Try to imagine what it is like to live without electricity. It is boring,【C1】___one thing—no television, no MP3 player, no video games. And you feel【C2】and disconnected as well—no computer, no Internet, no mobile phone. You can read books, of course—【C3】at night you won’t have light, other than the flicker (闪烁) of firewood. And about that firewood—you or someone in your family had to【C4】it during the day, taking you away from more【C5】work or schooling, and in some parts of the world, exposing you【C6】danger. That same firewood is used to cook dinner,【C7】smoke that can turn the air inside your home far more【C8】than that breathed in an industrial city. You may lack access to modern drugs【C9】the nearest hospital does not have continuous【C10】to keep the medicine refrigerated. You are【C11】poor—and the lack of electricity helps to【C12】___that you’ll stay that way.

That is life for the 1. 3 billion people around the【C13】___who lack access to the grid (电网). It is a【C14】problem of the developing world and the countryside—more than 95% of【C15】without electricity are either in sub-Saharan Africa or developing Asia, and 84% live in rural areas.【C16】it hasn’t gotten the attention that【C17】problems like HIV/AIDS and water shortage have【C18】in recent years, lack of power remains a major【C19】___to any progress in the world’s development.

” Lacking access to electricity【C20】______health, well-being and income,” says Fatih Birol, the chief economist of the International Energy Agency. “ It’s a problem the world has to pay attention to. “

【C4】