E

Brazil has become one of the developing world’s great successes at reducing population growth－but more by accident than 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 installment (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 producers of soap operas. Globo, Brazil’s most popular television network, shows three hours of soaps six nights a week, while three others show at least one 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 message 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 behavior and other values, which were put into a very attractive package.”

  Meanwhile, the installment plans tried to encourage the poor to become consumers (消费者). “This led to an enormous change in consumption (消耗、消费) patterns and consumption was incompatible (不相容的) with unlimited reproduction.” Says Martine.

  57. According to the passage, Brazil has cut back its population growth ____.

  A. by educating its citizens 　　　　　　　　 B. by careful family planning

  C. by developing TV programs 　　　　　　　D. by chance

58. According to the passage, many Third World countries ______.

  A. haven’t attacked 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

59. 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

60. What is Martine’s conclusion about Brazil’s population growth?

  A. The increase in birth rate will increase consumption.

  B. The desire for consumption helps to reduce birth rate.

  C. Consumption patterns and reproduction patterns are contradictory (互相矛盾的)

  D. A country’s production is limited by its population growth.

第二节  语法和词汇知识（共15小题；每小题1分，满分15分）

从A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出可以入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

--- It’s reported that more than 200,000 people lost their lives in Haiti Earthquake.

  --- Yes, ______ news came as ______ shock to us.

A.the , a         B. the, the             C. a, a            D. a, the

—Mum, can I have another piece of bread?

         —________．

         A．Behave yourself         B．Help yourself           C．You got it        D．You are welcome

Much to my surprise, only Peter_____my opinion at the meeting.

A. held                   B.made                   C.agreed                   D.shared

It is really difficult to ___ these few flats among so many people.

A. separate    B. divide in   C. separate up    D. divide up

Not long ago, I faced an enjoyable yet formidable(难以对付的) challenge. I was returning to my old neighborhood in the South Bronx to speak the students of my old school, Morris High.  As we drove down streets where my friend Gene Norman and I used to race bicycles, I thought of the problems awaiting the kids living here, the drugs, the temptations, and the crime. What could I say to encourage them?

As we passed the hamburger place that I used to haunt, I remembered my growing-up years here, the joys, the sorrows, and the choices. Even then kids faced choices. There were drugs in my neighbourhood and a youngster could gain easy access to them if tempted. But in my family, the decision was simple: You just didn’t do it. We knew it was stupid and the most self-destructive thing you could do with the life God had given you.

At age of 17 I found a summer job in a local soft-drink bottling plant at 90 cents an hour. I was thrilled. On my first day of work, having joined the ranks of other newly hired teenagers, I was full of enthusiasm. The bottling machines caught my eye, but only the white boys worked there. I was hired as a porter and the foreman handed me a mop(拖把). I decided to be the best mop user there ever was. Right to left, left to right.

As our car rolled on, our driver’s voice broke my thought . “We are here, General.” I looked up at my old school; it hadn’t changed much. As I walked up its familiar stone steps I remembered racing up them to beat the bell. The setting for my talk to the student body was the gymnasium.

“I remember this place”, I told the students. “I remember it all. I remember running through Van Cortland Park with the track team, the victory I used to take each day from my home to Kelly Street to school.”

“I also remember, upon occasions, experiencing the feeling ‘you can’t make it’”, I continued. “But you can. When I was coming up, opportunities were limited. But now the opportunities are there to be anything you want to be. But wanting to be isn’t enough, dreaming about it isn’t enough. You’ve got to study for it, work for it, fight for it with all your heart energy and soul so that nothing will be denied you.

I wanted them to make the right choices, to work hard and not lose sight of a dream. And I wanted them to know that someone is always watching.

41.Why does the author say that he faced an enjoyable yet formidale challenge?Because__________

A.he was very much afraid of returning to his old neighborhood

B. his old neighborhood is problematic with drugs, temptation and crimes

C. he was going to make a speech to schoolboys and schoolgirls of Morris High

D. there are problems on the road his car was driven on and this worried him

42.The author thinks it was __________for kids to face choices when he was young.

A. very exciting                       B. only natural

C. very easy                          D. really a sad thing

43.According to the author, the stupid and the most self-destructive thing you could do with the life God

had given you is __________.

A. to get easy access to choices           B. to hang around the hamburger place

C. to get addicted to drugs               D. to resist the temptation of drugs

44.Which statement is TRUE according to the article?

A. The author went back to his old school as a general

    B. The author was the best mop user there ever was

C. The author was very excited about his first job

D.The author believed that you can become anything you want

Zhou Yang of China won          women's 1500 meters short track speed skating gold medal at          Vancouver Olympic Winter Games on Saturday.

  A. a ,the                                   B. the ,the          C. /  ,the             D. the ,/

84. They’d like to see her daughter ____________, get married and have kids.

A.settle on                B. settle up               C. settle for               D. settle down

64. Why did you ask him for help instead of Jim? He is_______helpful than Jim.

A. no more               B. any more              C. not more              D. some more

44. The soldier gave _____ the secret when they punished him.

A. up                        B. back                     C. out                       D. Away