专题10—任务型阅读1.【2017年高考江苏卷英语】任务型阅读（共10小题；每小题1分，满分10分）请认真阅读下面短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入一个最恰当的单词。注意：请将答案写在答题卡上相应题号的横线上。每个空格只填一个单词。PopulationChangeWhyistheworld’spopulationgrowing?Theanswerisnotwhatyoumightthink.Thereasonfortheexplosionisnotthatpeoplehavebeenreproducinglikerabbits,butthatpeoplehavestoppeddroppingdeadlikeflies.In1900,peoplediedattheaverageageof30.By2000theaverageagewas65.Butwhileincreasinghealthwasatypicalfeatureofthe20thcentury,decliningbirthratecouldbeadefiningoneofthe21st.Statisticsshowthattheaveragenumberofbirthsperwomanhasfallenfrom4.9intheearly1960sto2.5nowadays.Furthermore,around50%oftheworld’spopulationliveinregionswherethefigureisnowbelowthereplacementlevel(i.e.2.1birthsperwoman)andalmostalldevelopednationsareexperiencingsub-replacementbirthrate.Youmightthinkthatdevelopingnationswouldmakeuptheloss(especiallysince80%oftheworld’speoplenowliveinsuchnations),butyou’dbewrong.Decliningbirthrateisamajorprobleminmanydevelopingregionstoo,whichmightcausecatastrophicglobalshortagesofworkforcewithinafewdecades.AgreatdeclineinyoungworkforceislikelytooccurinChina,forinstance.Whatdoesitimply?First,Chinaneedstoundergorapideconomicdevelopmentbeforeapopulationzxxkdeclinehitsthecountry.Second,ifotherfactorssuchastechnologyremainconstant,economicgrowthandmaterialexpectationswillfallwellbelowrecentstandardsandthiscouldinvitetrouble.Russiaisanothercountrywithpopulationproblemsthatcouldbreakitseconomicpromise.Since1992thenumberofpeopledyinghasbeenbiggerthanthatofthosebeingbornbyamassive50%.Indeedofficialfiguressuggestthecountryhasshrunkby5%since1993andpeopleinRussialiveashorterlifenowthanthosein1961.Whyisthisoccurring?Nobodyisquitesure,butpoordietandabovealllong-timealcoholismhavemuchtodowithit.Ifcurrenttrendsdon’tbend,Russia’spopulationwillbeaboutthesizeofYemen’sbytheyear2050.InthenorthofIndia,thepopulationisboomingduetohighbirthrates,butinthesouth,wheremosteconomicdevelopmentistakingplace,birthrateisfallingrapidly.Inafurthertwist,birthrateishighestinpoorlyeducatedruralareasandlowestinhighlyeducatedurbanareas.Intotal,25%ofIndia’sworking-agepopulationhasnoeducation.In2030,asixthofthecountry’spotentialworkforcecouldbetotallyuneducated.Onesolutionisobviouslytoimportforeignworkersviaimmigration.AsfortheUSA,itisalmostuniqueamongdevelopednationsinhavingapopulationthatisexpectedtogrowby20%from2010—2030.Moreover,theUSAhasatrackrecordofsuccessfullyacceptingimmigrants.Asaresultit’slikelytoseeariseinthesizeofitsworking-agepopulationandtowitnessstrongeconomicgrowthoverthelongerterm.PopulationChange71.【答案】lower【解析】根据＂decliningbirthratecouldbeadefiningoneofthe21st＂可知，21世纪的出生率比20世纪低，且much/even/far/alot/alittle等修饰比较级，故填lower。72.【答案】size/scale【解析】根据第二段中的＂almostalldevelopednationsareexperiencingsub-replacementbirthrate＂可知，发达国家人口出生率正在下降，即人口难以维持现有的规模，＂maintain＂一词是做题的依据，故填size/scale。74.【答案】economic【解析】接下来几段分别讲了中国、俄罗斯、印度的人口与经济问题，根据＂economicdevelopmentbeforeapopulationdeclinehitsthecountry＂可知答案。75.【答案】old/older【解析】根据＂AgreatdeclineinyoungworkforceislikelytooccurinChina＂可知，中国可能会迎来年轻劳动力的危机，故填older。76.【答案】ea...
