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Brazil has become one of the developing world’s great successes at reducing population growth?but more by accident that design. While countries such as India have made joint efforts to reduce birth rates, Brazil has had better result without really trying, says George Martine at Harvard.
Brazil’s population growth rate has dropped from 2.99％ a year between 1951 and 1960 to 1.93％ a year between 1981 and 1990, and Brazilian women now have only 2.7 children on average. Martine says this figure may have fallen still further since 1990, an achievement that makes it the envy of many other Third World countries.
Martine puts it down to, among other things, soap operas (通俗電視連續(xù)劇) and instalment (分期付款) plans introduced in the 1970s. Both played an important, although indirect, role in lowering the birth rate. Brazil is one of the world’s biggest produceers of soap operas. Globl, Brazil’s most popular television network, shows three hours of soaps six nights a week, while three others show at leastone hour a night.Most soaps are based on wealthy characters living the high life in big cities.
"Although they have never really tried to work in a missage towards the problems of reproduction, they describe middle and upper class values not many children, different attitudes towards sex, women working," says Martine. "They sent this image to all parts of Brazil and made people conscious of other patterns of behaviour and other values, which were put into a very attractive package."
Meanwhile, the instalment plans tried to encourage the poor to become consumers."This led to an enormous change in
consumption patterns and consumption was in compatible (不相容的) with unlimited reproduction." says Martine.
1.According to the passage, Brazil has cut back its population growth_______.
A) by educating its citizens
B) by careful family panning
C) by developing TV programmes
D) by chance
2.According to the passage, many Third World countries_______.
A) haven’t attached much importance to birth control
B) would soon join Brazil in controlling their birth rate
C) haven’t yet found an effective measure to control their population
D) neglected the role of TV plays in family planning
3.The phrase "puts it down to" (Line 1, Para. 3) is closest in meaning to "_______"
A) attributes it to
B) sums it up as
C) finds it a reason for
D) compares it to
4.Soap operas have helped in lowering Brazil’s birth rate because_______.
A) they keep people sitting long hours watching TV
B) they have gradually changed people’s way of life
C) people are drawn to their attractive package
D) they popularize birth control measures
5.What is Martine’s conclusion about Brazil’s population growth?
A) The increase in birth rate will promote consumption.
B) The desire for consumption helps to reduce birth rate.
C) Consumption patterns and reproduction patterns are contradictory.
D) A country’s production is limited by its population growth.
答案：
這是一篇關于巴西人口增長率下降原因分析的說明文。短文開門見山提出主題：巴西人口增長率下降主要是意外的原因(by accident);第二段列舉人口增長率下降的數(shù)據(jù);而后用三段篇幅剖析兩大特殊原因：通俗電視連續(xù)劇和分斯付款計劃，第三段第三句至第四段剖析連續(xù)劇導致人口增長率下降的機理，第五段講分期付款帶來的消費模式的改變及其與人口繁殖的關系。
1. (A)主題句理解。短文第一句中more by accident than design相當于more by chance than on purpose.
2. (D)要點定位推斷。短文中兩處提到Third World countries: ①第一段第二句 “countries such as India”;②第二段最后一句 “an achievement that makes it the envy of many other Third World countries”。兩句都暗示這些國家做得不如巴西成功。
3. (D)詞語理解。由上下文確定put it down to 中的it 指上文巴西成功降低人口增長率的事實，句中to 后接的是導致這一事實的兩大原因(電視劇和分期付款計劃)，前后顯然是一種因果關系。
4. (A)要點定位歸納。本題指向第三、四兩段關于電視連續(xù)劇影響人口出生率的要點：電視劇中把上層階級行為模式和價值觀包裝得十分誘人，傳遞到巴西的各個地方，影響著各個階層的生活方式。少生孩子就是這一生活方式的一大特點。
5. (B)要點結論歸納。conclusion 必然在短文最后一段，由consumption was incompatible with unlimited reproduction 即可歸納結論B。
n. 克制，控制，管制，操作裝置
vt. 控制
