巴以冲突升级-高中英语时文阅读外刊精选精练

高中英语时文阅读外刊精选精练

巴以冲突升级

【原文·外刊阅读】

Preventing Palestine-Israel conflict escalation imperative

（文章来源：CNN）

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Monday that it's imperative to prevent the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict from escalating further and causing even more serious humanitarian hardship.

The current Palestinian-Israeli conflict affects the whole world and involves a major choice between war and peace, Wang, also member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said in a phone conversation with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen.

Cohen introduced Israel's position and security concerns on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

China is deeply concerned about the continued escalation of the conflict and the worsening situation, and deeply saddened by the large number of civilian casualties caused by the conflict, Wang said.

China condemns all acts that harm civilians and

opposes any violation of international law, said Wang, adding that all countries have the right to self-defense, but they should respect international humanitarian law and protect the safety of civilians.

The two-state solution is the consensus of the international community, Wang added.

It is hoped that the two sides can consider the current situation as well as the long-term interests of peace and security shared by future generations, return to the right track of the two-state solution as soon as possible, resume peace talks and realize the peaceful coexistence of Palestine and Israel and the harmonious coexistence of the Arab and Jewish nations, he said.

China will firmly support anything that is conducive to peace and will do its best as long as it is conducive to the reconciliation between Palestine and Israel, he said.

During a phone conversation with Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Maliki, Wang said what the people of Gaza need most is security, food and medicine, rather than war, weapons and ammunition.

Al-Maliki introduced the position of the Palestinian side, calling for an immediate ceasefire, the transportation of relief goods to the Gaza Strip as soon as possible, and treating the injured.

Al-Maliki expressed appreciation for China's support to the Palestinian people and hoped that with the help of the international community, the Palestinian issue can be solved from the root, and the establishment of an independent nation can be realized.

Wang said that China deeply sympathizes with the plight of the Palestinian side, especially the people in Gaza, and calls for an immediate ceasefire to stop the war and guarantee the most basic living conditions of the people in Gaza.

The UN Security Council should earnestly shoulder its responsibilities, and the international community must take urgent actions, said Wang, adding that countries outside the region, especially major countries, should adhere to objectivity and fairness and play a constructive role in de-escalating the crisis.

Noting that the two-state solution is the only way to solve the Palestinian issues, Wang said China calls for the convening of a more authoritative, more wide-ranging and more effective international peace conference as soon as possible to promote the early resumption of peace talks between Palestine and Israel and, to this end, formulate a specific timetable and roadmap.

【原创·阅读理解】

1. What is Al Maliki's attitude towards China's response to the Palestinian issue ? A. Anxious. B. Favourable. C. Sympathetic. D. Satisfied.

2. What does Wang Yi think is the solution to the Palestinian issue ? A. International peace conference. B. Security Council intervention. C. The two-state solution. D. Military conflicts.

3. Which menu on the website can we see the article? A. International news. B. Domestic military. C. Political affairs. D. Economic Forum.

【精选·名校好题】

Ⅰ

（2023·济宁高三开学考）Around the world, girls do better than boys at school. These are the findings of a recent study that looked at the test results of 1.5 million 15-year-olds in 74 regions across the globe. The level of gender equality in those regions made no difference to the results. Other factors, such as the income level of the region also had little impact on the findings. In only three regions - Colombia, Costa Rica and the Indian state Hunches Pradesh- was the trend reversed with boys doing better.

So what are the causes of girls’ stronger performance? In the UK, girls outperform boys in exams that are taken at the age of 15 or 16, called GCSEs. According to education expert Ian Toone, this is down to the way girls and boys are brought up. “Boys are encouraged to be more active from an early age, while girls are encouraged to be quieter… Therefore, girls develop the skill of sitting still for longer periods of time, which is used for academic pursuits like studying for GCSEs.”

He goes on to say that boys often cluster together in larger groups than girls. Because of this they are more likely to be influenced by peer pressure and develop a gang mentality. He says that GCSEs require a lot of solo work and are not viewed as ‘cool’ in boys’ culture.

This is backed up by research in the UK that says girls are out-performing boys at the age of five. So, what is the answer: Should girls and boys be educated separately? Or do exams and school curricula need to be changed to better reflect boys’ skills? These are the questions facing educators in many countries. 1．What can we learn from the first paragraph? A．Girls outperform boys in exams in most cases. B．Boys do better in school in poorer areas. C．Girls do better if they are socially equal to boys. D．Boys are not working hard enough in exams.

2．According to Ian Toone, what might account for the phenomenon? A．Different characters and personalities. B．Different attitudes to learning. C．Different ways of raising children. D．Different methods in exams.

3．What is the author’s purpose in writing the text? A．To provide answer to a difficult question. B．To raise awareness in gender differences. C．To advocate separating boys and girls. D．To change school curricula to benefit boys.

4．What might the author discuss in the following paragraphs? A．Education reforms in some Countries. B．Examples of boys’ achievement. C．New systems of examinations. D．Advertisement of some schools.

Ⅰ

（河南省TOP二十名校高三调研）New discoveries and technological breakthroughs are made every year. Yet, as the information industry moves forward, many people in society are looking back to their roots in terms of the way they eat. A “locavore” movement has emerged in the United States. The movement supports eating foods grown locally and sustainably, rather than prepackaged foods shipped from other parts of the world.

Experts hold that eating local has many merits, and is expected to become a trend featuring sustainability. Erin Barnett is the director of Local Harvest, a company that aims to help connect people to farms in their area. By eating local, she argues, people have a better and more personal understanding of the impact their food consumption has on the rest of the world. “There is a way of connecting the point, where eating locally is an act that raises our awareness of sustainable living,” Barnett says.

The United States’ agricultural output is one of the highest in the world, says Timothy Beach, a professor of geography and geoscience at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas. “There’s just no other place on Earth where the amount of input is so productive,” Beach says of American agriculture. “Nobody can cut off the food we need.”

However, the US food system is not sustainable because of its dependency on fossil(化石) fuels, says Beach. Equipment used on “extremely productive”, farms is quickly consuming Earth’s natural resources, particularly oil. Additionally, the production of agricultural supplements(补充剂), such as fertilizer, uses large amounts of energy. The world has used close to half of the global oil supply, Beach says, and the second half will be consumed at an even faster rate because of growing population and economic development. Although many businesses are experimenting with wind, solar, and biofuel, Beach says there’s nothing that we see on the horizon that can replace it. “There is no way on Earth we are using fossil fuels sustainably. Then we have to reconsider the impact of eating local,” he says.

5．What does the underlined word “merits” in Paragraph 2 probably mean? A．Aspects. B．Advantages. C．Challenges.

D．Explanations.

6．What’s the weakness of the agriculture in the United States? A．It consumes too many natural resources. B．It has a relatively low agricultural output. C．Large equipment is not widely employed. D．Agricultural supplements aren’t available. 7．What’s Beach’s view on natural resources? A．Dependency on oil is and will be a big issue. B．People will use less and less oil in the future. C．The use of fossil fuels features sustainability. D．There are better replacements for fossil fuels. 8．What can be a suitable title for the text? A．Scientific Ways to Eat Local B．Is Eating Local Sustainable? C．Efforts to Promote Local Foods D．Are Local Foods Enough?