China.

3 Besides Yang， many local villagers have also embraced the role of butterfly guardians.However， the journey toward achieving human‑butterfly harmony was far from easy.Some two decades ago， the villagers had little awareness of butterfly conservation，wrongly believing that butterflies could threaten their food crops. They viewed them aspests that should be eliminated（ 消灭）.

4 In 1998， Yang embarked on his journey at the agricultural science station in MaandiTownship， the very place where the butterfly valley is located.“ It was there that I met arecurring dilemma—the local villagers， seeking to protect their crops， would oftenplead for pesticides to remove the butterflies，” he said.“ However， my genuine affectionfor these creatures drove me to persistently dissuade them from harming the delicateinsects.”

5 Now， the development of ecotourism relying on butterfly resources has successfullytransformed the once impoverished township. More villagers have started engaging inbutterfly breeding.“ Protecting the forests， conserving water sources and preserving butterflieshave become conscious actions within the local community，” said Yang. He describesthe butterfly valley as a“ dream‑making machine”， which extends the“ butterflydream” of harmonious coexistence between humans and nature.

Reading

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1. What can we infer about the butterflies from paragraph 2？

A. They appear in large numbers mostly in early June.

B. They tend to grow up better in warm temperatures.

C. They are more active right before night falls.

D. They mostly die in their first two months.

2. How did Yang feel when talking about the“ butterfly explosion” this year？

A. Excited. B. Curious. C. Regretful. D. Disappointed.

3. Why did the local villagers hate butterflies about two decades ago？

A. Butterflies were damaging their food crops.

B. Butterflies proved to be poisonous insects.

C. Butterflies were disturbing their peaceful life.

D. They feared butterflies might harm their food crops.

4. What has happened to Maandi Township so far？

A. It has killed most of the butterfly species.

B. It has become richer thanks to ecotourism.

C. It has attached more importance to food crops.

D. It has applied more pesticides to their food crops.

Language

Study

Ⅰ. Difficult sentence in the text

Some two decades ago， the villagers had little awareness of butterfly conservation，wrongly believing that butterflies could threaten their food crops. 大约二十年前，村民们对蝴蝶保护知之甚少，错误地认为蝴蝶会威胁到他们的粮食作物。

【点石成金】本句是一个复合句。the villagers had little awareness of butterfly conservation是主句；believing...food crops作伴随状语，that引导的从句作动词believe 的宾语。

Ⅱ. Text‑centered chunks

tend to 照料；护理

due to 由于；因为

view...as 把……看成

have little awareness of 对……不甚了解

embark on 从事；着手

rely on 依靠；依赖