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1. From the information given in paragraph 2, the combined population of the US and Canada is:
(a)a staggering 90 million
(b)exactly 270 million
(c)about 90 million
(d)approximately 270 million
a b c d

2. The main purpose of paragraph 2 is:
(a)to put forward the argument that world population has to be reduced
(b)to give a brief history of the growth in world population
(c)to emphasise how quickly the world population is rising
(d)to stress how large the world population is now
a b c d

3. In paragraph 3, which of the following is NOT given as a reason for a reduction in death rates:
(a)new inventions
(b)better hygiene
(c)improved food production
(d)better control of fatal diseases
a b c d

4. Which of the following is closest in meaning to 'eighty or even ninety ..... normal life-span for humans'? (paragraph 3)
(a)on average, people now live to be over eighty
(b)we should recognise that people now live to between eighty and ninety on average
(c)nowadays it isn't normal for people to die younger than eighty
(d)average life expectancy is increasingly being considered to be eighty or more
a b c d

5. According to paragraph 4, how much per person of the earth's surface can be used to produce food?
(a)25000 square metres
(b)15000 square metres
(c)2500 square metres
(d)5000 square metres
a b c d

6. In paragraph 9 , the writer claims it is commonly believed that:
(a)people from poor countries produce too many goods
(b)poor people in undeveloped countries have too many children
(c)in undeveloped countries, poor people can not reproduce enough
(d)there are too many poor and uneducated people in some parts of the world
a b c d

7. The writer's main purpose in paragraph 8 is to argue that:
(a)people in developed countries generally have more impact on nature than others
(b)Hong Kong children are generally better off than children born in India
(c)Hong Kong children consume too much of the world's resources
(d)people from some countries are more selfish than others in their consumption of resources
a b c d

8. Based on information in the passage, which of the following would the writer probably recommend:
(a)increasing food and industrial production, and encouraging people in undeveloped countries to have fewer children
(b)improving education about the environment and banning the export of wood products from poor to rich countries
(c)encouraging people worldwide to have fewer children and to behave in a more responsible way towards nature
(d)restricting population worldwide and increasing the use of nonrenewable resources
a b c d

9. Which of the following does 'Their' refer to in paragraph 8?
(a)babies in India
(b)babies in Hong Kong
(c)cars and air-conditioners
(d)the world's resources
a b c d

10. Which of the following could replace 'on the other hand' (paragrpah 10) without changing the meaning:
(a)besides
(b)furthermore
(c)while
(d)however
a b c d

11. What does 'it' refer to in line 4?
(a)important world problem
(b)increasing number
(c)limited amount of land
(d)huge population.
a b c d

12. Which of the following could replace 'yet' (paragrpah 9) without changing the meaning of the sentence:
(a)but
(b)still
(c)and
(d)since
a b c d

13. Which of the following is closest in meaning to the last sentence of paragraph 4:
(a)the amount of productive land available is falling
(b)the situation now looks more serious
(c)the situation is becoming dangerous
(d)the position is changeable
a b c d

14. 'pastureland' (paragrpah 9) means the same as:
(a)land for crops
(b)forest products
(c)land where animals can feed
(d)areas for building factories.
a b c d

15. 'crucial' (line 54) means the same as:
(a)essential
(b)probably important
(c)quite important
(d)useful
a b c d

16. 'this is the very definition of success' (paragrpah 3) refers to:
(a)increasing life span to 80 or 90 years
(b)reaching 70 years old
(c)having a normal life span
(d)technological innovations
a b c d