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Perhaps now so more than ever, it's important to take time to appreciate the beauty of our natural world.In the US, all you have to do is turn to the national parks for inspiration.
Not only do these parks offer hiking, camping and wildlifespotting service, but they each have interesting stories to tell that make them truly unique from others designated by the National Park Service.Just check it out for yourself with these fun, fascinating facts about each national park.
Acadia
Location: Maine
Size: 65 square miles
Fact: Sprawling across Mount Desert Island, off the coast of eastern Maine, Acadia became the first national park east of the Mississippi River in 1929 and, today, is still the only national park in the northeast.
American Samoa
Location: South Pacific
Size: 21 square miles
Fact: Located outside of the continental US, the American Samoa territory is spread out across three islands and happens to be the country's only national park in the southern hemisphere.
Arches
Location: Utah
Size: 119 square miles
Fact: There are more than 2,000 natural rock arches in (the appropriately named)Arches National Park, which is the biggest concentration of formations in the country.
Badlands
Location: South Dakota
Size: 379 square miles
Fact: At Badlands National Park, in the vast plains of South Dakota, visitors can witness a geological wonder. The rocks here are still eroding (被侵蚀) at a rate of 1 inch per year, which is a rapid rate for rocks, according to the National Park Service.
Big Bend
Location: Texas
Size: 1,252 square miles
Fact: At remote Big Bend National Park, geological history runs deep.Hundreds of millions of years ago, two inland seas flowed through the region, and as a result, there are thick stores of limestone and shale (页岩) throughout the park.
语篇解读：本文是一篇应用文。文章介绍了五个公园，这些公园不仅提供徒步旅行、野营和野生动物观察服务，而且每个公园都有有趣的故事可讲，这使它们真正独特于其他由国家公园管理局指定的公园。
1．In all the national parks mentioned, which of the following visitors can NOT experience?
A．Hiking. B．Swimming.
C．Camping. D．Wildlifespotting.
解析：选B 细节理解题。根据第二段中的Not only do these parks offer hiking, camping and wildlifespotting service可知，在这些公园里可以徒步旅行，野营和野生动物观察，但没有提到游泳。故选B项。
2．Which park is not in the main land of US?
A．Acadia. B．Arches.
C．American Samoa. D．Badlands.
解析：选C 细节理解题。根据American Samoa中的Fact: Located outside of the continental US可知，American Samoa不在美国大陆，故选C项。
3．What is unique to Badlands?
A．It has everchanging rocks.
B．It has large amounts of limestone.
C．It is the only national park in the northeast.
D．It has a history of hundreds of millions of years.
解析：选A 细节理解题。根据Badlands中的The rocks here are still eroding (被侵蚀) at a rate of 1 inch per year, which is a rapid rate for rocks, according to the National Park Service.可知，Badlands的独特之处在于它的岩石每年都在以1英寸的速度被侵蚀，即它拥有不断变化的岩石。故选A项。
