2019届 高考英语复习 基础阅读理解 A Disregard of Our Humanity 课文

A Disregard of Our Humanity

IT IS A LITTLE KNOWN FACT that in 1906, the Bronx Zoo in New York City

housed a young man in an iron cage in which monkeys were usually placed. His name

was Ota Benga, a Bushman (布须曼人) from a southern African tribe who live in the

bush. The young Bushman became a popular attraction at once. It was estimated that

nearly a quarter of the city’s population came out to see him that year.

Nowadays we have fortunately moved beyond this kind of outright (赤裸裸的)

cruelty and racial mistreatment (虐待). But that is not to say that we have completely

given up our mistreatment of other living beings. The use and abuse of wild animals for

the purpose of entertainment remains a commonplace across the world. Animals are

trained in extremely cruel ways, just so we can see them leap through burning rings or

snatch (抢夺) a fish from a trainer’s hand and soak the crowd with a huge splash.

Thankfully, with the public awareness of wildlife protection increasing, some good

things are happening. Maybe you have heard that Little White and Little Gray, two star

beluga whales (白鲸) at Changfeng Ocean World, have hung up their performer hats.

Next month, they are heading to the Sea Life Trust Beluga Whale Sanctuary (海洋生物基金会白鲸保护区) in Iceland, which is the world’s first open-water sanctuary for

beluga whales.

As Little White and Little Gray were getting ready to set out for their new homes,

about 100 whales, kept in a “whale jail” in Russia, were getting ready to be set free as

well. These whales were held in small containment areas (隔离区) in icy cold waters and

were intended for sale to aquariums (水族馆). On February 27, the Hollywood star

Leonardo DiCaprio asked his more than 18 million followers on Twitter to sign a petition

(请愿书) demanding the release of the whales. Under the pressure that comes with

worldwide attention, Russian authorities have ordered the release of these animals.

Whales are a higher-order thinking species. In the wild, they can live up to 75 years;

while in captivity, their life spans are dramatically (显著地) cut, averaging just 14 years.

This is a clear-cut example that captivity irreparably (不可挽回地) harms these beautiful

creatures.

Ota Benga’s fate at the Bronx Zoo came to a tragic end in 1916. Unable to cope with

the severe depression of being separated from his homeland, he shot himself in the heart

with a gun and died. A man in captivity is not unlike an animal. Separated from one’s

home and family, robbed of (剥夺) one’s freedoms, exploited (剥削) for the

entertainment of others — no living creature deserves such a terrible life.

教案

PRE-READING

1. Have you gone to Changfeng Ocean World to watch the performances by Little White

and Little Grey? Do you think it a good thing for them to go to the open-water sanctuary?

2. What’s your opinion on animal performances? Do you think they should be banned?

Why or why not?

WHILE READING

SENTENCES

1. It is a little known fact that① in 1906, the Bronx Zoo in New York City housed a

young man in an iron cage in which② monkeys were usually placed.

① that在这个句子中引导了一个同位语从句，对fact的具体内容进行解释说明。

② 介词in + which在这里引导了一个定语从句，在从句中起到关系副词的作用。在这个句子中in which也可以替换成where。

2. Maybe you have heard that Little White and Little Gray, two star beluga whales

at Changfeng Ocean World①, have hung up their performer hats②.

① 短语two star beluga whales在这个句子中是Little White and Little Gray的同位成分，对其进行解释说明。

② 短语hang up their performer hats的字面意义是“将演员帽挂起来”，引申为“退出舞台、结束表演生涯”。类似的用法还有hang up one’s boots，这一习语的意思是“挂靴”，即从足球场上退休。

VOCABULARY

Complete each sentence using one word from the box in its correct form. Note that

there is one word more than you need and you can use each word only once.

attraction fortunately purpose increasing pressure separated

1. After the attack, we need to ________ the number of police officers on the streets.

2.

He tries to keep his professional life ________ from his private life.

3. To be successful, any marketplace has to ________ not only buyers, but sellers as well.

4. Attending the race was not my ________ in coming to Indiana.

5. He was ________ among his classmates to get an offer from a major Wall Street firm.

Key: increase separate attract purpose fortunate

TRANSLATION

1. 他意识到必须要正视自己不再年轻这一事实。(fact)

2. 举个例子来说明他的慷慨吧——他把他的旧汽车免费送给了我。(example)

3. 这些工人应该得到比现有工资更高的报酬。(deserve)

Possible answers:

1. He realized that he had to face up to the fact that he was no longer young.

2. Just to give you an example of his generosity ─ he gave me his old car for free.

3. These workers deserve more than they are paid now.

COMPREHENSION

Choose the best answer.

1. The author cites the example of Ota Benga to ______.

A. criticize the cruelty of New York citizens

B. express his sympathy for Ota Benga

C. introduce the African young man’s tragic story

D. illustrate the cruelty of keeping living creatures in captivity

2. According to the article, who play(s) the most important role in prompting Russia

authorities to set the whales free?

A. Little White and Little Grey.

B. Leonardo DiCaprio.

C. Chinese netizens.

D. The Sea Life Trust.

3. According to the article, which of the following statements is true?

A. Using wild animals as an object of entertainment has been banned in most parts of the

world.

B. All the whales from Russia’s “whale jail” will be sent to the Sea Life Trust Beluga

Whale Sanctuary.

C. Keeping wildlife in captivity is harmful to them both physically and mentally.

D. Ota Benga died of an illness ten years after he was housed in the Bronx Zoo.

Key: DBC

AFTER READING

Do we need zoos? Some people say yes because we can learn more about animals in

zoos, while others say no because it is cruel putting animals in restricted areas away from

their natural habitats. What’s your opinion? Have a debate with your classmates.