Question

    With the average number of children in a British family falling beneath an average of 2.0,the population of the UK has been declining for quite a few years. The size of the British workforce is declining. This trend (趋势) is quite worrying for the British economy.

There is a whole range of reasons accounting for the worrying trend. One of them is that British people are new having their children at a much older age than previously, meaning they have fewer years in which they can have children. Most young People today tend to choose to go university first and build up work experience before getting desired jobs.

Expensive houses also play a part. Many young people are forced to stay with their parents early in their careers. So it's not until people are about 30 years old that they can afford to buy their own home, and then they can start to think about settling down and having children.

So a British person manages to get a job, get a home and get married. Why isn’t he or she then having at least two children on average? The major reason is that it is relatively expensive to bring up a child in the UK. Usually both parents need to work to cover their living expenses, which means they then need to pay someone to look after their child during the day, such as nanny (保姆) or nursery school.

In addition, uncertainty in the global economy often affects British family size. In face of an economic downturn, young British find it more difficult to find jobs or keep their existing ones This discourages them from having larger families. And with this much pressure on families, it’s no wonder that the divorce rate remains so high

To save the British family, the government is taking active measures, for example , by increasing monthly Child Benefit money and offering increasing amount of government subsidy (津贴)for parents to claim. There are also laws allowing parents to take more time off work so that they can look after their children themselves rather than having to pay others to do it.

Let's hope it's not too late to save the British family. Otherwise, the British won't have enough time, energy or money to have children. And where's the fun in that?

1.According to the author, what may account for the decrease of UK's population?

A.People's choice of being single to acquire further education.

B.The trend for people to have children at a younger age.

C.Larger family size brought by weak global economy.

D.The relatively high expenses in raising children.

2.What does the author mainly imply in the last paragraph?

A.It is important to raise people's awareness of saving the British family.

B.It is necessary to reduce subsidies for families and nursery schools.

C.It is urgent to handle the present serious situation.

D.It is difficult for parents to balance life and work.

3.What is the best title for the passage?

A.Disappearing Families. B.Declining Economy

C.Increasing Divorce D.Worrying Workforce

Answer

1.D

2.C

3.A

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。文章主要介绍了随着英国家庭平均孩子数量降至2.0以下，英国人口在过去几年里一直在下降。英国劳动力规模也随之在下降。这一趋势让英国经济令人担忧。文章分析了这种趋势产生的原因，以及政府正在采取的积极措施。

1.推理判断题。根据第四段中The major reason is that it is relatively expensive to bring up a child in the UK. Usually both parents need to work to cover their living expenses which means they then need to pay someone to look after their child during the day, such as nanny or nursery school.可知主要原因是在英国抚养一个孩子是相对昂贵的，通常父母都需要工作来支付他们的生活费用，这意味着他们需要花钱请人在白天照顾他们的孩子，如保姆或幼儿园。由此可知，作者认为，抚养孩子的费用相对较高导致了英国人口的减少。故选D。

2.推理判断题。根据最后一段中Let's hope it's not too late to save the British family. Otherwise, the British won't have enough time, energy or money to have children.可知希望现在拯救英国家庭还为时不晚。否则，英国人就没有足够的时间、精力和金钱去生孩子。由此可推知，处理目前严重的形势是紧急的。故选C。

3.主旨大意题。根据文章第一段中With the average number of children in a British family falling beneath an average of 2.0, the population of the UK has been declining for quite a few years.可知随着英国家庭平均孩子数量降至2.0以下，英国人口在过去几年里一直在下降。结合文章主要说明了英国出生率的下降导致许多年轻人不愿意组建家庭，故A选项“正在消失的家庭”符合文章标题。故选A。