VI. Integrated Reading Test Design
Please follow the instructions below to design integrated reading tasks suitable for the new General Scholastic Ability Test. Please use different kinds of question types for these integrated reading tasks, including multiple-answer questions, matching, ordering, fill-in-the-blank, table/chart/organizer completion, short-answer questions, true-false questions, and so on. Provid at least      two      different question types and the correct answers for each question. It’s not necessary to rewrite the article.

     Across many cities, historic districts have been revitalized in the name of cultural preservation. Old streets are restored, traditional crafts are displayed, and local customs are carefully packaged for visitors. At first glance, such efforts appear to  protect the past from disappearance. Yet preservation, when shaped by tourism and commerce, often transforms what it claims to save.

     In revitalized districts, tradition rarely survives unchanged. Rituals are rescheduled to suit visitors’ timetables, and handmade objects are redesigned to meet modern tastes. What was once embedded in daily life becomes something to be observed, photographed, and consumed. This does not necessarily strip tradition of all meaning, but it alters its function. Culture shifts from lived experience to curated display. Supporters argue that without economic incentives, many traditions would vanish entirely. Tourism provides income, visibility, and renewed interest, especially among younger generations. From this perspective, adaptation is not betrayal but survival. A tradition that refuses to change may remain pure, yet isolated and fragile. Critics, however, caution that excessive commercialization creates a shallow version of heritage. When cultural practices are simplified for easy consumption, their historical complexity is often lost. Visitors may leave with images and souvenirs, but little understanding of the values or struggles that shaped the culture in the first place. In such cases, preservation risks becoming performance.

     The tension lies not between preservation and change, but between autonomy and external demand. Cultural revitalization succeeds only when communities reclaim the authority to define what is preserved and why. When decisions are driven primarily by capital, authenticity becomes a marketing illusion. Ultimately, preserving culture demands more than restoring buildings; it demands protecting the agency of those who inherit the tradition. Without this, preservation may succeed visually while failing culturally—a reminder that what endures is not what attracts attention, but what remains meaningful to those who live with it.