| Title | Ivory seizures in 2011 |
| A chief event and its (1) ____ | ●Over twenty tons of ivory was (2) ____ ●To keep it off the international market. ●To (3) ____ the illegal killing of elephants for ivory. |
| The growing (4) ____ of illegal ivory trades | ●Since 2007, illegal ivory trades have (5) ____ risen. ●In 2010, there were six large seizures, totalling just under 10 tons. ●In 2011, there were more than 13 large seizures, which (6) ____ about 2,500 elephants being killed: |
| The introduction to the illegal ivory trades | ●Origins: mostly from Kenya and Tanzania. ●Shipment (7) ____ from airplanes to seaships. ●(8) ____: to Asia, especially to Malaysia, China and Thailand. ●Result: escaping from being (9) ____ made the criminals win much money. |
| Data from ETIS | More than 17,000 ivory and other elephant product seizures have been (10) ____ since 1990. |
| 1. purposes 2. burned 3. discourage 4. number /trend 5. sharply 6. meant 7. change /switch 8. Distinction(s) 9. arrested 10. reported | |
| 阅读理解。 | |
| Traditional fairytales (童话) are being given up by parents because they are too scary for their young children, a study found. Research uncovered that one in five parents has got rid of old literature such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and Rapunzel in favor of more modern books. One third of parents said their children have been left in tears after hearing the gruesome details of Little Red Riding Hood. And nearly half of mothers and fathers refuse to read Rumplesliltshin to their kids as the themes of the story are kidnapping and killing. Similarly, Goldilocks and the Three Bears was also a tale likely to be left on the book shelf as parents felt it forgives stealing. The survey of 2,000 adults was completed to mark the launch of the hit US drama GRIMM ( 格林 童话剧) , which starts tonight at 9pm on Watch, and sees six drama series based on traditional fairytales. The survey found a quarter of parents questioned wouldn"t consider reading fairytales to their kids. And 52 percent of the parents said Cinderella didn"t send a good message to their children as it describes a young woman doing housework all day. Steve Hornsey, General Manager of Watch, said: "Bedtime stories are supposed to calm children down and send them off to sleep soundly.But as we see in GMMM, fairytales can be dark and dramatic so it"s understandable that parents worry about reading them to young children.As adults we can see the innocence in fairytales, but a five - year - old child could take them too literally.Despite the dark nature of classic fairytales as we see in GRIMM, good will defeat evil and there is always a moral to the story." The study also found two thirds of mums and dads try to avoid stories which might give their children nightmares.The most popular book read at bedtime is now "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" by Eric Carle. However half of parents said traditional tales are "more likely to have a strong moral message than a lot of modern kids" books, such as The Gruffato, The Hungary Caterpillar and the Mr. Men books. | |
| 1. Classical works for children are being avoided by parents they think . | |
| A. they contain unmoral themes B. they are terrifying C. they encourage stealing, kidnapping and killing D. they are tired of answering questions | |
| 2. What does the underlined word "gruesome" mean? | |
| A. Very horrible B. Very amusing C. Very disappointing D. Very amazing | |
| 3. Which stories are the popular bedtime stories that parents like to tell their children now? | |
| A. Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and Cinderella B. The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Little Red Riding Hood. C. The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Mr. Men D. Goldilocks and the Three Bears and Cinderella | |
| 4. According to Steve Hornsey , adults can see innocence in a fairy tale but a 5-year-old child might ______. | |
| A. think it is different from the reality B. dislike it because it is scary C. believe exactly what the tale says D. feel there is a moral to the story | |
| 阅读理解。 | |
| Some of Britain"s most favoured spring visitors are disappearing in their thousands. Scientists say birds such as the cuckoo (布谷鸟), whose song announces the arrival of warm weather in Britain, are dropping in numbers. A typical migrant bird (候鸟) from Africa, cuckoo may no longer make its annual appearance in the woodlands in Britain, says a scientist. Numbers of migrant birds from Africa have declined seriously in the UK since 1995.For cuckoos the figure is 44%.The call of the cuckoo could be silenced in the near future. The real problem is that there are so many different possible causes for the loss-which makes it difficult to find out the real reasons for their decline and to prepare plans to put things right. The loss could be the result of changes in farmland use in Britain which are affecting the way cuckoos breed (繁殖) when they arrive here in spring. On top of changes of land use, scientists suspect that many cuckoos are finding it increasingly difficult to feed themselves when they come to breed in Britain. The large insects they eat have dropped rapidly in number here. Climate change might be another important reason. Migrant cuckoos arrive and breed at times which are no longer the best periods when food, such as insects, is available. Climate changes also affect timings of breeding cycles. Or the loss could be due to the increase of human populations in Africa and the destruction of natural living environment where they make their homes in winter. Apart from these, the killing takes place in spring and autumn when cuckoos, flying from and to Africa, cross islands in the Mediterranean Sea. They are shot in their hundreds of thousands by hunters who just enjoy killing them for the "sport" .It is against the European Union law, but that doesn"t stop it happening. Sheehan, a scientist, said, cuckoos "arrive in our countryside just as the first good weather arrives. We associate them with spring and warmth. That is why they appear so often in old English stories. They are part of our culture-which makes the decline in their number so worrying." | |
| 1. What can be inferred from the underlined part in Paragraph 2? | |
| A. Cuckoos may arrive in warm weather. B. Cuckoos may rarely be seen in Britain. C. Cuckoos may appear every two years. D. Cuckoos may come back to the woodlands. | |
| 2. Concerning the rapid decrease in the number of cuckoos, scientists _______. | |
| A. find it difficult to discover the real reasons B. know few possible causes for the loss C. have plans to put things right D. doubt if the data are accurate | |
| 3. According to the passage, what happens in Britain that possibly causes the decline of cuckoos? | |
| A. Many hunters kill cuckoos for fun. B. Cuckoos" main food is getting less. C. Policies on land use have changed. D. Human population increases rapidly. | |
| 4.Which could be the best title for the passage? | |
| A. Cuckoos, Who Take Away Your Food? B. Climate Change: A Danger to Cuckoos C. Spring May Lose Song of Cuckoos D. A Song for England"s Cuckoos | |
| 阅读理解。 | |
| Do American children still learn handwriting in school? In the age of the keyboard, some people seem to think handwriting lessons are on the way out. 90% of teachers say they are required to teach handwriting. But studies have yet to answer the question of how well they are teaching it. One study published this year found that about three out of every four teachers say they are not prepared to teach handwriting. Some teachers are teaching handwriting by providing instruction for 10-15 minutes a day, and then other teachers who basically teach it for 60 to 70 minutes a day - which really for handwriting is pretty much. Many adults remember learning that way - by copying letters over and over again. Today"s thinking is that short periods of practice are better. Many experts also think handwriting should not be taught by itself. Instead, they say it should be used as a way to get students to express ideas. After all, that is why we write. Handwriting involves two skills. One is legibility, which means forming the letters so they can be read. The other is fluency-writing without having to think about it. Fluency continues to develop up until high school. But not everyone masters these skills. Teachers commonly report that about one fourth of their kids have poor handwriting. Some people might think handwriting is not important any more because of computers and voice recognition programs. But Steve Graham at Vanderbilt says word processing is rarely done in elementary school, especially in the early years. American children traditionally first learn to print, and then to write in cursive(草体字), which connects the letters. But guess what we learned from a spokeswoman for the College Board, which administers the SAT college admission test. More than 75 percent of students choose to print their essay on the test rather than write in cursive. | |
| 1. We can learn ________ from Paragraph 1. | |
| A. teaching handwriting is a basic requirement in teaching job B. most teachers prefer to teach handwriting C. teachers spend little time in teaching handwriting D. a keyboard has taken the place of the handwriting entirely | |
| 2. Which of the following is WRONG for traditional handwriting in the USA? | |
| A. The students are taught by practicing a long period. B. The letters are repeated many times. C. Handwriting includes two skills. D. To write in cursive is taught first. | |
| 3. The best title for the passage is ______. | |
| A. How to improve handwriting in school B. Right or wrong: the death of handwriting C. Handwriting involves two skills D. Handwriting lessons are on the way out | |
| 4. The author"s attitude towards whether still to learn handwriting in school is______. | |
| A. negative B. objective C. critical D. optimistic | |
| 阅读理解。 | |
| Are you a media addict who would go mad after two hours without TV, friend requests, exciting online games and your mobile – or would you easily survive? Recently, university students around the world were asked to volunteer in a global experiment called Unplugged. It was designed to see how young people would react if they were asked to observe a total media ban by unplugging all forms of media devices for 24 hours. Unplugged is being run by Dr Roman Gerodimos, a lecturer in Communication and Journalism at Bournemouth University. The experiment is now over but he doesn"t yet know the full findings. However, during the experiment, Dr Gerodimos said there were already signs of how much the exercise affected volunteers. He said: "They"re reporting withdrawal symptoms (症状), overeating, feeling nervous, isolated and disconnected." During their 24-hour painful experience, three of the experiment"s guinea pigs had to endure one intrusion (侵扰) from the media: a BBC reporter plus cameraman who followed them around for the day. They were asked to write down 100 lines about their day offline, but of course, they all waited until the next day when they had access to their laptops. Elliot Day wrote: "Today, my whole morning routine was thrown up into the air. Despite being aware of the social importance of the media, I was surprised by how empty my life felt without the radio or newspapers. " From Caroline Scott, we read: "I didn"t expect it, but being prevented from the media for 24 hours resulted in my day-to-day activities becoming so much harder to carry out than usual… I didn"t break out in a cold sweat like our lecturer expected us all to, but it"s not something I would like to do again! " And Charlotte Gay wrote: "I have to say the most difficult item for me to be without has been my mobile; not only is it a social tool, it"s my main access point of communication." Earlier in the year, a UK government study found that in the UK we spend about half our waking hours using the media, often plugged into several things at once. And a recent study by Nielson found that on average, US teenagers send and receive over 3,000 texts per month-that"s about six texts per waking hour. So, with technology continuing to develop at an alarming rate, how much time will you set aside for sleep in the future? | |
| 1. What"s the purpose of the first paragraph? | |
| A. To ask for information. B. To entertain the readers. C. To lead to the topic. D. To present an idea. | |
| 2. About Dr. Roman Gerodimos" experiment, we know that ________. | |
| A. volunteers felt uncomfortable in it B. volunteers didn"t want to eat anything C. the experiment was still going on D. volunteers were allowed to take their laptops | |
| 3. The underlined expression "was thrown up into the air" most probably means ________. | |
| A. went on normally B. was completely disturbed C. turned out perfect D. was badly designed | |
| 4. Which of the following can best serve as the title of the passage? | |
| A. Surviving without the Media B. Unplugging Your Life C. Valuing Social Communication D. Setting Aside Time for Sleep | |
| 阅读理解。 | |
| "My kids really understand solar and earth-heat energy," says a second-grade teacher in Saugus, California. "Some of them are building solar collectors for their energy course." These young scientists are part of City Building Educational Program (CBEP), a particular program for kindergarten through twelfth grade that uses the stages of city planning to teach basic reading, writing and math skills and more. The children don"t just plan any city. They map and analyze (分析) the housing, energy, and transportation requirements of their own district and foretell its needs in 100 years. With the aid of an architect (建筑师) who visits the classroom once a week, they invent new ways to meet these needs and build models of their creations. "Designing buildings of the future gives children a lot of freedom,"" says the teacher who developed this program. "They are able to use their own rich imagination and inventions without fear of blame, because there are no wrong answers in a future context. In fact, as the class enters the final model-building stage of the program, an elected "official" and "planning group" make all the design decisions for the model city and the teacher steps back and becomes an adviser. CBEP is a set of activities, games and imitations that teach the basic steps necessary for problem-solving: observing, analyzing, working out possible answers, and judging them based on the children"s own standards. | |
| 1. The program is designed to________. | |
| A. direct kids to build solar collectors B. train young scientists for city planning C. develop children"s problem-solving abilities D. help young architects know more about designing | |
| 2. An architect pays a weekly visit to the classroom to ________. | |
| A. find out kids" creative ideas B. help kids with their program C. discuss with the teacher D. give children a lecture | |
| 3. The children feel free in the program because ________. | |
| A. they can design future buildings themselves B. they have new ideas and rich imagination C. they are given enough time to design models D. they need not worry about making mistakes |