Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.
Overpopulation, the situation of having large numbers of people with too few resources and too little space, is closely associated with poverty. It can result from high population density, or from low amounts of resources, or from both. Excessively high population densities put stress on available resources. Only a certain number of people can be supported on a given area of land, and that number depends on how much food and other resources the land can provide. In countries where people live primarily by means of simple farming, gardening, herding, hunting, and gathering, even large areas of land can support only small numbers of people because these labor-intensive subsistence activities produce only small amounts of food.
In developed countries such as the United States, Japan, and the countries of Western Europe, overpopulation generally is not considered a major cause of poverty. These countries produce large quantities of food through mechanized farming, which depends on commercial fertilizers, large-scale irrigation, and agricultural machinery. This form of production provides enough food to support the high densities of people in metropolitan areas.
A country’s level of poverty can depend greatly on its mix of population density and agricultural productivity. Bangladesh, for example, has one of the world’s highest population densities, with 1,147 persons per sq km. A large majority of the people of Bangladesh engage in low-productivity manual farming, which contributes to the country’s extremely high level of poverty. Some of the smaller countries in Western Europe, such as the Netherlands and Belgium, have high population densities as well. These countries practice mechanized farming and are involved in high-tech industries, however, and therefore have high standards of living.
At the other end of the spectrum, many countries in sub-Saharan Africa have population densities of less than 30 persons per sq km. Many people in these countries practice manual subsistence farming; these countries also have infertile land, and lack the economic resources and technology to boost productivity. As a consequence, these nations are very poor. The United States has both relatively low population density and high agricultural productivity; it is one of the world’s wealthiest nations.
High birth rates contribute to overpopulation in many developing countries. Children are assets to many poor families because they provide labor, usually for farming. Cultural norms in traditionally rural societies commonly sanction the value of large families. Also, the governments of developing countries often provide little or no support, financial or political, for family planning; even people who wish to keep their families small have difficulty doing so. For all these reasons, developing countries tend to have high rates of population growth.
The phrase “engage in” in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to ______.
A. participate in
B. escape from
C. look into
D. give up
Giải bởi qa.haylamdo.com
Kiến thức: từ vựng
Giải thích: engage in: tham gia
A. participate in: tham gia B. escape from: trốn
C. look into: kiểm tra D. give up: từ bỏ
=> participate in = engage in
Đáp án: A
Mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word(s) CLOSEST in meaning to the underlined word(s) in each of the following questions.
I am gripped with a fever whenever a new year is coming.
Fax transmission has now become a cheap and _______ way to transmit texts and graphics over distance.
That carcinogenic substances _______ in many common household items is well-known
Unfortunately, some really ill animals have to be ________ by our center.
Mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word whose underlined part differs from the other three in pronunciation in each of the following questions
Mark the letter A, B, C or D in your answer sheet to indicate the underlined part that needs correction in each of the following questions.
The more tired you are, the least hard you concentrate.
“Did the minister approve the building plans?”
“Not really. He turned them down _______ that the costs were too high.”
Mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the sentence that is closest in meaning to each of the following questions.
It is an undeniable fact that children watch too much TV
Mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word(s) OPPOSITE in meaning to the underlined word(s) in each of the following questions.
The presentation by Dr. Dineen was self-explanatory.
I like doing _______ such as cooking, washing and cleaning the house.
Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.
One of the seven wonders of the ancient world, the Great Pyramid of Giza was a monument of wisdom and prophecy built as a tomb for Pharaoh Cheops in 2720 B.C. Despite its antiquity, certain aspects of its construction makes it one of the truly wonders of the world. The thirteen- acre structure near the Nile river is a solid mass of stone blocks covered with limestone. Inside are the number of hidden passageways and the burial chamber of the Pharaoh. It is the largest single structure in the world. The four sides of the pyramid are aligned almost exactly on true north, south, east and west-an incredible engineering feat. The ancient Egyptians were sun worshippers and great astronomers, so computations for the Great Pyramid were based on astronomical observations.
Explorations and detailed examinations of the base of the structure reveal many intersecting lines. Further scientific study indicates that these represent a type of timeline of events – past, present and future. Many of the events have been interpreted and found to coincide with known facts of the past. Others are prophesied for future generations and are currently under investigation. Many believe that pyramids have supernatural powers and this one is no exception. Some researchers even associate it with extraterrestrial beings of ancient past.
Was this superstructure made by ordinary beings, or one built by a race far superior to any known today?
Why is the Great Pyramid of Giza considered one of the seven wonders of the world?
Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.
One of the seven wonders of the ancient world, the Great Pyramid of Giza was a monument of wisdom and prophecy built as a tomb for Pharaoh Cheops in 2720 B.C. Despite its antiquity, certain aspects of its construction makes it one of the truly wonders of the world. The thirteen- acre structure near the Nile river is a solid mass of stone blocks covered with limestone. Inside are the number of hidden passageways and the burial chamber of the Pharaoh. It is the largest single structure in the world. The four sides of the pyramid are aligned almost exactly on true north, south, east and west-an incredible engineering feat. The ancient Egyptians were sun worshippers and great astronomers, so computations for the Great Pyramid were based on astronomical observations.
Explorations and detailed examinations of the base of the structure reveal many intersecting lines. Further scientific study indicates that these represent a type of timeline of events – past, present and future. Many of the events have been interpreted and found to coincide with known facts of the past. Others are prophesied for future generations and are currently under investigation. Many believe that pyramids have supernatural powers and this one is no exception. Some researchers even associate it with extraterrestrial beings of ancient past.
Was this superstructure made by ordinary beings, or one built by a race far superior to any known today?
In the second passage, the word ‘prophesied’ is closest in meaning to ____.
