Question

There are plenty of things you can feel positive knowing about Garfield—the cat who loves lasagna, hates Mondays and adores a teddy bear named Pooky. But last week, without warning, there rose a strange and sudden debate around a question about the famous cat that even creator Jim Davis needed to weigh in on: Is Garfield a boy， a girl, or no gender（性别）at all?

The argument appears to have begun when writer Virgil Texas came across a 2014 Mental Floss interview with Davis where he described his tabby creation Garfield as “not really male or female or any particular race or nationality, young or old.”

In response to the quote（引用），Virgil wrote on Twitter: “FACT：Garfield has no gender. This. Is. Definite.” So sure was he of Garfield‘s true gender status that Virgil even took it upon himself to update the Garfield character Wikipedia page with the information。

But it was quickly clear that not everyone agreed with Virgil‘s edits, and thus began a war over the Wikipedia entry edits. Some mentioned that Garfield is male. Others wrote that it shouldn’t matter at all whether Garfield is male or female. Washington Post reported that the battle took place over 60 hours and eventually ended when Wikipedia shut things down by locking the page.

It was a statement that soon appeared to have been made in hurry as Jim Davis indeed soon joined the debate, shutting everything down in one line to Washington Post: “Garfield is male.” The 71-year-old cartoonist also pointed out that Garfield has a girlfriend, Arlene, and claimed that his 2014 quotes had been “taken out of context”. “I’ve always said that I wanted to work with animals because they’re not regarded as being any particular gender, race, age or ethnicity,” he said. “In that sense, the humor could be enjoyed by a broader group.”

1.What does the passage mainly discuss?

A. An argument about the gender of Garfield.

B. The interview between Jim Davis and Virgil Texas.

C. An update of Wikipedia entry edits about Garfield.

D. The popularity of the famous cartoon character Garfield.

2.What does the underlined phrase “weigh in on” probably mean?

A. Agree with.    B. Join in.

C. Put forward.    D. Care about.

3.The debate online upon the gender of Garfield was ended up by ______.

A. writer Virgil Texas    B. Wikipedia

C. Washington Post    D. creator Jim Davis

4.What can be inferred from the last paragraph?

A. Jim Davis’ 2014 quotes had been cut out.

B. Garfield becomes more famous than before.

C. Washington Post shut everything down in one line about Garfield.

D. The creation of Garfield is aimed at entertainment rather than anything else.

Answer

1.A

2.B

3.D

4.D

【解析】文章介绍了人们对加菲猫性别的争论。

1.主旨大意题。第一段的最后一句Is Garfield a boy， a girl, or no gender（性别）at all?具有引出下文以及统领全文的作用，从第二段开始，全文都在对加菲猫的性别提出各方的一些争论，所以本文的主旨就是对加菲猫性别的争论，故选A。

2.词义猜测题。根据本句话中的关键词debate about a question，对一个奇怪问题的争论，甚至是加菲猫的创造者Jim Davis也都（）。既然后争论，肯定是大家就某个问题集结在一起进行争论，所以此处括号里应填参加参与之类的意思的词，因此选项B就是对的。

3.推理判断题。根据最后一段It was a statement that soon appeared to have been made in hurry as Jim Davis indeed soon joined the debate, shutting everything down in one line to Washington Post: “Garfield is male.”可知加菲猫的作者在华盛顿邮报上写了一行字作为整件事的一个终结，加菲猫是男的，因此终结这场性别之争的正式加菲猫的创造者Jim Davis，答案为D。

4.推理判断题。根据最后一段最后一句“In that sense, the humor could be enjoyed by a broader group.”可知，Jim Davis认为，动物没有种族，性别，年龄之分，那么更多的人就能享受到快乐和愉悦，因此加菲猫的创造也是旨在娱乐而不是其他，故选D。