Question

Watching some children trying to catch butterflies one hot August afternoon, I was reminded of an incident in my own childhood. When I was a boy of 12 in South Carolina, something happened to me that cured me forever of wanting to put any wild creature in a cage.

We lived on the edge of a wood, and every evening at dusk the mockingbirds would come and rest in the tree and sing. There isn’t a musical instrument made by man that can produce a more beautiful sound than the song of the mockingbird.

I decided that I would catch a young bird and keep it in a cage and that way have my own private musician.

I finally succeeded in catching one and put it in a cage. At first, in its fright at being captured, the bird fluttered about the cage, but eventually it settled down in its new home, I felt very pleased with myself and looked forward to some beautiful singing from my tiny musician.

I had left the cage out on our back porch（門廊）, and on the second day of the bird’s captivity my new pet’s mother flew to the cage with food in her mouth . The baby bird ate everything she brought to it. I was pleased to see this. Certainly the mother knew better than I how to feed her baby.

The following morning when I went to see how my captive was doing, I discovered it on the floor of the cage, dead. I was shocked! What had happened? I had taken excellent care of my little bird, or so I thought.

Arthur Wayne, the famous ornithologist, happened to be visiting my father at the time and, hearing me crying over the death of my bird, explained what had occurred: “A mother mockingbird, finding her young in a cage, will sometimes bring it poison berries. She thinks it better for her young to die than to live in captivity.”

Never since then have I caught any living creature and put it in a cage. All living creatures have a right to live free.

1.The boy caught a mockingbird because___________.

  A. he wanted a pet for a companion         

B. he liked its beautiful feather

  C. he wanted it to sing for him            

D. he had just got a cage

2.The mockingbird died because__________.

   A. it ate some poisonous food the boy gave it by mistake

B. it ate the poisonous food its mother gave it

C. it was frightened to death

D. it refused to eat anything

3.The word “ornithologist” in the last but one paragraph probably means________.

A. a religious person                  

B. a kind and sympathetic person

C. a schoolmaster                      

D. an expert in birds

4.The most important lesson the boy learned from the incident is that______.

A. birds put in a cage won’t live long

B. you have to be very careful about the food you give to young birds

C. when you capture a young mockingbird, you should keep it away from its mother

D. freedom is valuable to all living creature.

 

Answer 1

【答案】

 

1.C

2.B

3.D

4.D

【解析】本文講述了“我”小時候抓了一只會唱歌的模仿鳥，在吃了鳥媽媽帶來的食物后，小鳥不幸夭折的故事。這個故事告訴我們，每個生物都有自由地活著的權(quán)利。

1.C細節(jié)題。根據(jù)I decided that I would catch a young bird and keep it in a cage and that way have my own private musician.可知答案為C。

2.B推斷題。根據(jù)“A mother mockingbird, finding her young in a cage, will sometimes bring it poison berries. She thinks it better for her young to die than to live in captivity.”可知：小鳥死于母親的食物。

3.D猜詞題。根據(jù)此人對模仿鳥死亡做的解釋，可知他是鳥類專家。故答案為D。

4.D推斷題。根據(jù)最后一句話Never since then have I caught any living creature and put it in a cage. All living creatures have a right to live free.可知，他明白自由對任何生物都是無價的。