阅读理解 It will come as no surprise that the earth is going to be a much more crowded place in the next century. From a global population of about 5.4 billion today, the United Nations Fund for Population Activities says we''ll see a rise to 8.2 billion people in 2025. The U. N. expects the total population to stabilize (稳定) at Il. 6 billion sometime later in the 2000 s. More than ninety percent of the population growth will occur in developing countries. Eighteen of the world'' s twenty largest cities will be in these lands as the number of urban-dwellers (城市居民) swells from roughly two billion to 5.1 billion. The Unites States and Europe, which in 1950 accounted for twenty-two percent of the world'' s population, will be home to less than nine percent of its people in 2025. By contrast, Africa'' s share of the total will climb from nine percent in 1950 to nearly twenty percent by 2015. Ethiopia should double in size to almost 100 million people. In about the same time period, India will overtake China as the world''s most populous country. For the United States, the big news won''t be an abundance of new faces; experts predict the country will grow from its present 250 million population and stabilize at about 350 million sometime before the middle of the 21st century. The important changes will be in American ethnic (种族的) makeup. Twenty years from now, the United States white, non-Hispanic majority will peak at 195 million, and then may decline in numbers. Asian-Americans will become an increasingly important minority, while African-Americans--whose population growth rate is slowing dramatically--will become the second-largest minority behind Hispanics, a half million of whom are now thought to be emigrating to the United States legally and otherwise, each year.

单选题 This article is primarily about ______.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】主旨题。根据第一段以及各段的首句可知，本文的主要内容是介绍世界各地、各国在将来的人口变化，既有同一时期不同国家的横向比较，又有针对某个国家不同时期的人口的纵向比较。选项A以偏概全，选项B和D不是文章的重点和出发点，故答案为C。

单选题 We can infer from the passage that ______.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】推断题。题干没有提供任何可供定位的信息，故须对四个信息分别进行定位。选项A定位于第三段最后一句，根据African-Americans...will become the second-largest minority behind Hispanics可知Hispanics是美国最大的少数民族，故选项A正确。选项B定位于第二段倒数第二句：“Ethiopia should double in size to almost 100 million people．”这里并没有提到Ethiopia会成为世界上人口最多的国家，而且常识也告诉我们这个人口数量不会是世界第一。选项C定位于第二段最后一句：India will over take China as the world’s most populous country，故可判断C为误。选项D定位于最后一句前半句：Asian-Americans will become an increasingly important minority，故D为误。答案为A。

单选题 Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

A、 Hispanics are the largest ethnic group in the United States.
B、 All Hispanics in the US are thought to be legal immigrants.
C、 Though slowing in population growth, African-Americans will still become the second largest minority in the US.
D、 The white, non-Hispanic majority in the United States of America will always decrease in numbers twenty years from now.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】细节题。可分别对各选项进行定位。选项A定位于第三段最后一句前半部分African Americans...will be come the second-largest minority behind Hispanics可知Hispanics是美国最大的少数民族而不是最大的民族。选项B定位于最后一句后半部分a half million of whom are now thought to be emigrating to the United States legally and otherwise，故为误。选项C与A定位在一个地方，可判断该选项正确，选项D定位于第三段倒数第二句“Twenty years from now， the United States’white，non-Hispanic majority will peak at 195 million，and then may decline in numbers．”故D为误。答案为C。

单选题 Today people in the US account for about ______ percent of the global population.

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】细节题。考生需要经过定位和计算才能得出答案。首先应该分别对现在美国和世界的人口进行定位，它们分别位于第一段第二句From a global population of about 5.4billion today和第三段第一句experts predict the country will grow from its present 250 million population，经过简单的除法计算可知答案为B。