The world has reached a somewhat     1     (worry) demographic (人口统计学的) milestone. A spokesperson said the U. S. Census Bureau (人口统计局) estimated that the     2     (globe) population surpassed 8 billion on the 26th of September.     3    , he said this was a very rough guess and the precise day could be a month or two either side of this date. The world population had doubled between 1960 and 2000, and     4     (grow) from 6 billion to 8 billion in the past two decades. The rate of growth is slowing     5     birth rates are falling in many nations.

According to the Census Bureau, trends of longer lifespans and lower birth rates result     6     the slowdown in population growth. However, it forecast that the population would reach 10. 2 billion in 2060. It said: “The world population is projected to keep growing despite     7     (decline) birth rates. In fact, we estimate     8     number of infants already peaked in 2017. Instead, population growth in the future will come from larger groups of people at adult ages.” It added: “Population growth is the result of birth rates, mortality (死亡率), migration and the share of the population at certain ages. Nearly three quarters (74 per cent) of the earth’s population     9     (resident) in countries     10     birth rates are around or below the replacement level.”

Do you know the nickname of America? A look at the history of the United States indicates that so far this country     1     (call) “a melting pot”, in which various immigrants and ethnic groups have learned to work together to build     2     unique nation. So who are the real Americans? The answer is that any and all of them are! And you, no matter     3     you come from, could also become an American if you want. Then you would become another    4     (add) to America’s wonderfully rich “nation of immigrants”.

The United States is     5     (current) shifting from being a nation of immigrants of mainly European origins to one of immigrants from other parts of the world. They hope to escape     6     (economy) hardship in their native countries. They desire     7     (seek) a better education and a better life in America. Although there are frequent     8     (conflict) between the cultures they have brought with them from the “old country” and those found in American, most immigrants have learnt to adjust     9     and love their adopted land.

Over time, Americans have learned much from the customs and ideas of the immigrants. In other words, immigrants have a huge impact on American society,     10     (enrich) American life greatly.

World Population Day was founded by the United Nations, and this holiday is    1    (annual) observed on July 11th.

The idea of World Population Day started in the late 1960s,    2    world leaders openly declared that adults have the right    3    (choose) whether they wanted children or not. This idea was also viewed as a human right. During this era, leaders were more open about    4    (discuss)child-bearing and the right women had to time their children    5    they wished. While this was just one of the    6    (sign) to the feminist movement in the US, this idea was new to many developing nations at the time.

In 1989, the world population quickly increased to five billion. During this same year, the United Nations founded World Population Day. Both events    7    (occur) on July 11th of that year.

World Population Day is celebrated in many ways‒‒much of this depends on the region. For participants who live in countries where gender    8    (equal) is a law, the holiday is meant to be     9    reflection and celebration of significant moments in history that helped society achieve this basic human right.

Every July 11th, the United Nations also has central celebrations in which all nations    10    (permit) to participate. In addition, the UN holds an annual theme.

The global population is expected to have reached 8 billion by the end of 2022, and India is predicted to surpass (超越) China as the country     1     the largest population in 2023, according to the United Nations.

“This is an occasion to celebrate our     2     (diverse) and recognize our common humanity,” said UN Secretary Antonio. “At the same time, it is     3     reminder of our shared responsibility to care for our planet and a moment to reflect on     4     we can do to one another,” he added.

The world population     5     (grow) at its slowest rate at the present time and it is forecast to reach a peak of around 10. 4 billion people during the 2080s and to remain at that level until 2100. Rapid population growth makes     6     (defeat) hunger and expanding the coverage of health and education systems increasingly difficult.

Countries with aging populations should take steps     7     (adapt) public programs to the growing numbers of older persons,     8     includes establishing universal health care and long-term care systems. Further actions by governments     9     (aim) at reducing birth rate would have little impact on the pace of population growth between now and mid-century, because of the youthful age structure of today’s     10     (globe) population.

The Chinese government     1     (grow) concerned about falling birth rates and demographic decline over the past few years, but according to independent expert He Yafu, China may have already encountered negative population growth this year.

Since China     2     (experience) an average of 10 million deaths per year, the number of births might fail to cancel out the number of deaths,     3     (result) in zero or negative population growth.

Local reports from Chinese     4     (province) showed some of them have seen double-digit declines in birth rates for up to four consecutive years.

There’s one thing     1     certain — we’re all getting older. But, growing old     2     (graceful) is no bad thing. And with age comes wisdom. However, as the world population ages, will there be enough people to replace our younger selves?

A situation     3     there are more old people than young certainly has     4     effect on the world. A report by the Pew Research Center says that globally the number of people over 65 years will be three times by 2050,     5     (change) some countries’ demographic make-up (人口构成).

This growing and dependent population means that there is an increased demand for health and social care. Governments will struggle to provide satisfactory pensions (养老金), which     6     (fund) by taxes paid by the working population. And long-term, a smaller population of economically-active people may be a problem for     7     (company) trying to hire staff.

Attitudes to an ageing population vary around the world. The Pew Research Center survey found that 87% of Japanese people were most concerned about it, while only 26% of people from the USA were. Here, immigration is helping in order     8     (make) the younger workforce larger and stronger. Some countries thought the elderly should take care of     9     (they), while others thought it was the     10     (responsible) of the family. Many thought the government should be responsible.

How do you count 1.3 billion people in the middle of a pandemic? China, as the world's most populous country, will launch its seventh     1     ( nation) census (人口普查) on November 1.

According to state-run news agency Xinhua, the huge undertaking will see around 7 million census     2     (worker) spread out across the country,     3     ( collect) names, ID numbers, gender, marital details, as well as education and professional information.

As well as traditional methods, citizens will also     4     ( recommend) using cell phones and other digital tools     5     (declare) personal and family information.

China conducts its census every 10 years. The last survey     6     (find) the population had increased from 1.29 billion to 1.37 billion. Last year, the country's birthrate hit its     7     (low) level since the founding of the People's Republic     8     1949. The statistics also revealed that more than 250 million Chinese were over 60 years old last year,     9     make up more than 18% of the population. The figure is forecast to rise to a third of the population by 2050 — or 480 million people.

This year's census may even show a decrease in     10     total size of the population for the first time in decades, setting the stage for India to overtake China as the world's most populous country.