The
National Trust in Britain plays an increasingly important part in the
preservation for public enjoyment of the best that is left unspoiled of the
British countryside. Although the Trust has received practical and moral support
from the Government, it is not a rich Government department. It is a voluntary
association of people who care for the unspoiled countryside and historic
buildings of Britain. It is charity which depends for its existence on voluntary
support from members of the public. Its primary duty is to protect places of
great natural beauty and places of historical interest. The
attention of the public was first drawn to the dangers threatening the great old
houses and castles of Britain by the death of Lord Lothian, who left his great
seventeenth- century house to the Trust together with the 4,500-acre park and
estate surrounding it. This gift attracted wide publicity and started the
Trust's "Country House Scheme". Under this scheme, with the help of the
Government and the general public, the Trust has been able to save and make
accessible to the public about one hundred and fifty of these old houses. Last
year about one and three quarters of a million people paid to visit these
historic houses, usually at a very small charge. In addition to
country houses and open spaces, the Trust now owns some examples of ancient wind
and water mills, nature reserves, five hundred and forty farms and nearly two
thousand five hundred cottages or small village houses, as well as some complete
villages. In these villages no one is allowed to build, develop or disturb the
old village environment in any way and all the houses are maintained in their
original sixteenth-century style. Over four hundred thousand acres of coastline,
woodland, and hill country are protected by the Trust and no development or
disturbances of any kind are permitted. The public has free access to these
areas and is only asked to respect the peace, beauty and wildlife.
So it is that over the past eighty years the Trust has become a big and
important organization and an essential and respected part of national life,
preserving all that is of great natural beauty and of historical significance
not only for future generations of Britons but also for the millions of tourists
who each year invade Britain in search of a great historic and cultural
heritage.
单选题
The National Trust is financed by both personal donations and
government allocations.
单选题
The public may enter in a wood under the protection of the National
Trust without paying any money, but they are not allowed to bring in canned food
and beverage.