1 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

The world has reached a somewhat     1     (worry) demographic (人口统计学的) milestone. A spokesperson said the U. S. Census Bureau (人口统计局) estimated that the     2     (globe) population surpassed 8 billion on the 26th of September.     3    , he said this was a very rough guess and the precise day could be a month or two either side of this date. The world population had doubled between 1960 and 2000, and     4     (grow) from 6 billion to 8 billion in the past two decades. The rate of growth is slowing     5     birth rates are falling in many nations.

According to the Census Bureau, trends of longer lifespans and lower birth rates result     6     the slowdown in population growth. However, it forecast that the population would reach 10. 2 billion in 2060. It said: “The world population is projected to keep growing despite     7     (decline) birth rates. In fact, we estimate     8     number of infants already peaked in 2017. Instead, population growth in the future will come from larger groups of people at adult ages.” It added: “Population growth is the result of birth rates, mortality (死亡率), migration and the share of the population at certain ages. Nearly three quarters (74 per cent) of the earth’s population     9     (resident) in countries     10     birth rates are around or below the replacement level.”

2 . In a policy address to lawmakers, Japan’s Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, said the country’s population problem was a case of solving the issue “now or never”, and that it “simply cannot wait any longer because it can affect social functions”.

“In thinking of the sustainability and inclusiveness of our nation’s economy and society, we place child care support as our most important policy,” he said, adding that he wants the government to double its spending on child-related programs, and that a new government agency would be set up in April to focus on the issue.

Japan has one of the lowest birth rates in the world, and it recorded fewer than 800,000 births in 2022 for the first time since records began in 1899. The country also has one of the highest life expectancies in the world; in 2020, nearly one in 1,500 people in Japan were age 100 or older, according to government data.

These trends have driven a growing population problem, with a rapidly aging society, a shrinking workforce and not enough young people to fill the gaps in the stagnating (停滞) economy. The country’s high cost of living, limited space and lack of child care support in cities make it difficult to raise children, meaning fewer couples are having kids. Experts point to the pessimism young people in Japan hold towards the future, many frustrated with work pressure and economic stagnation.

How about other parts of East Asia? South Korea recently broke its own record for the world’s lowest birth rate, with data from November 2023 showing a South Korean woman will have an average of 0.79 children in her lifetime — far below the 2.1 needed to maintain a stable population. Japan’s birth rate stands at 1.3, while the United States is at 1.6. Meanwhile, China’s population shrank in 2022 for the first time, adding pressure to its economic growth.

1. How does the Japanese government feel about the falling birth rate?

A．Surprised.

B．Confused.

C．Embarrassed.

D．Worried.

2. Which of the following has led the birth rate in Japan to decline?

A．The rapidly aging society.	B．The high life expectancies.
C．The shortage of workforce.	D．The various stresses of life.

3. What are the statistics in the last paragraph used to show?

A．Ignorance of the birth rate.	B．Serious population crisis.
C．Weak care services for children.	D．Potential harm to women’s health.

4. In which section of a newspaper may this text appear?

A．Society.

B．Health.

C．Education.

D．Science.

3 . In 2050, one in four people will be over 60 in the Asia-Pacific region. Are countries there prepared to fully address the needs of older persons so that they age with dignity?

In the past, senior citizens might have been supported by their families and communities. Yet times are changing.

    1     Meanwhile, more and more governments are wrestling with increasing healthcare costs and a decreasing workforce.

More than ever, there is an urgent need for policy reform in addressing population aging. This must be driven by a shift in mindset to turn the challenges into a demographic opportunity.

    2     More and more people are living longer due to the advancements in health, nutrition, economic and social well-being.     3     This is due to a variety of reasons such as challenges in striking a work-life balance to not being able to afford having more children. However, low fertility and longer life expectancy are not the problem. The real problem is not being ready to face this rapidly changing demographic shift.

It is noteworthy that, in the Asia-Pacific, with more than half of the older population being women, it is crucial to adopt a life-cycle approach to population aging, grounded in gender equality and human rights. Investing in each stage of life determines the path of a woman’s life course. When a girl has access to quality education, it helps her make informed decisions about life-changing matters.     4    

While there is no single comprehensive policy that can address population aging, we need to take action now.     5     In so doing, countries in the Asia-Pacific region can hope for, and achieve, a better future for all, where no one is left behind.

A．Couples are having fewer babies.

B．Pensions are increasing, pressuring governments further.

C．We must rethink population aging, celebrating it as the victory of development.

D．Migration and urbanization have shifted traditional support systems for the elderly.

E．The decisions she makes paves the way towards a healthier and wealthier silver age.

F．We must invest in better policies that focus on the needs of people at every age of their life.

G．Life-long gender discrimination leaves women even more disadvantaged in an aging society.

4 . The world’s population reached five billion on the day I was born. That was in Indonesia back in 1987, and my parents was shocked that there were so many people on the planet.     1     In October 2011, the seven billionth baby was born, and experts predict that there will be ten billion of us before the end of this century.

    2     If you said “hello to a different person every second, it would take you 222 years to greet everyone on the planet. If seven billion people made a human chain with their hands, the chain would go to the moon and back nine times.

The human population has never been bigger, but in some ways the planet seems to begetting unbelievably smaller. In the past, travellers from Europe to Indonesia spent months at sea. Now you just have to sit on a plane for a few hours. When you arrived in another country a hundred years ago, you saw unfamiliar styles of clothing and buildings and discovered a completely different culture. In many places today, clothing and new buildings are very similar, and people enjoy the same things.     3    

Even the languages that we use are becoming more global. There are around seven thousand languages in use today.     4     I grew up in a small village where everyone spoke Baras, one of Indonesia’s local languages. Today, like most of the youth from my village, I live in the capital, Jakarta, and speak Indonesian there. The only regular Baras speakers at present are the older people who have stayed in the country, so the language is threatened with extinction.

A．But the number is decreasing fast.

B．Although we are on different continents, we are starting to live the same lives.

C．The planet might be a lot more peaceful if that were the case.

D．However, since then the population has continued to increase at an alarming rate.

E．A number as big as seven billion is hard to imagine.

F．With only one language left, there will be no culture difference in the world.

5 . 阅读下面材料, 在空白处填入适当的内容(1个单词)或括号内单词的正确形式。

Do you know the nickname of America? A look at the history of the United States indicates that so far this country     1     (call) “a melting pot”, in which various immigrants and ethnic groups have learned to work together to build     2     unique nation. So who are the real Americans? The answer is that any and all of them are! And you, no matter     3     you come from, could also become an American if you want. Then you would become another    4     (add) to America’s wonderfully rich “nation of immigrants”.

The United States is     5     (current) shifting from being a nation of immigrants of mainly European origins to one of immigrants from other parts of the world. They hope to escape     6     (economy) hardship in their native countries. They desire     7     (seek) a better education and a better life in America. Although there are frequent     8     (conflict) between the cultures they have brought with them from the “old country” and those found in American, most immigrants have learnt to adjust     9     and love their adopted land.

Over time, Americans have learned much from the customs and ideas of the immigrants. In other words, immigrants have a huge impact on American society,     10     (enrich) American life greatly.

6 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

World Population Day was founded by the United Nations, and this holiday is    1    (annual) observed on July 11th.

The idea of World Population Day started in the late 1960s,    2    world leaders openly declared that adults have the right    3    (choose) whether they wanted children or not. This idea was also viewed as a human right. During this era, leaders were more open about    4    (discuss)child-bearing and the right women had to time their children    5    they wished. While this was just one of the    6    (sign) to the feminist movement in the US, this idea was new to many developing nations at the time.

In 1989, the world population quickly increased to five billion. During this same year, the United Nations founded World Population Day. Both events    7    (occur) on July 11th of that year.

World Population Day is celebrated in many ways‒‒much of this depends on the region. For participants who live in countries where gender    8    (equal) is a law, the holiday is meant to be     9    reflection and celebration of significant moments in history that helped society achieve this basic human right.

Every July 11th, the United Nations also has central celebrations in which all nations    10    (permit) to participate. In addition, the UN holds an annual theme.

7 . COVID-19 shutdowns forced people out of work and pushed tens of millions into poverty worldwide. Governments tried hard to provide aid. It was easy in a small country, but difficult for a country with large population and vast rural areas.     1     Doing a detailed, nationwide, house-to-house survey takes people time and money. Luckily, satellites can see poverty from space.

Researchers have been finding ways to identify areas of wealth and poverty in satellite images. Through some satellite data and aerial images of one town or another, you can sort of tell whether it’s wealthy or not. Wealthier homes tend to have metal roofs while poor homes tend to have thatched roofs. Wealthier neighborhoods have paved roads and bigger plots of lands, more spaced out.     2     The researchers trained artificial intelligence (AI) to recognize these patterns.

    3     The researchers put AI to work studying patterns of mobile phone use in those regions. Rich people will make just more phone calls than poor people. They also might make more expensive international calls. They might use more mobile data because they have smartphones.     4    

The researchers use the system to identify about 60,000 people to receive benefits. The advantage of the satellite imagery and phone data approach is that it’s extremely fast and very convenient.     5     In shocks like climate disasters where there’s no time or way to get detailed information on the ground, satellites mobile phones and AI could help deliver aid quickly to people in need.

A．It was opposite in a big country.

B．How do they locate the neediest people?

C．So there’s a lot of information in the images.

D．Most importantly, it’s very cheap to carry out.

E．Worse still, it’s not so economical as a house-to-house survey.

F．However, in general, poorer people will just have feature phones.

G．What the researchers did next was to target the neediest people in those regions.

8 . There are many people in the world now. There will be even _________ people later this century. The earth will he crowded and there will be very little room _________ each person. Maybe there will be only _________ room on the earth in 600 years. That will be a very serious problem, so man is taking some _________ to solve the _________.

The moon is the satellite of the earth. Maybe man will go to live on the moon one day. _________, Americans and Chinese have _________ there. But there is no air, no plants, and no life. So _________ are doing experiments in many ways. They will find _________ to these problem __________ man can live on the moon. I’m sure our dream will come true by the end of this century.

1.

A．more

B．most

C．less

D．better

2.

A．to

B．at

C．with

D．for

3.

A．standing

B．sitting

C．sleeping

D．doing

4.

A．measures

B．medicines

C．policies

D．tools

5.

A．puzzle

B．accident

C．question

D．problem

6.

A．Greece

B．Japanese

C．Englishmen

D．Russians

7.

A．be

B．is

C．reached

D．was

8.

A．farmers

B．teachers

C．workers

D．scientists

9.

A．cases

B．solutions

C．roots

D．tickets

10.

A．so

B．after

C．since

D．but

9 . In the early 1970s, a computer program called World One predicted that civilization would likely collapse in the near future.

When deciding the fate of civilization, the program considered the following variables: pollution, population, the availability of natural resources and global quality of life. The program produced graphs that indicated what would happen to those variables in the future. The graphs identified 2020 as a turning point for civilization.

“At around 2020, the condition of the planet becomes highly unlivable. If we do nothing about it, the quality of life goes down to zero. Pollution becomes so serious that it will start to kill people, which in turn will reduce the population to the level in the 1900 and that civilized life as we know on this planet will disappear around 2040 to 2050.”

This was not the end of the model. In 1972, the Club of Rome published The Limits to Growth, a book that built on a program called World Three. This time the variables were pollution, population, food production, consumption of nonrenewable natural resources and scientific developments.

The Limits to Growth pushed the collapse of civilization to 2072, when the limits of growth would be the most readily apparent and result in population and industrial declines.

The book touched off a fierce media war. The New York Times, for instance, wrote that the book assumed that a resource could never change over time, leaving their data shortsighted to any possible changes in consumption habits.

Writing in The Guardian, Cathy Alexander, a Melbourne-based journalist, argued, “The research does not say that collapse of the world economy, environment and population is a certainty. Nor does it claim the future will unfold exactly as the models predicted. But the findings should sound an alarm bell. It seems unlikely that the search for ever-increasing growth can continue unchecked to 2100 without causing serious negative effects—and those effects might come sooner than we think.”

1. When would civilization start to disappear according to World One?

A．By 2020.

B．By 2040.

C．By 2072.

D．By 2100.

2. What does The New York Times think of the book published by the Club of Rome?

A．Interesting.

B．Worrying.

C．Unscientific.

D．Uncreative.

3. What does Cathy Alexander suggest people do about the predictions?

A．Take the warnings seriously.	B．Ignore the unlikely forecasts.
C．Accept the predictions as certainties.	D．Change our consumption habits now.

4. How is the text mainly developed?

A．By listing statistics.

B．By using examples.

C．By comparing.

D．By reasoning.

10 . Towns across Italy have been racing to launch clever plans aimed at attracting new residents to revive (复兴)their fortunes in recent years. From abandoned homes selling for little more than a euro, to ready- to-occupy houses at knockdown prices, there has been a rush of competition.

The picturesque town of Presicce in the sunny region of Puglia is the latest to enter the game with a very tempting offer. Officials say they will pay people up to 30,000 euros to buy an empty house and take up residency. Even better, the houses up fbr sale as part of the deal are priced from around 25,000 euros.

Authorities in Presicce hope the cash motivation will breathe new life into their depopulating town, where newborns are fewer each year.

Presicce dates back to the middle Ages, flourishing during the Renaissance as a prosperous place known for its fine wine, cheeses and cattle trade. It gains a reputation as Puglia’s “town of green gold” for green olive trees and olive oil. Its location is incredible, surrounded by the nature of the Salento area and close to beautiful beaches and clear waters of Santa Maria di Leuca.

“There are many empty homes in the historical center built before 1991 which we would like to see alive again with new residents,” says local councilor Alfredo Palese. It is a pity witnessing how our old districts full of history, wonderful architecture and art are slowly emptying. The details of the deal are currently being finalized, Palese adds, and authorities are ready to launch applications in upcoming weeks when information will be available on the town hall website.

According to Palese, a 2019 merger (合并)with the nearby town Acquarica to create the larger town Presicce-Acquarica has provided them with extra money to ensure the project can continue for years to come. “After the merger, as per Italian law, our wider territory will be blessed with more public funds, roughly 1,000,000 euros per year for several years forward, which we intend to invest to revitalize (振兴) the old district, ” says Palese.

Together, Presicce and Acquarica now have some 9,000 inhabitants, but only half of the population live in the older part of the community.

The town hall has already launched other plans to attract more residents, including tax benefits to set up new business activities and baby bonuses for families with kids.

1. What problem do many Italian towns face according to the text?

A．Population decline.

B．Financial crisis.

C．Falling tourism.

D．High living cost.

2. What does the underlined word “tempting” in paragraph 2 mean?

A．Risky.

B．Informal.

C．Attractive.

D．Conditional.

3. What is the purpose of paragraph 4?

A．To show Presicce’s past glory.

B．To recommend a travel destination.

C．To point out the economy of Presicce.

D．To stress the importance of reviving Presicce.

4. What is the text mainly about?

A．An Italian town’s welfare system.

B．An Italian town’s recovery strategy.

C．An Italian town’s long-term plan.

D．An Italian town’s current situation.