【TheillegalivorytradehasbeenamajorprobleminAfricafordecades.Poachers(偷猎者)andhuntershavekilledoffhundredsofthousandsofelephantstoobtainthispreciousmaterial.Now,affectedareasaretakingaction.TheInternational】

　　TheillegalivorytradehasbeenamajorprobleminAfricafordecades.Poachers(偷猎者)andhuntershavekilledoffhundredsofthousandsofelephantstoobtainthispreciousmaterial.Now,affectedareasaretakingaction.TheInternationalUnionforConservationofNature(IUCN)announcedonWednesdaythatkeystateswherepoachingtakesplacehavepromisedtostoptheivorytradeandprotectAfrica’selephants.

　　Inthe1980s,asmanyas1millionelephantsacrossAfricawerekilledfortheirivorytusks.Thiscontinueduntil1989,whentheConventiononInternationalTradeinSpecies(CITES)votedtobanalltradeinivory.Withtradechokedoff,demandforivoryfell.Elephantpopulationsslowlybegantoincrease.However,thisprogresswasshort-lived.

　　AccordingtotheIUCN,2011sawthehighestlevelsofpoachingandillegalivorytradinginatleast16years.Around25,000elephantswerekilledinAfricathatyear.PreliminarydatafromtheIUCNshowsevenhigherlevelsofillegaltrademayhavebeenreachedin2013.“Withabout22,000elephantsillegallykilledin2012,wecontinuetofaceacriticalsituation,”saidJohnE.Scanlon,CITESSecretary-General.“CurrentelephantpoachinginAfricaremainsfartoohigh,andcouldsoonleadtolocalextinctionsifthepresentkillingratecontinues.”

　　AttheAfricanElephantSummit,keyAfricanstateswhereelephantsmaketheirhomeagreedtodevelopa“zero-toleranceattitude”towardspoaching.Thedealcallsformaximumsentencesforpoachersandhunters,andincreasedcooperationbetweenaffectedstates.Officialsaredeterminedtoclassifyingwildlifetradingasaseriouscrime—andtomakingsurethatthepeoplewhocommititarepunished.Allparticipantsattheconferenceagreedtosignthedeal.Withthesestatescomingtogether,theremayyetbehopeforelephants.(293words)

　　小题1:What’sthebesttitleforthispassage?A．NewHopeforElephants.B．Elephantsaredying.C．Elephantsarevaluable.D．Howtoprotectelephants小题2:Theunderlinedphrase“chokedoff”inParagraph2canbereplacedby“________”.A．appreciatedB．preventedC．admittedD．explored