A group of Labour MPs, among them Yvette Cooper, are bringing in the new year with a call to institute a UK “town of culture” award. The proposal is that it should sit alongside the existing city of culture title, which was held by Hull in 2017, and has been awarded to Coventry for 2021. Cooper and her colleagues argue that the success of the crown for Hull, where it brought in £220m of investment and an avalanche of arts, ought not to be confined to cities. Britain’s towns, it is true, are not prevented from applying, but they generally lack the resources to put together a bid to beat their bigger competitors. A town of culture award could, it is argued, become an annual event, attracting funding and creating jobs.

    Some might see the proposal as a booby prize for the fact that Britain is no longer able to apply for the much more prestigious title of European capital of culture, a sought-after award bagged by Glasgow in 1990 and Liverpool in 2008. A cynic might speculate that the UK is on the verge of disappearing into an endless fever of self-celebration in its desperation to reinvent itself for the post-Brexit world: after town of culture, who knows what will follow—village of culture? Suburb of culture? Hamlet of culture?

    It is also wise to recall that such titles are not a cure-all. A badly run “year of culture” washes in and washes out of a place like the tide, bringing prominence for a spell but leaving no lasting benefits to the community. The really successful holders of such titles are those that do a great deal more than fill hotel bedrooms and bring in high-profile arts events and good press for a year. They transform the aspirations of the people who live there; they nudge the self-image of the city into a bolder and more optimistic light.

    It is hard to get right, and requires a remarkable degree of vision, as well as cooperation between city authorities, the private sector, community groups and cultural organisations. But it can be done: Glasgow’s year as European capital of culture can certainly be seen as one of a complex series of factors that have turned the city into the powerhouse of art, music and theatre that it remains today.

    A “town of culture” could be not just about the arts but about honouring a town’s peculiarities—helping sustain its high street, supporting local facilities and above all celebrating its people. Jeremy Wright, the culture secretary, should welcome this positive, hope-filled proposal, and turn it into action.

答案精析：本题为细节题。根据题干中的Cooper and her colleagues argue可定位至原文第一段第三句。该句提到，库珀和她的同事们认为，赫尔市获得了“文化之城”（city of culture）的称号，这给它带来了2.2亿英镑的投资，同时也带动了艺术繁荣，而这种情况不应该局限于城市。后文接着提到，英国的城镇由于缺乏资源而无法与城市竞争“文化之城”，而“文化之镇”的评选却可以作为年度盛事来帮助城镇吸引资金、创造就业。也就是说库珀和她同事对于“文化之镇”的看法是，可以通过此活动推动城镇的经济发展，因此C项正确。

错项排除：文章第一段中提到了city和town，但它们是分别作为两个独立的主体，并未提及两者之间的联系，故A项排除。B项中，关于城镇之间的合作，没有原文依据，故排除。D项利用cultural events和limited resources设置干扰，但第一段最后说的是“文化之镇”可以作为一项年度活动（annual event），并没有说要聚焦于文化活动（cultural events）上，该段中提到城镇缺乏资源（lack the resources）也不等同于D项中英国有限的资源（limited resources），故D项排除。

长难句分析：Cooper and her colleagues argue that the success of the crown for Hull, where it brought in £220m of investment and an avalanche of arts, ought not to be confined to cities.

本句为复合句。句子主干为Cooper and her colleagues argue that，是主谓宾结构，that后面为宾语从句。宾语从句为主谓宾结构，主语为the success，谓语为ought not to be confined to，宾语为cities，其中be confined to意为“局限于……”。宾语从句中包含一个where引导的非限制性定语从句，用于进一步说明该称号为赫尔市带来的好处。

句意为：库珀和她的同事们认为，赫尔市荣获的这一称号给它带来了2.2亿英镑的投资，同时也带动了该地的艺术繁荣，这种成功不应只局限于城市。