Brazil is a federation that consists of twenty-six states and one federal district. The biggest majority of Brazil’s population belongs to the Christian religion and almost all of them are Catholics. This is something Brazil inherited(继承) being Portugal’s colony(殖民地).
Historically, the country was a colony claimed by people from Portugal and this made Portuguese the official language. The Portuguese reached Brazil in 1500 and until that moment it was inhabited by semi-nomadic(半游牧的) people. The Portuguese changed Brazil into a country of slaves until 1800, when Maria I of Portugal came to live in Brazil. The Queen did not stay long in Brazil, but during the 20 years of royal presence a lot of changes occurred: mercial ports to United Kingdom were opened; Brazil stopped being isolated(孤立) from other countries. So at the moment of getting the independence on the 7th of September, 1822, Brazil already had the potential to develop. The Brazilian Empire, Pedro I, abolished slavery in 1888 in the face of Princess Isabel. A lot of European people started ing to Brazil and the industry of the country started working. In the 19th and the 20th century as it has been said above foreign people immigrated(移民) to Brazil and basically 5 million European and Japanese people became the residents of Brazil. The beginning of the 20th century was especially marked by the immigration of a lot of Asian people: Japanese, Korean and Chinese immigrants. As a matter of fact Japanese people do not immigrate a lot, and the fact that the Brazilian-Japanese people are the largest Japanese minority in the world does astonish greatly.
The majority of the cultural inherits of Brazil are actually Portuguese, due to the fact that Brazil was Portugal’s colony for a very long time. The southern states mainly consist of European population and the north and the northeast consist of a mixed population including Africans, Amerindians and Europeans. Most of this population is Roman Catholic. No other country in the world has the same amount of Catholics. The modern tendency of Brazil is the growing number of people calling themselves Protestants. Around 7.4% of the population don’t believe any god. Some Brazilians, especially in the northern states are mixed Africans who prefer following the traditional African religions. Only 1.8% of the population chose Buddhism, Islam or Judaism.
Though Brazil always tried to maintain democracy, it was failed several times by the dictatorship（独裁） of Getulo Vargas. This fact could not affect the political situation in the country.
【小题1】Brazil was ruled by Portuguese about .A．22 yearsB．300 yearsC．322 yearsD．328 years【小题2】Who might block the development of Brazil?A．Maria IB．Pedro IC．immigrantsD．Getulo Vargas【小题3】The writer mainly tells us the of Brazil in the passage.A．religionB．historyC．cultureD．political situation【小题4】Which of the following statements is NOT true? A．Brazil was isolated from other countries when Maria I stayed there. B．The industry of the country started working in 1888. C．Brazil has the largest population of Catholics in the world.D．Some people in Brazil don’t believe any god.【小题5】It can be inferred that Brazil is a country with .A．western cultureB．modern cultureC．traditional cultureD．mixed cultureC
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(答案→)C
解析：本文讲述了巴西的发展历程，从奴隶制，被葡萄牙所统治，再到独立，以及以后的发展，以及巴西的人口，文化等。文章主要讲述的是巴西的历史。
【小题1】C 细节计算题。根据第2段The Portuguese reached Brazil in 1500以及So at the moment of getting the independence on the 7th of September, 1822,可知葡萄牙人统治了巴西大约322年。
【小题2】D 细节题。根据文章最后一段Though Brazil always tried to maintain democracy, it was failed several times by the dictatorship（独裁） of Getulo Vargas.可知Getulo Vargas 影响了巴西的发展，D正确。
【小题3】B 总结归纳题，本文讲述了巴西的发展历程，从奴隶制，被葡萄牙所统治，再到独立，以及以后的发展，以及巴西的人口，文化等。文章主要讲述的是巴西的历史，故B正确。
【小题4】A 细节题。根据第二段during the 20 years of royal presence a lot of changes occurred: mercial ports to United Kingdom were opened; Brazil stopped being isolated(孤立) from other countries.可知在Maria统治期间巴西不再孤立，而是与其他国家有了很强的联系。故A错误。
【小题5】D 推理题。根据2,3段可知在巴西有很多欧洲，亚洲的移民，所以它是一个多元文化的国家。