Are There Too Many of Us?
Overpopulation — many people say this is the biggest danger to Earth. It is clear that the planet is not expanding. There is only so much space. The amount of food, water and energy on Earth is also quite limited. So the planet can hardly support more people, can it?
The answer to this question may be “Yes”. David Satterthwaite is an environmental scientist. He points out that the problem is not about the number of people on the planet. Instead, it is about the amount of their consumption (消耗). “The world has enough for everyone’s need. but not enough for everyone’s greed (贪心),” he explains.
Now, the world’s population is over 7.5 billion. According to the United Nations, it could reach 9.7 billion in 2050, and over 11 billion in 2100. Most of the growth is predicted (预言) to be in today’s underdeveloped countries. The influence of adding several billion people to these countries might not be huge. Traditionally, people in these countries consume little. People in higher-income (收入) countries leave a much greater environmental footprint on our planet.
However, the world is always changing. People in low-income countries may break their traditions. If they were to consume as much as people in high-income countries do, the influence of the predicted population growth could be much larger. So, if we want Earth to be able to support a large human population, all of us should try to limit our consumption.
Technological progress in farming, electricity production and many other fields may help Earth support more people. In the long run, space technologies may help solve the problem of over population. Scientists have already discovered many Earth-like planets. Perhaps fifty years from now, some of us may be able to live away from Earth.
29. The underlined word “expanding” means “________” in the first paragraph.
A.becoming larger | B.becoming smaller | C.becoming hotter | D.becoming colder |
30. According to the United Nations, how many people will be on Earth in 2100?
A.About 7.5 billion. | B.About 9.7 billion. |
C.More than 11 billion. | D.More than 15 billion. |
31. In the future, most of the increased population will ________.
A.consume as little as possible | B.appear in low-income countries |
C.leave lots of footprints on Earth | D.appear in high-income countries |
32. According to the article, 50 years later, some people may be able to live ________.
A.under the sea | B.on the moon | C.in space station | D.on another planet |
33. We can learn from the article that ________.
A.David thinks Earth can support more people |
B.technological progress breaks our environment |
C.we have to limit consumption to support more people |
D.we should control the population of underdeveloped countries |