第三部分 阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）

The National Park Service of the United States began in 1916 when 358,000 people went to national parks. In 2004, the national park system had 276,000,000 visitors.

Visitors have a wide choice of places. The national park system has about 400 protected areas, which include parks, monuments, historic places, rivers, trails, seashores and lakeshores. They cover about 34,000,000 hectares in area.

The first national park in the world is Yellowstone, most of which is in Wyoming. It was set up in 1872. But the idea of protecting areas from development was put forward years earlier. American painter George Catlin offered the idea during the 1830s.

Once Yellowstone opened, it became a place where animals and other natural resources were protected. Today millions of people visit Yellowstone National Park.

A businessman from Chicago, Stephen Mather, became the first director of the National Park Service in 1916. He was very important to the success of the park. He retired in 1929. At that time, national parks covered more than twice as much land as they had when the National Park Service began.

Other major expansions（扩张） took place in 1930s and around the middle of the 20th century.

The National Park Service has two main jobs. One is to protect America’s national parks. The other is to help visitors enjoy them. Some people think these two jobs conflict（矛盾）, saying some of the problems of the parks are the result of too many people visiting them. For example, the many vehicles in national parks cause pollution and road damage.

72. Why does the author compare the number of visitors in 2004 to that in 1916?

A. To show national parks are interesting to visit.

B. To show more people are concerned about wildlife.

C. To prove national parks have attracted more children.

D. To prove American national parks are the best in the world.

73. We learn from the text that         .

A. the idea of building protecting areas came in 1872

B. there are more than 500 protected areas in the USA

C. George Catlin offered the idea of protecting areas from development

D. Yellowstone started as a park for animal protection

74. How many major times did American national parks enlarge their area?

A. Once.                           B. Twice.

C. Four times.              D. Three times.   

75. What is the text mainly about?

A. American national parks.

B. How national parks developed.

C. The history of American national parks.

D. The Yellowstone National Park.

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