Question

    Kang Sung-il buys Sancho, his Pomeranian, a toy every business trip and this lunar New Year holiday will dress him up in s new $50 suit to visit ‘grandma’, Kang’s mother. Kang and his wife say children are too expensive and bring too much pressure. Instead they have chosen to shower Sancho with love and gifts.

They are not alone. South Korea’s pet industry is booming, fuelled by the same factors that have made the country’s birth rate, at 1.05 births per woman, the lowest in the world: the high cost of education and housing as well as extremely long working days.

“Social pressures in South Korea are such that parents are required to provider resources for decades from private schooling to art classes,” said Kang a 39 year old manager of a pet funeral home.

On top of education expenses, an average an household must budget roughly 12.8 years of

income to buy a mid-range home, compared to 8.8 years in 2014, data from KB Kookmin Bank shows. Adding to their stress, south Koreans work the third most hours per year among OECD (经合组织) nations, next only to Mexico and costa Rica.

Pet-owning households have rose to 28 percent of all South Korean households in 2018, compared with 18 percent in 2012, government data shows.

That in turn has resulted in a prosperous pet care industry whose offerings include tailored pet diets and high-priced photo shoots. Pet-related startup s are also popular with venture capitalists. The south Korean pet-related industry was worth 2.7 trillion won ($2.4 billion) last year, and that could more than double in size by 2027, according to the Korean Rural Economic Institute.

1.What do the underlined words “his Pomeranian” in paragraph I refer to?

A. His son. B. His pet.

C. A toy. D. Sancho’s brother.

2.What may NOT be the result of expensive education and houses along with long working hours?

A. The birth rate in South Korean is the lowest in the world.

B. 28 percent of the South Korean families raised pets in 2018.

C. There are more pet-related businesses than before.

D. Parents send their children to private schools.

3.Which of the following may be the service offered in a pet-related industry?

A. Training the pet to be a tailor. B. Showering the pet with gifts.

C. Taking pictures for customers’ pets. D. Shooting the pet with a false gun.

4.According to the passage, many people think that giving birth to a baby

A. Costs too much B. Is a must

C. Is boring D. Brings happiness

Answer

1.B

2.D

3.C

4.A

【解析】

这是一篇新闻报道。短文报道了由于在韩国抚养和教育孩子的成本很高，带来了很大的压力，导致很多人不生孩子而开始养宠物，这种社会现象促进了韩国宠物业蓬勃快速地发展。

1.词义猜测题。由第一段“Kang Sung-il buys Sancho, his Pomeranian, a toy every business trip... Instead they have chosen to shower Sancho with love and gifts.”康成一每次出差都会给他的博美犬桑丘买一个玩具。相反，他们选择把爱和礼物都转而倾注在桑丘身上。所以博美犬是康成所养的宠物。故第一段带下划线的“his Pomeranian”指的是他的宠物。故B选项正确。

2.细节理解题。由第三段“Social pressures in South Korea are such that parents are required to provider resources for decades from private schooling to art classes,” said Kang a 39 year old manager of a pet funeral home.”一位39岁的宠物殡仪馆经理Kang说：“韩国的社会压力非常大，以至于几十年来。父母都被要求为孩子提供各种资源，从私立学校到艺术课程。所以本句在说明韩国社会压力大的原因，而不是高昂的教育和住房成本，以及极长的工作时间所导致的结果。故D选项正确。

3.细节理解题。由最后段“That in turn has resulted in a prosperous pet care industry whose offerings include tailored pet diets and high-priced photo shoots”可知，这反过来又催生了一个繁荣的宠物护理行业，其产品包括定制宠物饮食和高价摄影等服务。所以C选项“为顾客的宠物拍照”可能是宠物相关行业提供的服务。故C选项正确。

4.细节理解题。由第一段“Kang and his wife say children are too expensive and bring too much pressure”以及第二段“They are not alone”可知，康和他的妻子说，养育孩子太贵了，带来了太多的压力。他们并不是个例。 所以有像康和他的妻子这样想法和做法的人有很多，已经是韩国社会中普遍存在的一种现象。故根据这篇文章，许多人认为生孩子太贵了。故A选项正确。