The UN Environment Programme says that rising temperatures could mean the end for some migrating animals.
Migrating or mobile animals move through several environments as they travel away from the cold of winter to warmer areas. Birds may fly from one part of the world to another, perhaps stopping at feeding grounds on the way. Whales and turtles (海龟) cover vast areas of ocean. The report says that changes in any one of the places which these animals use can cause serious harm. "Obviously these animals have developed their travelling patterns over thousands of years. But climate change is almost certain to be extreme over the next 25 to 50 years and it is extremely unlikely that these animals can change their habits fast enough," said the report author Dr Robert Hepworth.
Hardest hit by rising temperatures are turtles. Scientists have found that at higher temperatures, turtles produce far more female eggs than male ones. In parts of Malaysia, turtle birthing sites are producing only females, the report says. It also provides evidence that some turtles are more likely to develop cancer as the waters get warmer.
With birds, the main problem is climate-related damage to important areas at either end of the travels or at resting places along the way. About one-fifth of migrating birds are now in danger because of climate-related changes including rising sea levels, land loss and more violent storms, the report concludes.
Other animals picked out as particularly in danger include:
· the North Atlantic Right Whale, whose main food (tiny shrimp) is disturbed by the change in ocean flows and
· the White-Nose Dolphin, which is out-competed by other kinds of dolphins in warmer waters.
The report is not all bad news. Even with major climatic changes, protecting the environment can still help mobile animals to recover. "We need governments to start taking action at the national and international lever. “The clock is running.” said Dr Hepworth. And some animals are already adapting, with the report mentioning whales that are changing their feeding behaviour, finding new feeding grounds and new foods to eat.
1.What is the main topic of the text?
A.The effect of climate change on migrating animals. |
B.How animals are adapting to changes in temperature. |
C.The actions required to save migrating animals. |
D.The need for government policies to prevent global warming. |
2.By saying "the clock is running" in the last paragraph, Dr Hepworth means that “_______”.
A.it may be too late to save some animals |
B.it is time to start protecting the animals |
C.there is not much time to solve the problem |
D.it takes time to complete the actions |
3.According to the report, how will global warming affect turtles in the future?
A.They will only produce female babies. |
B.Their food supply will gradually disappear. |
C.Some will suffer from higher rates of cancer. |
D.They will be in greater danger because of more violent storms. |
4.Which of the following is mentioned as a consequence of rising temperatures?
A.More storms will affect the ability of whales to find their feeding grounds. |
B.20 percent of all birds are likely to die out because of land loss. |
C.Migrating animals are likely to start adapting to the changes more quickly. |
D.Warmer oceans will increase the competition between different kinds of dolphins. |
5.What can be inferred (推断) about turtles from the text?
A.They are the only animals besides humans that suffer from cancer. |
B.They have traditionally lived longer than other ocean-based animals. |
C.Those born nearer a hotter area are more likely to be female. |
D.Most kinds of turtles are likely to die out within 50 years. |
高二英语阅读理解极难题查看答案及解析
Switching telephone providers used to be the only way homeowners could save money on telephone bills. Now thanks to new technology, comsumers have another choice-making phone calls over the internet. And this can be completely free if you call another person with an internet phone set-up.
The technology is called voice over internet protocol (协议), or VoIP. In 2005, consumer demand for VoIP dramatically grew. In the US, where popularity has grown faster than here in the UK, 8.4 million are predicted to subscribe this year. For the past couple years, VoIP pioneers such as Skype have accounted for the majority of internet phone subscribers.
VoIP is attractive to consumers because it’s cheaper than traditional phone services. With the basic equipment of PC, microphone and headset, and VoIP software and broadband internet for optimum (最适宜的) voice quality, consumers can save a fortune chatting for free to other internet phone owners and save money calling regular landlines (通讯电缆). But, as the saying goes, you get what you pay for. Many of these services suffer from uncontinuous lapses (失效) in quality. While some users may tolerate echoes or a dropped call, improved quality is needed to attract more customers.
Computing has examined the benefits of using a PC as a telephone with VoIP in how easy they were to set up, how effective they were and the range of their features.
Skype(www. skype.com) came top for its bother-free approach, easy set-up and exceptional voice clarity. Sipgate (www. sipgate. co. uk), MSN(www. messenger. msn. co. uk) and Yahoo! Messenger (uk. messenger. yahoo. com) provide an audio “wizard” that improves sound levels. Google Talk (www. google. com/ talk) was less helpful and Babble. net (www. babble. net) was let down by its poor help files. Yahoo! Messenger provides some of the best features, including the option of landline calls, webcam chats, instant messaging, voice-mail and conference calls.
1.Which one of the following if you call others?
A.VolP,voice over internet protocol |
B.Switching telephone |
C.New technology |
D.letters |
2.The underlined sentence in Paragraph 3 implies that ______.
A.VoIP can save money but it has some disadvantages |
B.whatever you buy is related to how much you pay |
C.what you pay for will belong to you forever |
D.what you buy is not always high in quality |
3.Which of the following statement is true according to the passage?
A.Sipgate is less helpful. |
B.Yahoo! Messenger offers some best features. |
C.Skype is the best one in the new technology. |
D.Google Talk provides very good audio “wizard”. |
高二英语阅读理解极难题查看答案及解析
Whats your dream vacation?Watching wildlife in Kenya?Boating down the Amazon?Sunbathing in Malaysia? New chances are opening up all the time to explore the world.So we visit travel agents,compare packages and prices, and pay our money.
We know what our vacation costs us.But do we know what it might cost someone else?It's true that many poorer countries now depend on tourism for foreign income.Unfortunately,though.tourism often harms the local people more than it helps them
It might cost their homes and lands.In Myanmar.5.200 people were forced to leave their homes among the pagodas(佛塔)in Bagan so that tourists could visit the pagodas.
Tourism might also cost the local people their livelihood(生计)and dignity(尊严).Local workers often find only jobs with slim salaries in the tourist industry.And most of the profits(利润)do not help the local economy. Instead,profits return to the tour operators in wealthier countries,When the Maasai people in Tanzania were driven(驱赶)from their lands,some moved to city slums.Others now make a little money selling souvenirs or posing(摆姿势)for photos.
Problems like these were observed more than 20 years ago.But now some non-government organizations,tour operators and local governments are working together to begin correcting them.Tourists,too,are putting on the pressure.
The result is responsible tourism,or ethical tourism.Ethical tourism has people at its heart.New international agreements and codes of conduct(行为准则)can help protect the people's lands homes,economies and cultures.The beginnings are small,though,and the problems are complex.
But take heart.The good news is that everyone,including us,can play a part to help the local people in the places we visit Tour operators and companies can help by making sure that local people work in good conditions and earn reasonable wages.
They can make it a point to use only locally owned hotel restaurants and guide services.They can share profits fairly to help the local economy And they can involve the local people in planning and managing tourism.
What can tourists do?First,we can ask tour companies to provide information about the conditions of local citizens.We can then make our choices and tell them why.And while we're abroad,we can:
Buy local foods and products,not imported ones.
Pay a fair price for goods and services and not bargain for the cheapest price.
Avoid flaunting wealth.
Ask before talking photographs of people.They are not just part of the landscape!
Let's enjoy our vacation and make sure others do,too.
1.What is probably the best title for the article?
A. Vacations Cost More Than You Think
B. Tourism Causes Bad Effects
C. Vacations Bring a Lot of Fun
D. Tourism Calls for Good Behavior
2.Which of the following is not mentioned?
A. Local people were well paid to leave their lands
B. Tourists may stay in hotels opened by local people.
C. Local people are mainly provided with low-paying work
D. Tourists could bargain with local people for a reasonable price
3.The underlined phrase "take heart" means " ".
A. take care B. pay attention.
C. cheer up D. calm down
4.According to the passage,the writer thinks .
A. tourism is not a promising(有前途的)industry
B. dream vacations should be spent abroad
C. tourists should respect local customs and culture
D. the problems caused by tourism are easy to settle
高二英语阅读理解极难题查看答案及解析
Imagine, one day, getting out of bed in Beijing and being at your office in Shanghai in only a couple of hours, and then, after a full day of work, going back home to Beijing and having dinner there.
Sounds unusual, doesn't it? But it's not that unrealistic, with the development of China’s high—speed railway system. And that’s not all. China has an even greater high-speed railway plan—to connect the country with Southeast Asia, and eventually Eastern Europe.
China is negotiating to extend its own high·-speed railway network to up to 17 countries in 10 to 15 years, eventually reaching London and Singapore.
China has proposed three such projects. The first would possibly connect Kunming with Singapore via Vietnam and Malaysia. Another could start in Urumqi and go through Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, and possibly to Germany. The third would start in the northeast and go north through Russia and then into Western Europe.
If China’s plan for the high-speed railway goes forward, people could zip over from London to Berlin in under two days.
The new system would still follow China’s high-speed railway standard. And the trains would be able to go 346 kilometers an hour, almost as fast as some airplanes.
China’s bullet train(高速客车),the one connecting Wuhan to Guangzhou, already has the World’s fastest average speed. It covers 1,069 kilometers in about three hours.
Of course, there are some technical challenges to overcome. There are so many issues that need to be settled, such as safety, rail gauge(轨距),maintenance of railway tracks. So, it’s important to pay attention to every detail.
But the key issue is really money. China is already spending hundreds of billions of yuan on domestic railway expansion.
China prefers that the other countries pay in natural resources rather than with capital investment. Resources from those countries could stream into China to sustain development.
It’ll be a win-win project. For other countries, the railway network will definitely create more opportunities for business, tourism and so on, not to mention the better communication among those countries.
For China, such a project would not only connect it with the rest of Asia and bring some much-needed resources, but would also help develop China’s far west. We foresee that in the coming decades, millions of people will migrate to the western regions, where the land is empty and resources unused. With high-speed trains, people will set up factories and business centers in the west once and for all. And they’11 trade with Central Asian and Eastern European countries.
1.China’s new high-speed railway plan will be a win-win project because________.
A.China will get much-needed resources and develop its western regions |
B.China and the countries involved will benefit from the project in various ways |
C.China will develop its railway system and communication with other countries |
D.the foreign countries involved will develop their railway transportation, business and tourism |
2.According to the passage, the greatest challenge to the new high-speed railway plan is________.
A.technical issues |
B.safety of the system |
C.financial problems |
D.maintenance of railway tracks |
3.Which of the following words best describes the author’s attitude towards China’s high-speed railway plan?
A.Critical. | B.Reserved. | C.Doubtful | D.Positive. |
4.Which of the following might be the best title for the passage?
A.New Railway Standards |
B.Big Railway Dreams |
C.High-speed Bullet Trains |
D.International Railway Network |
高二英语阅读理解极难题查看答案及解析
You may have heard some of the fashion industry horror stories: models eating tissues or cotton balls to hold off hunger, and models collapsing (昏倒) from hunger-induced (因饥饿所致的) heart attacks just seconds after they step off the runway (T台).
Excessively skinny models have been a point of controversy (争论) for decades, and two researchers say a model’s body mass (体重) should be a workspace health and safety issue. In an editorial released Monday in the American Journal of Public Health, Katherine Record and Bryn Austin made their case for government regulation of the fashion industry.
The average international runway model has a body mass index (BMI) under 16-low enough to indicate starvation by the World Health Organization’s standard. And Record and Austin are worried not just about the models themselves, but about the vast number of girls and women their images influence.
“Especially girls and teens,” says Record. “Seventy percent of girls aged 10 to 18 report that they define perfect body image based on what they see in magazines.” That’s especially worrying, she says, given that anorexia(厌食症) results in more deaths than does any other mental illness, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.
It’s commonly known that certain diseases are linked with occupations like lung disease in coal miners. Professional fashion models are particularly vulnerable (脆弱的) to eating disorders (失调) resulting from occupational demands to maintain extreme thinness.
Record’s suggestion is to prohibit agents from hiring models with a BMI below 18.
In April, France passed a law setting lower limits for a model’s weight. Agents and fashion houses who hire models with BMI under 18 could pay $ 82, 000 in fines and spend up to 6 months in jail. Regulating the fashion industry in the United States won’t be easy, Record says. But with the new rules in France, U.S. support could make a difference. “A designer can’t survive without participating in Paris Fashion Week”, she says, adding, “Our argument is that the same would be true of New York Fashion Week.”
1.What do Record and Austin say about fashion models’ body mass?
A. It has caused needless controversy.
B. It affects models’ health and safety.
C. It is but a matter of personal taste.
D. It is focus of the modeling business.
2.What are Record and Austin advocating in the Monday editorial?
A. Prohibition of models eating non-food stuff.
B. A change in the public’s view of female beauty.
C. Elimination (淘汰) of forced weight loss by models.
D. Government legislation (立法) about models’ weight.
3.Why are Record and Austin worried about the low body mass index of models?
A. It contributes to many mental illnesses.
B. It defines the future of the fashion industry.
C. It has great influence on numerous girls and women.
D. It keeps many otherwise qualified women off the runaway.
4.What do we learn about France’s fashion industry?
A. It has difficulty hiring models.
B. It has now a new law to follow.
C. It allows girls under 18 on the runway.
D. It has overtaken that of the United States.
高二英语阅读理解极难题查看答案及解析
Do you know of anyone who uses the truth to deceive (欺骗) ? When someone tells you something that is true, but leaves out important information that should be included, he can give you a false picture.
For example , some might say, "I just won a hundred dollars on the lottery (彩票) . It was great. I took that dollar ticket back to the store and turned it in for one hundred dollars! "
This guy's a winner, right? Maybe, maybe not. We then discover that he bought $200 worth of tickets, and only one was a winner. He's really a big loser!
He didn't say anything that was false, but he left out important information on purpose. That's called a half-truth. Half-truths are not technically lies, but they are just as dishonest.
Some politicians often use this trick. Let's say that during Governor Smith's last term, her state lost one million jobs and gained three million jobs. Then she seeks another term. One of her opponents says, "During Governor Smith's term, the state lost one million jobs!" That's true. However, an honest statement would have been , " During Governor Smith's term , the state had a net gain of two million jobs. "
Advertisers will sometimes use half-truths. It's against the law to make false statements so they try to mislead you with the truth. An advertisement might say, "Nine out of ten doctors advised their patients to take Yucky Pills to cure toothache. " It fails to mention that they only asked ten doctors and nine of them work for the Yucky Company.
This kind of deception happens too often. It's a sad fact of life: Lies are lies , and sometimes the truth can lie as well.
1.How much did the lottery winner lose?
A. One hundred dollars. B. Two hundred dollars.
C. Three hundred dollars. D. Four hundred dollars.
2.We may infer that the author believes people should___________.
A. buy lottery tickets B. make use of half-truths
C. not take anything at face value D. not trust the Yucky Company
3.What do the underlined words " net gain" in Paragraph 5 mean?
A. final increase. B. big advantage.
C. large share. D. total saving.
4.What can we know from the example of the Yucky Pill advertisement?
A. False statements are easy to see through.
B. Half-truths are often used to mislead people.
C. Doctors like to act in advertisement.
D. Advertisements are based on facts.
高二英语阅读理解极难题查看答案及解析
You might think that “global warming” means nothing more than a rise in the world’s temperature. But, rising sea levels caused by it have resulted in the first evacuation (撤离) of an island nation — the citizens of Tuvalu will have to leave their homeland.
During the 20th century, sea level has risen 8~12 inches. As a result, Tuvalu has experienced lowland flooding of salt water which has polluted the country’s drinking water.
Paani Laupepa, a Tuvaluan government official, reported to the Earth Policy Institute that the nation suffered an unusually high number of fierce storms in the past ten years. Many scientists connect higher surface water temperatures resulting from global warming to greater and more damaging storms.
Laupepa expressed dissatisfaction with the United States for refusing to sign the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement calling for industrialized nations to reduce their green house gas emissions (排放), which are a main cause of global warming.“By refusing to sign the agreement, the US has effectively taken away the freedom of future generations of Tuvaluans to live where their forefathers have lived for thousands of years,” Laupepa told the BBC.
Tuvalu has asked Australia and New Zealand to allow the gradual move of its people to both countries.
Tuvalu is not the only country that is vulnerable (易受影响的) to rising sea levels. Maumoon Gayoon, president of the Maldives, told the United Nations that global warming has made his country of 311 000 an“endangered nation”.
1.The text is mainly about___________.
A. rapid changes in earth’s temperature?
B. bad effects of global warming
C. moving of a country to a new place
D. reasons for lowland flooding
2.According to scientists, the DIRECT cause of more and fiercer storms is __________.
A. greenhouse gas emissions in industrialized nations
B. higher surface water temperatures of the sea
C. continuous global warming
D. rising sea levels
3.Laupepa was not satisfied with the United States because it did not _________.
A. agree to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions
B. sign an agreement with Tuvalu
C. allow Tuvaluans to move to the US
D. believe the problems facing Tuvalu were real
4.The country whose situation is similar to that of Tuvalu is _________.
A. Australia B. New Zealand
C. the Maldives D. the United States
高二英语阅读理解极难题查看答案及解析
An Israeli law banning too skinny models went into effect with the start of 2013. The law, approved last March in Israel, requires models to prove they have maintained a Body Mass Index (BMI) of at least 18.5 for three months before a fashion show. That means a woman who is 68 inches tall can weigh no less than 119 pounds.
“This law is another step in the war against eating disorders,” said physician Adatto. “Underweight models,” he explained, “can no longer serve as role models for innocent young people who copy their false image of being skinny.”
But some critics in this country say it is misguided, focusing on weight instead of health. They also say the Israeli ban is bound to fail because of the strong power of the fashion industry. “I think it’s an approach that isn’t going to work.” said eating disorder expert Susan Ice, who worked with an organization which creates a healthy working environment for models.
But Adatto told the reporter that he began to concern the issue after meeting an ambitious model who looked like she needed to be hospitalized. He said. “I realized that only legislation(立法) can change the situation. There was no time to waste; so many girls were dieting to death.”
However, the efforts to regulate models’ weight in Spain and Italy have not resulted in significant changes in part because of difficulties in determining reliable methods of measuring weight and health.
Still, folks including Ice say there’s no denying that images from Hollywood and the fashion industry can be difficult for young women to deal with. “Certainly I don't believe the modeling industry has caused the rise in eating disorders, but it makes it harder,” she says. “It’s a difficult recovery environment, worshiping thinness as the beauty ideal.”
1. One benefit the new Israeli law may bring is ________.
A. to change the working conditions of models
B. to prevent models from suffering from eating disorders
C. to provide guidance for women worshiping thinness
D. to lower the chance of skinny models’ death
2.In the opinion of the critics, the law won’t succeed because .
A. it misleads young women to form a bad eating habit.
B. the fashion industry is much too influential.
C. it doesn’t create a healthy working environment for models.
D. it doesn’t provide a proper approach that can work well.
3. What caused Adatto to think that a law was needed to change the situation?
A. Being interviewed by a reporter.
B. Establishing his fashion model agent.
C. Meeting an ambitious but too skinny model.
D. Seeing a model die from eating disorders.
4.According to the passage, the new Israeli law banning skinny models is .
A. practical B. reasonable
C. acceptable D. argumentative
高二英语阅读理解极难题查看答案及解析