The illegal ivory(象牙) trade has been a major ...

The illegal ivory(象牙) trade has been a major problem in Africa for decades. Poachers have killed hundreds of thousands of elephants to obtain ivory. Now, affected areas are taking action. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) announced on Wednesday key African states where poaching takes place have promised to stop the ivory trade to protect elephants.

Over the past few days, top officials and experts from 30 states met at the African Elephant Summit. The conference, organized by the IUCN and the government of Botswana, was held in Gaborone, Botswana.

Conservation efforts will include China and Thailand, where much of the ivory is sent. “Now is the time for Africa and Asia to join forces to protect this universally valued species,” said Botswana President Ian Khama.

In the 1980s, as many as 1 million elephants across Africa were killed for their ivory. The ivory was used to make jewelry and other items. This continued until 1989, when the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) voted to ban all the trade in ivory. As a result, demand for ivory fell. Governments cracked down on poachers. Elephant populations slowly began to increase. However , this progress was short-lived.

According to the IUCN, 2011 saw the highest levels of poaching and illegal ivory trading in at least 16 years. Around 25,000 elephants were killed in Africa that year. Data from the IUCN　 show even higher levels of illegal trade may have been reached in 2013. “With an estimated 22,000 elephants illegally killed in 2012, we continue to face a critical situation,” said John E. Scanlon, CITES Secretary-General. “Current elephant poaching in Africa remains far too high, and could soon lead to local extinction if the present killing rate continues.

At the African Elephant Summit , key African states where elephants make their home agreed to develop a “zerotolerance approach” to poaching. The deal calls for maximum sentences for poachers and hunters, and increased cooperation between affected states. Officials are committed to classifying wildlife trafficking (交易) as a serious crime --- and to making sure that the people who commit it are punished. All participants at the conference agreed to sign the deal. With these states working together, there may yet be hope for elephants.

1.The purpose of holding the African Elephant Summit is to _________.

A. make new laws to punish poachers.

B. prevent elephants from being poached.

C. collect money for elephants’ protection

D. call for African countries to save elephants.

2.Why are China and Thailand mentioned in the text?

A. The ivory is illegally sold in these two countries.

B. Elephants need protecting in these two countries.

C. They know how to protect wildlife like elephants.

D. They prefer jewelry and other items made of ivory.

3.What can we learn from Paragraph 5 ?

A. The governments do nothing to protect animals.

B. Elephant poaching in Africa is out of control.

C. A large number of elephants have been killed.

D. Illegal ivory trading is to blame for the elephants’ extinction.

4.What would be the best title for the text?

A. Wild Animals Are at Risk　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. New Hope for Elephants

C. Elephants Need Our Help　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. Wildlife Protection in Africa

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

China’s one-child policy has been in place for decades and is causing ageing problem. So the news that China abandons one-child policy is _________ with cheers from many married couples.

A. behaved　 B. greeted　 C. hugged　 D. equipped

高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

The problem ________ this material can be used in our factory has been solved.

高二英语单项填空困难题查看答案及解析

Much of the power of the trade unions has been lost.______, their political influence should very great..

A．As a result         B．As usual           C．Even so           D．So far

高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

In recent decades, social isolation has been recognized as a major risk to our health and long life. It’s twice as bad for you as being overweight and nearly as bad as smoking. The rising number of people who say they are affected, across a wide range of ages, is shocking. In reality, you can suffer the ill effects of loneliness even if you are not socially isolated.

Comedian Robin Williams made a striking observation in 2014: “I used to think the worst thing in life was to end up all alone. It’s not. The worst thing in life is to end up with people who make you feel all alone.” Tracking large groups over time indicates that perceived（感知的）social isolation carries its own risk for morbidity（发病率）and mortality.

The perception of isolation—from others of being in the social aspect—is not only a cause of unhappiness, it also signals danger. Fish have evolved to swim to the middle of their group when predators（捕食者）approach, mice housed in social isolation show sleep disruptions and reduced slow-wave sleep and prairie voles（田鼠）isolated from their partners then placed in an open field explore their surroundings less and concentrate on avoiding predators.

These behaviours reflect an increased emphasis on self-preservation in the social aspect. For instance, fish on the edge of a school are more likely to be attacked by predators because they are easier to isolate and prey upon. Such observations reflect a more general principle that perceived social isolation in social animals activates neural（神经系统的）, neuroendocrine （神经内分泌的）and behavioural responses that promote short-term self-preservation. However, these responses bring a cost for long-term health and well-being.

The range of harmful neural and behavioural effects of perceived isolation documented in adults include increased anxiety, hostility and social withdrawal; fragmented sleep and daytime tiredness; increased vascular resistance and changed gene expression and immunity; decreased impulse control; increased negativity and depressive symptoms; and increased age-related cognitive decline.

Sadly, to date, attempts to reduce loneliness have met with limited success. A series of randomized controlled trials showed that they had only a small effect. Among the four types of interventions（介人）examined, talking therapy that focused on inappropriate thought processes had the largest impact. Social skills training, social support and increased opportunities for social contact were much less effective.

1.What can we learn about social isolation from the first paragraph?

A. It exists mainly among adults.

B. More and more people are suffering it.

C. Its effect is more serious than smoking.

D. It’s the worst risk to our health and long life.

2.During perceived social isolation, animals will suffer bad health for ________.

A. focusing more on their own safety

B. being separated from their partners

C. adapting to the new surroundings

D. worrying about their lack of food

3.The fifth paragraph is mainly about ________.

A. causes of perceived isolation.

B. treatments for perceived isolation

C. bad effects of perceived isolation

D. the definition of perceived isolation

4.What is the most effective in helping suffers of perceived social isolation?

A. Giving them strong social support.

B. Communicate more and better with them.

C. Get them to attend some training courses.

D. Enlarge their circles of social network.

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

In recent decades, social isolation has been recognized as a major risk to our health and long life. It’s twice as bad for you as being overweight and nearly as bad as smoking. The rising number of people who say they are affected, across a wide range of ages, is shocking. In reality, you can suffer the ill effects of loneliness even if you are not socially isolated.

Comedian Robin Williams made a striking observation in 2014: “I used to think the worst thing in life was to end up all alone. It’s not. The worst thing in life is to end up with people who make you feel all alone.” Tracking large groups over time indicates that perceived（感知的）social isolation carries its own risk for morbidity（发病率）and mortality.

The perception of isolation—from others of being in the social aspect-is not only a cause of unhappiness, it also signals danger. Fish have evolved to swim to the middle of their group when predators（捕食者）approach, mice housed in social isolation show sleep disruptions and reduced slow-wave sleep and prairie voles（田鼠）isolated from their partners then placed in an open field explore their surroundings less and concentrate on avoiding predators.

These behaviours reflect an increased emphasis on self-preservation in the social aspect. For instance, fish on the edge of a school are more likely to be attacked by predators because they are easier to isolate and prey upon. Such observations reflect a more general principle that perceived social isolation in social animals activates neural（神经系统的）, neuroendocrine（神经内分泌的）and behavioural responses that promote short-term self-preservation. However, these responses bring a cost for long-term health and well-being.

The range of harmful neural and behavioural effects of perceived isolation documented in adults include increased anxiety, hostility and social withdrawal; fragmented sleep and daytime tiredness; increased vascular resistance and changed gene expression and immunity; decreased impulse control; increased negativity and depressive symptoms; and increased age-related cognitive decline.

Sadly, to date, attempts to reduce loneliness have met with limited success. A series of randomized controlled trials showed that they had only a small effect. Among the four types of interventions（介入）examined, talking therapy that focused on inappropriate thought processes had the largest impact. Social skills training, social support and increased opportunities for social contact were much less effective.

1.What can we learn about social isolation from the first paragraph?

A. It exists mainly among adults.

B. It’s the worst risk to our health and long life.

C. Its effect is more serious than smoking.

D. More and more people are suffering it.

2.During perceived social isolation, animals will suffer bad health for ________.

A. focusing more on their own safety　　 B. being separated from their partners

C. adapting to the new surroundings　　 D. worrying about their lack of food

3.The fifth paragraph is mainly about ________.

A. causes of perceived isolation.　　 B. treatments for perceived isolation

C. bad effects of perceived isolation　　 D. the definition of perceived isolation

4.What is the most effective in helping suffers of perceived social isolation?

A. Giving them strong social support.

B. Communicate more and better with them.

C. Get them to attend some training courses.

D. Enlarge their circles of social network.

高二英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析

-----What’s one of the major problems _____ the children living in remote mountainous areas?

----- It’s poverty.

A. face　　　　 B. facing　　　　 C. faced　　　　　 D. faced with

高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

Job stress has been known to cause heart problems in people who already have cardiovascular(心血管) disease. Now Finnish scientists have shown that50  in healthy people the pressure of work can cause damage.

High blood pressure, lack of51, smoking and being overweight52to heart disease—a 53killer in many industrialized countries.

But Mika Kivimaki, of the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, and his colleagues, who studied the54histories of 812 healthy Finnish men and women in a metal industry company over 25 years, said job stress also plays an important role.

Workers who had the highest job-related stress levels at the start of the study were more than twice as55to die of heart disease,56the study published in The British Medical Journal.

Work stress57too much work as well as a lack of satisfaction and feeling undervalued and58.

Many people work long hours but if the effort is59the stress is minimized. Kivimaki said job pressure is damaging when being overworked is60with little or no control, unfair supervision and few career opportunities.

The British Heart Foundation said the results61earlier research showing that people in jobs with low control, such as manual workers, could be at greater62of heart disease than other employees.

“It is 63for people to try to minimize levels of stress at work and for employers to64people to have more control at work and to be rewarded for their success,” the foundation said in a statement.

高二英语完型填空简单题查看答案及解析

It has been revealed that some government leaders ________ their authority and position to get illegal profits for themselves.

A．employ　 　　 B．take　 　　　　 C．abuse　 　　　　　　 D．Overlook

高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

It will not _____your notice that there have been some major changes in the company .

A. equip B. escape

C. enclose D. endanger

高二英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析