題材: 往事 詞數(shù): 309 建議閱讀時(shí)間: 6.5分鐘
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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 twelve in South Carolina,something happened to me that made me never put any wild creature in a cage.
We lived on the edge of a forest,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,I would have my own private musician.
I finally succeeded in catching one and put it in a cage.At first,being scared,the bird fluttered about the cage,but finally it settled down in its new home.I felt very pleased with myself and looked forward to some beautiful singing from my little musician.
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 bird was doing,I discovered it on the floor of the cage,dead.I was terribly surprised!What had happened!I had taken extremely care of my little bird,or so I thought.
Arthur Wayne,the famous ornithologist ,who happened to be visiting my father at the time,hearing me crying over the death of my bird,explained what had happened.“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.
生詞
remind v. 提醒,使想起:Did you remind him about that book he borrowed?你有沒有提醒他不要忘了把所借的書帶來?
creature n. 生物:Worms are very simple creatures.蠕蟲是非常簡單的生物。
dusk n. 薄暮,黃昏;幽暗:in the dusk of the evening暮色蒼茫中
mockingbird n. 嘲鳥,仿聲鳥(產(chǎn)于美國南部,善于模仿別種鳥的叫聲)
flutter v. (鳥等)振翼,拍翅:The bird fluttered its wings and tried to fly.小鳥振翅欲飛。
captive n. 俘虜 adj. 被俘虜?shù)模皇芟拗频模篐e was taken captive on the border.他在邊境被俘?!琧aptivity n. 監(jiān)禁(期);被俘;束縛:Wild animals are often unhappy in captivity.一般來說,囚在籠中的野生動物都不開心。
major v. 主修,專攻:He majors in physics.他主修物理。
1.Why did the writer catch a mockingbird when he was a boy of twelve?
A.He liked living creatures.
B.He enjoyed watching beautiful birds.
C.He needed a pet as a friend.
D.He wanted the bird to sing for him.
2.The mockingbird died because________.
A.the bird suffered from missing its mother
B.the bird's mother gave it the poisonous food
C.the writer didn't know how to feed the bird at first
D.his father's friend didn't tell him the way of bird's life
3.An“ornithologist ”is probably a person who________.
A.studies birds
B.loves creatures
C.majors in habits
D.takes care of trees
4.From his past experience,the writer probably suggests that________.
A.no one can miss the chance to say sorry
B.a(chǎn)ll living creatures can make free choices
C.everything can be less worthy than any lives
D.nothing can be more important than freedom
參考譯文
八月的一天下午,當(dāng)我看見一些孩子在抓蝴蝶時(shí),我想起了一件童年往事。那時(shí)我12歲,住在南卡羅來納州,這件事發(fā)生后,我再也不把任何野生動物關(guān)進(jìn)籠子里了。
我們家位于森林的邊緣,每天一到黃昏,嘲鳥就會來樹林里棲息、唱歌。人類制造的任何樂器都無法和嘲鳥的美妙歌聲相比。
我決定抓一只小鳥養(yǎng)在籠子里,這樣,我就擁有私人樂師了。
最后,我成功地抓住一只小鳥,并把它關(guān)在籠子里。一開始,小鳥受了驚嚇,在籠子里亂飛,后來,它在新家里安靜了下來。我對自己非常滿意,期待著我的小樂師能發(fā)出美妙的歌聲。
在小鳥被抓的第二天,它的媽媽嘴里叼著食物飛到籠邊。小鳥吃掉了媽媽帶給它的所有東西。我很高興看到這幅場景。它的媽媽肯定比我更懂得怎樣喂它的孩子。
接下來的那天早晨,當(dāng)我去看抓住的那只小鳥在干什么時(shí),我發(fā)現(xiàn)它躺在籠子的底部,已經(jīng)死了。我萬分震驚!到底發(fā)生了什么!我對小鳥已經(jīng)非常照顧了,至少我是這么認(rèn)為的。
亞瑟·韋恩是著名的鳥類學(xué)家,當(dāng)時(shí)他正好在我家拜訪我父親,聽見我因小鳥的死去而痛哭,他向我解釋了其中的緣由:“如果一只嘲鳥的母親發(fā)現(xiàn)它的孩子被關(guān)在籠子里,它有時(shí)會帶給它一些有毒的藍(lán)莓。它認(rèn)為,失去自由地活著,還不如死了的好?!?/p>
從那以后,我再沒有捉過任何動物,更不會把它關(guān)在籠子里。所有的生物都有自由生存的權(quán)利。
參考答案
Tuesday 1.D 2.B 3.A 4.D
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