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 (栖息地). Zoos teach people that it is acceptable to keep animals bored, lonely, and far from their natural homes.
Zoos claim (声称)to educate people and save endangered species(物种), but visitors leave zoos without having learned anything meaningful about the animals" natural behavior, intelligence, or beauty. Zoos keep animals in small spaces or cages, and most signs only mention the species" name, diet, and natural range (分布区). The animals" normal behavior 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 behavior called zoochosis. A worldwide study of zoos found that zoochosis is common among animals kept in small spaces or cages. Another study showed that elephants spend 22 percent of their time making repeated head movements or biting cage bars, and bears spend 30 percent of their time walking back and forth, a sign of unhappiness and pain.
Furthermore, most animals in zoos are not endangered. Captive breeding(圈养繁殖) of endangered big cats, Asian elephants, and other species has not resulted in their being sent back to the wild. Zoos talk a lot about their captive breeding programs because they do not want people to worry about a species dying out. In fact, baby animals also attract a lot of paying customers. 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 people kill them. Instead of supporting zoos, we should support groups that work to protect animals" natural habitats.
单选题
How would the author describe the animals" life in zoos?
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。第四段最后一句提到“Another study showed that elephants spend 22 percent of their time making repeated head movements or biting cage bar, …, a sign of unhappiness and pain.”(另一项研究表明，大象用22%的时间进行重复性的头部运动或咬笼子的栅栏，熊则用33%的时间走来走去，这是其不高兴或痛苦的标志)。由此可见动物园里的动物不高兴，所以选B。
单选题
In the state of zoochosis, animals ______.
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] 推断题。第四段第二句提到“This results in unusual and self-destructive behavior called zoochosis.”，由此可见zoochosis(动物精神病)指的是“unusual and self-destructive behavior”，由此可推断出动物在动物园饲养的情况下行为不正常，所以选B。
单选题
What does the author try to argue in the passage?
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】[解析] 推断题。最后一句话讲到“Instead of supporting zoos, we should support groups that work to protect animals" natural habitats.”(我们应该支持那些保护动物自然栖息地的团体，而不是支持动物园)，由此可判断出作者反对公众支持动物园，所以选A。
单选题
The author tries to persuade readers to accept his argument mainly by ______.