Brazil has become one of the developing world’s great successes in reducing population growth—but more by accident than design. While countries such as India have made joint efforts to reduce birth rates, Brazil has had better result without really trying, says George Martine at Harvard.
Brazil’s population growth rate has dropped from 2.99% a year between 1951 and 1960 to 1.93% a year between 1981 and 1990, and Brazilian women now have only 2.7 children 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 and installment(分期付款) plans introduced in the 1970s. Both played an important, although indirect, role in lowering the birth rate. Brazil is one of the world’s biggest producers of soap operas. Globo, Brazil’s most popular television network, 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 message towards the problems of reproduction(生育), they describe middle and upper class values—not many children, different attitudes towards sex, women working,” says Martine. “They sent this message to all parts of Brazil and made people realise other patterns of family life and other values, which were put into a very attractive package.”
Meanwhile, the installment plans tried to encourage the poor to become consumers. “This led to change in consumption(消费) patterns and consumption did not get along well with unlimited reproduction,” says Martine.
【小题1】The underlined phrase “puts it down to” is closest in meaning to “________”.| A．considers the cause of it to be |
| B．finds it a reason for |
| C．looks it on as |
| D．compares it to |
| 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 make birth control measures popular |
| A．The increase in birth rate will increase consumption. |
| B．The desire for consumption helps to reduce birth rate. |
| C．Consumption patterns and reproduction patterns are contradictory. |
| D．A country’s production is limited by its population growth. |
| A．Brazil:the developing world’s success |
| B．Soap operas and installment plans |
| C．Brazil: reducing birth rate by accident |
| D．Learn from Brazil,one of the Third World Countries |
| A．India have reduced birth rates by accident,too |
| B．many other Third World countries are suffering a population growth rate now |
| C．Brazil government’s achieved a success reducing the birth rate purposely |
| D．Brazil has successfully reduced population growth—but more by accident than design |
