Beatrix Potter，Mother of Peter Rabbit

梁静

Have you read The Tale of Peter Rabbit？ It's a very famous children's book written by Beatrix Potter.

Beatrix was born in 1866. She and her brother kept many small animals as pets—rabbits， mice， frogs and even bats （蝙蝠）！ They both liked to draw their pets， but Beatrix liked drawing animals from her own imagination most. She also loved drawing nature when they visited beautiful places. Beatrix was very smart. She was especially interested in mycology （真菌學）. She even wrote a scientific paper about it， but women at that time couldn't be scientists.

To make some money， Beatrix started drawing cards with animals. One day， she wrote a letter to her friend's son， and told the story of Peter Rabbit. Later， she decided to make the story into a book. The Tale of Peter Rabbit was published in 1902—and it was a great success！ She also made dolls， painting books， games and other objects based on （以……为基础） her characters.

In 1905， Beatrix bought a farm in the Lake District. She learned about farming and bought more farms and land. She enjoyed country life very much， and did a lot to help protect the environment.

When Beatrix died， she left almost all her farms and land to a charity （慈善机构） which protects historic places. Today， you can even visit Hill Top Farm， which is like it used to be when Beatrix lived there！

So if you haven't read The Tale of Peter Rabbit， or other Beatrix Potter' books， why not visit the library or bookshop today？

根据短文内容，选择最佳答案。

1. In their childhood， Beatrix and her brother both ____________.

A. liked visiting animal farms     B. had a love for drawing nature

C. liked drawing from their imagination D. loved keeping pets and drawing them

2. Beatrix didn't become a scientist at that time because ____________.

A. she was a woman B. she lost her interest in science

C. she was weak at science D. she couldn't make money from science

3. The underlined word “published” probably means ____________ in Chinese.

A. 拍摄      B. 出版      C. 讲述      D. 设计

4. Beatrix left her farms and land to the charity in order to ____________.

A. help the poor B. protect them      C. sell them for money D. thank her readers