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| People travel for a lot of reasons. Some tourists go to see battlefields or religious shrines. Others are looking for culture, or simply want to have their picture taken in front of famous places. But most European tourists are looking for a sunny beach to lie on. European are willing to pay a lot of money and put up with a lot of inconveniences for the sun because they have so little of it. Residents of cities like London, Copenhagen, and Amsterdam spend a lot of their winter in the dark because the days are so short, and much of the rest of the year in the rain. This is the reason the Mediterranean has always attracted them. Every summer, more than 25 million people travel to Mediterranean resort and beaches for their vacation. They all come for the same reason: sun! The huge crowds mean lots of money for the economies of Mediterranean countries. Italy's 30,000 hotels are booked solid every summer. And 13 million people camp out on French beaches, parks and roadsides. Spain's long sandy coastline attracts more people than anywhere else. 37 million tourists visit yearly, or_one_tourist_for_every_person_living_in_Spain. But there are signs that the area is getting more tourism than it can handle. The Mediterranean is already one of the most polluted seas on earth. And with increased tourism, it's getting worse. The French can't figure out what to do with all the garbage left by campers around St. Tropez. And in many places, swimming is dangerous because of pollution. None of this, however, is spoiling anyone's fun. The Mediterranean gets more popular every year with tourists. Obviously, they don't go there for clean water and solitude. They tolerate traffic jams and seem to like crowded beaches. They don't even mind the pollution. No matter how dirty the water is, the coastline still looks beautiful. And as long as the sun shines, it's still better than sitting in the cold rain in Berlin, London, or Oslo. 1. The writer seems to imply that Europeans travel mostly for the reason that ________. A. they want to see historic remains or religious spots B. they are interested in different cultural traditions and social customs C. they would like to take pictures in front of famous sites D. they wish to escape from the cold, dark and rainy days back at home 2. In Paragraph 2, cities like London, Copenhagen, and Amsterdam are mentioned________. A. to show that they are not good cities in terms of geography and climate B. to tell us how wealthy their residents are C. to suggest that these cities lack places of historic interest and scenic beauty D. to prove that they have got more tourism than they handle 3. According to the passage, which of the following countries attracts more tourists than the others? A. Italy. B. Spain. C. Greece. D. France. 4. The latter half of the last sentence in Paragraph 3, "or one tourist for every person living in Spain" means ________. A. all the 37 million people living in Spain are tourist B. every year almost as many tourists visit Spain as there are people living in that country C. every person living in Spain has to take care of a tourist D. every Spanish is visited by a tourist every year |