Get a reward for every bug you bring to live in new science museum exhibit.
In a city with trillions of American cockroaches(蟑螂), the Houston Museum of Natural Science has agreed to pay a quarter per bug－up to 1,000－as it seeks to populate a new insect exhibit alongside its Cockrell Butterfly Center.
Nancy Greig, the museum’s director insists the public payday for roaches isn’t just a marketing ploy(炒作).
“Absolutely, this wasn’t devised as a joke,” Greig said. “We needed more roaches for the exhibit, so I sent this message out to everyone in the museum asking people to bring them in. Well, someone decided to tell the press, and all hell has broken loose.”
“But we really do need cockroaches.”
“One might be forgiven for never considering how to catch a live cockroach. But it’s simple enough to fool them,” Greig said, “and even easier to catch them.” American cockroaches are the most common kind in Texas, measuring up to 2 inches long and invading homes.
Despite their less-than-attractive reputation, cockroaches actually aren’t that dirty. Greig even went so far as to call them “fastidious” saying they don’t enjoy rooting(用嘴拱食) in waste. They’re only dirty if, say, they used a sewer(下水道)line to gain access into a home.
The roaches collected by the museum will become part of a display in a new exhibit that showcases insects such as cockroaches, dung beetles and termites.
There’s more to like about roaches, too. They don’t bite, and they don’t carry diseases like a mosquito, so they’re generally safe to handle.
1 For what does the museum pay for cockroaches?
A. For a marketing ploy. B. It’s devised to make fun.
C. People really need them. D. For a new exhibit.
2. The underlined word “fastidious” probably means extremely ________.
A. clean B. dirty C. unpleasant D. fast
3. What do we know about American roaches?
A. It’s not easy for people in Houston to collect roaches.
B. They all measure 2 inches and are often found in homes
C. They don’t bite and they are free of disease.
D. We have reasons to like them.