評(píng)論
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Now which are the animals really to be pitied in captivity? First, those clever beings whose lively urge for activity can find no outlet behind the bars of the cage. This is most conspicuous, even for the uninitiated, in the case of animals which, when living in a free state, are accustomed to roaming about widely. Owing to this frustrated desire, foxes and wolves housed, in many old-fashioned zoos, in cages which are far too small, are among the most pitiable of all caged animals.
Though pinioned swans generally seem happy, under proper care, by hatching and tearing their young without any trouble, at migration time things become different: they repeatedly swim to the lee side of the pond, in order to have the whole extent of its surface at their disposal, trying to take off. Again and again the grand preparations end in a pathetic flutter of their half wings; a truly sorry picture!
This, however, rarely awakens the pity of the zoo visitor, least of all when such an originally highly intelligent and mentally alert animal has deteriorated, in confinement, into a crazy idiot, a very caricature of its former self. Sentimental old ladies, the fanatical sponsors of the societies for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, have no compunction in keeping a grey parrot in a relatively small cage or even chained to a perch. Together with the large corvines, the parrots are probably the only birds which suffer from that state of mind, common to prisoners, namely, boredom.
1. What is an “outlet” in the context of this passage?
A. An opportunity for expression.
B. A place to let.
C. A chance of escape into a wood
D. An exit for a marketer.
2. What does “the uninitiated” mean?
A. People who visit animals in urban zoos.
B. People who do not like animals of the wild.
C. People who know little about a certain topic.
D. People who do not visit zoos every year.
3. According to the author in Paragraph 1, what animals suffer most in captivity?
A. Climbing animals.
B. Hunting animals.
C. Parroting animals.
D. Singing animals.
4. What do you think “hatching and rearing their young” means?
A. Raising families.
B. Getting on well with smaller birds.
C. Behaving like young birds.
D. Attacking smaller birds.
5. Which is the “l(fā)ee side” of the pond?
A. The side the wind is blowing from.
B. The side which is sheltered from a storm.
C. The side the wind id blowing towards.
D. The side where the water is the deepest.
6. According to the author, swans in captivity are ______.
A. happy unless their wings have been cut
B. happy most of the time, but unhappy sometimes
C. unhappy most of the time
D. only happy when they are bringing up families
7. What effect does confinement have on clever animals, according to the text?
A. They never stop trying to escape.
B. They lose all their muscles.
C. They become unhygienic.
D.They may go mad.
8. In Paragraph 3, the expression “have no compunction about” most probably means” have no _____.
A .reaction to
B. understanding of
C. second thoughts about
D. enlightenment on
9. What does the author say about sentimental old ladies?
A. They do not care about animals.
B. They hate making animals suffer.
C. They enjoy making animals suffer.
D. They do not realise the consequences.
10. What do you think “l(fā)arge corvines” probably are?
A. Another kind of bird.
B. Another kind of parrot.
C. Another kind of swans.
D. Other birds that convince us.
