The Reading / Listening - World Population - Level 5

The world has reached a worrying demographic milestone. The US Census Bureau said the population of our planet surpassed 8 billion. The bureau estimated that the global population exceeded 8 billion in September. However, he said this was a rough guess. The moment could be a month or two earlier. The world population will continue to grow steadily. It has grown from 6 billion to 8 billion in the past two decades. The number of Earth's inhabitants doubled between 1960 and 2000. The rate of growth is slowing because of falling birth rates.

The Census Bureau put the slowdown in population growth to lower fertility rates. However, it said the population would be 10.2 billion in 2060. It said: "The world population is projected to keep growing.…We estimate the number of infants already peaked in 2017. Instead, population growth in the future will come from larger groups of people at adult ages." It added: "Population growth is the result of fertility, mortality and migration.…Nearly three quarters of the earth's population reside in countries where fertility is around or below the replacement level."

Try the same news story at these levels:

    World Population - Level 4 or  World Population - Level 6

Sources
  • https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2023/11/world-population-estimated-eight-billion.html
  • https://apnews.com/article/world-population-8-billion-census-159f6eeac66bbc9800ad3ec4d9653b52
  • https://www.marketwatch.com/story/world-population-has-surpassed-8-billion-says-u-s-census-bureau-d1d2d53f


Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice activities, drag and drop activities, sentence jumbles, which word activities, text reconstructions, spelling, gap fills and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Phrase Matching

Paragraph 1

  1. reached a worrying
  2. the population of our planet
  3. he said this was a
  4. The moment could be a month
  5. continue to
  6. The number of
  7. The rate of growth
  8. because of
  1. Earth's inhabitants
  2. grow steadily
  3. falling birth rates
  4. is slowing
  5. rough guess
  6. demographic milestone
  7. or two earlier
  8. surpassed 8 billion

Paragraph 2

  1. the slowdown
  2. lower fertility
  3. projected to
  4. the number
  5. already peaked
  6. population growth in
  7. Population growth is the
  8. around or below the
  1. keep growing
  2. in 2017
  3. rates
  4. the future
  5. replacement level
  6. result of fertility
  7. of infants
  8. in population growth

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

The world has (1) ___________________ demographic milestone. The US Census Bureau said the population of (2) ___________________ 8 billion. The bureau estimated that the global population exceeded 8 billion in September. However, he said this was (3) ___________________. The moment could be a month or two earlier. The world population will continue (4) ___________________. It has grown from 6 billion to 8 billion in the (5) ___________________. The number of Earth's inhabitants doubled between 1960 and 2000. The rate of growth is slowing because of (6) ___________________.

The Census Bureau (7) ___________________ in population growth to lower fertility rates. However, it said the population would be 10.2 billion in 2060. It said: "The world population (8) ___________________ keep growing.…We estimate the number of infants already peaked in 2017. Instead, population growth in the future will come from larger groups of (9) ___________________ ages." It added: "Population growth is the (10) ___________________, mortality and migration.…Nearly three quarters of the earth's population (11) ___________________ where fertility is around or below (12) ___________________."

Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

Theworldhasreachedaworryingdemographicmilestone.TheUSCensu
sBureausaidthepopulationofourplanetsurpassed8billion.Thebureau
estimatedthattheglobalpopulationexceeded8billioninSeptember.Ho
wever,hesaidthiswasaroughguess.Themomentcouldbeamonthortw
oearlier.Theworldpopulationwillcontinuetogrowsteadily.Ithasgrown
from6billionto8billioninthepasttwodecades.ThenumberofEarth'sinh
abitantsdoubledbetween1960and2000.Therateofgrowthisslowingb
ecauseoffallingbirthrates.TheCensusBureauputtheslowdowninpopu
lationgrowthtolowerfertilityrates.However,itsaidthepopulationwoul
dbe10.2billionin2060.Itsaid:"Theworldpopulationisprojectedtokee
pgrowing.…Weestimatethenumberofinfantsalreadypeakedin2017.I
nstead,populationgrowthinthefuturewillcomefromlargergroupsofpe
opleatadultages."Itadded:"Populationgrowthistheresultoffertility,
mortalityandmigration.…Nearlythreequartersoftheearth'spopulatio
nresideincountrieswherefertilityisaroundorbelowthereplacementlev
el."

Student survey

Write five GOOD questions about this topic in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper. When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

(Please look at page 12 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

Discussion — Write your own questions

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

(a) ________________

(b) ________________

(c) ________________

(d) ________________

(e) ________________

(f) ________________

(g) ________________

(h) ________________

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

(i) ________________

(j) ________________

(k) ________________

(l) ________________

(m) ________________

(n) ________________

(o) ________________

(p) ________________

Free writing

Write about this topic for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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Answers

(Please check your answers against the article above.

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