翻译：

邓小平同志曾说：“社会主义财富属于人民，社会主义的致富是全民共同致富。”构建和谐社会，就是要把民生问题作为重中之重，让广大人民群众有活干，有学上，有饭吃，有衣穿，有屋住，病有医，老有养，生活幸福，都过上好日子。自此，在就业、教育、收入分配、医疗、养老、住房等领域，一大批关注民生的实事工程接连开工，一件件事关百姓冷暖的民生大事让各族群众喜笑颜开。

Modern（）perhapscausesmoreproblemsthanitsolves.

Wecanbeginourdiscussionof“populationasglobalissue”withwhatmostpersonsmeanwhentheydiscuss“thepopulationproblem”:toomanypeopleonearthandatoorapidincreaseinthenumberaddedeachyear.Thefactsarenotindispute,Itwasquiterighttoemploytheanalogythatlikeneddemographicgrowthto“along,thinpowderfusethatburnssteadilyandhaltinglyuntilitfinallyreachesthechargeandexplodes.”

Tounderstandthecurrentsituation,whichischaracterizedbyrapidincreasesinpopulation,itisnecessarytounderstandthehistoryofpopulationtrends.Rapidgrowthisacomparativelyrecentphenomenon.Lookingbackatthe8,000yearsofdemographichistory,wefindthatpopulationshavebeenvirtuallystableorgrowingveryslightlyformostofhumanhistory.Formostofourancestors,lifewashard,oftennasty,andveryshort.Therewashighfertilityinmostplaces,butthiswasusuallybalancedbyhighmortality.Formostofhumanhistory,itwasseldomthecasethatoneintenpersonswouldlivepastforty,whileinfancyandchildhoodwereespeciallyriskyperiods.Often,societieswereincleardangerofextinctionbecausedeathratescouldexceedtheirbirthrates.Thus,thepopulationproblemthroughoutmostofhistorywashowtopreventextinctionofthehumanrace.

Thispatternisimportanttonotice.Notonlydoesitputthecurrentproblemsofdemographicgrowthintoahistoricalperspective,butitsuggeststhatthecauseofrapidincreaseinpopulationinrecentyearsisnotasuddenenthusiasmformorechildren,butanimprovementintheconditionsthattraditionallyhavecausedhighmortality.

Demographichistorycanbedividedintotwomajorperiods:atimeoflong,slowgrowthwhichextendedfromabout8,000BC.tillapproximatelyAD.1650.Inthefirstperiodofsome9600years,thepopulationincreasedfromsome8millionto500millionin1650.Between1650andthepresent,thepopulationhasincreasedfrom500milliontomorethan4billion.Anditisestimatedthatbytheyear2000therewillbe6.2billionpeoplethroughouttheworld.Onewaytoappreciatethisdramaticdifferenceinsuchabstractnumbersistoreducethetimeframetosomethingthatismoremanageable.Between8000BCand1650,anaverageofonly50,000personswasbeingaddedannuallytotheworld’spopulationeachyear.Atpresent,thisnumberisaddedeverysixhours.Theincreaseisabout80,000,000personsannually.

1.Whichofthefollowingdemographicgrowthpatternismostsuitableforthelongthinpowderfuseanalogy?

A.Avirtuallystableorslightlydecreasingperiodandthenasuddenexplosionofpopulation.

B.Aslowgrowthforalongtimeandthenaperiodofrapid,dramaticincrease.

C.Toomanypeopleonearthandafewrapidincreaseinthenumberaddedeachyear.

D.Alongperiodwhendeathratesexceedsbirthratesandthenashortperiodwithhigherfertilityandlowermortality.

2.Duringthefirstperiodofdemographichistory,societieswereoftenindangerofextinctionbecause___.

A.onlyoneintenpersonscouldlivepast40.

B.therewashighermortalitythanfertilityinmostplaces.

C.itwastoodangeroustohavebabiesduetothepoorconditions.

D.ourancestorshadlittleenthusiasmformorechildren.

3.Whichstatementistrueaboutpopulationincrease?

A.Theremightbeanincreaseof2.2billionpersonsfromnowtotheyear2000.

B.About50,000babiesareborneverysixhoursatpresent.

C.Between8000BCandthepresent,thepopulationincreaseisabout80,000,000personseachyear.

D.Thepopulationincreasedfasterbetween8000BCand1650thanbetween1650andthepresent.

4.Theauthorofthepassageintendsto___.

A.warnpeopleagainstthepopulationexplosioninthenearfuture.

B.comparethedemographicgrowthpatterninthepastwiththatafter1650.

C.findoutthecauseforrapidincreaseinpopulationinrecentyears.

D.presentusaclearandcompletepictureofthedemographicgrowth.

5.Theword“demographic”inthefirstparagraphmeans___.

A.statisticsofhuman.

B.surroundingsstudy.

C.accumulationofhuman.

D.developmentofhuman.

Itisnotuncommonforthere_____problemsofcommunicationbetweentheoldandtheyoung.

Passage1

Questions1to5arebasedonthefollowingpassage:

DoyouwanttosaywhatyouthinkinalettertothePresidentoftheUnitedStates?You’llgetareplyfromhim—writteninink,nottyped—afteronlyafewdays.

ThePresidentgetsabout4,000letterseveryweek.HeanswerseveryonewhowritestohimonspecialWhitesHousepaper.Buthedoesn’tneedalotoftimeforit.Infact,heonlygives20minutesaweektolookathispersonalcorrespondence.Hehasthemostmodernsecretaryintheworldtohelphim.

It’scomputer,worth￡800，000，whichhasitsownroomsonthefirstflooroftheWhiteHouse.IthasabankofelectronicpenswhichwritelikethePresidentwrites,inhisfavoritelightblueink.EachletterthePresidentreceivesgetsanumber,accordingtothetypeofansweritneeds.Thepensthenwritethecorrectreplyforit,accordingtothenumber.Eachlettertakeslessthanasecondtowrite.AWhiteHouseofficialsaid,“It’snotimportantthatletterscomefromacomputer.EachlettersayswhatthePresidentwantstosay.”

1.forareplyfromthePresident.

A.YouhavetowaitalongtimeB.Youonlyhavetowaitseveraldays

C.YouhavetowaitatleastonemonthD.Youonlyhavetowaitafewweeks

2.ThereplyfromthePresident.

A.isalwaysprintedB.isalwaystyped

C.isalwayswrittenininkD.isalwayswrittenbyhimself

3.Ittakesthecomputertowritetenletters.

A.nomorethantensecondsB.alittlemorethantenseconds

C.lessthantensecondsD.atleastonesecond

4.Thecomputercanbedescribedas.

A.expensivebutefficientB.possessingabeautifulhandwriting

C.heavyandinefficientD.thePresident’smostreliablesecretary

5.Itcanbeinferredfromthepassagethat.

A.thePresidentneverreadsanyletterswrittentohimbyordinarypeople

B.thePresidenthiresaveryefficientsecretarytodealwithhiscorrespondence

C.thePresidentdoesnotreallycareaboutthelettershereceiveseveryweek

D.thePresidentisassuredthatthecomputerexpresshisviewsintheletters