Some 120 kilometers north of Rome, street signs along the road tell drivers they're bound for “the dying town” Civita di Bagnoregio. The village stands on a declining plateau. It has gone through landslides, earthquakes, and erosion since humans' first settlement about 2,500 years ago. Nowadays Civita has been reduced to only 90 by 150 meters.
In the Middle ages, the size of the plateau was three times its size nowadays, and the population was over 3,000， yet the river surrounding Civita gradually made the town collapse from the bottom up. Since 1695, when a destructive earthquake took place in Civita, many people were forced to escape from their hometown, and the population there has never recovered. By the 1920s, there were merely 600 residents in the town. Currently, there are only about 10 residents. What a small population it has!
The survival of Civita is uncertain. However, as the news that the town was about to disappear started to widely spread, more and more people wanted to visit it. Now up to 10,000 people visit Civita per day. And there is doubt as to whether it is dying. The flood of people and money leads to natives longing for the rescue of the town.
Yet the actual situation in Civita is that there are no grocery stores, hardware, or convenience stores. People living there can only have access to a handful of restaurants and tourist shops. Besides, they have to get supplies through a narrow, 300-meter-long bridge that connects them to the outside world.
Today, Civita is pursuing a UNESCO World Heritage designation, in order to earn official recognition of its landscape and adaptability to nature. Recently, the town presented a 242-page document to the UNESCO, hoping that it will help strengthen Civita's role as a site of historical and cultural significance. Also, Civitas UNESCO team plans to create tourist attractions in the surrounding towns. If Civita recovers successfully, other towns in the same situation could find a direction based on its experience.
【小题1】What has made Civita become smaller?| A．The inconvenient transport. | B．The natural conditions. |
| C．The settlement of humans. | D．The decrease of the population. |
| A．Because they want to rescue it. | B．Because they are attracted by its scenery. |
| C．Because they are interested in its natives. | D．Because they want to catch the last chance to see it. |
| A．Unchangeable. | B．Hopeful. | C．Disappointing. | D．Doubtful. |
