Tens of thousands of ancient pictures carved into the rocks at one of France’s most important tourist sites are being gradually destroyed. Scientists and researchers fear that the 36,000 drawings on rocks in Mont Bego in the French Alps are being damaged so rapidly that they will not survive for future generations.

The mountain, believed to have once been a site for prayer, is scattered (散布) with 4,000-year-old drawings cut into bare rock. They include pictures of cows with horns, cultivated fields (耕地) and various gods and goddesses. But as the popularity of the site increases, the pictures are being ruined by thoughtless graffiti (涂鸦).

Jean Clottes is the chairman of the International Committee on Rock Art. He says, “People think that because the pictures have been there so long they will always continue to be there. But if the damage continues at this rate there will be nothing left in 50 years.”

He describes seeing tourists stamping on the drawings, wearing away the rock and definition (清晰) of the artwork as they do so. Some visitors, he says, even cut off parts to take home as souvenirs. “When people think they can’t take a good enough photograph, they rub the drawings to get a clearer picture,” he said. “The drawings are polished by the weather, and if the sun is shining and the visitors can’t see them properly they simply rub them to make them look fresher.” Other researchers describe how people arrive carrying long sticks with sharp ends to scratch (刮) their own drawings, or even their names, in the rocks.

But experts are divided over the best way to preserve the drawings. Henry de Lumley, director of the Museum of Natural History in Paris, believes that the only way to save the site is to turn the whole mountain into a “no-go” area, preventing the public from going there except on guided tours. Otherwise, he says, not only will the site be completely destroyed but important research work will be reduced.

Clottes disagrees, “The measure suggested by Henry de Lumley is the most severe, and while it is the most effective, it is also certain to bring about protests from people who live there,” he said. “The site was classified as a historic monument years ago by the Ministry of Culture, and we must do as much as possible to save what is there.”

David Lavergne, the regional architect, also wants to avoid closing the site. “Henry de Lumley’s idea isn’t ideal,” he said. “Our department feels that the best solution is to let people look at the site, but because the area is very big it is difficult to prevent visitors from damaging it. I would prefer that everyone was able to look at it, but the main problem is money. We do not have the funds to employ the necessary number of guards. We may have to consider charging a fee. It doesn’t seem to be possible to get the government support.”

In Nice, Annie Echassoux, who also worked on researching the site, is alarmed that as the mountain becomes easier to reach — tourists can now avoid the three-and-a-half-hour walk by hiring vehicles — the damage will increase rapidly. She thinks that the only solution is to rope off the area and provide guides. “You can’t say the plan can’t go ahead because there is no money,” she said. “That is not good enough. Money must be provided because the Ministry of Culture has classified this area as a historic site. If we don’t take steps, we will be responsible for losing the drawings for the next generation.”

1.Jean Clottes says that people who visit the mountain____.

A. do not believe the drawings are old.

B. believe they are allowed to paint there

C. think the drawings should be left alone

D. think the drawings will not disappear

2.According to Jean Clottes, some of the visitors to the area have____.

A. helped to clean the drawings

B. taken bits of the rock home

C. been unable to take photographs

D. misunderstood what the pictures mean

3.Henry de Lumley is eager to ____.

A. set up research projects

B. protect public rights

C. keep out individual visitors

D. ban traffic in the area

4.Which word best describes Annie Echassoux’s attitude towards saving the historic site?

A. Supportive. B. Disappointed.

C. Worried. D. Hesitant.

5.This passage has been written about Mont Bego to ____.

A. advertise the closing of the site

B. warn visitors about the dangers of the site

C. encourage scientists to visit the site

D. describe fears for the future of the site

Who needs guard dogs when you have wolves , right? That’s probably what Kazakh villagers in the Almaty region though when they decided to replace their dogs with the fierce forest dwelling beasts. According to local news reports, taming(驯化的) wolves is now the latest trend and a sort of hobby among rural Kazakhs.

Nurseit Zhylkyshybay, a farmer from the south-eastern Almaty region, told reporters that he purchased a wolf cub from hunters three years ago, and the animal is now perfectly tamed.

Kurtka, Nurseit’s pet wolf, lives in the family’s yard and takes long walks through the village with his master. “He’s never muzzled,” Nurseit insisted. “I rarely put him on a chain and do take him for regular walks around the village. Our family and neighbors aren’t scared of him at all.”

But wolf expert Almas Zhaparov said that the animals are ‘far too dangerous’ to keep at home. “A wolf is like a ticking bomb, it can go off at any moment,” he warned. “If nothing is done, the fashion could spread to the wealthy Kazakhs, who might try to keep wolves in the grounds of their houses, with possibly deadly consequences.” Social media users also expressed worry about the trend, accusing the government for failing to limit the practice.

Nevertheless, the wolves don’t seem to be posing an immediate threat. If visuals from news reports are anything to go by, the beasts look pretty happy with their new lifestyle, and appear quite fond of their new masters, not unlike dogs.

1.The writer uses the example of Kurtka to show that____________.

A. wolves can be tamed.

B. wolves are like ticking bombs

C. wolves like living with humans

D. keeping wolves at home is easy

2.The underlined word “muzzled” in Para 3 means___________.

A. puzzled B. beaten

C. got his mouth covered D. got changed

3.According to Almas Zhaparov, keeping wolves at home is___________.

A. a fashion B. a disaster

C. a necessity D. a hone

4.What can we learn from the text?

A. Wolves are easy to get tamed.

B. A pet wolf can become aggressive at any moment.

C. The government will prevent people taming wolves as pets.

D. Wolves are as loyal to their masters as dogs are.

The most frightening words in the English language are, “Our computer is down.” You hear it more and more when you are on business. The other day I was at the airport waiting for a ticket to Washington and the girl in the ticket office said, “I’m sorry, I can’t sell you a ticket. Our computer is down.”

“If your computer is down, just write me out a ticket.”

“I can’t write you out a ticket. The computer is the only one allowed to do so.”

I looked down on the computer and every passenger was just standing there drinking coffee and staring at the black screen. Then I asked her, “What do all your people do?”

“We give the computer the information about your trip, and then it tells us whether you can fly with us or not.”

“So when it goes down, you go down with it.”

“That’s good, sir.”

“How long will the computer be down?” I wanted to know.

“I have no idea. Sometimes it’s down for 10 minutes, sometimes for two hours. There’s no way we can find out without asking the computer, and since it’s down it won’t answer us.”

After the girl told me they had no backup(备用) computer, I said. “Let’s forget the computer. What about your planes? They’re still flying, aren’t they?”

“I couldn’t tell without asking the computer.”

“Maybe I could just go to the gate and ask the pilot if he’s flying to Washington, ” I suggested.

“I wouldn’t know what gate to send you to. Even if the pilot was going to Washington, he couldn’t’t take you if you didn’t’t have a ticket.”

“Is there any other airline flying to Washington within the next few hours?”

“I wouldn’t know,” she said, pointing at the dark screen. “Only ‘IT’ knows. ‘IT’ can’t tell me.

By this time there were quite a few people standing in lines. The word soon spread to other travelers that the computer was down. Some people went white, some people started to cry and still others kicked their luggage.

1.The best title for the article is _______.

A. When the Computer Is Down

B. The Most Frightening Words

C. The Computer of the Airport

D. A different travel

2.What could the girl in the ticket office do for the passengers without asking the computer?

A. She could sell a ticket.

B. She could write out a ticket.

C. She could answer the passengers’ questions.

D. She could do nothing.

3.Why do you think they had not a backup computer?

A. Because it was easy down

B. Because it was not relied on .

C. Because it was not useful.

D. Because it was very expensive.

4.The last paragraph suggests that _______.

A. a modern computer won’t be down.

B. computers can take the place of humans

C. sometimes a computer may bring suffering to people

D. there will be great changes in computers

5.What kind of feeling did passengers have when the computer was down?

A. upset B. determined

C. encouraged D. happy

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