Watching some children trying to catch butterflies one hot August afternoon, I was reminded of an incident in my own childhood．When I was a boy of 12 in South Carolina, something happened to me that cured me forever of wanting to put any wild creature in a cage.We lived on the edge of a wood, 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 would have my own private musician.
I finally succeeded in catching one and put it in a cage. At first, in its fright at being captured, the bird fluttered about the cage, but eventually it settled down in its new home. I felt very pleased with myself and looked forward to some beautiful singing from my tiny musician.
I had left the cage out on our back porch, and 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 was doing, I discovered it on the floor of the cage, dead. I was shocked! What had happened! I had taken excellent care of my little bird, or so I thought.
Arthur Wayne, the famous ornithologist, happened to be visiting my father at the time, hearing me crying over the death of my bird, explained what had occurred. “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.
小题1:Why did the writer catch a mockingbird when he was a boy of 12?
A．He had just got a new cage.
B．He liked its beautiful feather.
C．He wanted it to sing for him.
D．He wanted a pet for a companion.小题2:The mockingbird died because it ______.
A．was frightened to death
B．ate the poisonous food its mother gave it
C．refused to eat anything
D．drank the poisonous water by mistake小题3:An ornithologist probably means ______.
A．a religious person
B．a kind person
C．a schoolmaster
D．an expert in birds小题4:What is the most important lesson the writer learned from the incident?
A．Freedom is very valuable to all creatures.
B．All birds put in a cage won’t live long.
C．You should keep the birds from their mother.
D．Be careful about food you give to baby birds.
小题1:C
小题2:B
小题3:D
小题4:A
题目分析：本文叙述了作者在小的时候由于想抓住一只鸟来为他唱歌，于是就抓住了一只知更鸟，把它放在笼子里，结果鸟的母亲给小鸟吃了有毒的果实不久那只小鸟就死了，作者很伤心，后来从鸟类专家那里了解到小鸟认为没有了自由还不如死，从此以后作者再也不敢抓小鸟了。
小题1:细节理解题。根据I decided that I would catch a young bird and keep it in a cage and in that way would have my own private musician.作者想让知更鸟为他唱歌，故选C。
小题2:细节理解题。根据A mother mockingbird, finding her young in a cage, will sometimes bring it poison berries.小鸟吃了母亲带给它的有毒的果实，故选B。
小题3:细节理解题。根据ornithologist鸟类专家，故选D。
小题4:推理判断题。根据All living creatures have a right to live free.自由是非常重要的，故选A。
点评：细节理解题可以用“重现”的方法来解答。所谓“重现”，就是指某一个单词或短语的同义、反义、上下义、同根词或原词在文中重复出现的现象。这种方法常用于解答完形填空，但用来解答阅读理解细节题也同样管用。细节理解题的重现指的是：正确答案选项语句中的单词或短语与阅读材料中的单词或短语构成一种重复出现的关系。它同样可以分为：同义、反义、上下义、同根词或原词。
