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 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 in that way 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 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, 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, 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.
【小题1】Why did the writer catch a mockingbird when he was a boy of 12?

A．He wanted it to sing for him	B．He had just got a new cage.
C．He liked its beautiful feather.	D．He wanted a pet for a companion.

【小题2】The mockingbird died because it ______.

A．was frightened to death

B．drank the poisonous water by mistake

C．ate the poisonous food its mother gave it

D．refused to eat anything

【小题3】An ornithologist probably means ______.

A．a religious person

B．a kind person

C．an expert in birds

D．a schoolmaster

【小题4】What is the most important lesson the writer learned from the incident?

A．Be careful about food you give to baby birds.

B．All birds put in a cage won’t live long.

C．You should keep the birds from their mother.

D．Freedom is very valuable to all creatures.

Answer 1

【小题1】A
【小题2】C
【小题3】C
【小题4】D

解析试题分析：本文叙述了作者小的时候抓了一只仿声鸟，想让它为自己唱歌，于是就把它放在笼子里养着，结果有一天，小鸟死了，经过专家的指点才知，是鸟妈妈看见小鸟被关在笼子里失去了自由，还不如让小鸟去死，于是鸟妈妈给小鸟吃了有毒的果实，把它毒死了。因此，作者告诫我们一定要爱护鸟给它们自由。
【小题1】细节理解题。根据I decided that I would catch a young bird and keep it in a cage and in that way would have my own private musician.他想听到鸟为他唱歌，故选A。
【小题2】细节理解题。根据A mother mockingbird, finding her young in a cage, will sometimes bring it poison berries. 鸟妈妈给小鸟有毒的果实，把小鸟给毒死了，故选C。
【小题3】词义猜测题。根据hearing me crying over the death of my bird, explained what had occurred. 鸟类专家，故选C。
【小题4】细节理解题。根据自由对所有的生物来说是最重要的，故选D。
考点：故事类短文阅读。
点评：要求根据阅读材料所提供的信息，结合考生应有的常识和经验，正确判断生词词组的含义或成熟词在特定语境中表达的具体含义以及一些句子的意思。要求猜测词义的词一般为实词及其词组，通过构词、定义、对比、因果、联想、上下文等线索确定词义的具体内容。