第三篇
Why So Many Children
In many of the developing countries in Africa and Asia, the population is growing fast. The reason for this is simple: Women in these countries have a high birth rate – from 3.0 to 7.0 children per woman. The majority of these
women are poor, without the food or resources to care for their families. Why do they have so many children? Why don’t they limit the size of their families? The answer may be that they often have no choice. There are several reasons for this.
One reason is economic. In a traditional agricultural economy, large families are helpful. Having more children means having more workers in the fields and someone to take care of the parents in old age. In an industrial economy, the situation is different. Many children do not help a family; instead, they are expense. Thus, industrialization has generally brought down the birth rate. This was the case in Italy, which was industrialized quite recently and rapidly. In the early part of the twentieth century, Italy was a poor, largely agricultural country with a high birth rate. After World War II, Italy’s economy was rapidly modernized and industrialized. By the end of the century, the birth rate had dropped to 1.3 children per woman, the world’s lowest.
However, the economy is not the only important factor that influences birth rate. Saudi Arabia, for example, does not have an agriculture-based economy, and it has one of the highest per capita incomes in the world. Nevertheless, it also has a very high birth rate (7.0). Mexico and Indonesia, on the other hand, are poor countries, with largely agricultural economies, but they have recently reduced their population growth.
Clearly, other factors are involved. The most important of these is the condition of women. A high birth rate almost always goes together with lack of education and low status for women. This would explain the high birth rate of Saudi Arabia. There, the traditional culture gives women little education or independence and few possibilities outside the home. On the other hand, the improved condition of women in Mexico, Thailand, and Indonesia explains the decline in birth rates in these countries. Their governments have taken measures to provide more education and opportunities for women.
Another key factor in the birth rate is birth control. Women may want to limit their families but have no way to do so. In countries where governments have made birth control easily available and inexpensive, birth rates have gone down. This is the case in Singapore, Sri Lanka, and India, as well as in Indonesia, Thailand, Mexico, and Brazil. In these countries, women have also been provided with health care and help in planning their families.
These trends show that an effective program to reduce population growth does not have to depend on better economic conditions. It can be effective if it aims to help women and meet their needs. Only then, in fact, does it have any real chance of success.
41. In a traditional agricultural economy, a large family_____.
A. can be an advantage.
B. may limit income.
C. isn’t necessary.
D. is expensive.
42. When countries become industrialized, _____.
A. families often become larger.
B. the birth rate generally goes down.
C. women usually decide not have a family.
D. the population generally grows rapidly.
43. According to this passage, Italy today is an example of an_____.
A. agricultural country with a high birth rate.
B. agricultural country with a low birth rate.
C. industrialized country with a low birth rate.
D. industrialized country with a high birth rate.
44. Saudi Arabia is mentioned in the passage because it shows that_____.
A. the most important factor influencing birth rate is the economy.
B. factors other than the economy influence birth rate.
C. women who have a high income usually have few children.
D. the birth rate depends on per capita income.
45. In Mexico, Thailand, and Indonesia, the government_____.
A. is not concerned about the status of women.
B. has tried to industrialize the country rapidly.
C. does not allow women to work outside the home.
D. has tried to improve the condition of women.
参考答案：41.A、42.B、43.C、44.B、45.D
第5部分：补全短文（第46～50题，每题2分，共10分)
下面的短文有5处空白，短文后有6个句子，其中5个取自短文，请根据短文内容将其分别放回原有位置，以恢复文章原貌。
Toads are Arthritis and in Pain
Arthritis(关节炎) is an illness that can cause pain and swelling in your bones. Toads (蟾蜍), a big problem in the north of Australia, are suffering from painful arthritis in their legs and backbone, a new study has shown. The toads that jump the fastest are more likely to be larger and to have longer legs._______(46)
The large yellow toads, native to South and Central America, were introduced into the north-eastern Australian state of Queensland in 1935 in an attempt to stop beetles and other insects from destroying sugarcane crops. Now up to 200 million of the poisonous toads exist in the country, and they are rapidly spreading through the state of Northern Territory at a rate of up to 60 km a year. The toads can now be found across more than one million square kilometres._______(47) A Venezuelan poison virus was tried in the 1990s but had to be abandoned after it was found to also kill native frog species.
The toads have severely affected ecosystems in Australia. Animals, and sometimes pets, that eat the toads die immediately from their poison, and the toads themselves eat anything they can fit inside their mouth._______(48)
A co-author of the new study, Rick Shin医学全在线
www.med126.come, a professor at the University of Sydney, says that little attention has been given to the problems that toads face. Rick and his colleagues studied nearly 500 toads from Queensland and the Northern Territory and found that those in the latter state were very different. They were active, sprinting down roads and breeding quickly.
According to the results of the study, the fastest toads travel nearly one kilometre a night._______(49) But speed and strength come at a price — arthritis of the legs and backbone due to constant pressure placed on them.
In laboratory tests, the researchers found that after about 15 minutes of hopping, arthritic toads would travel less distance with each hop (跳跃)._______(50) These toads are so programmed to move, apparently, that even when in pain the toads travelled as fast and as far as the healthy ones, continuing their constant march across the landscape.
A. Toads are not built to be road runners—— they are built to sit around ponds and wet areas.
B. The task now facing the country is how to remove the toads.
C. Furthermore, they soon take over the natural habitats of Australia’s native species.
D. Toads with longer legs move faster and travel longer distances while the others are being left behind.
E. But this advantage also has a big drawback — up to 10% of the biggest toads suffer from arthritis.
F. But arthritis didn’t slow down toads outside the laboratory the research found.
参考答案：46.E 47.B 48.C 49.A 50.F
第6部分：完形填空（第51~65题，每题1分，共15分)
阅读下面的短文，文中有15处空白，每处空白给出了4个选项，请根据短文的内容从4个选项中选择1个最佳答案，涂在答题卡相应的位置上。
Family History
In an age when technology is developing faster than ever before, many people are being attracted to the __51__ of looking back into the past. One way they can do this is by __52__ their own family history. They can try to__53__out more about where their families ca医学全在线
www.med126.comme from and what they did. This is now a fast-growing hobby, especially in countries__54__a fairly short history, like Australia and the United States.
It is one thing to spend some time __55__ through a book on family history and to __56__ the decision to investigate your own family’s past. It is quite another to__57__out the research work successfully. It is easy to set about it in a disorganised __58__and cause yourself many problems which could have been__58__with a little forward planning.
If your own family stories tell you __60__you are missed with a famous character, whether hero or criminal, do not let this idea take__61__ your research. Just treat it as an interesting __62__. A simple system with collecting and storing your information will be adequate to__63__with; a more complex one may only get in your__64__. The most important thing, though, is to get started. Who __65__ what you might find?
51. idea
52. investigating
53. find
54. with
55. going
56. take
57. carry
58. way
59. avoided
60. that
61. over
62. possibility
63. start
64. way
65. knows
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