Today, nearly 400 animals are listed as threa...

Today, nearly 400 animals are listed as threatened or endangered animals in the United States. Many are at risk of becoming extinct or disappearing permanently. Unless efforts to save these vulnerable(易受攻击的) animals succeed, many of the country's greatest creatures will be lost forever. From the facts listed, guess which animals are endangered. Click on the picture to find out more about each of these animals in trouble.

American Crocodile

●American crocodiles are about 12 feet long. They live on land and in shallow water, swamps and marshes.

●American crocodiles like to float in the water with only their eyes and noses above the water surface.

●American crocodiles eat mostly small animals, which they grab with their strong jaws and sharp teeth.

●American crocodiles lay eggs. They hide their eggs under twigs and leaves, or bury them in the sand.

●Some crocodiles help their young hatch, and then carry them to the water in their mouth.

Habitat

Southern Florida, Mexico, Central and South American, Caribbean islands.

Why It's Endangered

Overhunted for its skin and habitat destruction.

Peninsular Bighorn Sheep

●Bighorn sheep can weigh as much as 280 pounds and stand about 3 feet tall.

●They live in dry, desert mountain ranges, near rocky cliffs.

●Bighorn sheep eat grass, twigs and leaves.

●Male sheep are called rams and can be recognized by their huge, brown horns. The horns curl back over the ears, down，and up past the cheeks.

●They live in herds or groups. The male sheep with the biggest horns are usually in charge. Male horns can weigh as much as 30 pounds.

●Males will use their massive horns to fight. The fights can last as long as 24 hours.

●Females are called ewes. They are smaller than rams and have shorter, smaller horns.

Habitat

Nevada and California to west Texas and south into Mexico.

Why It's Endangered

Loss of habitat, hunting illegally, drought and disease.

1.Where can the article be found according to the passage?

A．Newspaper.　　　　 B．Website.

C．Student book.　　 D．Magazine.

2.Which of the following is NOT true according to the description about American crocodiles?

A．American crocodiles live on land and in swamps and marshes.

B．American crocodiles hide their eggs under leaves, or bury them in the sand.

C．American crocodiles grab small animals with their strong jaws and sharp teeth.

D．American crocodiles like to float with their eyes and nose below the water surface.

3.Where can we find both American crocodiles and Bighorn sheep according to the passage?

A．Southern Florida.　　　 B．California.

C．Mexico.　　　　　　　　 　　 D．West Texas.

4.Rams make use of their massive horns to ________.

A．master the herds　 　 B．show their beauty

C．fight with others　　 D．hunt for food

5.What can be the best title?

A．Animals in Danger

B．American Crocodile

C．Peninsular Bighorn Sheep

D．How to Save Animals in Danger

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

The green turtle is listed as endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Under the U．S. Endangered Species Act of 1973, the green turtle was listed as threatened except for the breeding populations in Florida and on the Pacific coast of Mexico, where it is listed as endangered.

Green turtles continue to be caught for money by humans, and the destruction and loss of nesting and foraging(觅食)sites is a serious problem. Humans have already caused the decrease of large green turtle populations, including those that once nested in Bermuda and Cayman Islands. The situation of green turtle populations is difficult to determine because of our lack of knowledge about their life cycles. The number of nests in Florida appears to be increasing, but we don't know whether this is due to an increase in the number of nests or because we have started to monitor(监控)nesting beaches more closely.

The green turtle is the largest hard­shelled sea turtle. Adults of this species commonly reach 100 cm in length and 150 kg in mass. The average size of a female nesting in Florida is 101.5 cm straight in length, with an average body mass of 136 kg.

Growth rates of green turtles have not been measured under natural conditions. Green turtles grow slowly.

In the southern Bahamas, green turtles grow from 30 to 75 cm in 17 years, and according to Bjorndal and Bolten, growth rates decrease with increasing length. Growth rates measured in green turtles from Florida and Puerto Rico fall within the range of growth rates measured in the southern Bahamas. Based on growth rate studies of wild green turtles, the researchers Balazs, Frazer and Ehrhart estimate the age of sexual maturity(成熟)can range anywhere from 20 to 50 years.

1.The main idea of the passage is to tell us________.

2.Which of the following is NOT a reason why green turtles are endangered?

3.According to the passage, the green turtle________.

4.Why is it hard for us to know the number of green turtles?

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Some scientists say that animals in the oceans are increasingly threatened by noise pollution caused by human beings.

The noise that affects sea creatures comes from a number of human activities. It is caused mainly by industrial underwater explosions, ocean drilling, and ship engines. Such noises are added to natural sounds. These sounds include the breaking of ice fields, underwater earthquakes, and sounds made by animals themselves.

Decibels (分贝) measured in water are different from those measured on land. A noise of one hundred and twenty decibels on land causes pain to human ears. In water, a decibel level of one hundred and ninety-five would have the same effect.

Some scientists have suggested setting a noise limit of one hundred and twenty decibels in the oceans. They have observed that noises at that level can frighten and confuse whales (鲸).

A team of American and Canadian scientists discovered that louder noises can seriously injure some animals.

The research team found that powerful underwater explosions were causing whales in the area to lose their hearing. This seriously affected the whales’ ability to exchange information and find their way. Some of the whales even died. The explosions had caused their ears to bleed and become infected (被感染的).

Many researchers whose work depends on ocean sounds are against a limit of one hundred and twenty decibels. They say such a limit would mean an end to important industrial and scientific research.

Scientists do not know how much and what kinds of noises are harmful to ocean animals. However, many scientists don’t think that noise is a greater danger than they believed. They want to prevent noises from harming creatures in the ocean.

1.According to the passage, Which of the following is increasingly dangerous to sea creatures?

A. The sound of cars. 　　　　　　　　　　　 B. The sound of voices.

C. Man-made noise pollution. 　　　　　　 D. The sound of steps.

2.According to the passage, natural sounds include all of the following except ________.

A. sounds made by animals themselves

B. ocean drilling

C. underwater earthquakes

D. the breaking of ice fields

3.Which of the following is discussed in the third paragraph?

A. The same noise level produces a different effect on land and in the ocean.

B. Different places may have different types of noises.

C. The decibel is not a right unit (单位) for measuring underwater noise.

D. Different ocean animals may have different reactions to noises.

4.What can we learn about the whales from the passage?

A. They won’t be confused by noises.

B. They are deaf to noises.

C. Their ability to reproduce will be lowered by high-level noises.

D. Their hearing will be damaged by high-level noises.

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Some scientists say that animals in the oceans are increasingly threatened by noise pollution caused by human beings.

The noise that affects sea creatures comes from a number of human activities. It is caused mainly by industrial underwater explosions, ocean drilling, and ship engines. Such noises are added to natural sounds. These sounds include the breaking of ice fields, underwater earthquakes, and sounds made by animals themselves.

Decibels (分贝) measured in water are different from those measured on land. A noise of one hundred and twenty decibels on land causes pain to human ears. In water, a decibel level of one hundred and ninety-five would have the same effect.

Some scientists have proposed setting a noise limit of one hundred and twenty decibels in oceans. They have observed that noises at that level can frighten and confuse whales.

A team of American and Canadian scientists discovered that louder noises can seriously injure some animals. The research team found that powerful underwater explosions were causing whales in the area to lose their hearing. This seriously affected the whales' ability to exchange information and find their way. Some of the whales even died. The explosions had caused their ears to bleed and become infected.

Many researchers whose work depends on ocean sounds object to a limit of one hundred and twenty decibels. They say such a limit would mean an end to important industrial and scientific research.

Scientists do not know how much and what kinds of noises are harmful to ocean animals. However, many scientists suspect that noise is a greater danger than they believed. They want to prevent noises from harming creatures in the ocean.

1. According to the passage, which of the following is increasingly dangerous to sea creatures?

2. Which of the following is discussed in the third paragraph?

3.As to the influence of noises on whales, which of the following statements is true?

4.According to the passage, what will scientists most probably do in the future?

高二英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析

Some scientists say that animals in the oceans are increasingly threatened by noise pollution caused by human beings.

The noise that affects sea creatures comes from a number of human activities. It is caused mainly by industrial underwater explosions, ocean drilling, and ship engines. Such noises are added to natural sounds. These sounds include the breaking of ice fields, underwater earthquakes, and sounds made by animals themselves.

Decibels (分贝) measured in water are different from those measured on land. A noise of one hundred and twenty decibels on land causes pain to human ears. In water, a decibel level of one hundred and ninety-five would have the same effect.

Some scientists have proposed setting a noise limit of one hundred and twenty decibels in oceans. They have observed that noises at that level can frighten and confuse whales.

A team of American and Canadian scientists discovered that louder noises can seriously injure some animals. The research team found that powerful underwater explosions were causing whales in the area to lose their hearing. This seriously affected the whales' ability to exchange information and find their way. Some of the whales even died. The explosions had caused their ears to bleed and become infected.

Many researchers whose work depends on ocean sounds are against a limit of one hundred and twenty decibels. They say such a limit would mean an end to important industrial and scientific research.

Scientists do not know how much and what kinds of noises are harmful to ocean animals. However, many scientists suspect that noise is a greater danger than they believed. They want to prevent noises from harming creatures in the ocean.

1.According to the passage, which of the following is increasingly dangerous to sea creatures?

A. The man-made noises.                  B. The noises made by themselves.

C. The sound of earthquakes.             D. The sound of the ice-breaking.

2.Which of the following is discussed in the third paragraph?

A. Different places with different types of noises.

B. The very human ears sensitive to all types of noises.

C. The same noise measured differently on land and in the ocean.

D. The ocean animals' reaction to noises.

3.As to the influence of noises on whales, which of the following statements is true?

A. They are deaf to noises.

B. Noises at a certain level may hurt them.

C. They are easily confused by noises.

D. Noises will limit their ability to reproduce.

4.We can know from the passage that many researchers think that the noise limit of one hundred twenty decibels would _____.

A. prevent them from doing their research work

B. benefit them a lot in their research work

C. do good to their health

D. increase the industrial output

5.According to the passage, what will scientists most probably do in the future?

A. They will try their best to decrease noise.

B. They will work hard to cut down noise pollution.

C. They will study the effect of different noises.

D. They will protect animals from harmful noises.

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

A global analysis of Earth's threatened and endangered species has changed our scientific understanding about how much climate change is affecting wildlife.

The research, published Monday in the journal Nature Climate Change, shows that 47 percent of mammals and 23 percent of birds have been negatively affected by our changing planet. Those figures are shockingly larger than previous assessments, which have shown 7 percent of mammals and 4 percent of birds were affected. Of the 873 mammal species looked at, 414 are hurt by climate change. For threatened birds, 298 of 1,272 species are experiencing negative effects, according to the findings.

However, a new study follows the analysis of threatened wildlife shows that the biggest threat to wildlife is not climate change, which gets a lot of attention, but human activities, including logging (伐木), hunting and farming. Today, three-quarters of Earth's land surface faces “human pressure", according to a global analysis professor Watson carried out in August.

When it comes to the effects of human activities on wildlife, Watson said, most studies look at what might happen to a population in the future, perhaps 50 or 100 years down the line. The problem with such forecasts is that they are absolutely unhelpful for the here and now.

“Nature is extremely resilient (能复原的) if you give it a chance," Watson said. “But the big thing is acting now, not in 20 to 50 years' time. Not make climate change and“human pressure" a future threat, but take action now. Because every day, every minute, which you delay, you lose those opportunities."

1.What has been found about the effects of climate change according to the passage?

A. Human activities are suffering severe disaster due to the climate change.

B. The species affected by climate change are more than people thought.

C. More than half of the mammal species were affected by climate change.

D. Three-quarters of Earth's land surface has been damaged by climate change.

2.What does the underlined “they" refer to?

A. Human activities. B. Negative effects.

C. Assessments. D. Forecasts.

3.What's the attitude of Watson towards the recovery of the environment?

A. Optimistic. B. Pessimistic.

C. Doubtful. D. Uncaring.

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Food labels are such a mess that the government is redesigning them, as the ingredient(营养成分) lists are usually too confusing. As a result, a shopper could spend hours in a grocery store watching, calculating, and comparing, and still could not get it right. ShopWell is trying to help by allowing consumers to scan food labels and receive understandable and personalized information.

Here’s how it works. Register for ShopWell, and enter your age and gender. Add your goals (General health? Or are you trying to lose weight?). Then, note what you want in your diet, such as protein or iron, and what you want to avoid(added sugar, say). Add your allergies(过敏的物质) and things you cannot accept, and start scanning.

Then ShopWell will come up with a clearly personal result: green for a food that is good for you; yellow for foods you can enjoy a little; and red for foods you should avoid.

The results are easily understandable and is clean because it’s not mixed with ads. Instead, ShopWell makes money by selling data to supermarkets. Its database contains 350,000 products, the app has been downloaded 1.3 million times, and the company claims a scan every two seconds “in stores such as Walmart, Whole Foods and 7-Eleven,” in the words of marketing manager James Allgood.

One of the first items I scanned was So Delicious Coconut Milk Creamer, which I buy because I’m lactose(乳糖) intolerant. It turns out it’s only a little suitable for me — because of its 1 gram per serving of added sugar. I’m not sure I’ll give it up. But I did ask the app to watch for added sugar, and it’s doing its job.

One drawback to ShopWell is that the scanner often doesn’t work for items from Costco or Trader Joe’s. Meanwhile, Some user reviews say that it doesn’t cover enough allergies.

1. Why do consumers hesitate long when deciding which food to purchase in a shop?

A. Because there are usually an extremely wide variety of food in the shop.

B. Because food labels in the shop are in such a mess that they need redesigning.

C. Because consumers desire to scan food labels for understandable information.

D. Because consumers can hardly make sense of the information on the food labels.

2.What does the author intend to tell the readers in Paragraph 2?

A. The proper use of ShopWell.　             B. The function of ShopWell.

C. The development of ShopWell.             D. The advantage of ShopWell.

3.How can ShopWell make some profits?

A. By providing its collected data to supermarkets.

B. By selling 350,000 products of its own.

C. By downloading the app 1.3 million times.

D. By following the words of marketing manager James Allgood.

4.What does the underlined “drawback” in the last paragraph probably mean?

A. Scanner        B. Disadvantage

C. Benefit        D. Item

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Today, there are many chances for those who wish to continue their education. However, nearly all require some break in one’s career in order to attend school full time.    　　

Part-time education, that is, attending school at night or for one weekend a month, tends to drag the process out over time and puts the completion of a degree program out of reach of many people. Additionally, such programs require a fixed time commitment which can also impact negatively on one’s career and family time.

Of the many approaches to teaching and learning, however, perhaps the most flexible (灵活的) is that called distance learning. Distance learning is an educational method which allows the students the flexibility to study at his or her own pace to achieve the academic goals which are so necessary in today’s world. The time required to study may be set aside at the student’s convenience. Additionally, the student may enroll in distance learning courses from actually any place in the world, while continuing to pursue their chosen career. Individual assistance may be available via regular airmail, telephone, fax machine, teleconferencing and over the Internet.

Good distance learning programs are characterized by the inclusion of a subject evaluation tool with every subject, so a student doesn’t need to travel away from home to take a test. Another characteristic of a good distance learning program is the equivalence (等同) of the distance learning course with the same subject materials as those students taking the course on the home campus. The resultant diploma or degree should also be the same whether distance learning or on-campus study is employed. The individuality of the professor/student relationship is another characteristic of a good distance learning program. In the final analysis, a good distance learning program has a place not only for the individual student but also the company or business that wants to work in partnership with their employees for the educational benefit, professional development, and business growth of the organization. Supporting distance learning programs for their employees gives the business the advantage of retaining (留住) career-minded people while contributing to their personal and professional growth through education.  　　

1.According to the passage, which of the following is NOT a disadvantage of part time education?

A. It requires some break in one’s career. 　　

B. It tends to last too long for many people to complete a degree program.       　　

C. It affects one’s career.     　　

D. It gives the student less time to share with the family.    　　

2. Which of the following is NOT an advantage of distance learning?   　

A. The student may choose his or her own pace.  　

B. The student may study at his or her convenience.   　　

C. They can pursue their chosen career while studying.    　　

D. Individual assistance comes through regular airmail, telephone and fax machine.

3.What benefit will distance learning program bring to a business?    　　

A. Attracting more talented people.      　　

B. Good image of the business.    　　

C. Better cooperation with universities.     　　

D. Further training of employees and business growth.      　　

4. Good distance learning program have the following characteristics EXCEPT _______.     　　

A. distance learning course is the same as students taking courses on campus     　

B. the diploma or degree should be the same as on campus study  　　

C. professor-student relationship is strictly one to one all through the course    　　

D. includes subject evaluation tool

5.What benefit will distance learning bring to an employee of a business?     　　

A. Higher salary.   　　

B. Professional growth.      　　

C. Good impression on the employer.      　　

D. Good relationship with the employer.

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

In Britain today women __________ 44% of the workforce and nearly half the mothers with children are in paid work.

A. hold up        B. build up         C. consist of         D. account for

高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

As we all know, ____________ cloning is the creation of cells or the whole animals using DNA from ____________ single “parent”.

A. the; a　　 B. a; a

C. /; a　　 D. /; the

高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析