A
How would you like an easy way to earn $2,500? All you have to do is to sit around and wait for your meals. There’s a catch, however. You have to stay in a chicken cage with a stranger for a whole week. There are no books or television or radio for a whole week. There are no books or television or radio for amusement. You can’t leave until the week is up. And a camera will be recording your every move.
Two people actually took the job. The idea came from Rob Thompson, a video artist. He wanted to make a film about the way animals are treated. His goal was to raise people’s awareness of the living conditions of animals that are raised for food. He decided to pay $5,000 out of his own savings to two people who were willing to live like chickens for a week.
To Rob’s surprise, quite a few people answered his advertisement. He had interviews and selected Eric, a 24-year-old restaurant worker, and Pam, a 27-year-old chemist. The plan was for them to spend seven days together in a chicken cage that was six feet long and three feet wide. A camera would record their experience, which would take place in an art museum.
The week was long and difficult. They slept on a hard wooden floor. They couldn’t stand up without banging their heads. They ate mash(a kind of food for animals) and drink water from a garden hose-pipe(软管). Their only privacy was a toilet surrounded by a curtain. There were no sinks, mirrors, or toothbrushes in the cage. Their only inspiration was the two framed checks that hung on the wall outside the cage. Visitors who came here were warned, “Do not feed the humans.”
Finally it was over, and Pam and Eric came out of the cage. They had survived the week, and they each had a $2,500 check in their hands. When Rob Thompson opened the cage, Eric came out, changed into clean clothes, and ate a chocolate bar right away. “It’s great for me to be able to stand up.” he said. Pam just changed her clothes and left. After a week of visitors and reporters watching her, she didn’t want to talk to anyone.
1. The underlined word “catch”(in Paragraph 1) probably means _______.
A. unsolved problem B. surprising wonder
C. unbelievable condition D. hidden difficulty
2. What made it the most difficult for the two to stay in the cage?
A. That they had nothing for amusement.
B. That they couldn’t lie down to sleep in the cage.
C. That they didn’t have meat to eat.
D. That they had to do almost everything in public.
3. Rob Thompson offered the job in order to___________.
A. Make a film about humans and animals
B. Advertise for his experiment about animals
C. Show how terribly some animals are treated
D. Experiment on how long a human can live in a cage
4. What would be the best title for this passage?
A. An Easy Way to Earn $2,500 B. Do Not Feed Humans
C. Living Like a Chicken D. Getting Along Well Anyway
【答案】1. D 2. D 3. C 4. C
【解析】
【分析】
本文是一篇说明文。文章讲述的是来自Rob Thompson的一个想法。他的目标是提高人们对饲养动物生活条件的认识。他决定从自己的积蓄中拿出5000美元给两个人，前提是他们愿意像鸡一样活一个星期。
【1题详解】
词义猜测题。根据第一段第二句All you have to do is to sit around and wait for your meals.“你所要做的就是坐在那里等着吃饭。”和第四句You have to stay in a chicken cage with a stranger for a whole week.“你必须和一个陌生人在一个鸡笼里呆上整整一个星期。”再根据第三句中的however“然而”，与上句构成转折关系，说明挣钱不是那么容易，还有“隐藏的困难”。另外，第四段第一句The week was long and difficult.也是提示。故选D。
【2题详解】
推理判断题。根据第四段The week was long and difficult. They slept on a hard wooden floor. They couldn’t stand up without banging their heads. They ate mash(a kind of food for animals) and drink water from a garden hose-pipe(软管). Their only privacy was a toilet surrounded by a curtain. 可知，他们不得不在公共场合做的几乎所有的事情是他们俩呆在笼子里最困难的事情。故选D。
【3题详解】
推理判断题。根据第二段中He wanted to make a film about the way animals are treated. His goal was to raise people’s awareness of the living conditions of animals that are raised for food.可知，Rob Thompson提供这份工作是为了展示一些动物是如何被残忍地对待的。故选C。
【4题详解】
主旨大意题。根据第二段中His goal was to raise people’s awareness of the living conditions of animals that are raised for food. He decided to pay $5,000 out of his own savings to two people who were willing to live like chickens for a week.可知，他的目标是提高人们对饲养动物生活条件的认识。他决定从自己的积蓄中拿出5000美元给两个人，前提是他们愿意像鸡一样活一个星期。由此可知文章最佳主题是C项。
【点睛】做推理判断题时，要求考生在阅读时，要抓住文章的主题和细节，分析文章结构，根据上下文内在联系，挖掘文章的深层含义。在进行推理时，考生一定要仔细阅读短文，千万不可脱离原文而仅凭个人的看法，主观臆断。本题第3小题，根据第二段中He wanted to make a film about the way animals are treated. His goal was to raise people’s awareness of the living conditions of animals that are raised for food.可知，Rob Thompson提供这份工作是为了展示一些动物是如何被残忍地对待的。故选C。
