Brazil has bee 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 life, women working,” says Martine. “They sent this image to all parts of Brazil and made people aware of other patterns of behavior and other values, which were put into a very attractive package.”
【小题1】According to the passage, Brazil has cut back its population growth .A．by educating its citizensB．by careful family planningC．by developing TV programmesD．by chance【小题2】What can you infer from the passage about many Third World countries ?A．They haven’t attached much importance to birth control.B．They would soon join Brazil in controlling their birth rate.C．They haven’t yet found an effective measure to control their population.D．They neglected the role of TV plays in family planning【小题3】Soap operas have helped in lowering Brazil’s birth rate because .A．they keep people sitting long hours watching TVB．they have gradually changed people’s way of lifeC．people are drawn to their attractive packageD．they popularize birth control measuresD
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(答案→)D
解析：
【小题1】D 细节题。根据第一段1,2行Brazil has bee one of the developing world’s great successes at reducing population growth, but more by accident than design.说明巴西出生率的下降不是计划好的，而是偶然的，故D正确。
【小题2】C 推理题。根据第二段最后一句an achievement that makes it the envy of many other Third World countries.
说明在这方面其它第三世界的国家都很羡慕巴西，那么说明他们没有找到有效的措施来减低人口出生率。故C正确。
【小题3】B 推理题。根据文章最后两行“They sent this image to all parts of Brazil and made people aware of other patterns of behavior and other values, which were put into a very attractive package.说明这些节目让巴西的女性意识到多生孩子无用，改变了他们的价值观和生活方式。故B正确。