阅读理解

Questions 71 to 80 are based on the following passage.
【真题来源:2018年6月大学英语四级真题(第一套)Part Ⅲ,Section B,第36-45题】

As Tourists Crowd Out Locals, Venice Faces "Endangered" List

A) On a recent fall morning, a large crowd blocked the steps at one of Venice' s main tourist sites, the Rialto Bridge. The Rialto Bridge is one of the four bridges spanning the Grand Canal. It is the oldest bridge across the canal, and was the dividing line between the districts of San Marco and San Polo. But on this day, there was a twist; it was filled with Venetians, not tourists.

B) " People are cheering and holding their carts in the air," says Giovanni Giorgio, who helped organize the march with a grass-roots organization called Generazione '90. The carts he refers to are small shopping carts—the symbol of a true Venetian. " It started as a joke," he says with a laugh. " The idea was to put blades on the wheels! You know? Like Ben Hur. Precisely like that, you just go around and run people down. "

C) Venice is one of the hottest tourist destinations in the world. But that' s a problem. Up to 90,000 tourists crowd its streets and canals every day—far outnumbering the 55,000 permanent residents. The tourist increase is one key reason the city' s population is down from 175,000 in the 1950s. The outnumbered Venetians have been steadily fleeing. And those who stick around are tired of living in a place where they can' t even get to the market without swimming through a sea of picture-snapping tourists. Imagine, navigating through 50,000 people while on the way to school or to work.

D) Laura Chigi, a grandmother at the march, says the local and national governments have failed to do anything about the crowds for decades, because they' re only interested in tourism—the primary industry in Venice, worth more than $3 billion in 2015. "Venice is a cash cow," she says, "and everyone wants a piece. "

E) Just beyond St. Mark' s Square, a cruise ship passes, one of hundreds every year that appear over their medieval (中世纪的) surroundings. Their massive wake creats waves at the bottom of the sea, weakening the foundations of the centuries-old buildings themselves. " Every time I see a cruise ship, I feel sad," Chigi says. "You see the mud it drags; the destruction it leaves in its wake? That hurts the ancient wooden poles holding up the city underwater. One day we'll see Venice break down. "

F) For a time, UNESCO, the cultural wing of the United Nations, seemed to agree. Two years ago, it put Italy on notice, saying the government was not protecting Venice. UNESCO considers the entire city a World Heritage Site, a great honor that means Venice, at the cultural level, belongs to all of the world' s people. In 2014, UNESCO gave Italy two years to manage Venice' s flourishing tourism or the city would be placed on another list—World Heritage In Danger, joining such sites as Aleppo and Palmyra, destroyed by the war in Syria.

G) Venice' s deadline passed with barely a murmur (嘟哝) this summer, just as UNESCO was meeting in Istanbul. Only one representative, Jad Tabet from Lebanon, tried to raise the issue. " For several years, the situation of heritage in Venice has been worsening, and it has now reached a dramatic situation," Tabet told UNESCO. "We have to act quickly, there is not a moment to waste. "

H) But UNESCO didn' t even hold a vote. " It' s been postponed until 2017 ," says Anna Somers, the founder and CEO of The Art Newspaper and the former head of Venice in Peril, a group devoted to restoring Venetian art. She says the main reason the U.N. cultural organization didn' t vote to declare Venice a World Heritage Site In Danger is because UNESCO has become " intensely politicized. There would have been some back-room negotiations. "

I) Italy boasts more UNESCO World Heritage Sites than any other country in the world, granting it considerable power and influence within the organization. The former head of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, which oversees heritage sites, is Francesco Bandarin, a Venetian who now serves as UNESCO' s assistant director-general for culture.

J) Earlier this year, Italy signed an accord with UNESCO to establish a task force of police art detectives and archaeologists (考古学家) to protect cultural heritage from natural disasters and terror groups, such as ISIS. The accord underlined Italy' s global reputation as a good steward of art and culture.

K) But adding Venice to the UNESCO endangered list—which is dominated by sites in developing and conflict-ridden countries—would be an international embarrassment, and could even hurt Italy' s profitable tourism industry. The Italian Culture Ministry says it is unaware of any government efforts to pressure UNESCO. As for the organization itself, it declined a request for an interview.

L) The city' s current mayor, Luigi Brugnaro, has ridiculed UNESCO and told it to mind its own business, while continuing to support the cruise ship industry, which employs 5, 000 Venice residents.

M) As for Venetians, they' re beyond frustrated and hoping for a solution soon. " It' s a nightmare for me. Some situations are really difficult with tourists around," says Giorgio as he navigates around a swelling crowd at the Rialto Bridge. "There are just so many of them. They never know where they are going, and do not walk in an orderly manner. Navigating the streets can be exhausting. "

N) Then it hits him; This crowd isn' t made up of tourists. They' re Venetians. Giorgio says he' s never experienced the Rialto Bridge this way in all his 22 years. " For once, we are the ones who are blocking the traffic," he says delightedly. " It feels unreal. It feels like we' re some form of endangered species. It' s just nice. The feeling is just pure. " But, he worries, if tourism isn't managed and his fellow locals continue to move to the mainland, his generation might be the last who can call themselves native Venetians.

单选题

The passing cruise ships will undermine the foundations of the ancient buildings in Venice.

【正确答案】 E
【答案解析】

该段前两句提到,在圣马可广场旁,一艘游轮经过,每年都会有数百艘像这样的游轮出现在这种中世纪环境中。它们剧烈的尾波使海底波涛汹涌,动摇了有着上百年历史的古建筑的根基。题干中的undermine对应于原文中的weakening,ancient buildings对应于原文中的centuries-old buildings,故答案为E。

单选题

The Italian government has just reached an agreement with UNESCO to take measures to protect its cultural heritage.

【正确答案】 J
【答案解析】

该段首句提到,今年早些时候,意大利与联合国教科文组织签署了一项协议,成立由文物侦探和考古学家组成的工作组,以保护其文化遗产免受自然灾害和像ISIS这样的恐怖组织的破坏。题干中的reached an agreement是对原文signed an accord的同义转述,故答案为J。

单选题

The heritage situation in Venice has been deteriorating in the past few years.

【正确答案】 G
【答案解析】

该段第三句提到,塔贝特告诉联合国教科文组织:“几年来,威尼斯的遗产状况一直在恶化,现在问题已经变得非常严峻。”题干中的the heritage situation对应于原文中的the situation of heritage,deteriorating对应于原文中的worsening,故答案为G。

单选题

The decrease in the number of permanent residents in Venice is mainly due to the increase of tourists.

【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】

该段第四句提到,游客人数的增加是威尼斯市人口下降的一个关键原因,20世纪50年代威尼斯的人口为17.5万人。题干中的the increase of tourists对应于原文中的the tourist increase,mainly due to对应于原文中的one key reason,故答案为C。

单选题

If tourism gets out of control, native Venetians may desert the city altogether one day.

【正确答案】 N
【答案解析】

该段最后一句提到,乔治担心如果旅游业得不到管理,他的同胞们会继续移居大陆,他们可能是可以称自己为威尼斯人的最后一代人了。题干中的gets out of control对应于原文中的isn't managed,desert the city altogether对应于原文中的move to the mainland,故答案为N。

单选题

UNESCO urged the Italian government to undertake its responsibility to protect Venice.

【正确答案】 F
【答案解析】

该段末句提到,2014年,联合国教科文组织给了意大利两年时间来治理威尼斯泛滥的旅游业,否则这座城市将和在叙利亚战争中被摧毁的阿勒颇和巴尔米拉遗址一起,被列入另一个名单——“濒危世界遗产名录”。可见联合国教科文组织对意大利政府保护威尼斯进行了敦促,故答案为F。

单选题

The participants in the Venetian march used shopping carts to show they were 100% local residents.

【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】

该段前两句提到,人们欢呼雀跃,将推车举在空中。这里所说的推车是小型购物车——地道威尼斯人的象征。题干是对原文这两句话的提炼总结,故答案为B。

单选题

Ignoring UNESCO' s warning, the mayor of Venice maintains his support of the city' s tourism industry.

【正确答案】 L
【答案解析】

该段提到,威尼斯市现任市长路易吉-布鲁加洛曾嘲讽联合国教科文组织,让它不要多管闲事,并且继续支持雇有5000名威尼斯居民的游轮行业。题干中的the mayor of Venice对应于原文中的the city's current mayor,maintains his support对应于原文中的continuing to support,故答案为L。

单选题

One woman says that for decades the Italian government and local authorities have only focused on the revenues from tourism.

【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】

该段提到,一位参加游行的老奶奶劳拉-奇吉说,地方政府和国家政府几十年来都没有对这种拥挤状况采取过任何行动,因为他们只在乎旅游业——这是威尼斯的支柱产业,2015年时价值超过30亿美元。题干中的the Italian government and local authorities对应于原文中的the local and national governments,only focused on对应于原文中的only interested in,故答案为D。

单选题

UNESCO has not yet decided to put Venice on the list of World Heritage Sites In Danger.

【正确答案】 H
【答案解析】

该段倒数第二句提到,联合国文化组织没有投票将威尼斯认定为“濒危世界遗产”的主要原因是:联合国教科文组织已经变得极度政治化。题干中的has not yet decided对应于原文中的didn't vote to declare,故答案为H。