Passage3

Questions11to15arebasedonthefollowingpassage:

UnliketheirAmericanorEuropeancounterparts,carsalesmeninJapanworkhardtogetabuyer.Insteadoflyinglazilyaroundshowroomswaitingforcustomerstodropby,manyJapanesecarsalesmenstillgoouttogetthem.Theywalkwearilyalongthestreetscarsdoor-to-door.Newcustomersarehuntedwithfruitandcakesontheirbirthdays.Butlifeisgettingtough,andnotjustbecausenew-carsalesarefalling.

WithmoreJapanesewomen(whooftencontrolthehouseholdbudget)goingouttowork,thesalesmenincreasinglyfindnobodyathomewhentheycall.Thatmeansanothervisitintheeveningortheweekend.Thentheyfaceanextraproblem:morepeople,especiallytheyoung,prefertochooseanewcarfromashowroomwheretheycancomparedifferentmodels.

Evenaslateasthemid-1980ssome90%ofnewcarsweresolddoor-to-door.Insomeruralareasmostnewcarsarestillsoldthisway.Butinthebigcitiesmorethanhalfthenewcarsarenowsoldfromshowrooms.

AlthoughinvestinginshowroomsisexpensivebecauseofthehighcostofJapaneseland,dealershavelittlechoice.AlaborshortageandhigheramongJapan’sworkforcearemakingitdifficulttohiredoor-to-doorsalesmen.MostofaJapanesecarsalesman’sworkingdayisspentdoingfavorsforcustomers,likearranginginsuranceorpickingupvehiclesforservicing,ratherthanactuallyselling.

Japan’sdoorstepcarsalesmenarenotabouttovanish.Thepersonalservicetheyprovideissodeep-rootedinJapanthattheyarelikelytooperatealongsidetheglitteringnewshowrooms.Thetwosystemsevencomplementeachother.Whatincreasinglyhappensisthattheshowroomattractstheinterestofapotentialbuyer,givingthefootsoresalesmenafirmleadtofollowupwithahomevisit.

11.Japanesecarsalesusuallydonotwaitatshowroomsforcustomerstodropby;instead,.

A.theysellcarsdoor-to-door

B.theybuypresentsfortheircustomers

C.theyenjoythemselvesinrecreationcenters

D.theygoouttodomarketresearches

12.Impliedbutstated:thecompetitionincarmarketis.

A.lightB.moderateC.fierceD.unfair

13.Youngpeopleliketobuyanewcar.

A.athomeB.fromashowroom

C.madeintheU.S.A.D.madeinJapan

14.ThesquadronofJapanesecarsalesmenisreducingbecauseof.

A.alaborshortage

B.higherexpectationsamongJapan’sworkforce

C.highcostland

D.bothAandB

15.Japanesecarsalesmentotheircustomersmanyfavorssuchas.

A.showingthemaroundinanexhibition

B.arranginginsurance

C.payingthemavisitonweekends

D.sellingolecarsforthem

Theywillneverreconcilethemselvesto____.

Wecanbeginourdiscussionof“populationasglobalissue”withwhatmostpersonsmeanwhentheydiscuss“thepopulationproblem”:toomanypeopleonearthandatoorapidincreaseinthenumberaddedeachyear.Thefactsarenotindispute,Itwasquiterighttoemploytheanalogythatlikeneddemographicgrowthto“along,thinpowderfusethatburnssteadilyandhaltinglyuntilitfinallyreachesthechargeandexplodes.”

Tounderstandthecurrentsituation,whichischaracterizedbyrapidincreasesinpopulation,itisnecessarytounderstandthehistoryofpopulationtrends.Rapidgrowthisacomparativelyrecentphenomenon.Lookingbackatthe8,000yearsofdemographichistory,wefindthatpopulationshavebeenvirtuallystableorgrowingveryslightlyformostofhumanhistory.Formostofourancestors,lifewashard,oftennasty,andveryshort.Therewashighfertilityinmostplaces,butthiswasusuallybalancedbyhighmortality.Formostofhumanhistory,itwasseldomthecasethatoneintenpersonswouldlivepastforty,whileinfancyandchildhoodwereespeciallyriskyperiods.Often,societieswereincleardangerofextinctionbecausedeathratescouldexceedtheirbirthrates.Thus,thepopulationproblemthroughoutmostofhistorywashowtopreventextinctionofthehumanrace.

Thispatternisimportanttonotice.Notonlydoesitputthecurrentproblemsofdemographicgrowthintoahistoricalperspective,butitsuggeststhatthecauseofrapidincreaseinpopulationinrecentyearsisnotasuddenenthusiasmformorechildren,butanimprovementintheconditionsthattraditionallyhavecausedhighmortality.

Demographichistorycanbedividedintotwomajorperiods:atimeoflong,slowgrowthwhichextendedfromabout8,000BC.tillapproximatelyAD.1650.Inthefirstperiodofsome9600years,thepopulationincreasedfromsome8millionto500millionin1650.Between1650andthepresent,thepopulationhasincreasedfrom500milliontomorethan4billion.Anditisestimatedthatbytheyear2000therewillbe6.2billionpeoplethroughouttheworld.Onewaytoappreciatethisdramaticdifferenceinsuchabstractnumbersistoreducethetimeframetosomethingthatismoremanageable.Between8000BCand1650,anaverageofonly50,000personswasbeingaddedannuallytotheworld’spopulationeachyear.Atpresent,thisnumberisaddedeverysixhours.Theincreaseisabout80,000,000personsannually.

1.Whichofthefollowingdemographicgrowthpatternismostsuitableforthelongthinpowderfuseanalogy?

A.Avirtuallystableorslightlydecreasingperiodandthenasuddenexplosionofpopulation.

B.Aslowgrowthforalongtimeandthenaperiodofrapid,dramaticincrease.

C.Toomanypeopleonearthandafewrapidincreaseinthenumberaddedeachyear.

D.Alongperiodwhendeathratesexceedsbirthratesandthenashortperiodwithhigherfertilityandlowermortality.

2.Duringthefirstperiodofdemographichistory,societieswereoftenindangerofextinctionbecause___.

A.onlyoneintenpersonscouldlivepast40.

B.therewashighermortalitythanfertilityinmostplaces.

C.itwastoodangeroustohavebabiesduetothepoorconditions.

D.ourancestorshadlittleenthusiasmformorechildren.

3.Whichstatementistrueaboutpopulationincrease?

A.Theremightbeanincreaseof2.2billionpersonsfromnowtotheyear2000.

B.About50,000babiesareborneverysixhoursatpresent.

C.Between8000BCandthepresent,thepopulationincreaseisabout80,000,000personseachyear.

D.Thepopulationincreasedfasterbetween8000BCand1650thanbetween1650andthepresent.

4.Theauthorofthepassageintendsto___.

A.warnpeopleagainstthepopulationexplosioninthenearfuture.

B.comparethedemographicgrowthpatterninthepastwiththatafter1650.

C.findoutthecauseforrapidincreaseinpopulationinrecentyears.

D.presentusaclearandcompletepictureofthedemographicgrowth.

5.Theword“demographic”inthefirstparagraphmeans___.

A.statisticsofhuman.

B.surroundingsstudy.

C.accumulationofhuman.

D.developmentofhuman.

PartIVTranslation

Bymakingvehicleslighterinweightaluminumhasgreatlyreducedtheamountoffuelneededtomovethem,(PassageTwo)

Theonlyproblemthestudentsarefacingatgraduationisthedismaljobmarket.