Question

【题目】第四部分：任务型阅读（共10小题；每小题1分，满分10分）

请阅读下面短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入一个最恰当的单词。

注意：请将答案写在答题卡上相应题号的横线上。每个空格只填一个单词。

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)根据“declining birth rate could be a defining one of the 21st”可知，21世纪的出生率比20世纪低，且much/ even/far/a lot/ a little等修饰比较级，故填lower。

(2)根据第二段“almost all developed nations are experiencing sub-replacement birth rate”可知，发达国家人口出生率正在下降，即人口难以维持现有的规模，“maintain”一词是做题的依据，故填size/scale。

(3)根据第二段“which might cause catastrophic global shortages of work force within a few decades”中的“within a few decades”可知，出生率的下降对发展中国家和全球的消极影响还没有发生，由此联想到“影响不是立即产生的”。

(4)接下来几段分别讲了中国、俄罗斯、印度的人口与经济的问题，根据“economic development before a population decline hits the country”可知答案。

(5)根据“A great decline in young work force is likely to occur in China”可知，中国可能会迎来年轻劳动力的危机，故填older。

(6)根据“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，俄罗斯人口由于缩短的寿命而急剧下降。

(7)如果俄罗斯人改变他们的生活方式，他们的情况可能会好一些。

(8)根据“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，可以通过普及教育来抑制人口增长。

(9)根据“One solution is obviously to import foreign workers via immigration.”可知，通过移民来引入外来工人是解决劳动力短缺的一种方法。

(10)根据“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，美国的移民政策将会使劳动力有所增加。接纳移民可以弥补劳动力的短缺。