Brazil has become one of the developing world's great successes at reducing population growth but more by accident that 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 ( 通俗電視連續劇 ) and instalment ( 分期付款 ) plans introduced in the 1970 s. Both played an important, although indirect, role in lowering the birth rate. Brazil is one of the world's biggest produceers of soap operas. Globl, Brazil's most popular television network, shows three hours of soaps six nights a week, while three others show at leastone 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 missage towards the problems of reproduction, 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 behaviour and other values, which were put into a very attractive package."

Meanwhile, the instalment plans tried to encourage the poor to become consumers."This led to an enormous change in consumption patterns and consumption was in compatible ( 不相容的 ) with unlimited reproduction." says Martine.

1 .According to the passage, Brazil has cut back its population growth_______.

A) by educating its citizens B) by careful family panning

C) by developing TV programmes D) by chance

2 .According to the passage, many Third World countries_______.

A) haven't attached much importance to birth control

B) would soon join Brazil in controlling their birth rate

C) haven't yet found an effective measure to control their population

D) neglected the role of TV plays in family planning

3 .The phrase "puts it down to" (Line 1 , Para. 3 ) is closest in meaning to "_______"

A) attributes it to B) sums it up as C) finds it a reason for D) compares it to

4 .Soap operas have helped in lowering Brazil 's birth rate because_______.

A) they keep people sitting long hours watching TV

B) they have gradually changed people's way of life

C) people are drawn to their attractive package

D) they popularize birth control measures

5 .What is Martine's conclusion about Brazil 's population growth?

A) The increase in birth rate will promote consumption.

B) The desire for consumption helps to reduce birth rate.

C) Consumption patterns and reproduction patterns are contradictory.

D) A country's production is limited by its population growth.

答案： 1.D 2.C 3.A 4.B 5.B