As dangerous as sharks may have seed to people after watching Jaws, which was released on June 20,1975, the recent disastrous decrease in their numbers show that people have proven far more dangerous to sharks.
This disastrous decline is due in large part to commercial fishing of sharks. “The market for
shark fins(鱼翅)in East Asia opened up thanks to changes in their economy, increasing their
ability to spend money on things such as shark fin soup,” Burgess said.
However, the biggest worry for sharks and their relatives, the skates and rays, which are suffering a similar fate, “is how they are killed incidentally when fishermen try and take other fish—the problem of bycatch(渔业混获),” Burgess explained. “They may be thrown back afterward, but they’re still dead.”
The key of the problems behind bringing sharks back is that “they’re not the same as other fish,” Burgess said, “Sharks are slow growing and slow to reach maturity. Sharks are live bearers, which means females keep their young in their body just like us, but instead of nine months, it takes 12 to 18 months or more in sharks. Also, sharks generally can’t give birth again until a year after they’ve given birth—sometimes they’re on a three-year cycle. So once you get a shark population knocked down, this ‘life in the slow lane’ means that recovery is measured in decades rather than years.”\
Burgess said, “I’m on the recovery team for it, but the recovery plan for that is over the course of 100 years. So I won’t see them recover, nor will you, nor will your children. That’s what it means when these animals go down—they’re down a long time.”
Any measures aimed at saving sharks must not only consider byeatch, “which is the real killer right now,” but also encourage interactional cooperation, Burgess said.
“Sharks are very migratory, and many species cross borders,” he said. “We can protect them only by getting many govemment to come aboard. That’s the hardest part about this.”
The text mainly tells us .
A.shark fins are valuable B.sharks are dangerous
C.bycatch brings bad effects D.sharks are in danger
The number of sharks is decreasing mostly because of .
A.the film Jaws B.commercial interests
C.changes in economy D.shark fin soup
Bringing sharks back is difficult because .
A.they’re like the other fish
B.their reproductive rate is slow
C.they can’t give birth again
D.their life cycle is only 3 years
What can be concluded from the last paragraph?
A.Sharks live the way human beings do.
B.It’s time many govemments cooperate.
C.Sharks’ migration takes a very long time.
D.Bycatch shouldn’t be forbidden by intemational laws.
The test is most probably a .
A.newspaper ad B.book review
C.science news report D.science fiction story
科目:高中英语 来源:2012-2013学年广东省汕头市金山中学高二10月月考英语试卷(带解析) 题型:阅读理解
We all remember seeing hitchhikers, standing by the side of the road, thumb, sticking out, waiting for a lift. But it is getting rare nowadays. What killed hitchhiking? Safety is often mentioned as a reason. Movies about murderous hitchhikers and real-life crime have put many drivers off picking up hitchhikers. That no single women picked me up on my journey to Manchester no doubt reflects the safety fear: a large, strangely dressed man is seen as dangerous.
But the reason may be more complex: hitchhiking happens where people don’t have cars and transport services are poor. Plenty of people still hitchhike in Poland and Romania. Perhaps the rising level of car ownership in the UK means the few people lift hitchhiking are usually considered strange. Why can’t they afford cars? Why can’t they take the coach or the train?
Three-quarters of the UK population have access to a car; many of the remainder will be quite old. The potential hitchhiking population is therefore small. Yet my trip proves it’s still possible to hitchhike. The people who picks me up were very interesting-lawyer, retired surgeon, tank commander, carpenter, man who live in an isolated farmhouse and a couple living up in the mountains. My conclusion is that only really interesting people are mad enough to pick up fat blokes in red, spotted scarves. Most just wanted to do someone a good turn; a few said they were so surprised to see a hitchhiker that they couldn’t help stopping.
The future of hitchhiking most likely lies with car-sharing organized over the Internet, via sites such as hitchhikers. org. But for now, you can still stick your thumb out (actually, I didn’t do much of that, preferring just to hold up my destination sign) and people—wonderful, caring, sharing, unafraid people—will stop.
In the UK, with its cheap coaches and reasonable rail service, I don’t think I’ll make a habit of it. But having enjoyed it so much, I’m ready now to do a big trip across Europe and beyond. In the 1970s a female friend of my wife’s hitchhiked to India. How wonderful it would be to have another go, though Afghanistan might be a challenge. I wish I’d got that tank commander’s mobile number.
【小题1】The author tried to hitchhike but was rejected by single women drivers because .
A.they were not heading towards Manchester |
B.they thought most hitchhikers were dangerous |
C.hitchhiking had been banned and they didn’t want to break the law |
D.he was a strong man in strange clothes who seemed dangerous |
A.Movies have discouraged people from hitchhiking |
B.Car ownership levels are lower in Romania than in the UK. |
C.25% of UK people don’t have access to cars. |
D.Increased car ownership has reduced the need for hitchhiking. |
A.murderous hitchhikers | B.friendly and talkative hitchhikers |
C.typical hitchhikers | D.strange hitchhikers like the author |
A.visit websites and find people to share cars with |
B.stand by roads with their thumbs sticking out |
C.stick out signs with their destinations written on |
D.wait for some kind people to pick them up |
A.frequently hitchhikes in Britain |
B.plans to hitchhike across Europe |
C.thinks public transport is safer for travel |
D.is going to contact the tank commander |
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科目:高中英语 来源:2013届江苏省扬州中学高三最后一次模拟考试英语卷(带解析) 题型:阅读理解
Aggressive pedestrians are in fact as dangerous as careless drivers. They cause traffic accidents, injury and death.
These dangerous walkers can be seen in any big city all over the world. About 69% of last year’s pedestrian deaths in the US occurred in urban areas. They cross streets ignoring “DON’T WALK” signals, suddenly appear without warning from behind parked vehicles, walk slowly at crossroads with cell phones attached to heads, blocking traffic.
These pedestrians and drivers share a common disregard for the rules of the road, both for selfish reasons. The drivers believe in the power of their machines. If their machines can go faster, they believe they have the right to go faster. If their machines are bigger, they believe they have the right to push smaller vehicles aside. Aggressive pedestrians, on the other hand, believe in the primacy(首位) of the individual, the idea that they are first in any environment, under any circumstances, even when they are on foot in a roaring tide of steel and rubber.
Last year, an estimated 5,220 pedestrians died in traffic accidents. Some 69,000 pedestrians were injured. On average, that worked out to one pedestrian killed in a traffic crash every 101 minutes, and one injured every eight minutes.
The good news is that the accident rate is dropping. For example, the number of pedestrians killed last year was 24 percent less than the number killed in traffic accidents a decade earlier. The bad news is that the basic causes of pedestrian deaths remain pretty much the same----disregard for traffic signals, inattention and crossing roads under the influence of alcohol and drugs. Alcohol, in fact, was involved in 46 percent of the traffic accidents that resulted in pedestrian deaths. Of those, 31 percent of the pedestrians were found to be drunk.
The bottom line is that the pedestrians must do more to protect their lives as well as the lives of other road users. They can start by obeying traffic signals, using marked cross-walks and calling a cab when they’ve had too much to drink.
【小题1】The passage is mainly about _____.
A.how aggressive pedestrians cause traffic accidents |
B.why so many Americans were killed on roads last year |
C.what the traffic rules of the road about pedestrians were |
D.who are to blame for pedestrian deaths, drunk drivers or the aggressive pedestrians |
A.They know all drivers are skilled and with great care. |
B.They believe individuals are always first. |
C.They think traffic rules have nothing to do with them. |
D.They guess all vehicles will slow down at crossroads. |
A.Disregard for traffic signals | B.Paying no attention to surroundings. |
C.Crossing roads drunk. | D.Overspeeding driving. |
A.Excited. | B.Cold. | C.Concerned | D.Unconnected. |
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科目:高中英语 来源:2013-2014学年浙江省高三上学期期中考试英语试卷(解析版) 题型:阅读理解
This winter, the air quality over the north China plain was so bad that it was actually off the standard scale. The air pollution reached levels that the World Health Organization describes as dangerous. On Thursday, heavy smog blanketed most of northern and eastern China again.
It is reasonable to ask why the air pollution is so bad this winter. Weather conditions and topographic(地形学的) factors have been given as reasons, but, although contributing factors, these are not to blame. The worsening air pollution is linked to an energy mix that relies heavily on coal and to motor vehicle emissions(排放). But despite the astonishing growth of motor vehicles in our cities, it is the burning of coal that is the biggest cause of air pollution. More than half of the country's power plants are located in the eastern region and China's coal consumption has more than doubled in the past decade, reaching 3.8 billion tons last year, accounting for almost half the world's total coal consumption. And with coal occupying nearly 70 percent of the country's primary energy consumption, it has become critical to reduce the use of coal if we are to solve the nation's overall air pollution problem.
In the face of the poisonous air recently, one citizen said, "we have nothing but hot air to purify the skies". In fact, the government plans to have 350 billion yuan ($55.67 billion) investment in improving coal-fired facilities and limiting the use of yellow-label cars that do not meet the Euro I emissions standard and so on.
However, it would be far more effective to reduce emissions at the source, which means that the biggest challenge currently facing government departments is saying "no" to the country's air polluting offenders. According to the Joint Prevention and Control Plan on Air Pollution in Key Regions released recently by the State Council, the amount of coal the nation consumes is set to rise by 30 percent during the period of the 12th Five-Year Plan. This is not going to let anyone breathe easier.
This highlights a key problem when it comes to environmental issues in this country - economic development comes first. The fundamental cause of the worsening air pollution is the idea of economic growth at any cost, which has resulted in ever-worsening pollution. And the priority(优先权)given to economic growth presents another problem, namely the failure of existing environmental protection policies and regulations to control pollution. For instance, the current weak regulations covering emissions would suggest there has been a significant reduction in emissions when clearly this is not the case. Also those enterprises found breaking the regulations are still far lower than the cost of treating the pollution they produce. This means even if many large-scale enterprises with lagging production capacity(能力) fail to meet the requirements for environmental protection, the environmental protection department is incapable of shutting these enterprises down or forcing their relocation.
Dealing with air pollution requires taking action at the local level to reduce vehicle emissions and at the regional level to reduce industrial emissions. But it also requires giving more priority to environmental issues in policymaking. Our hope is that the environmental protection department will be truly capable of saying "no" to pollution, and it will raise standards and effectively enforce them, and that governments at all levels will prioritize quality of life not just economic growth.
1.The writer mentions the heavy smog in parts of China in Paragraph1 in order to_____.
A. remind people to stay in doors because of the bad air quality
B. show people’s concern about the priority to economic growth
C. introduce the issue about the serious air pollution
D. highlight the importance of government’s policies and regulations
2.Why is it a big challenge for the government to say “no” to the air polluting offenders in China?
A. Because enterprises are encouraged to develop economy at the cost of the environment.
B. Because much emphasis has been laid on economic growth regardless of the cost.
C. Because it’s impossible to relocate the enterprises for lack of money.
D. Because the production capacity of enterprises falls behind the required speed.
3.It can be learned from the passage that the essential reason for the worsening air conditions in China is_______.
A. the sharp growth of coal consumption in recent years
B. the rapid increase of motor vehicles in cities
C. the building of power plants in northern China
D. the poor weather conditions caused by complex geographical factors
4.According to the writer, which of the following is the key to solving the air pollution problem?
A. Giving priority to economic development in policymaking.
B. Making environment-friendly policies and carrying them out effectively.
C. Increasing investment in the construction of coal-fired facilities.
D. Limiting the use of cars not meeting the required emission standard
5.Which best describes the writer’s tone in the passage?
A. Pessimistic. B. Convincing. C. Doubtful. D. Concerned.
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科目:高中英语 来源:2012-2013学年江苏省高三3月月考英语试卷(解析版) 题型:阅读理解
If it really is what’s on the inside that counts, then a lot of thin people might be in trouble.
Some doctors now think that the internal(内部的) fat surrounding important organs like the heart or liver could be as dangerous as the external fat which can be noticed more easily.
“Being thin doesn’t surely mean you are not fat,” said Dr Jimmy Bell at Imperial College. Since 1994, Bell and his team have scanned nearly 800 people with MRI machines to create “fat maps” showing where people store fat.
According to the result, people who keep their weight through diet rather than exercise are likely to have major deposits of internal fat, even if they are slim.
Even people with normal Body Mass Index scores can have surprising levels of fat deposits inside. Of the women, as many as 45 percent of those with normal BMI scores (20 to 25) actually had too high levels of internal fat. Among men, the percentage was nearly 60 percent.
According to Bell, people who are fat on the inside are actually on the edge of being fat. They eat too many fatty and sugary foods, but they are not eating enough to be fat. Scientists believe we naturally store fat around the belly first, but at some point, the body may start storing it elsewhere.
Doctors are unsure about the exact dangers of internal fat, but some think it has something to do with heart disease and diabetes. They want to prove that internal fat damages the body’s communication systems.
The good news is that internal fat can be easily burned off through exercise or even by improving your diet. “If you want to be healthy, there is no short cut. Exercise has to be an important part of your lifestyle,” Bell said.
1.According to the pass age, which of the following is WRONG?
A.People with heart disease all have internal fat.
B.People can get rid of internal fat by improving diet.
C.Men are more likely to have too much internal fat.
D.Exercise can help to reduce the internal fat.
2.From the last paragraph, we can find that ______.
A.whether internal fat can lead to disease has been proved
B.exercise plays an important role in people’s life for keeping healthy
C.thin people usually have internal fat even if they are slim
D.it is easier to burn off internal fat than external fat
3.Doctors have found ______.
A.the exact dangers of internal fat
B.internal fat is the cause of heart disease and diabetes
C.being slim doesn’t mean you are not fat inside
D.being slim is not dangerous at all
4.The underlined part in the last paragraph means ______.
A.a long road B.a clear difference
C.an easy way D.a short distance
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