TEXT SEVEN

When Catholic clergy or “pro-life” politicians argue that abortion laws should be tightened, they do so in the belief that this will reduce the number of terminations. Yet the largest global study of abortion ever undertaken casts doubt on that simple proposition. Restricting abortions, the study says, has little effect on the number of pregnancies terminated. Rather, it drives women to seek illegal, often unsafe backstreet abortions leading to an estimated 67,000 deaths a year. A further 5m women require hospital treatment as a result of botched procedures.

In Africa and Asia, where abortion is generally either illegal or restricted, the abortion rate in 2003 (the latest year for which figures are available) was 29 per 1,000 women aged 15-44. This is almost identical to the rate in Europe—28—where legal abortions are widely available. Latin America, which has some of the world's most restrictive abortion laws, is the region with the highest abortion rate (31), while western Europe, which has some of the most liberal laws, has the lowest (12).

The study, carried out by the Guttmacher Institute in New York in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and published in a British medical journal, the Lancet, found that most abortions occur in developing countries—35m a year, compared with just 7m in rich countries. But this was largely a reflection of population size. A woman's likelihood of having an abortion is similar whether she lives in a rich country (26 per 1,000) or a poor or middle-income one (29).

Lest it be thought that these sweeping continental numbers hide as much as they reveal, the same point can be made by looking at those countries which have changed their laws. Between 1995 and 2005, 17 nations liberalised abortion legislation, while three tightened restrictions. The number of induced abortions nevertheless declined from nearly 46m in 1995 to 42m in 2003, resulting in a fall in the worldwide abortion rate from 35 to 29. The most dramatic drop—from 90 to 44—was in former communist Eastern Europe, where abortion is generally legal, safe and cheap. This coincided with a big increase in contraceptive use in the region which still has the world's highest abortion rate, with more terminations than live births.

The risk of dying in a botched abortion is only part of a broader problem of maternal health in poor countries. Of all the inequalities of development, this is arguably the worst. According to a report published this week by Population Action International, a Washington-based lobby group, women in poor countries are 250 times more likely to die in pregnancy or childbirth than women in rich ones. （2）Of the 535,000 women who died in childbirth or from pregnancy-related complications in 2005, 99% were in developing countries, according to another report by a group of UN agencies, including WHO, also out this week. Africa accounted for more than half such deaths.As the UN report noted, countries with the highest levels of maternal mortality have made the least progress towards reducing it. A woman in Africa has a one in 16 chance of dying in pregnancy or childbirth, compared with one in 3,800 for a woman in the rich world.

1. The word “botched” (Line 5, Paragraph 1) most probably means_____.

[A] awkward

[B] wrong

[C] backward

[D] bungled

2.The fact that the abortion rate in Africa and Asia in 2003 is almost identical to that in Europe implies that_____.

[A] the abortion rate has nothing to do with a country’s national wealth.

[B] the abortion rate has nothing to do with a country’s restricting measures on abortion.

[C] the abortion rate cannot be lowered through the legal measures.

[D] the abortion rate cannot be lowered by the implement of tightened abortion laws.

3. The conclusion of the study can be proved by the following proofs offered in the passage except that _____.

[A] the abortion rate in countries with strict aboriton laws is higher than that of the counties with liberal laws.

[B] there are much more abortions occuring in developing countries than in developed countries.

[C] there was a dramatic drop in former communist Easter Europe between 1995 and 2005.

[D] there was a big increase in contraceptive use in the region which still has the world’s highest abortion rate between 1995 and 2005.

4. Women in poor countries are much more likely dying in childbirth or pregnancy than women in rich countires because of _____.

[A] botched procedures of abortion in poor countries

[B] inequalities of development between rich and poor countries

[C] ignorance of and little emphasis on the maternal health in poor countries

[D] strict abortion laws in poor countries

5. The passage is mainly about_____.

[A] a study on the aborition rate between developed and developing countries

[B] a study on the aborition laws in different countries

[C] a study on the general maternal health condition in different countries

[D] a study on the influence of the aboriton laws on the abortion rate.

文章剖析：

这篇文章介绍了严格限制堕胎的法律对堕胎率的实际影响。文章第一段提出一项全球调查表明限制堕胎对降低堕胎率影响很小；第二段给出一些数据说明严格的堕胎法律不能降低堕胎率，反而起到相反作用；第三段指出大部分堕胎发生在发展中国家；第四段用另外一组数据说明了堕胎法与堕胎率的关系；第五段是一个引申，引申到贫穷国家妇女健康问题。

词汇注释：

botch v. 做的拙劣                      contraceptive adj. 避孕的

lest conj.以免, 免得                   sweeping adj. 范围广大的, 总括的; 笼统的

难句突破：

(1)   The study, carried out by the Guttmacher Institute in New York in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and published in a British medical journal, the Lancet, found that most abortions occur in developing countries—35m a year, compared with just 7m in rich countries.

[主体句式] The study found that…

[结构分析]这是一个复合句，其主语的定语为两个并列的分词短语：carried out by… 和published in…，而宾语从句中破折号后面的成分可以看作是补语。

[句子译文]这项研究由纽约的Guttmacher研究所和世界卫生组织合作进行，发表于英国医疗期刊Lancet上，该研究发现大多数堕胎都发生在发展中国家，一年大约有3500万例，而在富裕国家中一年只有700万例。

(2)    Of the 535,000 women who died in childbirth or from pregnancy-related complications in 2005, 99% were in developing countries, according to another report by a group of UN agencies, including WHO, also out this week.

[主体句式]  99% were in developing country.

[结构分析] 这是一个复合句，由of构成的介词短语是句子主语的定语，该介词短语中有一个who引导的定语从句修饰名词women；according to构成的介词短语是句子的状语，在该状语中also out this week是report的补语。

[句子译文] 而根据本周联合国机构（包括世界卫生组织）的一个组织的另外一个报道，2005年死于生产或怀孕相关并发症的53万5千名妇女中，99%是在发展中国家。

题目分析：

1. The word “botched” (Line 5, Paragraph 1) most probably means_____.

1.“botched”这个词（第五段第五行）最有

可能指_____。

[A] awkward

[A] 笨拙的

[B] wrong

[B] 错误的

[C] backward

[C] 落后的

[D] inferior

[D] 低劣的

[答案]D

[难度系数] ☆☆☆

[分析]猜词题。根据上下文，限制流产会逼迫妇女去进行一些非法的、不安全的秘密堕胎，从而引发死亡，还有另外一些妇女因为某些程序需要进行住院治疗。那么可以推断，这种程序因为实在非法的不安全的地方进行的，比如一些小诊所，那么应该是一些拙劣的手术程序，答案D符合。

2.The fact that the abortion rate in Africa and Asia in 2003 is almost identical to that in Europe implies that_____.

2.2003年非洲亚洲的堕胎率几乎和欧洲的相同，这个

事实说明_____。

[A] the abortion rate has nothing to do with a country’s national wealth.

[A] 堕胎率和一个国家的富裕程度无关。

[B] the abortion rate has nothing to do with a country’s restricting measures on abortion.

[B]堕胎率和一个国家限制堕胎的措施无关。

[C] the abortion rate cannot be lowered through the legal measures.

[C] 通过法律措施不能降低堕胎率。

[D] the abortion rate cannot be lowered by the implement of tightened abortion laws.

[D] 实施从紧的堕胎法律不能降低堕胎率。

[答案]C

[难度系数] ☆☆☆☆

[分析]推理题。文章第二段指出，虽然亚洲非洲在堕胎方面限制严格，欧洲堕胎合法，但堕胎率却相同。下文又提到虽然拉美国家又最严厉的堕胎法，但堕胎率最高，而欧洲法律最宽松，堕胎率却最高。再结合第一段提到研究发现限制堕胎并不能降低堕胎数量。可以得出，题目中的这个事实也说明了严格的堕胎法并不能有效降低堕胎率。

3. The conclusion  of the study can be proved by the following proofs offered in the passage except that _____.

3.下属选项除了_____都能证明研究得出的结论。

[A] the aboriton rate in countries with strict aboriton laws is higher than that of the counties with liberal laws.

[A]有严格限制堕胎法律的国家的堕胎率比实施

宽松堕胎法律国家的高。

[B] there are much more abortions occuring in developing countries than in developed countries.

[B] 发展中国家堕胎例数比发达国家多。

[C] there was a dramatic drop in in former communist Easter Europe between 1995 and 2005.

[C]1995到2005年期间，前共产主义东欧的堕胎率急剧

降低。

[D] there was a big increase in contraceptive use in the region which still has the world’s highest abortion rate between 1995 and 2005.

[D] 从1995年到2005年期间避孕措施大幅度增加的国家而今

仍拥有世界最高的堕胎率。

[答案]B

[难度系数] ☆☆

[分析] 推理题。题干要求找出哪个论据不能证明本文中提到的研究得出的结论，首先由文章第一段得知该研究的结论是限制堕胎对降低终止怀孕数量影响颇微，而文章中心也是在论证限制堕胎并不能有效降低堕胎率。那么，选项A是文章第二段的论据，可以说明这一点。B在第四段中提到，但提到这一点主要是由于人口数量的原因，因此不能证明研究结论。C在第五段提到，世界整体放松对堕胎的法律限制引起了堕胎率的下降，特别是前社会主义东欧，这一点也可以说明。D也在第五段提及，虽然堕胎措施加大，但效果却相反，也可以证明。因此，只有B是不能证明该结论的。

4. Women in poor countries are much more likely dying in childbirth or pregnancy than women in rich countires because of _____.

4. 相对富裕国家，贫穷国家的妇女死于生产或怀孕的可能性更大，这是因为_____。

[A] botched procedures of abortion between rich and poor countries

[A] 贫穷国家低劣的堕胎手术程序

[B] inequalities of development in poor countries

[B] 贫穷国家发展的不平衡。

[C] ignorance of and little emphasis on the maternal health in poor countries

[C] 贫穷国家对妇女健康问题知之甚少且重视不足。

[D] strict abortion laws in poor countries

[D] 贫穷国家实施严格的堕胎法律。

[答案]C

[难度系数] ☆☆

[分析] 细节题。题干提到的问题在最后一段中提到，首先提到因低劣的堕胎而死的危险只是贫穷国家妇女健康的一方面问题而已，因此A选项错误。而该段进一步指出，联合国的一个报道发现孕产妇死亡率最高的国家为降低该死亡率进行努力的进展也最慢，因此主要原因就是这些国家不注重这方面问题的解决。因此，答案B为正确答案。B选项显然与原文物无关，而D选项与实际情况并不相符。

5. The passage is mainly about_____.

5．这篇文章主要是关于_____。

[A] a study on the aborition rate between developed and developing countries

[A] 对发达国家和发展中不同堕胎率的研究。

[B] a study on the aborition laws in different countries

[B] 对不同国家堕胎法律的研究。

[C] a study on the general maternal health condition in different countries

[C] 对不同国家妇女健康总体情况的研究。

[D] a study on the influence of the aboriton laws on the abortion rate.

[D] 关于堕胎法对堕胎率影响的研究。

[答案]D

[难度系数] ☆☆☆

[分析] 主旨题。这篇文章主要通过一个全球的研究说明实施严格的堕胎法对降低堕胎并没有影响，反而有相反的效果。因此，文章主要是关于堕胎法对堕胎率影响的研究，D为正确答案。文章的各个段落中也涉及到了其他三个选项的内容，但都不是文章的主题，而是围绕着主题分别展开论述的。

参考译文：

天主教牧师或反对堕胎合法化的政治家们要求加紧堕胎方面法律，他们这样做是因为相信这样就可以降低堕胎数量。然而迄今为止最大的全球堕胎调查却让大家对这个简单的主张产生了怀疑。该研究表明，限制堕胎对降低终止怀孕数量影响颇微，这样反而使得妇女寻求一些非法不安全的秘密堕胎，每年因此死亡的妇女达六万七千人，还有另外500万妇女因为手术拙劣需要住院治疗。

一般来说，堕胎在非洲和亚洲或是非法的，或是受到限制，2003年（可提供数据的最近年份）其堕胎率为每1000名15至44岁的妇女中有29名。这个数字和欧洲堕胎率几乎相同（欧洲为28名），而在欧洲堕胎广为可行。而拥有世界上最严格的堕胎法的拉丁美洲有最高的堕胎率（31名），而在世界上最宽松的堕胎法律的西欧堕胎率最低（12名）。

这项研究由纽约的Guttmacher研究所和世界卫生组织合作进行，发表于英国医疗期刊Lancet上，该研究发现大多数堕胎都发生在发展中国家，一年大约有3500万例，而在富裕国家中一年只有700万例。不过这在很大程度上也反映了人口规模。一个妇女不论在哪里，堕胎的可能性大致相同，如果在富裕国家是千分之二十六，在贫穷或中等收入国家是千分之二十九。

为了避免人们认为这些规模庞大的大陆性数字揭示了一些现象，但也同样掩盖了一些，那么只要看看那些改革法律的国家的情况，这一点也同样可以证实。1995年至2005年期间，有17个国家放宽了堕胎法律，有3个国家加强了堕胎的限制，然而堕胎数量却从1995年的近4600万例下降为2003年的4200万例，使得全世界堕胎率由千分之三十五下降到千分之二十九。而最大的降幅——从千分之九十降到千分之四十四——发生在前共产主义的东欧，在该国家堕胎一般是合法的、安全的，而且是廉价的。而在同一时期，世界上堕胎率最高的地区（堕胎数比出生人数多），其避孕措施使用则增幅较大。

在贫穷国家，因拙劣的堕胎技术而死亡的风险只不过是妇女健康这个广泛的问题的一部分而已。但在所有的发展的不平衡中，是最糟糕的。基地在华盛顿的一个游说团组织“国际人口行动”本周发表的一篇报道声称，贫困国家妇女和富裕国家相比，其在怀孕或生产中死亡率是250倍。而根据本周联合国机构（包括世界卫生组织）的一个组织的另外一个报道，2005年死于生产或怀孕相关并发症的53万5千名妇女中，99%是在发展中国家。半数以上的死亡妇女在非洲。正如联合国报道所指出的，孕产妇死亡率最高的国家为降低该死亡率进行努力的进展也最慢。一个非洲妇女因怀孕或生产的死亡几率是16次中有一次，而在富裕国家这个数字为3800中有一次。