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  3. It’s easy to dismiss as absurd the federal government’s ideas for plugging the chronic funding gap of our national parks. Can an

It’s easy to dismiss as absurd the federal government’s ideas for plugging the chronic funding gap of our national parks. Can an

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问题     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 cure-all. 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—including Ellis Island and Gettysburg—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 as pail of the Obama stimulus package. Meanwhile, the number of annual visitors has increased by more than 50％ since 1980, and now stands at 330 million visitors per year.
What problem are U. S. national parks faced with?
选项 A、Decline of business profits.
B、Inadequate commercialization.
C、Lack of transportation services.
D、Poorly maintained infrastructure.
答案D
解析 细节题。根据题干关键词U.S. national parks定位到第二段第三句。定位句指出，道路、小径、卫生间、游客中心以及其他基础设施都亟待维护。由此可知，国家公园的基础设施亟待维护。选项D 符合文义。本文并未提及有关国家公园的利润的问题，故排除选项A；根据第一、二段可知，美国政府想通过增强国家公园商业化的程度来解决资金短缺的问题，但民众认为这个想法很荒谬，由此可知，商业化不足不是美国国家公园面临的问题，故排除选项B；选项C为无中生有，故排除。
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