1 . Thirty-two cases of illegal hunting or trading wild animals have been uncovered involving 33 suspects since a crackdown against illegal wildlife trade was launched on April 10.
Beijing police seized 74 wild animals grouped in China into the first-grade and second-grade state protected animals, including African grey parrots and cockatoos, as well as nearly 50 wild birds and 21 pangolin scales.
On April 16, police in the capital city’s Chaoyang district caught two suspects, who were respectively identified as Liu and Wang, for buying wild animals, and recovered more than 40 wild birds, including one cockatoo and one African grey parrot, at their homes, the statement said, adding the two suspects have been detained (拘留).
In another case, a 35-year-old man surnamed Hu was also sentenced to imprisonment in Daxing district after he was found selling wild animals through QQ, a popular instant messaging tool in the country. He was caught on April 14.
The bureau highlighted the importance of protecting the wildlife, noting Chinese laws and a new decision adopted by the nation’s top legislature (立法机关) have also shown the country’s determination against illegal trade of wild animals.
The Chinese Criminal Law clarifies that those illegally hunting, buying, selling or transporting wild animals on the state protection list, endangered animals or the wildlife-related products will face an imprisonment of more than 10 years and fines if their behaviors are identified as “extremely serious”.
On Feb 24, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, the country’s top legislative body, also passed the decision that clearly states all wildlife on the protection list of the existing Wild Animal Protect Law or other laws, and all wild animals, including those artificially bred and farmed, are not permitted to be hunted or traded.
With the strict crackdown campaign against illegal trade of wild animals on the go in Beijing, the whole nation is attaching great importance to wild life protection.
1. The author mentions the cases at the very beginning of the passage to ______ .| A．explain the new laws on wildlife protection |
| B．show the present situation of wildlife extinction |
| C．highlight the problem of illegal trade of wild animals |
| D．introduce Beijing’s campaign against illegal wildlife trade |
| A．The number of wild animals is decreasing sharply. |
| B．Hunting and trading wildlife has become a nationwide concern. |
| C．Effective actions have been taken to prevent wildlife from illegal trade. |
| D．The strong action to stop trading illegal wild animals has a long way to go. |
| A．serious actions of trading wild animals will face fierce punishment |
| B．people risk heavy fines but no imprisonment for trade of wildlife |
| C．the trade of wildlife-related products will receive no punishment |
| D．those who hunt illegally may face 10 years of imprisonment |
| A．Determined. | B．Hopeful. | C．Unconcerned. | D．Doubtful. |
2 . When your alarm clock rings and you drag yourself out of bed, you probably wonder： Why on earth does school have to start so early?
Fortunately, there is a new law to support—or better still, science.
A law in California, passed on Oct 13, requires that public middle schools begin classes no earlier than 8：00 am and that high schools start no earlier than 8：30 am. The law will go into effect by July 1, 2022.
Starting school at 8：00 or 8：30 in the morning may not sound like too big of a change, but it could mean one more hour of sleep for students who used to start school at 7:30 or even earlier.
"The effect of that one hour is something they will be feeling as 40-year-old adults," Sumit Bhargava, a sleep expert at Stanford University, told The New York Times. He said that not having enough sleep can affect students' mental health and increase the risk of being overweight and diabetes （糖尿病）.
In the short run, students' school performances should improve almost immediately. Kyla Wahlstrom, a researcher at the University of Minnesota's College of Education, found that students who have enough sleep are alert in class and get much more satisfying grades.
Some might say that asking students to go to bed earlier could have been a much easier solution than changing the school timetable across an entire state. But according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, teenagers go through biological changes when they enter puberty （青春期）,which makes it difficult for them to fall asleep before 11：00 pm. So when school starts at 8：00 or earlier, they can hardly get the ideal 8.5-9.5 hours of sleep that experts suggest they need to do their best in the daytime.
This is why when the new law came out, its author, Anthony Portantino, said, "Generations of children will come to appreciate this historic day and our governor for taking action."
1. Which of the following is TRUE about the law?| A．The law has not been put into practice. |
| B．The law requires schools to start later than 8：30am. |
| C．The law will be passed by July 1, 2022. |
| D．The law is made by a university in California. |
| A．Friendly. | B．Sharp. |
| C．Calm. | D．Honest. |
| A．About 8 hours. | B．About 9 hours. |
| C．At least 10 hours. | D．At most 8. 5 hours. |
| A．Lack of sleep could lead to health problems. |
| B．The amount of sleep people need changes with age. |
| C．A new law lets students sleep longer. |
| D．Sleeping problems are leading problems for teenagers. |
