Malthusian fears that population growth will outstrip food supplies have been widely discounted as food production has kept well ahead of growing human numbers in the last half century. While population doubled, food supply tripled, and life expectancy increased from 46 in the 1950s to around 65 today. But more recently, some experts have once again been sounding the alarm about a possible food crisis.
The reason lies in the combined impact of many factors including climate change, forest denudation, land degradation, water shortage, declining oil supplies, species extinction, destruction of coastal ecosystems and the growing demands for a meat-rich diet from newly developed parts of the world.
At the root of all these problems has been the ruthless exploitation of the earth’s resources, fuelled by growing affluence in some parts of the world and desperate poverty in others. Between 1980 and 2000, global population rose from 4.4 billion to 6.1 billion, while
A. Mildly supportive
B. Somewhat indifferent
C. A little alarmed
D. Seemingly objective
Until recently, most population growth has occurred in relatively dense urban environments. In (1) words, even if we were witnessing rapid population growth, that would not mean that the (2) were filling in with people. (3) , the urban areas would tend to become more crowded. Historically, we find that people have moved to (4) the jobs were. Jobs were usually in ports or locations with many natural (5) . After transportation became relatively cheap, other geographical locations became (6) of economic activity. One factor that determines where people will move to, even when transportation becomes cheap, is (7) . And individuals working in cities (8) higher incomes than those working in (9) areas. Hence, population has tended until the 1970s to (10) in our major urban centers. Recently population has (11) out of the Northeast to the South and to the West for the more pleasant climates.
A. other
B. another
C. one another
D. those
The road to controlling population growth in the 20th century was paved with good intentions and unpleasant policies that did not work, a new book argues an historian who grew up as the youngest of eight children might well be expected to approach the question of whether the world is overpopulated from an unusual angle. Matthew Connelly, a professor at Columbia University, dedicates his study of those who thought the planet had too many people and tried to do something about it to his parents, "for having so many children".
Yet, he assures the reader, it Was not his personal experience of large families that drew him to the subject. Mr. Connelly’s mentor, Paul Kennedy of Yale University, believed it was necessary to look beyond great-power rivalries to understand the post-cold-war era. In 1994 the pair wrote an article for Atlantic Mouthly arguing that population growth in poor countries, increasing awareness of global economic inequality and the
A. Population growth reflects the powers of great nations
B. Population growth became a problem for human being after the cold war
C. Population growth in underdeveloped countries may deepen economic inequality
D. Population growth lead to different controlling policies and these policies lead to clashes
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