2008年大学英语四级阅读练习讲座(四十七讲)

　　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 (通俗电视连续剧) 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.
　　答案和分析：
　　这是一篇关于巴西人口增长率下降原因分析的说明文。短文开门见山提出主题：巴西人口增长率下降主要是意外的原因(by accident);第二段列举人口增长率下降的数据;而后用三段篇幅剖析两大特殊原因：通俗电视连续剧和分斯付款计划，第三段第三句至第四段剖析连续剧导致人口增长率下降的机理，第五段讲分期付款带来的消费模式的改变及其与人口繁殖的关系。
　　1. (A)主题句理解。短文第一句中more by accident than design相当于more by chance than on purpose.
　　2. (D)要点定位推断。短文中两处提到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”。两句都暗示这些国家做得不如巴西成功。
　　3. (D)词语理解。由上下文确定put it down to 中的it 指上文巴西成功降低人口增长率的事实，句中to 后接的是导致这一事实的两大原因(电视剧和分期付款计划)，前后显然是一种因果关系。
　　4. (A)要点定位归纳。本题指向第三、四两段关于电视连续剧影响人口出生率的要点：电视剧中把上层阶级行为模式和价值观包装得十分诱人，传递到巴西的各个地方，影响着各个阶层的生活方式。少生孩子就是这一生活方式的一大特点。
　　5. (B)要点结论归纳。conclusion 必然在短文最后一段，由consumption was incompatible with unlimited reproduction 即可归纳结论B。