Question

　 Get a reward for every bug you bring to live in new science museum exhibit.

In a city with trillions of American cockroaches(蟑螂), the Houston Museum of Natural Science has agreed to pay a quarter per bug－up to 1,000－as it seeks to populate a new insect exhibit alongside its Cockrell Butterfly Center.

Nancy Greig, the museum’s director insists the public payday for roaches isn’t just a marketing ploy(炒作).

“Absolutely, this wasn’t devised as a joke,” Greig said. “We needed more roaches for the exhibit, so I sent this message out to everyone in the museum asking people to bring them in. Well, someone decided to tell the press, and all hell has broken loose.”

“But we really do need cockroaches.”

“One might be forgiven for never considering how to catch a live cockroach. But it’s simple enough to fool them,” Greig said, “and even easier to catch them.” American cockroaches are the most common kind in Texas, measuring up to 2 inches long and invading homes.

Despite their less-than-attractive reputation, cockroaches actually aren’t that dirty. Greig even went so far as to call them “fastidious” saying they don’t enjoy rooting(用嘴拱食) in waste. They’re only dirty if, say, they used a sewer(下水道)line to gain access into a home.

The roaches collected by the museum will become part of a display in a new exhibit that showcases insects such as cockroaches, dung beetles and termites.

There’s more to like about roaches, too. They don’t bite, and they don’t carry diseases like a mosquito, so they’re generally safe to handle.

1 For what does the museum pay for cockroaches?

A. For a marketing ploy.　　　　　　　　　　 B. It’s devised to make fun.

C. People really need them.　　　　　　　　　 D. For a new exhibit.

2. The underlined word “fastidious” probably means extremely ________.

A. clean　　　　　　 B. dirty　　　　　 C. unpleasant　　　　　 D. fast　　　　

3. What do we know about American roaches?

A. It’s not easy for people in Houston to collect roaches.

B. They all measure 2 inches and are often found in homes

C. They don’t bite and they are free of disease.

D. We have reasons to like them.

 

Answer 1

1. D考查细节理解。从文章的叙述可知，博物馆出钱购买蟑螂是为了一项新展览的需要。其他选项在文章中直接批驳了。

2.A考查猜测词义。第七段说，Greig甚至把它们称为 “fastidious”，它们不在肮脏的地方拱食，仅仅在进入居家的路程中从下水道经过时才弄脏了。由此判断，该词的含义与下文提到的dirty相反，因此选A，他认为蟑螂本来是很干净的动物，却被人们误认为很脏。

3.D考查推理判断。文章最后一段第一句说“蟑螂还有其可爱之处”，接着提到蟑螂的可爱和安全方面，因此选D。B与文中up to 2 inches矛盾， C项说“蟑螂没有疾病”，这是文中未提及的内容。