Question

【題目】第四部分：任務型閱讀（共10小題；每小題1分，滿分10分）

請閱讀下面短文，并根據(jù)所讀內容在文章后表格中的空格里填入一個最恰當?shù)膯卧~。

注意：請將答案寫在答題卡上相應題號的橫線上。每個空格只填一個單詞。

Population Change

Why is the world’s population growing? The answer is not what you might think.The reason for the explosion is not that people have been reproducing like rabbits,but that people have stopped dropping dead like flies.In 1900,people died at the average age of 30.By 2000 the average age was 65.But while increasing health was a tupical feature of the 20th century,declining birth rate could be a defining one of the 21st.

Statistics show that the average number of births per woman has fallen from 4.9 in the early 1960s to 2.5 nowadays.Furthermore,around 50% of the world’s population live in regions where the figure is now below the replacement level(i.e.2.1 births per woman)and almost all developed nations are experiencing sub-repalanement birth rate.You might think that developing nations would make up the loss(especially since80% of the world’s people now live in such nations),but you’d be wrong,Declining birth rate is a major problem in many developing regions too,which might cause catastrophic global shortages of work force within a few decades.

A great decline in young work force is likely to occur in China,for instance.What does it imply?First,China needs to undergo rapid economic development before a population decline hits the country.Sencond,if other factors such as technology remain constant,economic growth and material expectations will fall well below recent standards and this could invite trouble.

Russia is another country with population problems that could break its economic promise.Since 1992 the number of people dying has been biggen than that of those being born by a massive 50%,Indeed official figures suggest the country has shrunk by 5% since 1993 and people in Russia live a shorter life now than those in 1961.Why is this occurring?Nobody is quite sure,but poor diet an above all long-time alcoholism have much to do with it.If current trends don’t bend.Russia’s population will be about the size of Yemen’s by the year 2050.

In the north of india,the population is booming due to high birth rates,but in the south,where most ceonmoic develoument is taking place,birth rate is falling rapidly.In a further twist,birth tate is highest in poorly educated rural arceas an lowest in highly educated urban areas.In total,25% of India’s working-age population has no education.In 2030,a sixth of the country’s potential work force could be totally uneducated.

One solution is obviously to import foreign workers via immigration.As for the USA,it is almost undque among developed nations in having a population that is expected to grow by 20% from 2010-2030. Moreover,the USA has a track record of successfully accepting immigrants.As a result it’s likely to see a rise in the size of its working-age population and to witness strong economic growth over the longer term.

Answer 1

【答案】lower size/scale immediate economic old/older earlier living/life equality immigration compensate

【解析】

(1)根據(jù)“declining birth rate could be a defining one of the 21st”可知，21世紀的出生率比20世紀低，且much/ even/far/a lot/ a little等修飾比較級，故填lower。

(2)根據(jù)第二段“almost all developed nations are experiencing sub-replacement birth rate”可知，發(fā)達國家人口出生率正在下降，即人口難以維持現(xiàn)有的規(guī)模，“maintain”一詞是做題的依據(jù)，故填size/scale。

(3)根據(jù)第二段“which might cause catastrophic global shortages of work force within a few decades”中的“within a few decades”可知，出生率的下降對發(fā)展中國家和全球的消極影響還沒有發(fā)生，由此聯(lián)想到“影響不是立即產(chǎn)生的”。

(4)接下來幾段分別講了中國、俄羅斯、印度的人口與經(jīng)濟的問題，根據(jù)“economic development before a population decline hits the country”可知答案。

(5)根據(jù)“A great decline in young work force is likely to occur in China”可知，中國可能會迎來年輕勞動力的危機，故填older。

(6)根據(jù)“the country has shrunk by 5% since 1993 and people in Russia live a shorter life now than those in 1961...but poor diet an above all long-time alcoholism have much to do with it”可知，俄羅斯人口由于縮短的壽命而急劇下降。

(7)如果俄羅斯人改變他們的生活方式，他們的情況可能會好一些。

(8)根據(jù)“but in the south, where most economic development is taking place, birth rate is falling rapidly”可知，教育可以降低出生率，因此，可以通過普及教育來抑制人口增長。

(9)根據(jù)“One solution is obviously to import foreign workers via immigration.”可知，通過移民來引入外來工人是解決勞動力短缺的一種方法。

(10)根據(jù)“Moreover, the USA has a track record of successfully accepting immigrants. As a result it’s likely to see a rise in the size of its working-age population”可知，美國的移民政策將會使勞動力有所增加。接納移民可以彌補勞動力的短缺。