Passage?One The small number of newborn babies,which has been c

Passage?One The small number of newborn babies,which has been caused by high prices and the changing social situation of women,is one of the most serious problems inAsia.When people talk about it,you can hear a word invented inJapan,"DINKS",which means Double Income No Kids. In many majorAsian cities like Seoul,Singapore,and Tokyo,the cost of a house is extremelyhigh.A young couple who want to buy their own house may have to pay about$300,000（though prices have fallen）.For a flat with one bedroom,onedining-room,a kitchen,and a bathroom,the couple will pay about$900 amonth.What′s more,if they want to have a child,the child′s education is veryexpensive.For example,most kindergarten charges are at least$5,000 a year.In such a situation,it′s difficult to afford children. The number ofmarried women who want to continue working increases rapidly because they enjoytheir jobs.However,if they want to have children,they immediately haveserious problems.Though most companies allow women to leave their jobs for ashort time to have a baby,they expect women with babies to give up their jobs.In short,if they want to bring up children properly,both parents have towork,but it is hard for mothers to work.Indeed,women who want to continueworking have to choose between having children or keeping their jobs. In a word,Asiangovernments must take steps to improve the present situation as soon aspossible. What is the main problem beingdiscussed in the passage?
A、The small number of newborn babies.
B、The changing social situation of women.
C、The high prices of houses andeducation.
D、The necessary steps of Asiangovernments.
【正确答案】：A
【题目解析】：文章主要讨论的是由于高物价和女性社会地位的转变导致的新生儿数量减少的问题。在文章开头，作者就明确指出“新生儿数量的减少，这是由高物价和女性社会地位的改变导致的，是亚洲最严重的问题之一。”并且整篇文章都在围绕这个主题展开，详细描述了高房价、教育费用昂贵以及女性就业愿望增强等因素如何影响新生儿的数量。 因此，根据文章内容，我们可以确定文章主要讨论的问题是新生儿数量的减少，即选项A。选项B虽然文中也提及了女性社会地位的转变，但这不是文章的核心讨论点。选项C的高房价和教育费用是文中用来解释新生儿数量减少的部分原因，但不是整体主题。选项D虽然文末提到亚洲政府需要采取措施改善现状，但这更像是对问题的总结和建议，而非文章主要讨论的内容。 综上所述，正确答案是A：“新生儿数量的减少”。