Pre-reading questions:
I will read each question. Then, please answer them.
- What comes to your mind when you hear the word ‘population’?
- What countries with high population do you know?
Vocabulary:
I will read the words, meanings, and sample sentences. Then, repeat after me.
- pace /peys/
- boost /boost/
- priority /prahy-AWR-i-tee/
- inverted /in-VUR-ted/
- workforce /WURK-fawrs/
[noun] – the speed at which someone or something moves, or with which something happens or changes
The child is observing how the turtle walk in a slow pace.
[verb] – to improve or increase something
The shop boosted their profit this month by having weekend sales.
[noun] – something that is very important and must be dealt with before other things
The safety of our employees is a priority.
[adjective] – changed from the normal position by being turned upside down or being arranged in the opposite order
The college professor drew an inverted pyramid in the board and explained the structure of news writing.
[noun] – the group of people who work in a company, industry, country, etc.
There is a sharp increase in the country’s workforce.
Article reading:
Please read the whole article. Then, I will check your pronunciation and intonation.
The latest census released in May reveals that China’s population rate is at its slowest pace in decades. The annual rate declined from 0.57% in the 2000s to 0.53% in the 2010s, bringing the population to 1.41 billion. There was a significant decline in the birth rate according to Ning Jizhe, head of the National Bureau of Statistics. From 18 million newborns in 2016, only 12 million babies were born in 2020. The results pressured the government to boost measures for Chinese couples to have more babies. The census was released in late 2020 with seven million census takers going from house to house to collect information from households.
The lower birth rate, according to Ning, is a natural effect of China’s pursuit of economic and social development. He added that countries tend to have a lower birth rate as countries develop because the population is focusing on other priorities such as education and career. But decreasing population also causes some problems because of the inverted age structure. As there are more old than young people, there may not have enough workforce to support the elderly in the future. Despite ending the controversial one-child policy of 1979 in 2016, the Chinese government did not succeed in increasing the birth rate until now.
The lower birth rate, according to Ning, is a natural effect of China’s pursuit of economic and social development. He added that countries tend to have a lower birth rate as countries develop because the population is focusing on other priorities such as education and career. But decreasing population also causes some problems because of the inverted age structure. As there are more old than young people, there may not have enough workforce to support the elderly in the future. Despite ending the controversial one-child policy of 1979 in 2016, the Chinese government did not succeed in increasing the birth rate until now.
Comprehension questions
I will read each question. Then, please answer them based on the article.
- What did the latest census reveal about China’s population in 2020?
- How many babies were born in China in 2016?
- According to Ning Jizhe, what caused the decline in birth rate in China?
- What does it mean to have an inverted age structure in population?
- When did the one-child policy end in China?
Discussion questions
I will read each question. Then, please answer them.
- What do you think of the 1979 one-child policy of China?
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of having a big population in China?
- Is contraception a good way to reduce population? Why or why not?
- Describe the population in your country. How balanced is the population with regards to age?
- In your opinion, how many children should a couple have? Explain your answer.