Millions of people visit Yosemite National Park every year to see the tall waterfalls and mountains. These mountains are a splendid sight when viewed from the valley floor. Lots of stores, hotels, and restaurants are needed to handle the crowds. Also, water, roads, and other service systems are part of the infrastructure( 基础设施)that must be maintained.
Unfortunately, these systems are starting to break down. It is not just in Yosemite but in national parks around the nation.
Yosemite is thirty years old according to Dennis Galvin, a National Park Service worker. The park is not only old but worn out. Two or three times as many visitors come every year. That is too many visitors for the park to deal with.
Four years ago a storm washed out a water pipeline in the Grand Canyon. The National Park Service had to send water trucks to provide water for the visitors. Last month pipe almost broke again and roads had to be closed for a while.
Why hasn’t the National Park Service kept up the park repairs? There is lack of money. The United States has 378 mountains, parks, and wilderness areas. Between three and four billion dollars are needed for repairs.
Yosemite is one national park that does have money fro repairs. It has two hundred million dollars but cannot spend it any way it chooses. When the park workers started widening the road, they were forced to stop by the Sierra Club. The club claimed that the road work was damaging the Merced River that runs through the park.
A Sierra Club lawyer, Julia Olson, feels that the infrastructure needs to be moved out of Yosemite. That way less pressure will be put on the already crowed park.
1. According to the text, the mountains in Yosemite look most splendid when
they are appreciated from _______ .
A.the bottom of the valleys |
B.the top of the mountains |
C.the side of the mountains |
D.the edge of the valleys |
2.National parks like Yosemite in the U.S. find it increasingly difficult to
meet the need of visitors because _______ .
A.their transport management needs improving |
B.they spend too much on their service systems |
C.their service systems frequently go out of order |
D.they need help from environmental organizations |
3.The main problem of Yosemite Park is its ________ .
A.modern water pipes |
B.overcrowdedness |
C.lack of water |
D.narrow roads |
4. According to the text, the Sierra Club is most likely to be _______ .
A.an environmental group |
B.an information center |
C.a travel service |
D.a law firm |
Compassion is a desire within us to help others. With effort, we can translate compassion into action. An experience last weekend showed me this is true. I work part-time in a supermarket across from a building for the elderly. These old people are our main customers, and it’s not hard to lose patience over their slowness. But last Sunday, one aged gentleman appeared to teach me a valuable lesson. This untidy man walked up to my register(收款机) with a box of biscuits. He said he was out of cash(现金), had just moved into his room, and had nothing in his cupboards. He asked if we could let him have the food on trust. He promised to repay me the next day.
Icouldn’t help staring at him. I wondered what kind of person he had been ten or twenty years before, and what he would be like if luck had gone his way. I had a hurt in my heart for this kind of human soul, all alone in the world. I told him that I was sorry, but store rules didn’t allow me to do so. I felt stupid and unkind saying this, but I valued my job.
Just then, another man, standing behind the first, spoke up. If anything, he looked more pitiable. “Charge it to me,” was all he said.
What I had been feeling was pity. Pity is soft and safe and easy. Compassion, on the other hand, is caring in action. I thanked the second man but told him that was not allowed either. Then I reached into my pocket and paid for the biscuits myself. I reached into my pocket because these two men had reached into my heart and taught me compassion.
1. The aged gentleman who wanted to buy the biscuits ______.
A.promised to obey the store rules |
B.forgot to take any money with him |
C.hoped to have the food first and pay later |
D.could not afford anything more expensive |
2.Which of the following best describes the old gentleman?
A.kind and lucky |
B.poor and lonely |
C.friendly and helpful |
D.hurt and disappointed |
3. The writer acted upon the store rules because ______.
A.he wanted to keep his present job |
B.he felt no pity for the old gentleman |
C.he considered the old man dishonest |
D.he expected someone else to pay for the old man |
4.What does the writer learn from his experience?
A.Wealth is more important than anything else. |
B.Helping others is easier said than done. |
C.Experience is better gained through practice. |
D.Obeying the rules means more than compassion. |
-– David has made great progress recently.
–- _________, and ________.
A.So he has; so you have |
B.So he has; so have you |
C.So has he; so have you |
D.So has he; so you have |
The only _______ to living in the countryside is the inconvenient transportation.
A.disadvantage |
B.drawback |
C.shortcoming |
D.fault |
-– Do you like his joke?
-– Not at all. ________.
A.It’s full of humor. |
B.It’s too interesting. |
C.It’s too obvious. |
D.It’s really silly. |
The picture, _______ on the wall, is painted by a famous painter.
A.hanging |
B.hung |
C.hanged |
D.is hanging |