2. 外语
  3. Nicola Sturgeon’s speech last Tuesday setting out the Scottish government’s legislative programme for the year ahead confirmed w

Nicola Sturgeon’s speech last Tuesday setting out the Scottish government’s legislative programme for the year ahead confirmed w

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问题     Nicola Sturgeon’s speech last Tuesday setting out the Scottish government’s legislative programme for the year ahead confirmed what was already pretty clear. Scottish councils are set to be the first in the UK with the power to levy charges on visitors, with Edinburgh likely to lead the way.
    Tourist taxes are not new. The Himayalan kingdom of Bhutan has a longstanding policy of charging visitors a daily fee. France’s tax on overnight stays was introduced to assist thermal spa (温泉) towns to develop, and around half of French local authorities use it today.
    But such levies are on the rise. Moves by Barcelona and Venice to deal with the phenomenon of "over-tourism" through the use of charges have recently gained prominence. Japan and Greece are among the countries to have recently introduced tourist taxes.
    That the UK lags behind is due to our weak, by international standards, local government, as well as the opposition to taxes and regulation of our aggressively pro-market ruling party. Some UK cities have lobbied without success for the power to levy a charge on visitors. Such levies are no universal remedy as the amounts raised would be tiny compared with what has been taken away by central government since 2010. Still, it is to be hoped that the Scottish government’s bold move will prompt others to act. There is no reason why visitors to the UK, or domestic tourists on holiday in hotspots such as Cornwall, should be exempt from taxation—particularly when vital local services including waste collection, park maintenance and arts and culture spending are under unprecedented strain.
    On the contrary, compelling tourists to make a financial contribution to the places they visit beyond their personal consumption should be part of a wider cultural shift. Westerners with disposable incomes have often behaved as if they have a right to go wherever they choose with little regard for the consequences. Just as the environmental harm caused by aviation and other transport must come under far greater scrutiny, the social cost of tourism must also be confronted. This includes the impact of short-term lets on housing costs and quality of life for residents. Several European capitals, including Paris and Berlin, are leading a campaign for tougher regulation by the European Union. It also includes the impact of overcrowding, litter and the kinds of behaviour associated with noisy parties.
    There is no "one size fits all" solution to this problem. The existence of new revenue streams for some but not all councils is complicated, and businesses are often opposed, fearing higher costs will make them uncompetitive. But those places that want them must be given the chance to make tourist taxes work.
What does the author say about Western tourists?
选项 A、They don’t seem to care about the social cost of tourism.
B、They don’t seem to mind paying for additional services.
C、They deem travel an important part of their life.
D、They subject the effects of tourism to scrutiny.
答案A
解析 由题干中的Western tourists定位至第五段第二句。事实细节题。第五段第二句指出，西方人经常表现得好像他们有权去任何他们选择的地方，而不用考虑后果，结合本段第三句指出的旅游也会产生社会成本可知，他们不考虑旅游的社会成本，故答案为A)。文章第五段第一句提到，游客在个人消费之外应该为他们参观的地方做出经济贡献这一观念应该是使文化转型更具多样性，但并未阐明西方游客是否愿意为额外的服务买单，故排除B)；文章并未提及游客们对旅行和生活的关系的看法，故排除C)；文章第五段第三句指出，正如航空和其他运输方式对环境造成的危害必须受到更严格的审查一样，我们也必须面对旅游所造成的社会成本，由此可知，应该是政府而非西方游客去仔细审查旅游业的影响，故排除D)。
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