单选题 Despite improvements in state and local monitoring, America's beaches remain threatened by pollution and too many are not tested for water quality, according to a report today by an environmental organization. In its ninth annual "Testing the Waters" survey of vacation beaches, the Natural Resources Defense Council reported a record number of beach closings and swimming advisories in 1998. Many of those were due to pollution stirred up by storms that hit southern California last year caused by the phenomenon known as El Nino.
One positive reason for the large number of closings, the group reported, is better monitoring of water quality by state and local beach authorities. The report praises Myrtle Beach, S.C., and the state of Georgia derided as "beach bums" in previous annual reports for enacting new monitoring and public notification programs.
But Alabama, Louisiana, Oregon and Washington still lack any regular monitoring of beach water for swimmer safety, while Mississippi, Texas and Puerto Rico test beaches but have no public notification programs, according to the report.
"We are issuing this report ... as a reminder of how unchecked pollution continues to lower our quality of life and threaten public health," the NRDC wrote. "We hope this will provide an incentive for Congress, the Environmental Protection Agency, states and localities to improve controls over the sources of coastal, pollution and to close the gaps in monitoring and public notification along our coasts."
The annual report has been criticized for not recognizing distinctions among states with beaches. State officials in Washington, for instance, have pointed out that their beaches are used far less for swimming and surfing than beaches in states like Florida, New Jersey and California.
The NRDC says nine states -Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania -"comprehensively monitor most or all of their beaches and notify the public when health hazards exist".
The NRDC reported there were at least 7,236 days of closings and advisories in 1998 at ocean, bay, Great Lakes and freshwater beaches around the nation. There also were 41 extended closings and advisories lasting six to 12 weeks, and 36 that lasted more than 12 weeks.
Most of the beach closings and advisories were the result of tests that showed unhealthy levels of bacteria in the water, usually caused by sewage or stormwater discharges. About a quarter of the closings were caused by a specific pollution event.

单选题 The first paragraph points out that

单选题 What does "advisory" (line 6, paragraph 1) mean?

单选题 According to the second paragraph, the reason for most beach closings is

单选题 Which of the following statements is true according to the text?

单选题 What may be the best title for the text?