The advantages and disadvantages of a large population have long been a subject of discussion among economists. It has been argued that the supply of good land is limited. To feed a large population, inferior land must be (36)________ and the good land worked (37)________. Thus, each person produces less and this means a (38)________average income than could be obtained with a smaller population. Other economists have argued that a large population gives more (39) ________ for specialization and the development of (40) ________ such as ports, roads and railways, which are not likely to be built unless there is a big demand to (41) ________ them.

　　One of the difficulties in carrying out a (42) ________ birth control program lies in the fact that official attitudes to population growth (43) ________ from country to country depending on the level of industrial development and the availability of food and raw materials. In the developing country where a vastly expanded population is pressing hard upon the limits of food, space and natural resources, (44)__________________________________ , whatever the consequences may be. In a highly industrialized society the problem may be more complex. (45)_______________________________________ . When the pressure of population on housing declines, prices also decline and the building industry is weakened. Faced with considerations such as these, (46)___________________________________________, rather than one which is stable or in decline.

答案及解析： 

　　36.cultivated。所填词后面的and表示其前后是并列的两句话，在结构上应该对称。the good land worked是一个省略了系动词的被动态，故所填词也应该是动词的过去分词形式，而且和inferior land构成动宾搭配。To feed a large population是目的，由此目的推导出的行为应该是“耕种土地”。

　　37.intensively。在这里，the good land worked intensively是指“要集中精力照料优质的土地，使其产量大幅提高”。这种措施和inferior land must be cultivated一样，都是为了feed a large population。

　　38.lower。lower average income与produces less构成因果关系。

　　39.scope。give scope for sth.为常用搭配，意为“使有机会做某事”。注意该空所在句子中的Other economists have argued that ...表示下文要阐述与之前不同的观点。

　　40.facilities。所填词后面的such as表示列举，也就是说ports, roads and railways都属于所填词的范畴，而这些都是使交通便利的设施。

　　41.justify。所填词后面的them是指facilities，这句话的意思是“要不是有大量的需求证明这些设施是合理的，就不可能建设它们”。这是Other economists的立场，即a large population的好处。

　　42.worldwide。所填词前面是不定冠词a，后面是名词词组，那么所填词一定是形容词，修饰birth control program(计划生育)。下文的from country to country， the developing country和a highly industrialized society都暗示了birth control program是全世界范围的。

　　43.vary。该句中that引导的定语从句修饰fact，从句的主语是official attitudes to population growth，depending on ...是状语，那么所填词一定作谓语。而且，所填词后面没有直接加名词作宾语，因此这里要填入一个不及物动词。“vary from ...to ...”是常用的搭配。

　　44.it will be the first concern of government to place a limit on the birthrate

　　【Main Points】government will be concerned to limit the birthrate first

　　45.A decreasing birthrate may lead to unemployment because it results in a declining market for manufactured goods

　　【Main Points】A decreasing birthrate may cause unemployment because market for manufactured goods is declining

　　46.the government of a developed country may well prefer to see a slowly increasing population

　　【Main Points】a developed country may prefer to see a slowly increasing population