请教99-10 和95-08 两道阅读题目

daydaysun

In North America, potash making quickly became an adjunct to the clearing of land  for agriculture, for it was estimated that as much as half the cost of clearing land could be recovered by the sale of potash. Some potash was exported from Maine and New Hampshire in the seventeenth century, but the market turned out to be mainly domestic,consisting mostly of shipments from the northern to the southern colonies. For despite the beginning of the trade at Jamestown and such encouragements as a series of acts "to encourage the making of potash," beginning in 1707 in South Carolina, the softwoods in the South proved to be poor sources of the substance.

10. According to paragraph 5, the softwoods in the South posed which of the following problems for southern settles?

(A) The softwoods were not very plentiful.

(B) The softwoods could not be used to build houses.

(C) The softwoods were not very marketable.

(D) The softwoods were not very useful for making potash.

答案选D，但是我对the softwoods in the South proved to be poor sources of the substance.不太理解

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 women 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.

18. 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 答案选B，但是（1）Young people were staying at school longer能说明people being better educated 吗？（2）young married couples 和(B) people getting married earlier 又有什么区别？ 谢谢大家指教

[此贴子已经被作者于2005-4-16 20:37:58编辑过]

daydaysun

有牛牛回答我吗？