Struggle with Population Reading Answers

Jun 17, 2023

Struggle with population reading answers is a general reading subject that explores struggle with population topic in depth. Struggle with population IELTS reading answers has a total of thirteen questions. The specified topic generates a single type of question: True/False/Not Given. Candidates should read the IELTS Reading passage thoroughly in order to recognize synonyms, identify keywords, and answer the questions below. IELTS reading practice papers, which feature themes such as Struggle with population. Candidates can use IELTS reading answers to enhance their performance in the reading section.

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Section 1

Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions

Struggle with Population Reading Answers

In 1979 the Chinese government introduced a policy that no other country had ever introduced before Each couple was restricted by law to having to only one child. This one-child policy, although highly controversial, is believed to have helped prevent the rapidly growing Chinese population from becoming unsustainable

In 2015 the one-child policy was finally relaxed, allowing couples to now have two children. According to the Communist Party of China, 400 million births have been prevented since the policy was introduced, and the Chinese population has become sustainable Meanwhile, other developing countries like India and Nigeria, where such a policy has never been nationally enforced, continue to struggle with population explosions

On a statistical level it is easy to suggest that the one-child policy has been rather successful in China It has lessened the negative environmental impact that rapid industrialisation and population growth have had on China since being implemented However, there are plenty of grounds for criticism, especially from human rights activists, as well as advocates for freedom of choice. The main question raised by such a move is should a government be allowed to control family size, or is that too much control over individual liberty?

In the poorer rural areas of China, where life has changed very little for hundreds of years, farmers often used to rely on their children to help out on the farm. It was common for couples to have many children because infant mortality was high and the burden of work could not be handled by just a few people. It was generally considered that a girl was bad luck in this case because she would not be able to do as much manual labour

However backwards this way of thinking may seem to many people, the sad reality was that the instances of infanticide of female babies began to rise rapidly in the 1980s in China, as a result of the one-child policy.

Despite this raising other important concerns such as gender inequality in China, the growing problem of infanticide did lead to change, the government relaxed the one-child policy so that a couple could have a second child, but only if their first child was a girl. On the other hand, the government has also faced heavy criticism of its methods of trying to enforce the one-child policy in the past in rural areas, it was very difficult for the government to enforce the policy, and so only really applied in urban areas of the country

In extreme cases, the government in China would force pregnant women who already had one child to have an abortion. However, they were also forced to introduce laws in 2005 outlawing sex-selective abortions, which were increasingly common choices being made by couples who knew the sex of their baby to be female before birth

Whilst true statistics are difficult to obtain from China, it is thought that there are now 60 million more men than women in China. This gender imbalance is almost certainly an indirect result of the one-child policy. Another theory suggests that there are unofficially millions of more women in China who were never registered with local authorities by their parents through fear of being fined or losing their child

The necessity of having children in some parts of China is something many in the West have trouble understanding. After all, increasing numbers of adults in the West now choose not to have children purely for environmental reasons

Research by statisticians at Oregon State University in America fund that because of the average American's huge carbon footprint, having a child in America increased a person's long-term carbon output by up to 20 times I put this into greater context, the long-term pollution output of a child born in the U.S. can be up to 160 times higher than that of a child born in Bangladesh.

One of the reasons in China for changing the one-child policy to a two-child policy in 2015 was that the original policy was almost redundant anyway. The original legislation was only aimed at a single generation Under the ruling, any couple in China who were both sole children to their respective parents were allowed to have two children Therefore the two child policy was already in effect for most couples already by 2015

China has a rapidly developing economy, and with such development comes a higher average carbon output per person. This leads some authorities to worry that the already strained environment in China will suffer even more in decades to come. Having said that, as China continues to experience such rapid economic development, Chinese people are enjoying increased personal wealth and financial stability. With that may also come the philosophy of choice. such as having the luxury to choose not to have children purely for environmental reasons, just like in the US

Section 2

Solution and Explanation

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage

Choose TRUE if the statement agrees with the information given in the text,
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information,
or NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this.

China's one-child policy is believed to have kept population growth in the country at sustainable levels

Answer: TRUE
Supporting statement: “..though highly controversial, is believed to have helped prevent the rapidly growing Chinese population from becoming unsustainable…”
Keywords: unsustainable, prevent
Keyword location: Para 1, line 3-4
Explanation: It is clearly written in the passage that this policy is controversial but has prevented overpopulation in the country.

The negative environmental impact of population growth in China is less because of the one-child policy.

Answer: TRUE
Supporting statement: “..It has lessened the negative environmental impact that rapid industrialisation and population growth have…”
Keywords: lessened, industrialization
Keyword location: Para 3, line 2-3
Explanation: There has been an instance in the passage that the one child policy has lessened the environmental impact of population in China.

The number of cases of infanticide of female babies decreased in China during the 1980s

Answer: FALSE
Supporting statement: “... instances of infanticide of female babies began to rise rapidly in the 1980s in China, as a result of the one-child policy.…”
Keywords: Instances, rise
Keyword location: para 5, line 2-3
Explanation: The opposite is given in the passage. The cases of infanticide began to increase in China during the 1980’s.

In India effective population control is becoming an increasingly important concern for the government

Answer: NOT GIVEN
Supporting statement: “...other developing countries like India and Nigeria, where such a policy has never been nationally enforced, continue to struggle with population explosions…”
Keywords: struggle, policy
Keyword location: Para 2, line 5- 6
Explanation: There has been no mention of Indian population control. It has just mentioned that the countries like India are struggling with population explosions but nowhere is mentioned that it is an important concern.

Estimates suggest that there are 60 million more men than women living in China

Answer: TRUE
Supporting statement: “...Whilst true statistics are difficult to obtain from China, it is thought that there are now 60 million more men than women in China.…”
Keywords: statistics, more men
Keyword location: para 7 ,line 1-2
Explanation: It is directly given in passage that it has been estimated that there has been more men than women living in China.

Long-term pollution output of a child born in the US is roughly the same as for a child born in Bangladesh

Answer: FALSE
Supporting statement: “...long-term pollution output of a child born in the U.S. can be up to 160 times higher than that of a child born in Bangladesh…”
Keywords: long term, output
Keyword location: para 9, line 4-5
Explanation: It is mentioned in the passage that a child born in US can have around 160 times higher pollution output than in Bangladesh. Hence this given statement is false.

The original one-child legislation in China was designed to apply to one generation only

Answer: TRUE
Supporting statement: “...The original legislation was only aimed at a single generation Under the ruling, any couple in China who were both sole children to their respective parents.…”
Keywords: legislation, respective
Keyword location: para 11, line 3-4
Explanation: The government of China decided to design the one child legislation to only one generation only. Then in 2015 they relaxed it to two child. Given statement is correct.

Questions 8-12

Choose the correct letter A, B, C or D.

Write your answers in boxes 8-12 on your answer sheet

According to the passage there is a criticism of the one-child policy, particularly from

other countries
family planning organisations
Chinese citizens
human rights activists

Answer: D
Supporting statement: “...On the other hand, the government has also faced heavy criticism of its methods of trying to enforce the one-child policy in the past in rural areas.…”
Keywords: enforce, criticism
Keyword location: para 6, line 4-5
Explanation: It is said in the passage that it was very difficult for the government to enforce one child policy in urban areas. They faced huge criticism from mostly human rights activists.

One other important concern raised by infanticide of female babies is

housing prices.
gender inequality.
the wellbeing of mothers
the loneliness of children in China

Answer: B
Supporting statement: “...infanticide of female babies began to rise rapidly in the 1980s in China, as a result of the one-child policy.…”
Keywords: infanticide, one child policy
Keyword location: para 5, line 3-4
Explanation: People wanted to have a male child after the birth of a female child. But it was against the one child policy. So infanticide of female babies began to rise.

Laws passed in 2005 banned

parents having three children.
sex-selective abortions
Call abortion in China.
same-sex marriage

Answer: B
Supporting statement: “....they were also forced to introduce laws in 2005 outlawing sex-selective abortions…”
Keywords: outlawing, forced
Keyword location: para 7, line 2-3
Explanation: When girl child infanticide started to rise in China the government introduced new laws in 2005 to outlaw the sex selective abortions.

The author suggests that increasing numbers of westerners are choosing not to have children

before the age of 30
before marriage
for environmental reasons
because it is too expensive

Answer: C
Supporting statement: “...After all, increasing numbers of adults in the West now choose not to have children purely for environmental reasons…”
Keywords:
Keyword location: para 9, line 3 - 4
Explanation: It is clearly written that the westerners chose not to have any children before the age of 30 for environmental reasons. They generally avoided having children before 30.

The passage suggests that there is a link between a rapidly developing economy and a higher

average carbon output per person.
demand for electronic goods
desire for couples to have more children
level of crime in urban areas

Answer: A
Supporting statement: “...China has a rapidly developing economy, and with such development comes a higher average carbon output per person..…”
Keywords: economy, carbon output
Keyword location: para 12, line 5-6
Explanation: It is clearly indicated that increase in economy and development will ultimately lead to higher average carbon output per person.

Choose the correct answer in A,B,C,D,E

Which of the following is the most likely title for the passage?

The environmental impact of big families
China reinstates the one child policy
A Brief history of family management
The end of China’s one child policy
The story of the chinese power

Answer: D
Supporting statement: “...One of the reasons in China for changing the one-child policy to a two-child policy in 2015 was that the original policy was almost redundant anyway…”
Keywords: original policy, redundant
Keyword location: para 11, line 1-2
Explanation: The one child policy in china faced huge revolt by the human right activists and also by the people of China. It ultimately came to an end. Hence D is the correct choice for this.

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