I have worked as a keeper at the National Zoo, Paris for 11 years. Spot and Stripe are the first tiger cubs that have ever been born here. Globally, a third of Sumatran cubs in zoos don’t make it to adulthood, so I decided to give them round-the-clock care at home.

I’ve got two children—the younger one, Kynan, was extremely happy about the tigers arriving—but all of us really looked forward to being part of their lives and watching them grow. I wasn’t worried about bringing them into my home with my wife and kids. These were cubs. They weighed about 2.5 kg and were so small that there was absolutely no risk.

As they grew more mobile, we let them move freely around the house during the day, but when we were asleep we had to contain them in a large room, otherwise they’d get up to mischief. We’d come down in the morning to find they’d turned the room upside down, and left it looking like a zoo.

Things quickly got very intense due to the huge amount of energy required to look after them. There were some tough times and I just felt extremely tired. I was grateful that my family was there to help. We had to have a bit of a production line going, making up “tiger milk”, washing baby bottles, and cleaning the floors.

When Spot and Stripe were four months old, they were learning how to open doors and jump fences, and we knew it really was time for them to go. It was hard for us to finally part with them. For the first few days, Kynan was always a bit disappointed that the cubs weren’t there.

I’m not sad about it. I’m hands-on with them every day at the zoo, and I do look back very fondly on the time that we had them.

1.Why did the author bring the tiger cubs home?

A To ensure their survival.

B To observe their differences.

C To teach them life skills.

D To let them play with his kids.

解析：选A。A 细节理解题。根据第一段中的“Globally, a third of Sumatran cubs in zoos don't make it to adulthood, so I decided to give them round-the-clock care at home. (在全球范围内，动物园里三分之一的苏门答腊老虎幼崽活不到成年，所以我决定在家里全天候照顾它们)”可知，作者把老虎幼崽带回家是为了确保他们的存活。故选A。

2.What do the underlined words “get up to mischief” mean in paragraph 3?

A Behave badly.

B Lose their way.

C Sleep soundly.

D Miss their mom.

解析：选A。A 词义猜测题。根据画线词上文“As they grew more mobile, we let them move freely around the house during the day, but when we were asleep we had to contain them in a large room, otherwise they’d... (随着它们的活动越来越多，我们白天让它们在房子里自由活动，但当我们睡觉时，我们必须把它们关在一个大房间里，否则它们会……)”以及后文“We’d come down in the morning to find they’d turned the room upside down, and left it looking like a zoo.(我们早上下楼时会发现它们把房间弄得乱七八糟，看起来像个动物园)”可知，作者不得不把老虎关在一个大房间里，否则它们就会调皮捣蛋，表现不好。故划线词意思是“表现不好”。故选A。

3.What did the author think of raising the tiger cubs at home?

A Boring.

B Tiring.

C Costly.

D Risky.

解析：选B。B 推理判断题。根据第四段的“Things quickly got very intense due to the huge amount of energy required to look after them. There were some tough times and I just felt extremely tired.(由于需要大量的精力来照顾它们，事情很快变得非常紧张。有一段艰难的日子，我只是觉得非常累)”可推知，作者认为在家里养小老虎很累人。故选B。

4.Why did the author decide to send Spot and Stripe back to the zoo?

A They frightened the children.

B They became difficult to contain.

C They annoyed the neighbours.

D They started fighting each other.

解析：选B。B 细节理解题。根据倒数第二段中的“When Spot and Stripe were four months old, they were learning how to open doors and jump fences, and we knew it really was time for them to go.(当Spot和Stripe四个月大的时候，它们正在学习如何开门和跳栅栏，我们知道是时候让它们离开了)”可知，作者决定把Spot 和Stripe送回动物园是因为他们变得难以控制，已经关不住了。故选B。