Question

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 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 (生育), 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 (消費(fèi)者). “This led to an enormous change in consumption patterns and consumption was incompatible (不相容的) with unlimited reproduction,” says Martine.
小題1:What is the passage mainly about? (within 8 words)
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小題2:What’s Brazil’s population growth rate between 1981 and 1990? (within 4 words)
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小題3:What are the two main factors in helping Brazil lower its birthrate? (within 6 words)
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小題4:How long does the most popular television network in Brazil show soap operas every week? (within 2 words)
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小題5:What changes have soap operas brought to Brazilians? (within 8 words)

Answer 1

小題1:Brazil has successfully reduced its population growth.
小題2: 1.93% a year.
小題3:Soap operas and installment plans.
小題4:18 hours.
小題5:They have changed people’s values and behaviors. / They have gradually changed people’s way of life.

試題分析：文章介紹了巴西人口出生率一直在下降，并分析了原因，原來(lái)是巴西的電視劇里傳播的價(jià)值觀讓巴西女性不愿意多生孩子。
小題1:主旨題：根據(jù)第一段1,2行Brazil has become one of the developing world’s great successes at reducing population growth, but more by accident than design.說(shuō)明文章講的是巴西出生率的下降，Brazil has successfully reduced its population growth.
小題2:細(xì)節(jié)題：從第二段的句子：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,可知答案是1.93% a year.
小題3:細(xì)節(jié)題：從第三段的句子：Martine puts it down to among other things, soap operas and installment (分期付款) plans introduced in the 1970s.可知巴西的人口出生率的下降是由于電視劇和分期付款。Soap operas and installment plans.
小題4:計(jì)算題：從第三段的句子：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. 可知答案是3x6="18" hours.
小題5:細(xì)節(jié)題：從第四段的句子：“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.”可知這些電視劇改變了人們的價(jià)值觀和行為： They have changed people’s values and behaviors. / They have gradually changed people’s way of life.