Question

【題目】請認(rèn)真閱讀下面短文，并根據(jù)所讀內(nèi)容在文章后表格中的空格里填入一個(gè)最恰當(dāng)?shù)膯卧~。

注意：請將答案寫在答題卡上相應(yīng)題號的橫線上。每個(gè)空格只填一個(gè)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 typical 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-replacement birth rate. You might think that developing nations would make up the loss (especially since 80% 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. Second, 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 bigger 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 and 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 economic development is taking place, birth rate is falling rapidly. In a further twist, birth rate is highest in poorly educated rural areas and 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 unique 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.

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Answer 1

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

【解析】本文是一篇議論文，論述了世界人口的變化對經(jīng)濟(jì)的影響，以及如何正確處理好人口變化問題。

71. lower根據(jù)第一段最后一句“But while increasing health was a typical feature of the 20th century, declining birth rate could be a defining one of the 21st.”可以判斷，在21世紀(jì)的出生率要低于（lower）20世紀(jì)。

72. size/scale根據(jù)第二段第二句“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-replacement birth rate.”可知，幾乎所有的發(fā)達(dá)國家都在經(jīng)歷著不穩(wěn)定的人口出生率；據(jù)此可以判斷，發(fā)達(dá)國家保持人口規(guī)�；虺錾�比率（size/scale）是有難度的。

73. immediate根據(jù)第二段最后一句“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”可知，發(fā)展中國家的人口出生率下降會在幾十年時(shí)間里導(dǎo)致全球勞工的短缺，據(jù)此可知，導(dǎo)致的這種結(jié)果不是立即（immediate）導(dǎo)致的，而是經(jīng)過幾十年時(shí)間。

74. economy根據(jù)第三段第二句“First, China needs to undergo rapid economic development before a population decline hits the country”，結(jié)合右側(cè)欄的內(nèi)容可知，該處主要介紹人口的發(fā)展對經(jīng)濟(jì)（economy）的影響。

75. old/older根據(jù)第三段第一句“A great decline in young work force is likely to occur in China, for instance”可知，中國年輕工人人口大量減少；據(jù)此可以判斷，中國經(jīng)濟(jì)發(fā)展要面臨人口問題，因?yàn)楝F(xiàn)有工人年齡變大了，老了（old/older），卻得不到補(bǔ)充。

76. earlier根據(jù)第四段第三句中“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.”可知，官方數(shù)據(jù)顯示，自1993年以來，俄羅斯的人口減少了5%，而俄羅斯人的壽命比1961年的人要短；據(jù)此可以判斷，俄羅斯人的過早（earlier）死亡率影響了經(jīng)濟(jì)的發(fā)展。

77. living/life根據(jù)第四段倒數(shù)第二句中“...but poor diet an above all long-time alcoholism have much to do with it”可知，不健康的飲食和長期酗酒對俄羅斯人的健康有著不良的影響，據(jù)此可以判斷，如果改變俄羅斯人的生活（living/life）方式，則會延長他們的壽命。

78. equality根據(jù)第五段最后三句“In a further twist, birth rate is highest in poorly educated rural areas 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.”可知，在貧窮的偏遠(yuǎn)地區(qū)，教育水平落后，出生率最高；印度大批工人沒有受到教育；據(jù)此可以判斷，印度經(jīng)濟(jì)要想發(fā)展，應(yīng)當(dāng)讓每個(gè)人都享有同等（equality）的教育機(jī)會。

79. immigration根據(jù)第六段第一句“One solution is obviously to import foreign workers via immigration”，結(jié)合第六段其它內(nèi)容可知，美國通過移民（immigration）來解決員工短缺問題。

80. compensate根據(jù)第六段第一句“One solution is obviously to import foreign workers via immigration”和第三句“Moreover, the USA has a track record of successfully accepting immigrants”可知，美國通過移民補(bǔ)償了（compensate）員工的短缺。compensate for為固定搭配，意為“賠償，補(bǔ)償損失”。