It’s easy to dismiss as absurd the federal government’s ideas for plugging the chronic funding gap of our national parks. Can anyone really think it’s a good idea to allow Amazon deliveries to your tent in Yosemite or food trucks to line up under the redwood trees at Sequoia National Park?
But the administration is right about one thing: U.S. national parks are in crisis. Collectively, they have a maintenance backlog of more than $12 billion. Roads, trails, restrooms, visitor centers and other infrastructure are crumbling.
But privatizing and commercializing the campgrounds would not be the panacea that the Interior Department’s Outdoor Advisory Committee would have us believe. Campgrounds are a tiny portion of the overall infrastructure backlog, and concessionaires in the parks hand over, on average, only about 5% of their revenues to the National Park Service.
Moreover, increased privatization would certainly undercut one of the major reasons why 300 million visitors come to the parks each year: to enjoy nature and get a respite from the commercial drumbeat that overwhelms daily life.
The real problem is that the parks have been chronically starved of funding. We conducted a comprehensive survey examining how U.S. residents view their national parks, and we found that Americans place a very high value on them—whether or not they actually visit them. The peer-reviewed economic survey of 700 U.S. taxpayers, conducted by mail and internet, also found that people would be willing to pay a significant amount of money to make sure the parks and their programs are kept intact. Some 81% of respondents said they would be willing to pay additional taxes for the next 10 years to avoid any cuts to the national parks.
The national parks provide great value to U.S. residents both as places to escape and as symbols of nature. On top of this, they produce value from their extensive educational programs, their positive impact on the climate through carbon sequestration, their contribution to our cultural and artistic life, and of course through tourism.
The parks also help keep America’s past alive, working with thousands of local jurisdictions around the country to protect historical sites—including Ellis Island and Gettysburg—and to bring the stories of these places to life. The parks do all this on a shoestring. Congress allocates only $3 billion a year to the national park system—an amount that has been flat since 2001 (in inflation-adjusted dollars) with the exception of a onetime boost in 2009 as part of the Obama stimulus package. Meanwhile, the number of annual visitors has increased by more than 50% since 1980, and now stands at 330 million visitors per year.
1. What problem are U.S. national parks faced with ________.
2. Increased privatization of the campground may ________.
3. According to para. 5, most respondents in the survey would ________.
4. The national parks are valuable in that they ________.
5. It can be concluded from the text that the national park system ________.
问题1选项
A.decline of business profits
B.inadequate commercialization
C.lack of transportation services
D.poorly maintained infrastructure
问题2选项
A.spoil visitor experience
B.help preserve nature
C.bring operational pressure
D.boost visits to parks
问题3选项
A.go to the national parks on a regular basis
B.advocate a bigger budget for the national parks
C.agree to pay extra for the national parks
D.support the national parks’ recent reforms
问题4选项
A.lead the way in tourism
B.have historical significance
C.sponsor research on climate
D.provide an income for the locals
问题5选项
A.is able to cope with staff shortages
B.is able to meet visitor’ demands
C.is in need of a new pricing policy
D.is in need of a funding increase
第1题:D
第2题:A
第3题:C
第4题:B
第5题:D
第1题:
【选项释义】
What problem are U.S. national parks faced with ________. 美国国家公园面临的问题是________。
A. decline of business profits A. 企业利润下降
B. inadequate commercialization B. 不够商业化
C. lack of transportation services C. 缺乏交通服务
D. poorly maintained infrastructure D. 基础设施维护不善
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词problem可以定位到文章第二段第一句“美国国家公园正处于危机之中（U.S. national parks are in crisis）”，随后具体说明了问题：他们总共有超过120亿美元的维护费用积压下来没有拨款（they have a maintenance backlog of more than $12 billion），从而导致道路、洗手间、游客中心等基础设施摇摇欲坠，因此D选项“基础设施维护不善”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“企业利润下降”在文中没有提及，B选项“不够商业化”和C选项“缺乏交通服务”，在文章并未体现，属于无中生有。
第2题:
【选项释义】
Increased privatization of the campground may ________. 增加露营地的私有化可能会________。
A. spoil visitor experience A. 破坏游客体验
B. help preserve nature B. 帮助保护自然
C. bring operational pressure C. 带来经营压力
D. boost visits to parks D. 增加公园游客
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词privatization可以定位到文章第四段“增加私有化肯定会削弱每年3亿游客来公园的主要原因之一：享受自然，从淹没日常生活的商业鼓声中得到喘息（to enjoy nature and get a respite from the commercial drumbeat that overwhelms daily life）”，因此A选项“破坏游客体验”正确。
【干扰项排除】
B选项“帮助保护自然”和C选项“带来经营压力”在文章并未体现，属于无中生有；
D选项“增加公园游客”与原文提到的“削弱每年3亿游客来公园的主要原因之一”相悖，属于反向干扰。
第3题:
【选项释义】
According to para. 5, most respondents in the survey would ________. 根据第五段可知，大多数受访者会________。
A. go to the national parks on a regular basis A. 定期去国家公园
B. advocate a bigger budget for the national parks B. 倡导增加国家公园的预算
C. agree to pay extra for the national parks C. 同意为国家公园支付额外费用
D. support the national parks’ recent reforms D. 支持国家公园最近的改革
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词most respondents可以定位到文章第五段最后一句“81%的受访者表示愿意在未来10年支付额外的税收，以避免国家公园的削减（Some 81% of respondents said they would be willing to pay additional taxes for the next 10 years to avoid any cuts to the national parks）”，因此C选项“同意为国家公园支付额外费用”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“定期去国家公园”，文章中提到“无论他们是否真的去公园（whether or not they actually visit them”，说明他们并没有定期去国家公园，属于过度推断；
B选项“倡导增加国家公园的预算”和D选项“支持国家公园最近的改革”在文中均没有提及，属于无中生有。
第4题:
【选项释义】
The national parks are valuable in that they ________. 国家公园很有价值是因为它们________.
A. lead the way in tourism A. 引领旅游业
B. have historical significance B. 具有历史意义
C. sponsor research on climate C. 赞助气候研究
D. provide an income for the locals D. 为当地人提供收入
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词valuable可以定位到文章最后两段，这两段内容提到了美国国家公园的价值：帮助美国居民逃离喧嚣；自然的象征；通过教育项目创造价值；对气候产生积极影响；能够让美国的历史充满活力（keep America’s past alive），因此B选项“具有历史意义”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“引领旅游业”，文章倒数第二段虽然提及了旅游业，但是并未提及引领旅游业，属于过度推断；
C选项“赞助气候研究”和D选项“为当地人提供收入”在文中均没有提及，属于无中生有。
第5题:
【选项释义】
It can be concluded from the text that the national park system ________. 从本文可以得出结论，国家公园制度________。
A. is able to cope with staff shortages A. 能够应对员工短缺
B. is able to meet visitor’ demands B. 能满足游客需求
C. is in need of a new pricing policy C. 需要新的价格政策
D. is in need of a funding increase D. 需要增加资金
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词national park system可以定位到文章最后一段最后两句，这部分内容提到国会每年拨给国家公园系统的资金只有30亿且自2001年来一直没变化，而每年的游客量却在不断增长，说明公园体系需要增加拨款来满足游客的不断增加。因此D选项“需要增加资金”正确。
【干扰项排除】A选项“能够应对员工短缺”，B选项“能满足游客需求”和C选项“需要新的价格政策”在文中均没有体现，属于无中生有。
【参考译文】
联邦政府提出的填补国家公园长期资金缺口的想法很容易被认为是荒谬的。难道真的有人会认为，让亚马逊送货到你在约塞米蒂国家公园的帐篷，或者让餐车在红杉国家公园的红杉树下排队是个好主意吗？
但有一点政府是对的：美国国家公园正处于危机之中。总体而言，国家公园积压的维护费用超过120亿美元。道路、步道、公共厕所、游客中心和其他基础设施都摇摇欲坠。
但是，将露营地私有化和商业化并不是内政部户外咨询委员会希望我们相信的灵丹妙药。露营地在整个积压的基础设施中只占很小的一部分，公园的特许经营商平均只将大约5%的收入上交给国家公园管理局。
此外，增加私有化肯定会削弱每年3亿游客来到公园的主要原因之一：享受大自然，从淹没日常生活的商业喧嚣中获得喘息。
真正的问题是公园长期缺乏资金。我们对美国居民如何看待国家公园进行了全面调查，发现美国人非常重视国家公园——无论他们是否真正游览过国家公园。通过邮件和互联网对700名美国纳税人进行的经济调查也发现，人们愿意支付大量资金以确保公园及其项目保持完好。约81%的受访者表示，他们愿意在未来10年内支付更多税款，以避免国家公园遭到任何削减。
国家公园作为避暑胜地和大自然的象征，为美国居民提供了巨大的价值。最重要的是，国家公园还通过广泛的教育项目、通过碳固存对气候产生的积极影响、对我们的文化和艺术生活的贡献，当然还有通过旅游业创造价值。
这些公园还与全国数千个地方司法管辖区合作，保护包括埃利斯岛和葛底斯堡在内的历史遗迹，并将这些地方的故事娓娓道来，从而帮助美国的历史得以延续。这些公园只花很少经费就能做到这一点。美国国会每年仅向国家公园系统拨款30亿美元——这一数额自2001年以来一直持平（按通胀调整后的美元计算），只有2009年作为奥巴马经济刺激计划的一部分得到了一次性增加。与此同时，自1980年以来，每年的游客数量增长了50%以上，目前每年的游客数量已达3.3亿人次。
【出处】《洛杉矶时报》2019.12.2
