Question

Watching some children trying to catch butterflies one 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 trees 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 in that case, I would 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(拍翅) about the cage, but eventually it settled down in its new home. I felt pleased with myself and looked forward to some beautiful singing from my tiny musician.

I had left the cage out on our back doorway and on the second day of the bird’s captivity(囚禁)， 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 on how to feed the 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 poisonous berries(浆果). 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 liked its beautiful feather.

B. he wanted a pet as his companion

C. he wanted it to sing for him

D. he wanted to watch it dance

2.The “ornithologist” probably means __________.

A. a religious person

B. a kind and sympathetic person

C. a school master

D. an expert in birds

3.The most important lesson the boy learned from the accident is that __________ .

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

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

C. freedom is valuable to all living creatures

D. you should keep a young bird away from its mother

4.What can we infer according to the passage?

A. The children trying to catch butterflies reminded the author to keep a mockingbird as a pet.

B. The mockingbird sings better than any other bird.

C. The mockingbird’s mother had a better understanding than the author.

D. The author did not catch any living creature and put it in a cage after the accident.

Answer 1