As has been all too apparent in recent days at Balcombe, few issues cause greater concern than energy policy. Many village communities feel their countryside is being ruined by the power-producing machines of wind farms; yet they never take “ direct action”, even though the planning laws put them at a severe disadvantage. And the generous subsidies(财政补贴),which encourage the expansion of wind power, are not favorable to the village communities and set landowners in conflict with other residents.

    Those who disagree with the rapid expansion of wind farms state that the damage they cause is out of proportion to the benefits they bring, because their energy output cannot match that of the carbon-based power stations they are supposed to replace. Supporters insist that wind must be part of a mix of renewables, nuclear and carbon, and that the country is committed to meeting EU(European Union) targets for non-carbon energy generation.

    Against this background, the fact that there is an argument within the Government over whether to publish an official report on wind farms impact on the countryside becomes even more extraordinary. The two parties in the coalition government are in disagreement over what it should say.

    We have some advice for the two parties :publish the report ,and let the country be the judge. Even if it contains evidence that wind farms are harmful, it will hardly be a pleasant surprise to people who do not like them. Equally, supporters must argue their case by acknowledging the concerns and explaining why they are either misplaced or worthy of much attention.

    The suggestion that further negotiations are to take place to produce an “acceptable” report suggests that the politics of coalition government are doing the country harm in a certain way. Given the sensitivities involved ,all the information should be available so that people can reach their own conclusions, rather than being left with the suspicion that facts are being replaced by political beliefs.

根据短文内容，选择最佳答案，并将选定答案的字母标号填在题前括号内。

    Sometimes I have to admire people's imagination but what I admire most is the businessmen's sense of smell. China's Singles Day, which falls on Nov. 11 every year, has far surpassed its U.S. counterparts of Black Friday and Cyber Monday—combined. Last year, Americans spent a record $12.8 billion online between Thanksgiving Day and Cyber Monday. It's impressive until you compare it to the $17.6 billion in sales made by Chinese consumers in a single 24-hour period during 2016's Singles Day.

    Singles Day is known as “Bare Sticks Day” or “Bare Branches Day” in Chinese—because the date “11/11” looks like bare branches and “one” is the loneliest number. Singles Day began in the early 1990s in the dorm rooms of Nanjing University when a group of single friends were sorry about the lack of significant others and decided to mark the day by organizing activities as a group of singles and reducing their loneliness by buying themselves a gift.

    Then in 2009, sensing s break between the sales period of China's National Day on Oct. 1 and Chinese New Year in late January or early February, Alibaba's Jack Ma saw an opening: sell to comfort lonely hearts.

    The first year did only $7.5 million in sales, but just 8 years later, shoppers spent $25.3 billion, or 168.2 billion yuan, this year—a 40 percent jump from last year's $17.6 billion. Foe comparison, Black Friday and Cyber Monday in the U.S. only netted $6.79 billion in 2016. Amazon doesn't release sales figures for July's Prime Day, but it's pretty safe to believe the not-quite-national-holiday doesn't come close to $25 billion.

    “More than $25 billion in one day is not just a sales figure,” Alibaba Group CEO Daniel Zhang said in a statement. “It represents the desire for quality consumption of the Chinese consumer, and it reflects how merchants and consumers alike have now fully accepted the combination of online and offline sales.”

    Most of us would be traveling for the rest of our lives if traveling abroad were not so expensive. But there is no need for you to cut down on the number of holidays you're having this year. Below are some of the cheapest places to travel to this year.

    Sri Lanka

    Great seafood, beautiful beaches, and amazing jungles await you in Sri Lanka. It is definitely one of the cheaper places to travel to as well. It will be possible for you to live in high-class hotels and resorts for as little as 70 dollars a night! If you don't want to spend that much money, you can find hostels, and smaller hotels for as little as 20 dollars a day. You can just spend the day exploring Anuradhapura or go adventuring in Habarana Lake as well!

    Hungary

    It might be surprising to see Hungary on the list of cheap places to travel to this year. It is located in the most expensive continent on the earth, after all. However, Hungary is the country where you get rooms for as little as 16 Euros, and beer for about 4 Euros each! This is definitely a bargain! You can get a travel card to use the public transport throughout the country, and save quite a few dollars on that as well. Spend a few nights in Budapest or head out to the northern hills where you can hike and swim in the clear lakes!

    Greece

    There was a time when Greece was unbelievably expensive, but due to its recent economic problems, Greece has become quite cheap to travel to. Price of accommodation and food is at an all-time low, so this might definitely be a great time for you to visit! There are some areas of the country that will be expensive like Santorini or Mykonos, but if you just want to explore local Greek culture, you can walk on the streets of Greece, or adventure across the smaller islands around like Kefalonia or Piraeus or Los!

    My mother raised me as best as she could, taking on odd jobs in the neighborhood for money. Still without a father to tell me how to act and what was expected of me, I felt lost. I wandered for years and got involved with tough guys on the East Side of New York. They would fight madly over a dropped coin. They would steal to get what they wanted. I wanted to be like them.

    It was lucky for me that I left the city and entered a world of discipline (纪律), after following my mother's advice. During three years of military service, I had time to rethink my life, and my thoughts often ran to my mother. I realized suddenly just how much of a heartache I must have been to her, how little I had noticed her suffering. When my father left this world, my mother was completely alone. To support us, my mother cleaned apartments and took in washing and ironing from the neighbors. And as she worked hard at this labor, she kept her head high. Each week she would bring a pile of books home from the library and read to us. My mother had wanted nothing more, than for me to turn into an honest responsible man. But I had acted against her. Finally, almost too late I had the sense to feel shame.

    Ten years passed and I returned to the apartment on the East Side. I knew I wouldn't fall back in with the wrong people, although I still wasn't sure where I was heading. My mother, I could tell, was worried about me. In my neighborhood, to become a police officer or a firefighter was a mark of significant social success and achievement. For me it was an opportunity for a real start in life. I wondered if I was up to it, but I knew that it was time to try. When I found myself in the big hall raising my hands to take the firefighters oath (誓言) of office, my mother was sitting a few rows behind with a smile of relief. She knew that at last I was off on life's road and moving steadily. Her smile said, “My job is finally done.”

Max Du emerged victorious at the Canada-Wide Science Fair with his innovative project: an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) designed to assist individuals experiencing cardiac arrests. His ingenuity was sparked during the Christmas recess of the preceding year. "I received a recreational drone as a gift from my parents, yet I was unable to operate it aloft due to the snowy conditions," Max recounted. "Consequently, I experimented with it indoors, which led me to contemplate the potential for a drone to serve as an automated indoor apparatus that could render assistance to people in need."

Approximately 35,000 Canadians succumb to cardiac arrests annually, with the majority of these incidents occurring beyond the confines of a hospital, resulting in a survival rate of less than 10 percent. Max was convinced that a drone could provide more expeditious assistance and expedite the delivery of vital medical treatments, but to validate this hypothesis, he was compelled to construct the device himself.

The process of refining his drone spanned a period of six months, during which Max's parents had to tolerate the persistent buzzing and crashing of the machine within their domicile. With each innovative feature he devised, such as a telescopic appendage, the drone's overall mass increased, leading to frequent disassembly. This necessitated the procurement of an entirely new set of components. Max persevered, experimenting with more lightweight construction materials until he achieved a more harmonious equilibrium in his design.

Through a methodical process of iterative refinement, the 14-year-old prodigy ultimately perfected his invention. His drone is now capable of manipulating a door handle, navigating through the air, and alighting gently on the ground. An innovative, extendable arm can be deployed to either administer an injection or deliver a life-saving pharmaceutical to a patient. Additionally, an integrated camera facilitates real-time communication with an emergency response team, enabling remote monitoring of the patient's condition.

Max is intent on pursuing the acquisition of a patent to forge alliances within the healthcare sector and bring his invention to fruition. He dedicated his summer to the study of artificial intelligence at Stanford University in California, where he was one of only 32 young scholars chosen globally. Subsequently, he will proceed to the University of Pennsylvania to enroll in a collegiate-level robotics course before resuming his high school studies in September.

Spreading kindness not only helps others feel better about themselves but also boosts the giver's health and happiness, according to a study. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

Giving seems to lower our blood pressure.

{#blank#}2{#/blank#}. One study asked a group of hypertensive (高血压的) people to spend $40 on themselves, while another group of people with high blood pressure were told to spend the money on others. They found that spending money on others had reduced their blood pressure at the end of the six-week study

{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

A recent study found that people who said they would donate money to help orphans were less sensitive to an electric shock than those who declined to give. According to the study, regions of the brain that react to painful stimulation appear to be instantly out of operation by the experience of giving.

Being kind seems to boost happiness.

Another study assigned people to three groups: the first group had to do an act of kindness each day; the second group tried a new activity each day; and the third group did nothing. The first two groups saw a significant boost in happiness. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}, if you're creative with your acts of kindness, than those who performed the same activity over and over again.

"When doing an act of kindness, you're making the world a better place," said the Random Acts of Kindness foundation, which promotes kindness all year. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}.

A. It's a win-win for all

B. Giving seems to lessen our pain

C. You'll experience even greater joy

D. But consider being kind to yourself

E. Being kind seems to contribute to our sense of community

F. Giving donations to others has been shown to have that effect

G. However, any kindness you give to others is also a gift to yourself