1 . Charles Darwin was a very famous scientist who lived in the 1800s. His ideas about evolution (进化) completely changed the way scientists understand the natural world. He recorded his ideas in notebooks marked with letters of the alphabet (字母表), which have been considered extremely important for showing how he developed the evolution.
The Cambridge University Library had several of Mr. Darwin’s notebooks. The two that were missing were kept in a small box, and were last seen in 2000. In 2001, someone noticed that the box was missing. Luckily, the library had taken pictures of the notebooks’ pages, so the information wasn’t completely lost.
In 2020, the library made a huge effort to find the books. Workers searched through the 10 million books and other things in the library, but they didn’t find the notebooks. Finally, the library asked people around the world to help look for the books. They officially reported the missing notebooks as stolen so that the police around the world would search for them.
Nobody could ever have expected the way in which the notebooks were returned recently: in a pink gift bag with a note that said “Librarian, Happy Easter, X”. People at the library quickly recognized the blue box that the notebooks had been stored in. Inside a brown envelope they found the two missing notebooks, tightly wrapped in plastic. After the police had examined the package, library workers were able to open and carefully study the notebooks. They were pleased to learn that the notebooks were in good shape. They hadn’t been damaged and they weren’t missing any pages.
The timing of the return is perfect. The library was planning a show called “Darwin in Conversation”, which is set to open in July. Now the missing notebooks can be part of that show.
1. What did Darwin write in his notebooks?
| A．Scientists’ ideas about society. |
| B．The stories of his family. |
| C．His thoughts of evolution. |
| D．The development of the alphabet. |
2. Why were the missing notebooks reported to have been stolen?
| A．The library wanted to turn to the police for help. |
| B．The library didn’t want to take on responsibility for the loss. |
| C．The library discovered a librarian stole the notebooks. |
| D．The library realized the notebooks couldn’t be found. |
3. How did the librarians feel about the notebooks’ return?
| A．Proud. | B．Nervous. | C．Unconcerned. | D．Surprised. |
4. What will happen to the notebooks?
| A．They will be on exhibition. |
| B．They will be hidden forever. |
| C．They will be sold on a show. |
| D．They will be returned to the owner. |
