单选题
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 houses 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 ur ban 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.
单选题
Britain"s public sentiment about the countryside ______.
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】[解析] 由题干关键词countryside和public定位至第一段。
细节理解题。文章第一段提到，民意调查显示英国人把乡村与王室、莎士比亚和英国国民医疗保健制度共同列为英国最值得骄傲的事物，可见公众对乡村应该是有感情的，但是本段结尾处指出“this has limited political support”(这种观点在政治上所获得的支持却很有限)，故选项D中为正确答案。
作者提到莎士比亚是因为他也是英国人所引以为傲的，可与乡村并列，选项A中“是从莎士比亚时代才开始的”与原文不符；同样道理，文章也没有提到英国王室和国民医疗保健制度与乡村有什么直接联系，故选项B中“为英国的国民医疗保健制度带来很多益处”和选项C中“得到了英国王室的充分支持”也与原文内容相悖，均应排除。
单选题
According to Paragraph 2, the achievements of the National Trust are now being ______.
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】[解析] 由题干提示和关键词the National Trust定位于第二段，再根据提问的时态(现在进行时)定位至本段最后两句。
细节理解题。根据之前的分析，由第二段最后两句可知，国民托管组织所致力保护的英国乡村绿地正逐年遭到城市建设的蚕食，可见国民托管组织取得的成就正逐渐遭到破坏，故选项A为答案。
从前面的分析易得知国民托管组织保护乡村的成就是遭到破坏而不是得到强化，故选项B中“有效强化”应该排除；选项C中“很大程度上遮掩光彩”在原文中没有依据，也可排除；第二段倒数第二句已经明确指出乡村绿地正被混凝土建筑侵占，可见选项D“恰当保护”与原文不符，故也排除。
单选题
Which of the following can be inferred from Paragraph 3?