The Global Heritage Fund organization recently released a list of cultural treasures in the developing world that are in danger of disappearing. These“On the Verge” places face many threats. They included war, development pressures, stealing and misuse by visitors. The Global Heritage Fund says these places are important because they are records of our human civilization. And the group says countries can learn to use these treasures to help support responsible development in the future.
One such place is the town of Lamu. Lamu was once a very important trading center in East Africa. This ancient city became part of the United Nations Heritage list in 2001. But it still faces threats. For example, a modern port might be built nearby.
Other endangered places include Ani, a city in Turkey, the town of Maluti in India, the ancient city of Ninevah in northern Iraq, the Sans-Souci palace in Haiti, and the former capital of Ayutthaya in Thailand.
The Global Heritage Fund is nonprofit organization based in California. The group says it only focuses on developing countries which often have few resources to protect places of cultural importance. And, other major cultural organizations often pay more attention to protecting places in the developed world. For example, the fund points out the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization has forty-five World Heritage places in Italy. UNESCO has forty-two in Spain. But Peru, famous for its ancient Incan buildings, has only nine World Heritage places. Guatemala has only three.
The Global Heritage Fund says its new report tries to place a value on cultural places so that they can also be considered as economic resources. It estimates that by 2025 these places of cultural importance could produce one hundred billion dollars a year in income for developing countries.
小题1: The underlined part “On the Verge” in Paragraph 1 is used to show the places are _____.
A．popular
B．famous
C．endangered
D．dangerous小题2: The town of Lamu faces danger from ________.
A．development pressures
B．stealing
C．misuse by visitors
D．a war小题3: We can know that The Global Heritage Fund organization mainly _____.
A．protects places of cultural importance in developing countries
B．protects places of cultural importance in developed countries
C．provide resources to protect cultural places in every country
D．helps people know the importance of protecting cultural treasures小题4: Which of the following countries has the fewest World Heritage places?
A．Italy
B．Guatemala
C．Peru
D．Spain小题5: According to The Global Heritage Fund organization, saving the places of cultural
importance_______.
A．has attracted a lot of attention worldwide
B．will start to benefit developing countries in 2015
C．is mainly to increase income of developing countries
D．can help developing countries make money out of them
