The advantages and disadvantages of a large population have long been a subject of discussion among economists. It has been argued that the supply of good land is limited. To feed a large population, inferior land must be (36)________ and the good land worked (37)________. Thus, each person produces less and this means a (38)________average income than could be obtained with a smaller population. Other economists have argued that a large population gives more (39) ________ for specialization and the development of (40) ________ such as ports, roads and railways, which are not likely to be built unless there is a big demand to (41) ________ them.
One of the difficulties in carrying out a (42) ________ birth control program lies in the fact that official attitudes to population growth (43) ________ from country to country depending on the level of industrial development and the availability of food and raw materials. In the developing country where a vastly expanded population is pressing hard upon the limits of food, space and natural resources, (44)__________________________________ , whatever the consequences may be. In a highly industrialized society the problem may be more complex. (45)_______________________________________ . When the pressure of population on housing declines, prices also decline and the building industry is weakened. Faced with considerations such as these, (46)___________________________________________, rather than one which is stable or in decline.
答案及解析：
36.cultivated。所填詞后面的and表示其前后是并列的兩句話，在結(jié)構(gòu)上應(yīng)該對稱。the good land worked是一個省略了系動詞的被動態(tài)，故所填詞也應(yīng)該是動詞的過去分詞形式，而且和inferior land構(gòu)成動賓搭配。To feed a large population是目的，由此目的推導(dǎo)出的行為應(yīng)該是“耕種土地”。
37.intensively。在這里，the good land worked intensively是指“要集中精力照料優(yōu)質(zhì)的土地，使其產(chǎn)量大幅提高”。這種措施和inferior land must be cultivated一樣，都是為了feed a large population。
38.lower。lower average income與produces less構(gòu)成因果關(guān)系。
39.scope。give scope for sth.為常用搭配，意為“使有機會做某事”。注意該空所在句子中的Other economists have argued that ...表示下文要闡述與之前不同的觀點。
40.facilities。所填詞后面的such as表示列舉，也就是說ports, roads and railways都屬于所填詞的范疇，而這些都是使交通便利的設(shè)施。
41.justify。所填詞后面的them是指facilities，這句話的意思是“要不是有大量的需求證明這些設(shè)施是合理的，就不可能建設(shè)它們”。這是Other economists的立場，即a large population的好處。
42.worldwide。所填詞前面是不定冠詞a，后面是名詞詞組，那么所填詞一定是形容詞，修飾birth control program(計劃生育)。下文的from country to country， the developing country和a highly industrialized society都暗示了birth control program是全世界范圍的。
43.vary。該句中that引導(dǎo)的定語從句修飾fact，從句的主語是official attitudes to population growth，depending on ...是狀語，那么所填詞一定作謂語。而且，所填詞后面沒有直接加名詞作賓語，因此這里要填入一個不及物動詞。“vary from ...to ...”是常用的搭配。
44.it will be the first concern of government to place a limit on the birthrate
【Main Points】government will be concerned to limit the birthrate first
45.A decreasing birthrate may lead to unemployment because it results in a declining market for manufactured goods
【Main Points】A decreasing birthrate may cause unemployment because market for manufactured goods is declining
46.the government of a developed country may well prefer to see a slowly increasing population
【Main Points】a developed country may prefer to see a slowly increasing population
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