题目内容：
根据下面资料，回答题 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
Stifling 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 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_______. A．is not well reflected in politics.
A．is not well reflected in politics.
B．is fully backed by the royal family.
B．is fully backed by the royal family.
C．didn't start till the Shakespearean age.
C．didn't start till the Shakespearean age.
D．has brought much benefit to the NHS.
D．has brought much benefit to the NHS.
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