【正文】 ly six years of age. But he did not know about brushes before a visitor told him he needed one. In those days , a brush was made from camel‘s hair. There were no camels nearby. Benjamin decided that cat hair would work instead. He cut some fur from the family cat to make a brush. The brush did not last long. Soon Benjamin needed more fur. Before long, the cat began to look ragged （蓬亂） . His father said that the cat must be sick. Benjamin was forced to admit what he had been doing. The cat‘s lot was about to improve. That year, one of Benjamin‘s cousins, Mr. Pennington, came to visit. He was impressed with Benjamin‘s drawings. When he went home, he sent Benjamin a box of paint and some brushes. He also sent six engravings （版畫） by an artist. These were the first pictures and first real paint and brushes Benjamin had ever seen. In 1747， when Benjamin was nine years old， Mr. Pennington returned for another visit .He was amazed at what Benjamin had done with his gift. He asked Benjamin‘s parents if he might take the boy to Philadelphia for a visit. In the city, Mr. Pennington gave Benjamin materials for creating oil paintings. The boy began a landscape (風(fēng)景 ) painting. William Williams ,a wellknown painter, came to see him work . Williams was impressed with Benjamin and gave him two classic books on painting to take home .The books were long and dull. Benjamin could read only a little, having been a poor student. But he later said,‖ Those two books were my panions by day, and under my pillow at night.‖While it is likely that he understood very little of the books, they were his introduction to classical paintings. The nineyearold boy decided then that he would be an artist. 24. What is the text mainly about? A. Benjamin‘s visit to Philadelphia. B. Williams‘ influence on Benjamin. C. The beginning of Benjamin‘s life as an artist. D. The friendship between Benjamin and Pennington. 25. What does the underlined sentence in paragraph 3 suggest? A. The cat would be closely watched. B. The cat would get some medical care. C. Benjamin would leave his home shortly. D. Benjamin would have real brushes soon. 26. What did Pennington do to help Benjamin develop his talent? A. He took him to see painting exhibitions. B. He provided him with painting materials. C. He sent him to a school in Philadelphia. D. He taught him how to make engravings. 27. Williams‘ two books helped Benjamin to ________. A. master the use of paints B. appreciate landscape paintings C. get to know other painters D. make up his mind to be a painter C After years of heated debate, gray wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park. Fourteen wolves were caught in Canada and transported to the park. By last year, the Yellowstone wolf population had grown to more than 170 wolves. Gray wolves once were seen here and there in the Yellowstone area and much of the continental United States, but they were gradually displaced by human development. By the 1920s, wolves had practically disappeared from the Yellowstone area. They went farther north into the deep forests of Canada, where there were fewer humans around. The disappearance of the wolves had many unexpected results. Deer and elk populations — major food sources (來源 ) for the wolf – grew rapidly. These animals consumed large amounts of vegetation (植被 ), which reduced plant diversity in the park. In the absence of wolves, coyote populations also grew quickly. The coyotes killed a large percentage of the park‘ s red foxes, and pletely drove away the park‘ s beavers. As early as 1966,biologists asked the government to consider reintroducing wolves to Yellowstone Park. They hoped that wolves would be able to control the elk and coyote problems. Many farmers opposed the plan because they feared that wolves would kill their farm animals or pets. The government spent nearly 30 years ing up with a plan to reintroduce the wolves. The . Fish and Wildlife Service carefully monitors and manages the wolf packs in Yellowstone. Today, the debate continues over how well the gray wolf is fitting in at Yellowstone. Elk, deer, and coyote populations are down, while beavers and red foxes have made a eback. The Yellowstone wolf project has been a valuable experiment to help biologists decide whether to reintroduce wolves to other parts of the country as well. is the text mainly about? A. Wildlife research in the United States. B. Plant diversity in the Yellowstone area. C. The conflict between farmers and gray wolves. D. The reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone Park. does the underlined word ―displaced‖ in paragraph 2 mean? A. Tested. B. Separated. C. Forced out. D. Tracked down. did the disappearance of gray wolves bring about