听力原文：
About 700,000 children in Mexico dropped out of school last year as recession-stricken families pushed kids to work, and a weak economic recovery will allow only slight improvement in the drop-out rate in 2010, a top education official said.
Mexico's economy suffered more than any other in Latin America last year, shrinking an estimated 7 percent due to a plunge in U.S. demand for Mexican exports such as cars.
The decline led to a 4 percent increase in the number of kids who left primary or middle school in 2009, said Juan de Dios Castro, who heads the nation's adult education program and keeps a close watch on drop-out rates.
"Poverty rose and that is a factor that makes our job more difficult," Castro told Reuters in an interview earlier this month.
Hindered by higher taxes and weak demand for its exports, Mexico's economy is seen only partially recovering this year. As a result, drop-out rates will not improve much, Castro said.
"There will be some improvement, but not significant," Castro said.
Mexicohas historically had high drop-out rates as poor families pull kids out of school to help put food on the table, and children often sell candy and crafts in the streets or work in restaurants.
The nation's drop-out problem is just the latest bad news for the long-term competitiveness of the Mexican economy. Mexico's politicians have resisted mending the country's tax, energy and labor laws for decades, leaving its economy behind countries such as Brazil and Chile.
【点评】
本篇文章谈论的是墨西哥失学率问题。文章先开篇阐述了墨西哥失学情况的现状，然后谈到这一现状的原因和所造成的严重后果。文中国家有关的Mexico、Mexican、Chile等部分考生可能不熟悉，而造成听力困扰，但这些实际并非考点，切记死盯部分词汇不放，而影响全篇理解。
最后，文中生词不多，实际内容对于喜欢阅读报刊杂志、关心时事热点的考生而言，能够根据日常经验有所预判。这就提醒考生，听力同样也需要平时多多进行报刊阅读。
