The Fertility Bust Reading Answers

Feb 1, 2023

The Fertility Bust Reading Answers is a genral reading topic and a discussion about different types of headphones. The given IELTS topic has originated from the book named “Cambridge IELTS 10 Student's Book with Answers”. The topic named The Fertility Bust Reading Answers has a total of 12 questions. There are two types of questions which are: Select the correct paragraph and select the correct option.

The candidates should thoroughly read the IELTS reading passage to recognize the synonyms and identify the keywords and answer the questions below. IELTS reading practice papers can be taken into consideration by the candidates in order to score a good score in the reading section. The IELTS Exam might include similar topics like The Fertility Bust Reading Answers.

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Section 1

Read the passage to answer the following questions

The Fertility Bust Reading Answers

Falling populations - the despair of state pension systems - are often regarded with calmness, even a secret satisfaction, by ordinary people. Europeans no longer need large families to gather the harvest or to look after parents. They have used their good fortune to have fewer children, thinking this will make their lives better. Much of Europe is too crowded as it is. Is this all that is going on? Germans have been agonising about recent European Union estimates suggesting that 30% of German women are, and will remain, childless. The number is a guess: Germany does not collect figures like this. Even if the share is 25%, as other surveys suggest, it is by far the highest in Europe.
Germany is something of an oddity in this. In most countries with low fertility, young women have their first child late, and stop at one. In Germany, women with children often have two or three, but many have none at all. Germany is also odd in experiencing low fertility for such a long time. Europe is demographically polarised. Countries in the north and west saw fertility fall early, in the 1960s. Recently, they have seen it stabilise or rise back towards replacement level (i.e. 2.1 births per woman). Countries in the south and east, on the other hand, saw fertility rates fall much faster, more recently (often to below 1.3, a rate at which the population falls by half every 45 years). Germany combines both. Its fertility rate fell below 2 in 1971, However, it has stayed low and is still only just above 1.3. This challenges the notion that European fertility is likely to stabilise at tolerable levels. It raises questions about whether the low birth rates of Italy and Poland, say, really are, as some have argued, merely temporary.
The list of explanations for why German fertility has not rebounded is long. Michael Teitelbaum, a demographer at the Sloan Foundation in New York ticks them off: poor childcare; unusually extended higher education; inflexible labour laws; high youth unemployment; and non-economic or cultural factors. One German writer, Gunter Grass, wrote a novel, "Headbirths", in 1982, about Harm and Dorte Peters, "a model couple" who disport themselves on the beaches of Asia rather than invest time and trouble in bringing up a baby. "They keep a cat," writes Mr. Grass, "and still have no child." The novel is subtitled "The Germans Are Dying Out". With the exception of this cultural factor, none of these features is peculiar to Germany. If social and economic explanations account for persistent low fertility there, then they may well produce the same persistence elsewhere.
The reason for hoping otherwise is that the initial decline in southern and eastern Europe was drastic, and may be reversible. In the Mediterranean, demographic decline was associated with freeing young women from the constraints of traditional Catholicism, which encouraged large families. In eastern Europe, it was associated with the collapse in living standards and the ending of pro-birth policies. In both regions, as such temporary factors fade, fertility rates might, in principle, be expected to rise. Indeed, they may already be stabilising in Italy and Spain. Germany tells you that reversing these trends can be hard. There, and elsewhere, fertility rates did not merely fall; they went below what people said they wanted. In 1979, Eurobarometer asked Europeans how many children they would like. Almost everywhere, the answer was two: the traditional two-child ideal persisted even when people were not delivering it. This may have reflected old habits of mind. Or people may really be having fewer children than they claim to want.
A recent paper suggests how this might come about. If women postpone their first child past their mid-30s, it may be too late to have a second even if they want one (the average age of first births in most of Europe is now 30). If everyone does the same, one child becomes the norm: a one-child policy by example rather than coercion, as it were. If women wait to start a family until they are established at work, they may end up postponing children longer than they might otherwise have chosen. When birth rates began to fall in Europe, this was said to be a simple matter of choice. That was true, but it is possible that fertility may overshoot below what people might naturally have chosen. For many years, politicians have argued that southern Europe will catch up from its fertility decline because women, having postponed their first child, will quickly have a second and third. The overshoot theory suggests there may be only partial recuperation. Postponement could permanently lower fertility, not just redistribute it across time.
There is a twist. If people have fewer children than they claim to want, how they see the family may change, too. Research by Tomas Sobotka of the Vienna Institute of Demography suggests that, after decades of low fertility, a quarter of young German men and a fifth of young women say they have no intention of having children and think that this is fine. When Eurobarometer repeated its poll about ideal family size in 2001, support for the two-child model had fallen everywhere. Parts of Europe, then, may be entering a new demographic trap. People restrict family size from choice. Social, economic, and cultural factors then cause this natural fertility decline to overshoot. This changes expectations, to which people respond by having even fewer children. That does not necessarily mean that birth rates will fall even more: there may yet be some natural floor, but it could mean that recovery from very low fertility rates proves to be slow or even non-existent.

Section 2

Solution and Explanation

Questions 14-17

The text has 6 paragraphs (A - F).

Which paragraph does each of the following headings best fit?

Even further falls?

Answer: F
Supporting Sentence: When Eurobarometer repeated its poll about ideal family size in 2001, support for the two-child model had fallen everywhere.
Keyword : family size, fallen
Keyword Location: Paragraph F, 3rd sentence
Explanation: As per the author, the poll about the ideal family size had fallen in 2001. This was for the support of two-children model. Since it had fallen again in 2001, it fell even further. This makes Paragraph F the correct answer.

One-child policy

Answer: E
Supporting Sentence: If everyone does the same, one child becomes the norm: a one-child policy by example rather than coercion, as it were.
Keyword : one child, norm
Keyword Location: Paragraph E, 3rd sentence
Explanation: The paragraph talks about one child policy and how women can adapt to that. The author says that if women conceive late in their 30’s, it will not be possible to have a second child if they want to. Hence, since the paragraph discusses about one child policy, it is the appropriate heading.

Germany differs

Answer: B
Supporting Sentence: Germany is something of an oddity in this.
Keyword : oddity
Keyword Location: Paragraph B, 1st sentence
Explanation: The author in the first sentence of the Paragraph B states that Germany is odd from other countries. In most countries, women usually have their first child late and then stop. However, in Germany some women have two or three children and some have none. Hence, it is odd and differs from other countries.

Possible reasons

Answer: C
Supporting Sentence: The list of explanations for why German fertility has not rebounded is long.
Keyword : list, explanations
Keyword Location: paragraph C, 1st sentence
Explanation: The paragraph C gives a list of explanations why German fertility has not rebounded is long. In the same paragraph, Michael Teitelbaum states multiple reasons of why this could have happened. Hence, “Possible Reasons” is the correct heading for the paragraph C.

Questions 18-22

According to the text, FIVE of the following statements are true.

Write the corresponding letters in answer boxes 18 to 22 in any order.

Germany has the highest percentage of childless women
Italy and Poland have high birth rates
Most of the reasons given by Michael Teitelbaum are not unique to Germany
Governments in the Eastern Europe encouraged people to have children
In 1979, most families had one or two children
European women who have a child later usually have more soon after
In 2001, people wanted fewer children than in 1979, according to Eurobarometer research
Here may be a natural level at which birth rates stop declining

Question 18:

Answer: A
Supporting Sentence: Its fertility rate fell below 2 in 1971, However, it has stayed low and is still only just above 1.3.
Keyword : fell, below, stayed low
Keyword Location: Paragraph B, 9th sentence
Explanation: The author in the Paragraph B talks about the percentage of childless women and fertility rate in European countries. In this paragraph the author says that Germany has always stayed low and is the lowest as per the numbers. Hence, the Germany has the highest percentage of childless women.

Question 19:

Answer: C
Supporting Sentence: Michael Teitelbaum, a demographer at the Sloan Foundation in New York ticks them off: poor childcare; unusually extended higher education; inflexible labour laws; high youth unemployment; and
non-economic or cultural factors.
Keyword : ticks off, poor childcare
Keyword Location: Paragraph C, 2nd sentence
Explanation: Michael Teitelbaum states few reasons for Germany to have lower fertility rate. Later in the paragraph C, there are few reasons mentioned which proves that Michael Teitelbaum’s reasons were not same. Hence, they are not unique to germany.

Question 20:

Answer: D
Supporting Sentence: In eastern Europe, it was associated with the collapse in living standards and the ending of pro-birth policies.
Keyword : pro-birth policies
Keyword Location: Paragraph D, 3rd sentence
Explanation: As per the passage, eastern europe had a collapse in living standard and pro birth policies. This means that the policies set up by the government earlier were not in rule. This means that government encouraged people of eastern europe to have more children.

Question 21:

Answer: G
Supporting Sentence: When Eurobarometer repeated its poll about ideal family size in 2001, support for the two-child model had fallen everywhere.
Keyword : Eurobarometer, fallen
Keyword Location: Paragraph F, 3rd sentence
Explanation: The author states that Eurobarometer repeated its poll about ideal family size in 2001. In that poll, they found that two children model had fallen. This means people wanted to have lesser children.

Question 22:

Answer: H
Supporting Sentence: Social, economic, and cultural factors then cause this natural fertility decline to overshoot.
Keyword : natural, fertility, decline
Keyword Location: Paragraph F, 7th sentence
Explanation: As per the author the social, economic and cultural factors are the natural reasons for fertility to decline. Hence, H is the correct answer.

Questions 23-26

According to the information given in the text, choose the correct answer or answers from the choices given.

Reasons that ordinary Europeans do not think it is necessary to have as many children include

less labour needed to farm land
the feeling that Europe is too crowded
a general dislike of children

Answer: A, B
Supporting Sentence: Europeans no longer need large families to gather the harvest or to look after parents.
Keyword : harvest, large families
Keyword Location: Paragraph A, 2nd sentence
Explanation: As per the first paragraph, the author says that there is no need for large families to harvest or look after the parents. This led the Europeans to believe that it is not necessary to have as many children.

Michael Teitelbaum adds the following reasons:

poor children facilities
longer working hours
high unemployment amongst young adults

Answer: A, C
Supporting Sentence: Michael Teitelbaum, a demographer at the Sloan Foundation in New York ticks them off: poor childcare; unusually extended higher education; inflexible labour laws; high youth unemployment; and
non-economic or cultural factors.
Keyword : Teitelbaum,
Keyword Location: Paragraph C, 2nd sentence
Explanation: As per the author, there are few reasons listed in the passage. As per Michael Teitelbaum poor childcare and high youth unemployment are the two main reasons. Hence, A and C is the correct answer.

Initial declines in southern and eastern Europe were because (of)

the reduced influence of the catholic church
lower standards of living
governments encouraged smaller families

Answer: A, B
Supporting Sentence: In the Mediterranean, demographic decline was associated with freeing young women from the constraints of traditional Catholicism, which encouraged large families. In eastern Europe, it was associated with the collapse in living standards and the ending of pro-birth policies.
Keyword : catholicism, living standards
Keyword Location: Paragraph D, 2nd and 3rd sentence
Explanation: The author directly states that the initial decline in southern and eastern Europe was due to catholicism and lower standards of living.