Question

I grew up with a group of pets. As a mother, I was determined to provide my daughter with the same joyful experiences. Indeed, by the time my daughter was in elementary school, our house was known as "the neighborhood zoo". Now that she is a teenager, we've reduced the number of animals in our home, but we still live with two dogs. I can't imagine life without them.

Regardless, I have become increasingly uncomfortable with the word "pet". When I came upon the conclusion by the University of Tennessee zoologist Gordon Burghardt that the best we can do for pets is a life of "controlled deprivation (剥夺)", I wished I had never bought Lizzy, our leopard gecko(豹纹守宫). I felt a pit in my stomach when I learned that Lizzy' s constant clawing at the glass wall of her tank was most likely a signal of stress. It is perhaps not surprising that she died after only two years, despite our efforts to give proper care.

The problems with the various small creatures we put into cages and tanks are relatively clear-cut. More challenging moral questions, in my view, arise in relation to our closest furry friends: dogs and cats. Unlike animals that must spend their entire life in a cage or that must struggle to adapt to a human environment, most cats and dogs have it pretty good. Yet it is likely that our dogs and cats may be suffering in ways we don't readily see, because even the most well-meaning owner doesn't always provide what an animal needs.

It may be hard to recognize the harmful aspects of pet keeping when all we hear is how beloved pets are and how happy they are to be in our company. Advertisements showing golden-haired children playing with golden-haired puppies and YouTube videos of cats doing funny things make pet keeping look ever so precious.

Yet if we really care about animals, we ought to know animals are not toys — they are living, breathing, feeling creatures.

1.What does the underlined part "the neighborhood zoo" in Paragraph 1

imply?

A. The author is a pet lover.

B. The author is a regular zoo-goer.

C. The author' s daughter is a zoo keeper.

D. The author' s neighborhood is rich in animals.

2.How did the author feel about Lizzy?

A. Worried.    B. Curious.

C. Guilty.    D. Annoyed.

3.What is the main problem with pet dogs and cats?

A. They can' t adapt to human life.

B. Their needs are easier to ignore.

C. They suffer a lot from ill-treatment.

D. Their owners fail to accompany them.

4.Which of the following statements is True?

A. My daughter grew up with a group of pets until adulthood.

B. According to Gordon Burghardt, we should try our best to give pets a life of "controlled deprivation (剥夺)".

C. Most cats and dogs spend their entire life in a cage just like other animals.

D. What the media did makes it hard for us to recognize the harmful aspects of pet keeping.

Answer

1.A

2.C

3.B

4.D

【解析】

本文为议论文。随着人们生活水平的不断提高，饲养宠物的人越来越多。我们认为我们给这些动物提供了舒服的生活条件，给了它们足够的关爱，但事实果真如此吗？

1.细节理解题。根据第一段中的I grew up with a group of pets. 和 I can't imagine life without them.可知，作者非常喜欢饲养宠物。故选A项。

2.推理判断题。根据第二段中的I have become increasingly uncomfortable with the word "pet". 及I felt a pit in my stomach when I learned that Lizzy' s constant clawing at the glass wall of her tank was most likely a signal of stress. It is perhaps not surprising that she died after only two years,可知，作者根据研究结论得出自己养殖的豹纹守宫不停地用爪子扒拉鱼缸壁是有压力的表现，所以当这只可怜的小动物仅活了两年就死去时，作者应该是感到愧疚和自责的。分析选项可知C项符合题意。

3.推理判断题。根据第三段中的More challenging moral questions, in my view, arise in relation to our closest furry friends: dogs and cats. Unlike animals that must spend their entire life in a cage or that must struggle to adapt to a human environment, most cats and dogs have it pretty good. Yet it is likely that our dogs and cats may be suffering in ways we don't readily see, 可知，相比较于其他宠物，猫、狗似乎生活的比较好，但这恰恰是更让人们容易忽略它们的需求。分析选项可知B项符合题意，故选B项。

4.推理判断题。倒数第二段内容：当我们听到的这些宠物是多么受人爱护，他们在我们的陪伴下是多么幸福时，可能很难认识到养宠物的有害方面，和金发小狗玩的金发小孩广告和YouTube视频中猫做有趣的事情让养宠物看起来非常珍贵。本段中用的词“all we hear”和” Advertisements广告”及“YouTube videos”这些都是media（媒体）。分析可知，D项符合题意，故选D项。