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  3. Of all the cuts to public services, few have provoked such loud protests as proposals to close libraries. Petitions and curses h

Of all the cuts to public services, few have provoked such loud protests as proposals to close libraries. Petitions and curses h

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问题     Of all the cuts to public services, few have provoked such loud protests as proposals to close libraries. Petitions and curses have been followed by legal challenges. On November 16th a judge in London ruled against plans to close 21 libraries in Gloucestershire and Somerset. Campaigners in Brent, in north-west London, have taken their fight against closures to the Court of Appeal.
    Local politicians are startled. Keith Mitchell, leader of Oxfordshire county council, which was forced by public pressure to abandon plans to close many libraries, complained that protesters seemed much less upset by cuts to social care and rubbish collection. Visits to libraries have declined by 6. 7% in the past five years, according to the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy(CIPFA). But this is to underestimate the symbolic role libraries play as a visible public good. A 2010 poll found that 69% of people had been to a library in the past year. More than 80% view libraries as "essential" or "very important".
    Yet savings have to be made somewhere. If library closures cause protests, cuts must be done stealthily. In the 2010-11 fiscal year libraries acquired 7. 4% fewer adult fiction books and 13. 7% fewer non-fiction books than they had the year before. An older, less appealing stock could speed the decline in library visits.
    Yet hard times are also forcing innovations that may help libraries in the long run. In a quiet success for David Cameron’s "Big Society" , the number of volunteer librarians has risen from 12,708 to 21,642 in the past five years. That trend has its critics, especially among professional librarians. But staff account for at least half the cost of running a library. Other savings could probably be made by consolidating England’s 151 library authorities, and by making better use of technology. "London has 32 library authorities but just one police authority," marvels Desmond Clarke, a library campaigner.
    An entirely different option is to pour money into a single edifice in the hope that it will have a benign effect on the neighborhood. England’s most popular library is the Norfolk & Norwich Millennium, a multi-storey space in a sparkling new building with a restaurant and gallery, which lured nearly 1. 5m people last year. As the anchor of the development, the library attracts users who then linger and spend money nearby. Birmingham is building a new ￡ 188.8m library, the flagship of a development in the city centre that is due to open in 2013. Many of the city’s other 39 libraries could face cuts in service, including shorter opening hours and fewer staff. Libraries are not dead—just a little dusty.
The British libraries have taken following measures to cut down budgets Except______.
选项 A、cutting the inflow of new books
B、laying off redundant staff
C、simplifying the organization structure of library administration
D、concentrating efforts on the construction of one library
答案D
解析 虽然面临巨大的舆论压力，但是在经济紧缩的年代，图书馆必须想方设法减少开支。降低预算的方法在文章第三段和第四段中有具体的介绍，包括[A]选项减少新书的购买量(In the 2010一11 fiscal yearlibraries acquired 7．4％ fewer adult fiction books and 13．7％fewer non—fiction books than they had theyear before)。[B]选项裁减多余的职工(the number of volunteer librarians has risen from 12，708 t021，642 in the past five years)。[C]选项精简图书管理机构(Other savings could probably be made byconsolidating England’s 151 library authorities)。只有[D]选项不是降低预算的措施。[D]选项在文章最后一段中有所提及，但和降低预算相反，这是政府为了利用图书馆带动周边经济而采取的追加预算的方法。
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