Question

How could we possibly think that keeping animals in cages in unnatural environments—mostly for entertainment purposes―is fair and respectful?

Zoo officials say they are concerned about animals. However, most zoos remain "collections" of interesting "things" rather than protective habitats. Zoos teach people that it is acceptable to keep animals bored, lone?ly, and far from their natural homes.

Zoos claim to educate people and save endangered species, but visitors leave zoos without having learned any?thing meaningful about the animals' natural behaviour, in?telligence, or beauty. Zoos keep animals in small spaces or cages, and most signs only mention the species' name, diet, and the natural range (分布区).The animals' normal behaviour is seldom noticed because zoos don't usually take care of the animals' natural needs.

The animals are kept together in small spaces, with no privacy and little opportunity for mental and physical exercise. This results in unusual and self-destructive be?haviour called zoochosis. A worldwide study of zoos found that zoochosis is common among animals kept in small spaces or cages. Another study showed that ele?phants spend 22 per cent of their time making repeated head movements or biting cage bars, and bears spend 30 per cent of their time walking back and forth, a sign of unhappiness and pain.

Furthermore, most animals in zoos are not endan?gered. Captive breeding (圈养繁殖)of endangered big cats, Asian elephants, and other species has not resul?ted in their being sent back to the wild. Zoos talk a lot about their captive breeding programmes because they do not want people to worry about a species dying out. In fact, baby animals also attract a lot of paying custom?ers. Haven't we seen enough competitions to name baby animals?

Actually, we will save endangered species only if we save their habitats and put an end to the reasons why-people kill them. Instead of supporting zoos, we should support groups that work to protect animals' natural habitats.

1. In the state of zoochosis, animals  . 

A.remain in cages

B.behave strangely

C.attack other animals

D.enjoy moving around

2.What does the author try to argue in the passage?

A.Zoos are not worth the public support.

B.Zoos fail in their attempt to save animals.

C.Zoos should treat animals as human beings.

D.Zoos use animals as a means of entertainment.

3.The author tries to persuade readers to accept his ar?gument mainly by .

A.pointing out the faults in what zoos do

B.using evidence he has collected at zoos

C.questioning the way animals are protected

D.discussing the advantages of natural habitats

4.Although he argues against zoos, the author would still agree that . 

A.zoos have to keep animals in small cages

B.most animals in zoos are endangered species

C.some endangered animals are reproduced in zoos

D.it's acceptable to keep animals away from their habitats

Answer 1

【文章大意】文章讲述了作者对动物园的看法，表明动物园的动物并不快乐，而且呼吁人们去支持那些真正保护野生动物栖息地的工作。

B 细节理解题。从第四段的"This results in unusual and self-destructive behaviour called zoochosis.，，可知答案为B。

A 细节理解题。从最后一句"Instead of supporting zoos, we should support groups that work to protect animals' natural habitats."可知作者的态度是不要去支持动物园而应该支持那些保护动物自然栖息地的工作，故选A。

A推理判断题。从全文可知作者通过指出动物园的错误来证明自己的观点。

C 推理判断题。从倒数第二段的"Zoos talk a lot about their captive breeding programmes because they do not want people to worry about a species dying out."可知虽然作者反对动物园，但是动物园也确实进行了圈养繁殖来保证动物不会灭绝， 故选C。