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The Threat of Tourism
As air travel gets cheaper, more and more people are visiting
famous sites around the world. Although this increase in tourism
brings economic benefits to the areas around these sites, tourists also
cause unexpected problems. In particular, some famous works of art
are being affected. This is because people's breath increases carbon
dioxide and humidity levels. Gradually, these levels damage, old
paintings and other works of art.
One famous site facing this problem is the Sistine Chapel in the
Vatican in Rome. The 500-year-old paintings, especially the famous
ceiling by Michelangelo, are so popular that as many as 2,000 people
may be viewing them at a time. In 1994, after noticing that the
visitors' breath was damaging the paintings, the Vatican purchased an
expensive air-conditioning system to protect them. However, the
crowds continued to increase, so in 2014, the Vatican decided to limit
the number of visitors to about 6 million a year.
Another site that faces a similar problem is the Mogao Caves in
Dunhuang, China. These caves are full of beautiful Buddhist
paintings and sculptures that attract thousands of visitors every year.
Many of the artworks are very old and, as with the Sistine Chapel, the
carbon dioxide in the breath of visitors is gradually damaging them.
Originally, 40 of the 400 caves were open to visitors, but this number
was reduced by half in 2014. In addition, the number of visitors
allowed into the caves has been greatly reduced.
A different solution is being tried in the Ajanta Caves in
Maharashtra, India. The caves also have many ancient Buddhist
paintings in them, and these too are being damaged. In order to
protect the paintings, visitors are quickly rushed through the caves.
However, many visitors complained about the short time, saying they
could not look at the paintings properly, so the local government built
a visitors' center with exact copies of the caves. Visitors are allowed
to study these copies for as long as they like. The local government
hopes this will provide a good balance between protecting the
paintings and giving tourists a good experience.
(30) As the number of tourists increases,
1 unexpected economic problems occur among people living
around famous sites.
2 the carbon dioxide and humidity in their breath harm the
things they go to see.
3 air pollution caused by the carbon dioxide from airplanes
increases.
4 people have trouble breathing because of the high levels of
humidity.
(31) In 1994, the Vatican
1 allowed only 2,000 tourists to look at its paintings by
Michelangelo.
2 invited 6 million visitors to see its 500-year-old wall
paintings on one day.
3 installed an air-conditioning system in order to make visitors
more comfortable.
4 tried to reduce damage to its paintings by buying an air-
conditioning system.
(32) What is one thing that has been done to protect the Buddhist
artworks in Dunhuang?
1 More of the Mogao Caves have been closed to visitors.
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2 Visitors are being asked to avoid breathing too close to the
paintings.
3 Some of the visitors are being taught new ways to preserve
paintings.
4 The number of visitors has been reduced from 400 to 40 a day.
(33) Why were some visitors to the Ajanta Caves unhappy?
1 The majority of the paintings have turned out to be copies.
2 There were not as many Buddhist paintings as they had
expected to see.
3 They did not have enough time to look at the paintings inside
the caves.
4 The long lines at the visitors' center have prevented them
from seeing the paintings.
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