Part A: Reading Comprehension

Text 2

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 government 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 a cureall. Campgrounds are a tiny portion of the overall infrastructure backlog, and businesses 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 break from the commercial drumbeat that overwhelms daily life.

The real problem is that the parks have been chronically starved of funding. An economic survey of 700 U.S. taxpayers 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 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. Meanwhile, the number of annual visitors has increased by more than 50% since 1980, and now stands at 330 million visitors per year.

26. What problem are U.S. national parks faced with?

[A]

Decline of business profits. 

[B]

Inadequate commercialization. 

[C]

Lack of transportation services. 

[D]

Poorly maintained infrastructure. 

27. Increased privatization of the campgrounds may

[A]

spoil visitor experience. 

[B]

help preserve nature. 

[C]

bring operational pressure. 

[D]

boost visits to parks. 

28. According to Paragraph 5, most respondents in the survey would

[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. 

29. The national parks are valuable in that they

[A]

lead the way in tourism. 

[B]

have historical significance. 

[C]

sponsor research on climate. 

[D]

provide an income for the locals. 

30. It can be concluded from the text that the national park system

[A]

is able to cope with staff shortages. 

[B]

is able to meet visitors’ demands. 

[C]

is in need of a new pricing policy. 

[D]

is in need of a funding increase. 

答案解析 (Answers & Explanations)

26. [D] Poorly maintained infrastructure.
解析：细节题。第二段明确指出了国家公园面临的问题：“道路、步道、洗手间、游客中心和其他基础设施正在瓦解（other infrastructure are crumbling）”，并且有超过120亿美元的“维护积压（maintenance backlog）”。“crumbling”和“maintenance backlog”对应了选项D“维护不善的基础设施”。

27. [A] spoil visitor experience.
解析：细节推理题。第四段指出：“日益增加的私有化肯定会削弱（undercut）每年3亿游客来公园的主要原因之一：享受自然，并从淹没日常生活的商业喧嚣中获得喘息（get a break from the commercial drumbeat）”。私有化会破坏人们逃离商业喧嚣的初衷，即“破坏游客体验（spoil visitor experience）”，选A。

28. [C] agree to pay extra for the national parks.
解析：细节题。第五段最后一句写道：“大约81%的受访者表示，他们愿意在未来10年里支付额外的税收（pay additional taxes）以避免对国家公园的任何削减。” “pay additional taxes”直接同义替换为选项C中的“agree to pay extra（同意支付额外费用）”。

29. [B] have historical significance.
解析：细节题。第六段列举了国家公园的诸多价值。最后一句明确指出：“公园还帮助保持美国过去的活力（keep America’s past alive），……以保护历史遗迹（protect historical sites）并将这些地方的故事赋予生命”。这说明国家公园“具有历史意义（have historical significance）”，选B。

30. [D] is in need of a funding increase.
解析：主旨推断题。文章第一段提到“填补资金缺口”的荒谬主意；第二段提到维护资金积压；第五段直接点明核心问题“真正的问题是公园长期极度缺乏资金（chronically starved of funding）”；最后一段总结公园在“预算极低（on a shoestring）”的情况下运作，国会拨款自2001年以来一直“持平（flat）”。贯穿全文的核心论点是：国家公园亟需“增加资金/拨款（a funding increase）”，选D。

核心长难句精解 (High-Light)

1. 修辞问句与不定式短语的运用：
"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?"
【解析】本句是一个反问句（难道真的有人认为……是好主意吗？）。`it` 是形式主语，真正的主语是由 `or` 连接的两个动词不定式短语 `to allow...` 和 `(to allow) food trucks to line up...`。作者用生动且荒谬的画面（在优胜美地收快递、在红杉树下排队买餐车食物）极大地讽刺了将国家公园商业化的提议。

2. why 引导的定语从句与不定式作同位语解释：
"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 break from the commercial drumbeat that overwhelms daily life."
【解析】`why` 引导定语从句修饰 `reasons`。冒号后面的部分 `to enjoy nature and get a break...` 是作为同位语，具体解释说明游客来公园的这个“主要原因”。在解释中，`that` 引导了一个定语从句修饰 `commercial drumbeat`（淹没日常生活的商业喧嚣）。

3. 现在分词作伴随状语：
"The parks also help keep America’s past alive, working with thousands of local jurisdictions around the country to protect historical sites and to bring the stories of these places to life."
【解析】`keep America's past alive` 运用了 `keep + 宾语 + 宾补` 的结构。逗号后面的 `working with...` 是现在分词短语作伴随状语，补充说明公园是如何保持美国历史活力的。在这个状语内部，使用了两个平行的不定式 `to protect...` 和 `to bring...` 表示合作的目的。