1、2022最新英语时事阅读题四（适用于初三和高一学生）A篇Researchers say that as few as three majorcriminalgroups are responsible for smuggling African elephant ivory tusks. And the research comes as Africas elephant population isdecreasingquickly. The elephant population in Africa isestimatedto be about 415,000. In 1979, there
2、 were about 1.3 million elephants on thecontinentand 100 years ago, the number was 5 million.The new study waspublished in Nature Human Behavior. The researchers examined the DNA of elephant tusks andevidenceincluding telephone,financial, automobile and shipping records. They used the information to
3、identifyconnections in trafficking(交易) operations across the continent.Biologist Samuel Wasser of the University of Washington is a lead writer of the study. He said he hopes it helps police target the leaders of thesenetworksinstead of the elephant killers themselves. If you can stop the trade wher
4、e the ivory is being consolidated(合并,加强) andexportedout of the country, those are really the key players, said Wasser.Each year, an estimated 500 metric tons ofpoachedelephant tusks are shipped from Africa, mostly to Asia. For around twenty years, Wasser has been interested in a few key questions: W
5、here is most of the ivory beingpoached, who is moving it, and how many people are they? He has samples from the tusks of more than 4,300 elephants taken out of Africa from 1995 to thepresent.Biologist Robert Pringle, who was not involved in the study, praised the work. He said the data showsconnecti
6、onsthat can lead to strong inferences(推论).In 2004, Wasser showed that DNA from elephant tusks and waste could be used to find an elephants home location to within a few hundred kilometers. In 2018, herecognizedthat findingidenticalDNA in tusks from two different ivory seizures(没收) meant they were ta
7、ken from the same animal andlikelyby the samepoachingnetwork. The new researchidentifiesDNA belonging to elephant parents and children, as well as brothers and sisters. Such genetic(基因的) links can provide information for wildlife officials seeking otherevidencecell phone records,licenseplates, shipp
8、ing documents(文件) andfinancialstatementsto link different ivory shipments.John Brown III is a special agent(特工) with the United StatesHomelandSecurityDepartmentand wrote the study with Wasser. The agents work on environmentalcrimesgoes back 25 years. Brown has told the Associated Press that in the p
9、ast, a single seizure ofillegalgoods would rarely lead to theidentificationof the major crime group responsible. But now, he said, The DNA links can alert(使警觉) us to the connections between individual seizures.The new research led to thediscoverythat only a very fewcriminalgroups are behind most of
10、the ivory trade in Africa. Researchersidentifiedseveralpoachinghotspots, including areas ofTanzania,Kenya,Botswana,Gabonand Republic of Congo. Tusks are often moved to storage centers where they areloadedinto shipping containers with other illegal goods. Then, the containers go toportsfor travel out
11、 of Africa.Brian Arnold, a Princeton University biologist who was not involved in the research, said, Confronting（面对）these networks is a great example of how genetics can be used for conservation purposes.（526 words） 根据文章内容，选择最佳答案：1. The researchers studied the DNA of elephant tusks and evidence in
12、order to _. A. make sure the number of criminal groups. B. estimate the number of African elephant. C. find the connections in tusk trade around the world. D. find the reasonswhy the elephant population is decreasing.2. Who donottake part in the study? A. Samuel Wasser and Robert PringleB. John Brow
13、n III and Brian ArnoldC. Samuel Wasser and John Brown IIID. Robert Pringle and Brian Arnold3. Samuel Wasser thinks the most important thing to protect the elephants is _. A.to find and stop the elephant killers. B. to find and stop the major crime group who collect and sell the tusk. C. to find and
14、stop the buyers around the world. D. to study and use genetics to find the homes of elephants.4. What does the underlined wordpoachmean?A. to cook food B. to hunt illegallyC. to keep in safety D. to sell and buy5. According to the report, which statement isuntrue? A. The elephant population is going
15、 down quickly. B. The police used the study to find the people who killing elephants and moving the tusks. C. Only a very few criminal groups are trading most of the ivory in Africa. D. The researchers study the geneticlinks to find the poaching hot spots.答案：1C2D3B4B5BB篇Koalas were declaredendangere
16、dFriday in easternAustralia. More koalas are dying from disease, losthabitatand otherthreats. Earlier, koalas had been considered avulnerablespecies. Federal EnvironmentMinisterSussan Ley lowered their conservation status on the countrys east coast in Queensland, New South Wales and the Australian C
17、apital Territory. The governmentsThreatenedSpecies Scientific Committeerecommendedthe change.Many koalas inAustraliasuffer from chlamydia. The disease causes blindness,infectionsand infertility.Last year, the Australian Koala Foundation said the country has lost about 30 percent of its koalas in the
18、 past three years. In 2020, a parliamentaryinvestigationwarned the species might becomeextinctbefore 2050 without immediate help. The number of koalas in Queensland has fallen by half since 2001 because of lack of water, fires and deforestation. Some are killed inattacksby dogs, or hit by cars.Koala
19、s have gone from no-listing tovulnerableto endangered within adecade. That is ashockinglyfastdecline, said Stuart Blanch. He is a conservation scientist with the World Wildlife Fund-Australia. Blanch added that koalas will goextinctif new laws are not passed to protect forests.The Australian Koala F
20、oundationestimatesthat there are less than 100,000 Koalas left in the wild. There may be as few as 43,000. Summer forest fires in 2019 and 2020 killed at least 6,400 of the animals. Rescue workers tried hard to save them andtreattheirinjuries. There have been manypressures on the koala. The Black Su
21、mmer fires, of course, wasa tipping point.But we know the koala is vulnerable to climate change and to disease, Ley told reporters Friday.Ley said the government is working to protect the animal. She saidvaccinesare being given to koalas topreventandtreatchlamydia, and drones(无人机) are being used to
22、study them and rebuild their habitat. The government says that listing koalas as endangered will bringattentionto them and helpaddressthreats.But conservation groupsarguemore has to be done to prevent theirextinction. The Australian Koala Foundation has called for legislation(立法) to protect them and
23、 prevent land clearing and mining projects that are destroying their habitats. It says koalas are also in danger across Victoria and South Australia.Changing their status to endangered does not really help, said Deborah Tabart. She is the head of the foundation. Behind all the photoopportunitiesand
24、political rhetoric(花言巧语的) they (the federal government) continue toapprovethedestructionof koalahabitat, she said.(424 words) 根据文章内容，选择最佳答案：1. According to the report, we can learn that most koalas die from the followingsexcept _. A. disease and bad climate B. forest firesC. the destruction from hum
25、an D. attacks from other animals2. Which is the most important to protect koalas inAustralia? A. Stopping the deforestation B. Listing koalas as endangeredC. Vaccinating the animals D. Passing new laws to protect the species.3. Scientists estimate that the extinction of koala will happen _ without i
26、mmediate help. A. In three years. B. within a decadeC. before 2050 D. after 20 years4. Which of the following words matches its definition incorrectly? A. vulnerable- weak and easily hurt B. address details of where somebody lives or works C. decline- change toward something smaller or lower D. dest
27、ruction- destroying something5. Which isnotmentioned in the report for the government doing to protect koalas? A. Giving them vaccines.B. Studying koalas with drones. C. Rebuilding the habitats for the species.D. Continuing the legislation.答案：1D2D3C4B5DC篇An old steel-making center in Beijing is gett
28、ing new life as a place for shopping, eating and working. Now, it is also being shown on televisions during this years Winter Olympics. The center has large cooling towers and smokestacks, which are big industrial structures for dealing with pollution and heat.This month, however, they are being see
29、n with the Olympic ski jumping competition known as Big Air. In the competition, the skiersslidedown a 64-meter high, 164-meter-long ramp togainspeed before they jump into the air and dotricks. As they rise, television cameras show them with the factory in the background.Some people watching used so
30、cial media to say the images made them wonder if the Olympics were being held in Springfield, the home of the Simpsons family. In the cartoon, Homer Simpson worked at a nuclear power center.Chinaclosed the Shougang steel factory before the 2008 Summer Olympics toreduceair pollution. Since then, the
31、factory has been turned into a place where people work, eat and walk on grassy areas. The old parts of the factory are still there. But many of the spaces have been turned into offices. Alex Hall is an American freestyleskier. He said: The crazy smokestack things in the back are pretty cool.Big Air
32、skiing is new for this Olympics. The snowboard version of theeventhappened for the first time four years ago in Pyeongchang,South Korea. Theeventusually takes place in mountain ski areas or intemporaryplaces inside sports stadiums. But the Shougang ramp(坡道) is apermanentstructure. Other Big Air even
33、ts around the world are made using materials that are easy to take down when the event ends.Chinese officials hope that Beijing will be a place for future competitions. The competitors like the ramp because the structure issecure. When theycompeteontemporaryramps, they do not feel as safe. Some of t
34、hem said the city ramp is just as good as the ones in the mountains. They are able to do their usual tricks without worrying about running out of space.American skier Nick Goeppercomparedthe place to something you would see in a video game. American-born skier Eileen Gu won gold competing forChinain
35、 the event on Tuesday. She saidpermanentski jumps are a good idea for the sport. She called it fantastic, or really good, and noted thatit feels like being on aglacieralthough it is in the city. Skier Kirsty Muir ofGreat Britaincalled the place amazing and cool. Antoine Adelisse ofFrancesaid he was
36、a little sad to be at the top of the jump and not see mountains. However, he liked how it looked at night with the bright lights.There is a question about how many cities will able to build a structure like the one inChina. The ramp in Beijing is built into a larger seating area that can be used for
37、 concerts and otherperformances. Goepper said more competition places like the one in Shougang would help the sport find new fans since more people can see the event in cities.Zhang Li designed the ramp and said it is supposed to look like aribbonfloatingin the air.(546 words) 根据文章内容，选择最佳答案：1. How d
38、o the cooling towers and smokestacks become famous? A. They areplacesfor shopping, eating and working. B.They can deal with pollution and heat. C. They are being seen with the Olympic ski jumping competition known as Big Air. D. They look like the buildings in Springfield, the home of the Simpsons f
39、amily.2.Chinachanged the old steel-making center in the following ways except _. A. closing the factory before the 2008 Summer Olympics B. turning it into a place where people work, eat and walk on grassy areas. C. turning many of the spaces into offices D. pulling down the old parts of the factory3
40、. Which of the following is true? A. The snowboard version is new for this Olympics. B. The Shougang ramp will be taken down after the Beijing Olympics. C. The competitors will feel safer when they compete on Shougang ramp. D. The ramp for Olympics inSouth Koreais also a permanent structure.4. Antoi
41、ne Adelisse felt _ when doing tricks on the ramp because he couldnt see mountains. A. fantastic B. amazed C. surprised D. sad5. From Goepper we can learn that _. A. the old steel-making center will be a popular place in Beijing. B. the sports on snow will be more and morepopular in cities.C. you wil
42、l see large cooling towers and smokestacks in future video games.D. Beijing will be a place for future competitions.答案：1C2D3C4D5BD篇Nineteen-year-old Zara Rutherford set the world record Thursday as the youngest woman to fly alone around the world. Rutherford took the Guinness World record that had b
43、een held by 30-year-old American flyer Shaesta Waiz since 2017. The youngest male to fly alone isBritainsTravis Ludlow. He set that record on July 12, 2021, when he was 18 years and 150 days old.The British-Belgianpilotstarted her trip around the world on August 18. It covered 51,000 kilometers over
44、 52 countries and five continents. On Thursday, Rutherford landed her small airplane back in westernBelgium.Its just really crazy, I havent quiteprocessedit, she said.The flight was supposed to take three months. But bad weather and visadelays kept her grounded andextendedthe trip by about two month
45、s.Rutherford started inBelgiumand headed west overBritain,Iceland, and Greenland. The path took her overCanada, theUnited States, and Latin America. Rutherford could not leave Alaska for a month because of weather and visadelays. A winter storm forced another long stop in the Russian Far East before
46、 she traveled toKorea,Indonesia,India, the Middle East, and back to Europe.To meet the requirement for a round-the-worldflight, Rutherford had to land on two points opposite each other on Earth: Jambi inIndonesiaand Tumaco inColombia. The teenager said the last part of her trip, fromGermany, had bee
47、n difficult. She had to deal with rain and snow coming out of Frankfurt. But she was happy to beaccompaniedby the Belgian Air Forces Red Devils team before landing. The people wereincredible, everywhere, she said.Rutherford said she has been traveling in small planes with herpilotparents since she was six. Shegainedher pilotslicensein 2020 and started flying herself at 14. Rutherford dreams of being an astronaut. She hopes her trip will get more women interested in science, technology, and aviation(航空).On her website, Rutherford wrote
