[听力原文]
Before we begin our tour, I’d like to give you some background information on the painter Grand Wood. We’ll be seeing much of his work today. Wood was born in 1881 in Iowa farm country, and became interested in art very early in life. Although he studied art in both Minneapolis and Chicago, the strongest influences on his art work were European. He spent time in both Germany and France and his study there helped shape his own stylized form of realism. When he returned to Iowa, Wood applied the stylistic realism he had learned in Europe to the rural life he saw around him and that he remembered from his childhood around the turn of the century. His portraits of farm families imitate the still formalism of photographs of early settlers posed in front of their homes. His paintings of farmers at work, and of their tools and animals, demonstrate a serious respect for the life of the mid-western United States.
By the 1930’s, Wood was a leading f
A. A professor.
B. A tour guide.
C. A painter.
D. An art dealer.
A significant number of people seek to adopt children from other countries, a process known as international adoption. People seek to adopt abroad for many reasons. Many people want to adopt an infant or a very young child. Some also hope to adopt children who share their ethnic heritage. Such prospective parents may find a shortage of suitable children available for adoption in the United States. Publicity regarding the availability of infants in a particular country also encourages some people to seek to adopt there. Many people adopt abroad because of anxieties regarding domestic adoptions, especially fears that the birth mother will refuse to proceed with an arranged adoption after she gives birth to the child. In a few, well-publicized cases in the United States, biological parents have attempted to reclaim their child years after it was adopted, adding to the worries of prospective parents.
Three methods can be used for international adoption. The majority of prospe
A. Many people want to adopt an infant or a very young child who share their ethnic heritage and they may find a shortage of suitable children available for adoption in the United States.
B. The public regard the parents can not give birth to the child so they seek to adopt abroad.
C. In a few, wealthy families in the United States, some parents have attempted to claim their abilities and conditions to adopt one or more child to ease the pressure of society.
D. There are children-sales agencies who provide enough children to the prospective parents.
Workforce is defined as the total number of people who are available to work and earn incomes. The definition includes everyone who is employed or seeking paid employment, so it includes employers and the self-employed.
Although the size of the workforce depends a great deal on the size of the total population, there are several other influences which also affect it. The age distribution of the total population has a very marked effect on the available workforce. If the population has a high proportion of very young people or of those too old to work, then the available workforce would be lower than if there were an evenly spread age distribution. If the population grows rapidly from natural increase, i.e., the number of births greatly exceeds the number of deaths, then as the total population increases, the proportion in the workforce declines
Sometimes a population is described as aging, which means that the birth rate is either falling or growing very slowly, a
A. both the employed and the self-employed
B. people employed to work for others
C. both employers and employees
D. people available to work and earn incomes
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