阅读理解 Our children and grandchildren may not have a chance to visit many of the most famous places around the world. War, weather, age, traffic and pollution damage (破坏) these famous places. If we do nothing, they may even no longer remain. But looking after these places often costs more than one country can afford.
In the early 1970s, world governments decided that if they joined together, they would be able to preserve (保护) our history. If every country paid some money, they said, it would be possible to look after important historic places. For this reason, countries around the world united to form the World Heritage Organization in 1972. Today, the organization helps to protect and rebuild the most important places from our history.
However, one of the biggest problems for historic places is vandalism. That is to say, people sometimes enter these places and damage the buildings. At some places, such as Stonehenge in England, governments have built high fences to protect it from vandals.
There are many different ideas about how to solve the problem of vandalism. Some professors say that if guards keep walking around these places, vandals won't be able to get in. Some professors say that if they fix more television cameras, they won't need so many guards. Others say that the best way is education. If people learn to respect history, they won't damage it. They will also want to spend money looking after old places. For this reason, the World Heritage Organization helps to spread information about the value of historic places.