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  3. For the first time in history more people live in towns than in the country. In Britain this has had a curious result. While pol

For the first time in history more people live in towns than in the country. In Britain this has had a curious result. While pol

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问题     For the first time in history more people live in towns than in the country. In Britain this has had a curious result. While polls show Britons rate "the countryside" alongside the royal family, Shakespeare and the National Health Service (NHS) as what makes them proudest of their country, this has limited political support.
    A century ago Octavia Hill launched the National Trust not to rescue stylish houses but to save "the beauty of natural places for everyone forever." It was specifically to provide city dwellers with spaces for leisure where they could experience "a refreshing air." Hill’s pressure later led to the creation of national parks and green belts. They don’t make countryside any more, and every year concrete consumes more of it. It needs constant guardianship.
    At the next election none of the big parties seem likely to endorse this sentiment. The Conservatives’ planning reform explicitly gives rural development priority over conservation, even authorising "off-plan" building where local people might object. The concept of sustainable development has been defined as profitable. Labour likewise wants to discontinue local planning where councils oppose development. The Liberal Democrats are silent. Only Ukip, sensing its chance, has sided with those pleading for a more considered approach to using green land. Its Campaign to Protect Rural England struck terror into many local Conservative parties.
    The sensible place to build new houses, factories and offices is where people are, in cities and towns where infrastructure is in place.The London agents Stirling Ackroyd recently identified enough sites for half a million houses in the London area alone, with no intrusion on green belt. What is true of London is even truer of the provinces.
    The idea that "housing crisis" equals "concreted meadows" is pure lobby talk. The issue is not the need for more house but, as always, where to put them. Under lobby pressure, George Osborne favours rural new-build against urban renovation and renewal. He favours out-of-town shopping sites against high streets. This is not a free market but a biased one. Rural towns and villages have grown and will always grow. They do so best where building sticks to their edges and respects their character. We do not ruin urban conservation areas. Why ruin rural ones?
    Development should be planned, not let rip. After the Netherlands, Britain is Europe’ s most crowded country. Half a century of town and country planning has enabled it to retain an enviable rural coherence, while still permitting low-density urban living. There is no doubt of the alternative—the corrupted landscapes of southern Portugal, Spain or Ireland. Avoiding this rather than promoting it should unite the left and right of the political spectrum.
Britain’ s public sentiment about the countryside
选项 A、didn ’t start till the Shakespearean age.
B、has brought much benefit to the NHS.
C、is fully backed by the royal family.
D、is not well reflected in politics.
答案D
解析 细节题。根据关键词Britain’s public sentiment和countryside定位到第一段。由该段第二句“尽管民意调查显示，英国人把‘乡村’与皇室、莎士比亚和国民医疗服务制度列为国家最让他们自豪的四个方面，但是这种观点得到的政治支持却极为有限”可知，D项“在政治中没有得到很好的体现”符合该句，故D项为正确答案。A项“从莎士比亚时代起才有体现”、B项“让国民医疗服务制度受益”和C项“皇室家庭全力支持”均不符合文意，故排除。
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