Our children and grandchildren may not have a chance to visit many of the most famous places around the world. War, weather, age, traffic and pollution damage these famous places. Looking after these places often costs more than one country can afford.
In the early 1970s, world governments decided that if they joined together, they would be able to preserve our history. If every country paid some money, they said, it would be possible to look after important historic places. Also, if they discovered that a monument needed urgent help, they would have money for repairs. For these reasons, countries around the world united to form the World Heritage Organization in 1972. Today, the organization helps to maintain and restore the most important places from our history.
However, one of the biggest problems for historic places is vandalism. People sometimes enter the sites and destroy or damage the buildings. At some sites, such as Stonehenge(巨石阵）in England, governments have built high fences to protect the site from vandals.
There are many different ideas about how to solve the problem of vandalism. Stone experts say that if guards patrolled the sites, vandals would not be able to get in. Some experts say that if they fixed more television cameras, they would not need so many guards. Other experts say that the best solution is education. If people learned to respect history, they would not destroy or damage it. They would also want to spend money looking after old places. For this reason, the World Heritage Organization helps to spread information about the value of historic sites.
10. Why did countries all over the world unite to form the World Heritage Organization?
A. It would be able to keep our history.
B. It would be possible to take care of important historic places.
C. They would have money to do some repairs if a monument needed help.
D. All of the above.
11. Which of the following shows us the action of vandalism?
A. People enter the sites and cause damage to the buildings
B. Governments build high fences to protect the site from vandals
C. Guards patrolled the sites and they fixed more television cameras
D. They collect as much money as they can to preserve the buildings
12. What’s the best way to solve the biggest problem of preserving our history?
A. Every country spends more money looking after these places
B. To form the World Heritage Organization
C. Too many guards are needed to prevent vandals getting in
D. To make people know more about the value of historic sites