Brazil is a federation that consists of twenty-six states and one federal district. The biggest majority of Brazil’s population belongs to the Christian religion and almost all of them are Catholics. This is something Brazil inherited(繼承) being Portugal’s colony(殖民地).
Historically, the country was a colony claimed by people from Portugal and this made Portuguese the official language. The Portuguese reached Brazil in 1500 and until that moment it was inhabited by semi-nomadic(半游牧的) people. The Portuguese changed Brazil into a country of slaves until 1800, when Maria I of Portugal came to live in Brazil. The Queen did not stay long in Brazil, but during the 20 years of royal presence a lot of changes occurred: commercial ports to United Kingdom were opened; Brazil stopped being isolated(孤立) from other countries. So at the moment of getting the independence on the 7th of September, 1822, Brazil already had the potential to develop. The Brazilian Empire, Pedro I, abolished slavery in 1888 in the face of Princess Isabel. A lot of European people started coming to Brazil and the industry of the country started working. In the 19th and the 20th century as it has been said above foreign people immigrated(移民) to Brazil and basically 5 million European and Japanese people became the residents of Brazil. The beginning of the 20th century was especially marked by the immigration of a lot of Asian people: Japanese, Korean and Chinese immigrants. As a matter of fact Japanese people do not immigrate a lot, and the fact that the Brazilian-Japanese people are the largest Japanese minority in the world does astonish greatly.
The majority of the cultural inherits of Brazil are actually Portuguese, due to the fact that Brazil was Portugal’s colony for a very long time. The southern states mainly consist of European population and the north and the northeast consist of a mixed population including Africans, Amerindians and Europeans. Most of this population is Roman Catholic. No other country in the world has the same amount of Catholics. The modern tendency of Brazil is the growing number of people calling themselves Protestants. Around 7.4% of the population don’t believe any god. Some Brazilians, especially in the northern states are mixed Africans who prefer following the traditional African religions. Only 1.8% of the population chose Buddhism, Islam or Judaism.
Though Brazil always tried to maintain democracy, it was failed several times by the dictatorship（獨(dú)裁） of Getulo Vargas. This fact could not affect the political situation in the country.
【小題1】Brazil was ruled by Portuguese about ______.

A．22 yearsB．300 yearsC．322 yearsD．328 years
【小題2】Who might block the development of Brazil?
A．Maria IB．Pedro IC．immigrantsD．Getulo Vargas
【小題3】The writer mainly tells us the ______ of Brazil in the passage.
A．religionB．historyC．cultureD．political situation
【小題4】Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A．Brazil was isolated from other countries when Maria I stayed there.
B．The industry of the country started working in 1888.
C．Brazil has the largest population of Catholics in the world.
D．Some people in Brazil don’t believe any god.
【小題5】It can be inferred that Brazil is a country with ________.
A．western cultureB．modern culture
C．traditional cultureD．mixed culture


【小題1】C
【小題2】D
【小題3】B
【小題4】A
【小題5】D

解析

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科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解

Brazil has become one. of the developing world’s great successes at reducing population growth but more by accident than design. While countries such as India have made joint ef??forts to reduce birth rates, Brazil had better results without re??ally trying, says George Martine at Harvard.

Brazil’s population growth rate dropped from 2. 99% a year between 1951 and 1960 to 1. 93% a year between 198 land 1990, and Brazilian women now have only 2. 7 chil??dren on average. Martine says this figure may have fallen still further since 1990, an achievement that makes it the envy of many other Third World countries.

Martine puts it down to, among other things, soap operas (肥皂劇) and installment (分期付款) plans introduced in the 1970s. Both played an important, although indirect, role in low??ering the birth rate. Brazil is one of the world’s biggest produc??ers of soap operas. Globo, Brazil’s most popular television net??work, shows three hours of soaps six nights a week, while three others show at least one hour a night. Most soaps are based on wealthy characters living the high life in big cities.

Although they have never really tried to work in a mes??sage towards the problems of reproduction, they describe mid??dle and upper class values: not many children, women work??ing, says Martine. They sent this image to all parts of Brazil and made people conscious (有意識(shí)的) of other patterns of behaviour and other values, which were put into a very attrac??tive package.

Meanwhile, the installment plans tried to encourage the poor to become consumers. " This led to an enormous change in consumption (消費(fèi)) patterns and consumption was incom??patible (不相容的) with unlimited reproduction," says Mar??tine.

according to the passage, Brazil has lowered its population growth ________.

A. by educating its citizens                 B. by careful family planning

C. by developing TV programmes                     D. by chance

according to the passage, many Third World countries

A. haven’t given much attention to birth control

B. would soon join Brazil in controlling their birth rate

C. haven’t yet found an effective measure to control their population

D. haven’t realized the importance of TV plays in family planning

Soap operas have helped in lowering Brazil’s birth rate be??cause ________.

A. they keep people sitting long hours watching TV

B. they have gradually changed people’s way of life

C. people are drawn to their attractive package

D. they popularize birth control measures

What is Martine’s conclusion about Brazil’s population growth?

A. The increase in birth rate will increase consumption.

B. The desire for consumption helps to reduce birth rate.

C. Consumption goes with reproduction.

D. A country ‘s production is limited by its population growth.

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The potato is also from the New World. Around 1600, the Spanish brought it from Peru to Eu??rope, where it soon was widely grown. Ireland became so dependent on it that thousands of Irish peo??ple starved when the crop failed during the "Potato Famine (饑荒)" of 1845—1846, and thousands more were forced to leave their homeland and move to America.

There are many other foods that have traveled from South America to the Old World. But some others went in the opposite direction. Brazil is now the world’s largest grower of coffee, and coffee is an important crop in Colombia and other South American countries. But it is native to Ethiopia, a country in Africa. It was first made into a drink by Arabs during the 1400’s.

according to an. Arabic legend, coffee was discovered when a person named Kaldi noticed that his goats were attracted to the red berries on a coffee, bush. He tried one and experienced the " wide-awake" feeling that one third of the world’s population now starts the day with.

according to the passage, which of the following has changed the most in the last 500 years?

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The word "some" in the last sentence of the first paragraph refers to________.

A. some cocoa trees                    B. some chocolate drinks.

C. some shops                           D. some South American Indians

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B. they were forced to leave their homeland and move to America

C. the weather conditions in Ireland were not suitable for growing potatoes

D. the potato harvest was bad

according to the passage, which of the following statements is NOT true?

A. One third of the world’s population drinks coffee.

B. Coffee is native to Colombia.

C. Coffee can keep one awake.

D. Coffee drinks were first made by Arabs.

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B. More people suffer from lung diseases because of poisonous matter.

C. Their health is affected by pollutants the same way as that of other Brazilians.

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B. They will not be severely punished if they cause pollution in Brazil.

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The potato is also from the New World.Around 1,600，the Spanish brought it from Peru to Europe，where it soon was widely grown.The potato was the main food at Irish table.Thousands of Irish people starved (餓死) when the crop failed during the “Potato Famine” (馬鈴薯饑荒) of 1845～1846，and thousands more were forced to move to America.

There are many other foods that have traveled from South America to the Old World.But some others went in the opposite (相反的) direction.Brazil is now the world’s largest grower of coffee，and coffee is important crop in Colombia and other South American countries.But it is native to Ethiopia (埃塞俄比亞)．It was first made into a drink by Arabs during the 1400’s.

According to an Arabic story，coffee was discovered when a man named Kaldi noticed that his goats were attracted to the red fruits on a coffee bush.He tried one and experienced the “wide­awake” feeling that one­third of the world’s population now starts the day with.

46．According to the passage，which of the following has changed the most in the last 500 years?

A．Food.　　　　　　　　　　　B．Chocolate drinks.

C．Potato.  D．Coffee.

47．“Some” in the sentence “Some still exist today” refers to______.

A．cocoa trees                                         B．chocolate

C．shops                                                 D．meeting places

48．Thousands of Irish people starved because________.

A．they depended on the potato

B．they were forced to move to America

C．the weather conditions in Ireland were not fit for growing the potato

D．the potato harvest was bad

49．Coffee originally came from________.

A．Brazil                                                 B．Colombia

C．Ethiopia                                              D．Arabia

50．The writer used an Arabic story to prove that________.

A．coffee was first discovered by Kaldi

B．coffee was first discovered by Kaldi’s goats

C．coffee was first discovered in south American countries

D．coffee drinks were first made by Arabs

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科目：高中英語 來源：2012-2013學(xué)年四川省樂山一中高二上學(xué)期期中考試英語試卷（帶解析） 題型：閱讀理解

The Carnival of Brazil is an annual festival held 46 days before Easter, especially famous for the Carnival in Rio de Janeiro. Carnival celebrations are believed to have roots in the festival of Saturnalia, which, adapted to Christianity, became a farewell to bad things in a season of religious discipline to regret and prepare for Christ’s death and coming back to life.
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In the late 19th century, the strings (弦樂器) were introduced in Rio de Janeiro. These were pageant (游行) groups that paraded through city avenues performing on instruments and dancing. Today they are known as blocks, consisting of a group of people who dress in costumes or special T-shirts with themes or logos. Blocks are generally connected with particular neighborhoods; they include both a music group and a lot of revelers.
Block parades have become an expressive feature of Rio’s Carnival. Today, they number more than 100 and the groups increase each year. Blocks can be formed by small or large groups of revelers with a clear title. Before the show, they gather in a square, then parade in sections of the city, often near the beach.
Carnival time in Rio is very interesting, but is also the most expensive time to visit Rio. Hotel rooms and other lodgings (住宿) can be up to four times more expensive than the regular rates. There are big crowds at some locations and life is far from ordinary in many parts of town.
【小題1】What can we infer from the first paragraph?

A．The Carnival of Brazil is often held after Easter.
B．The Carnival of Brazil comes from Easter and Saturnalia.
C．The Carnival of Brazil is a festival to regret and begin a new life.
D．The Carnival of Brazil is mainly to celebrate the birth of Christ.
【小題2】How long is the history of the people’s celebrating modern Brazilian Carnival?
A．About 100 years.B．Less than two centuries.
C．About 370 years.D．Over five centuries.
【小題3】Which of the following statements is TRUE about the blocks in Rio de Janeiro?
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B．They always parade through countryside villages singing and dancing.
C．There are no more than 50 blocks today.
D．They don’t parade before the show.
【小題4】What is the passage mainly about?
A．The famous carnivals in the world.
B．How the carnival was introduced in Brazil.
C．The carnival in Rio de Janeiro.
D．The happy life of the people in Rio de Janeiro.

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