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科普环保类阅读理解（1）

2016高考英语阅读练习——科普环保类

阅读下面短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。 How could we possibly think that keeping animals in cages in unnatural environments －mostly for entertainment purposes － is fair and respectful? Zoo officials say they are concerned about animals．However, most zoos remain “collections” of interesting “things” rather than protective habitats．Zoos teach people that it is acceptable to keep animals bored, lonely, and far from their natural homes.

Zoos claim to educate people and save endangered species, but visitors leave zoos without having learned anything meaningful about the animals’ natural behavior, intelligence, or beauty．Zoos keep animals in small spaces or cages, and most signs only mention the species’ name, diet, and natural range．The animals’ normal behavior is seldom noticed because zoos don’t usually take care of the animals’ natural needs． The animals are kept together in small spaces, with no privacy and little opportunity for mental and physical exercise．This results in unusually and self-destructive behavior called zoochosis．A worldwide study of zoos found that zoochosis is common among animals kept in small spaces or cages．Another study showed that elephants spend 22 percent of their time making repeated head movements or biting cage bars, and bears spend 30 percent of their time walking back and forth, a sign of unhappiness and pain.

Furthermore, most animals in zoos are not endangered．Captive breeding(圈养繁殖) of endangered big cats, Asian elephants, and other species has not resulted in their being sent back to the wild．Zoos talk a lot about their captive breeding programs because they do not want people to worry about a species dying out．In fact, baby animals also attract a lot of paying customers．Haven’t we seen enough competitions to name baby animals?

Actually, we will save endangered species only if we save their habitats and put an end to the reasons people kill them．Instead of supporting zoos, we should support

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groups that work to protect animals’ natural habitats.

【小题1】How would the author describe the animals’ life in zoos? A．Dangerous． B．Unhappy． C．Natural． D．Easy.

【小题2】In the state of zoochosis, animals _________. A．remain in cages B．behave strangely C．attack other animals D．enjoy moving around

【小题3】What does the author try to argue in the passage? A．Zoos are not worth the public support． B．Zoos fail in their attempt to save animals. C．Zoos should treat animals as human beings. D．Zoos use animals as a means of entertainment.

【小题4】The author tries to persuade readers to accept his argument mainly by _________.

A．pointing out the faults in what zoos do B．using evidence he has collected at zoos C．questioning the way animals are protected D．discussing the advantages of natural habitats

2016高考英语阅读练习——科普环保类

You may have never heard of Lanthanum, Cerium or Neodymium, but these elements

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(元素) and others known as “rare earth” play a major role in modern technology. They can actually be found in many places on the earth, but not in quantities that can be mined. Only a few countries — China, America, India, Australia, Brazil and Malaysia have any that can be mined enough to be traded.

Even though some of these elements such as Cerium are as abundant as Copper, they are not found in concentrated amounts on the earth’s surface. They are often mixed together with other metals, which makes extraction (提取) of these elements an expensive and an environmentally messy process. It was due to this reason that the term “rare earth” was invented.

Rare earth metals are used widely in our life. Rechargeable car batteries, computers, iPhones, DVD players, computer monitors, televisions, lighting, lasers, glass polishing, and superconductors all use quantities of rare earth metals. Also, with the advancement in “green” technology like solar panels, these shiny materials are becoming more important than ever. An average electric car uses 10 pounds of Lanthanum for its rechargeable battery!

America has large deposits (存储量) of rare earths and has one of the first mines. It was opened in Southern California in 1940. The element “Europium” was the first metal to be separated in quantity for use in color televisions. However, in the 1980’s and 1990’s, as China started producing these elements in Inner Mongolia, the mines in America and elsewhere could not keep pace. The mine in Mountain Pass, California also failed environmental regulations and shut down in 2002.

Now, recognizing the importance of having more than one supplier of this important resource, other rare earth owning countries like India and Australia are either dusting off their rare earth mines or speeding up their production. It is believed that the debate over rare earths will become louder in the coming months and years. 【小题1】What can we learn about rare earths? A．They are actually as abundant as Copper. B．They can be mined easily as other metals. C．They can only be found in a few countries. D．They are not really as rare as they are named. 精品K12学习资料