A Century of World Population Trends 1995-2050

Reading I: A Century of World Population Trends 1995-2050

A. Match the following words with their correct meanings.

Answer:

a. populous: having a large population; densely populated

b. mortality: the number of deaths in a particular situation or period of time

c. projection: an estimation of what figures will be in the future

d. demographic: relating to the population and different groups within it

e. peak: reach the highest point or value

f. stabilization: the process of making somebody/something unlikely to change

g. trajectory: a path followed by something

h. surpass: to be greater than something; exceed

i. disparate: completely dissimilar

B. Complete the following sentences with the correct information from the text.

Answer:

a. The highest population growth rate in the past hundred years was 2.1 percent.

b. World population is likely to reach 8.5 billion by mid-twenty-first century.

c. The factors that determine the growth rate of the world population are fertility and mortality.

d. In the early 2020s, Eastern and South-Eastern Asia had 2.3 billion population.

e. The population of the sub-Saharan region is likely to reach above 2 billion by the end of the 2040s.

f. The low level of fertility will cause a fall in population size of Europe and Northern America by the late 2030s.

g. India is likely to exceed the population of China by 2023.

C. Answer the following questions.

Answer:

a. What was the size of the world population in the mid-twentieth century? Ans: The size of the world population in the mid-twentieth century was more than 2.5 billion.

b. What was the fastest population growth rate in the past century? Ans: The fastest population growth rate in the past century was around 2.1 percent per year.

c. Why has the population growth rate declined in recent years? Ans: The population growth rate has declined in recent years because of low fertility rate.

d. What is the predicted world population size by 2050? Ans: The predicted world population size by 2050 is 9.7 billion.

e. How do fertility and mortality contribute to the size of the population? Ans: Fertility and mortality contribute to the size of the population because they are the major factors of population change. If fertility increases, the population will increase, and if mortality rate increases, the population growth will decrease.

f. Which countries contribute to the largest population in Eastern and South-Eastern Asia? Ans: China and India contribute to the largest population in Eastern and South-Eastern Asia.

g. Why will population regions have different population variation in the next 30 years? Ans: Different regions will have different population variation in the next 30 years because of the different growth rates in each region.

h. Which countries are most likely to contribute to the growth of world population by 2050? Ans: The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and the United Republic of Tanzania are most likely to contribute to the growth of world population by 2050.

D. Do you think the world population will increase as projected in the text? Discuss.

Answer:

I think the population will not increase as rapidly as projected. First, people are comparatively better educated than before and tend to have fewer children. Second, it is difficult to rear many children due to low income. Another reason is that many youths are living together without having babies. So, I think the population may not increase as fast as projected.

Grammar I

A. Match the sentence halves and make meaningful sentences.

Answer:

a. We continued the match although it was raining heavily.

b. Ram was selected for the post even though she had no prior experience for the job.

c. Ram attended the class despite the fact that she was not feeling well.

d. I often leave home quite early; however, I always reach my office on time.

e. Ram never participates in social functions despite looking very sociable.

f. It was snowing heavily, yet it was not too cold.

g. He did not give up smoking in spite of the warnings of the doctor.

h. I have never been to that town though it is not far from my home.

i. We were lost in the town although we had the map of the town with us.

B. Complete the sentences below in a suitable way. Use the connectives of contradiction where necessary.

Answer:

a. Although I had not seen him before, I recognized him at once.

b. Even though it was snowing outside, we did not feel cold.

c. In spite of his hard work, he failed the exam.

d. Although she had not practised more, Ram gave a good speech at the function.

e. Despite being Nepali, she spoke excellent French.

f. I had not eaten anything since last evening, although I am feeling ok.

g. In spite of our best efforts, we were not qualified for the final match.

h. The food was very tasty even though the restaurant was not very popular.

i. Though I wrote fast, I could only attempt half of the questions.

j. Even though we treated her as our boss, she was not pleased with us at all.

Writing I

Study the graph and chart below and write an interpretation of each of them.

a. Nepali Student Migration

Answer: This graph is about Nepali students' migration to foreign countries for better academic achievement. The graph gives the data of ten years, and during these last eight years, the number has been increasing. According to the chart, only in 2011 and 2012 the migration trend was low. As 10,258 students migrated in 2012, the number reached up to 63,259 in the year 2019. In conclusion, we can say that the number of students' migration is increasing every year.

b. Distribution of Population of Kathmandu Metropolitan in Terms of Languages (Based on the population census of 2011)

Answer: The pie chart is about the distribution of population of Kathmandu Metropolitan city in terms of languages. It is based on the population census of 2011. According to the chart, the largest population, that is 61.26%, is Nepali speakers in the city. Similarly, the second largest language community in the city is Newar. Among ten languages, Tamang comes in the third position with 5.55%, which is followed by Maithili. Five different language-speaking groups are the same in number, i.e. one percent each. To sum up, we can say that as in the whole country, Nepali language dwellers form the largest population in the city.