I. Read the passage and choose the best answer to each of the questions. (1.0 pt)
Basic to any understanding of Canada in the 20 years after the Second World War is the
country's impressive population growth. For every three Canadians in 1945, there were over
five in 1966. In September 1966, Canada's population passed the 20 million mark. Most of this
surging growth came from natural increase. The depression of the 1930’s and the war had
held back marriages, and the catching-up process began after 1945. The baby boom continued
through the decade of the 1950's, producing a population increase of nearly fifteen percent in
the five years from 1951 to 1956. This rate of increase had been exceeded only once before in
Canada's history, in the decade before 1911, when the prairies were being settled.
Undoubtedly, the good economic conditions of the 1950's supported a growth in the
population, but the expansion also derived from a trend toward earlier marriages and an
increase in the average size of families. In 1957, the Canadian birth rate stood at 28 per
thousand, one of the highest in the world.
After the peak year of 1957, the birth rate in Canada began to decline. It continued
falling until in 1966 it stood at the lowest level in 25 years. Partly this decline reflected the low
level of births during the depression and the war, but it was also caused by changes in
Canadian society. Young people were staying at school longer; more woman were working;
young married couples were buying automobiles or houses before starting families; rising
living standards were cutting down the size of families. It appeared that Canada was once
more falling in step with the trend toward smaller families that had occurred all through the
Western world since the time of the Industrial Revolution.
Although the growth in Canada's population had slowed down by 1966 (the increase in
the first half of the 1960's was only nine percent), another large population wave was coming
over the horizon. It would be composed of the children who were born during the period of the
high birth rate prior to 1957.
1. What does the passage mainly discuss?
A. Educational changes in Canadian society B. Canada during the Second World War
C. Population trends in postwar Canada D. Standards of living in Canada
2. According to the passage, when did Canada's baby boom begin?
A. In the decade after 1911 B. After 1945
C. During the depression of the 1930's D. In 1966
3. The word "five" in bold in paragraph 1 refers to ________.
A. Canadians B. years C. decades D. marriages
4. The word "surging" in bold in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to ________.
A. new B. extra C. accelerating D. surprising
5. The author suggests that in Canada during the 1950's ________.
A. the urban population decreased rapidly B. fewer people married
C. economic conditions were poor D. the birth rate was very high
6. The word "trend" in bold in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to ________.
A. tendency B. aim C. growth D. directive
7. The word "peak" in bold in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to ________.
A. pointed B. dismal C. mountain D. maximum
8. When was the birth rate in Canada at its lowest postwar level?
A. 1966 B. 1957 C. 1956 D. 1951
9. The author mentions all of the following as causes of declines in population growth after
1957 EXCEPT ________.
A. people being better educated B. people getting married earlier
C. better standards of living D. couples buying houses before starting families
10. It can be inferred from the passage that before the Industrial Revolution ________.
A. families were larger B. population statistics were unreliable
C. the population grew steadily D. economic conditions were bad