With the recent release of behind-the-scenes underwater photos from upcoming movie "Avatar 2," combined with news that "Avatar 3" is almost done filming, there's perhaps no finer time to revisit the national park that many believe inspired the incredible scenery of the original film. The Zhangjiajie National Forest Park in Hunan, China is famous for its towering, pillar-like karst (喀斯特) formations, and bears a remarkable resemblance to the floating landscape of alien-world Pandora, which plays an important role in the movie.

One of the fastest ways to experience the area is by riding up the world's tallest outdoor elevator. The 326-meter-tall glass Bailong Elevator was built onto the side of a cliff in the national park and offers extremely attractive views of the karst formations. The Bailong Elevator consists of three double-decker lifts, each of which can transport as many as 46 visitors up the mountain in less than two minutes per trip. It serves as an easy gateway to some of the main attractions of the park including Golden Whip Stream, Tianzi Mountain and views of the Southern Pillar of Heaven. Alternatively, visitors can hike up the mountain, which takes about 2.5 hours.

Completed in 2002 with a hefty price tag of RMB 180 million ($27 million), the lift hasn't always been celebrated. Local experts and scholars initially criticized the project, saying construction of the Bailong Elevator, which began in 1999, damaged the natural scenery. Weighed down by debates and safety concerns, lift operations were stopped completely three months after it first opened. Demolition was discussed, but the elevator ended up reopening 10 months later.

Some 18 years after its opening, the Bailong Elevator remains one of the hottest attractions in the park. It carried up to 18,000 tourists each day before the Covid-19 outbreak. Following weeks of lockdown, Zhangjiajie reopened in March this year. In spite of the pandemic, it has raked in RMB104 million ($15 million) in the first three quarters of 2020 — but that's still a 67.82% decrease compared to last year. Jin Xin, Zhangjiajie's executive vice president and secretary of the board, told China's National Business Daily that daily visitor numbers have recovered to 70% of pre-Covid figures. 

本时文内容由奇速英语国际教育研究院原创编写，未经书面授权，禁止复制和任何商业用途，版权所有，侵权必究！（作者投稿及时文阅读定制请联系微信：18980471698）

1.What does the author say about the movies?

A Avatar 2 is all filmed underwater.

B Avatar 3 has already been finished filming.

C Avatar is filmed in the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park.

D Avatar is related to the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park.

解析：选D。细节理解题。由第一段可知，Avatar 2并不是全部在水下拍摄，Avatar 3即将完成拍摄，Avatar并不是在张家界拍的，只是“inspired”，故选D。

2.What can we learn about Bailong Elevator from paragraph 2?

A It owns world's tallest karst formations.

B It’s not the only way to the mountain top.

C It can lead to four main attractions.

D It takes two minutes per trip.

解析：选B。推理判断题。由第二段可知，百龙电梯是世界最高的户外电梯，并不是它拥有最高的喀斯特地貌，百龙电梯可通往Golden Whip Stream, Tianzi Mountain and views of the Southern Pillar of Heaven三个景点，每趟少于两分钟，排除ACD，根据最后一句可知选B。

3.What does the underlined phrase “a hefty price tag” in paragraph 3 mean?

A Appropriate price.

B Construction period.

C Experts’ criticism.

D High cost.

解析：选D。词义猜测题。根据第三段第一句中RMB 180 million ($27 million)可知该项目花费很大，成本很高，故选D。

4.What are the statistics in the last paragraph about?

A Annual income.

B Tourist number.

C Current situation.

D Decrease rate.

解析：选C。推理判断题。根据最后一段数据，包括历史时间、游客数量、造价、游客数量降低率等综合可知，最后一段主要讲该景点的现状，故选C。

5.What is the text mainly about?

A The coming of Avatar 2.

B The production of Avatar movies.

C The beauty of Zhangjiajie.

D The site related to original Avatar.

解析：选D。主旨大意题。根据全文内容可知，本文主要讲电影《阿凡达》的取景地张家界，故选D。