II.Read

Readthefollowingpassages.Underlinetheimportantviewpointswhilereading.

1.Childless-andHappyThatWay

InacountrywheremostpeoplebelievethatafamilyIsnotafamilywithoutchildren,someyoungcouple,especiallythosewithahighereducation,havechosentokeeptheirfamiliestotwomembers-husbandandwife.

Icantaffordtohaveachild,saidWang,apromisingresearchfellowwiththeChineseAcademyofSocialSciences.

WanghasbeenbusytravelingabroadandhasreceivedscholarshipoffersfromanumberofAmericanuniversitiesthatwouldenablehimtocompletehisPhD.

HeisafreebirdwhomayleavethenestanydayandIvenevercaredmuchaboutachild,saidXiaoWei,Wangswife,businessrepresentativeofaFrenchcompanyinBeijing.

UnliketheWangs,Zhangandhiswifehavearguedoverwhethertheyshouldhaveababy.

Whenweweremarriedsixyearsago,wedecidedtoadoptawait-and-seeattitudeontheissue.Andafteracoupleofyears,mywifesaidshewantedtohaveababywhileIinsistedwewerejustfinewithoutone.Wehavebeenarguingaboutthemattereversince,andnowthatweareover30,Ithinkwerelikelytoendupinaccordancewithmywishes,saidZhang.

Therearemanymarriagesthatshouldhavelongbeenbroken.Peoplejustholdonbecauseadivorcewouldhurtthechildrenmostandtheparentshatetofacethatprospect.Sothecouplestickstogetherandwindsuptorturingeachother.

Arealhappyfamilyisafamilythat,withoutchildren,isstillahappyfamily.SaidZhang.

MaJiang,whohasopenedatradingcompanyandwasinstantlynicknamedMoneyBagsbyhisfriends,saidhewouldhatetobebotheredwithachild.

Tome,beingwithoutachild,Iamlessboundbyhouseholdchoresandcanconcentrateonmybusiness.MylovelywifeisallIneed,nothirdperson,hesaid.

Maswife,XiaoLu,workingforagovernmentunit,couldhavequitherjobandbecomedependentontherichhusband.Butshedecidedagainstit.

IcantimaginewhatIwouldbelikeifIstayedathome,doinghouseholdchoresandbreast-feedingachild.Idratherkeepmyindependenceatallcosts,shesaid.

Whateverpeoplesay,Ibelievethattohaveachildmeansalotofsacrifice.Werejustnotreadyforthat,funormisery,Maswifesaid.

HouMingkunandhiswifeLuoQiansaidtheywerentagainsthavingachild,boyorgirl,ifonlythebabywasphysicallywelldeveloped.

Onetakesariskwhenhavingababy.Iveheardtoomanystoriesabutchildrenbornwithphysicaldefects.Sincetheresnoguaranteethatthesamewonthappentomybaby.IthinkIdbetternotgetmyselfinvolved.Peoplesaynopain,nogain,butformeitsnogain,nopain,Luosaid.

ThecouplewereclassmatesinhighschoolandwenttothesameuniversityinShanghai.Now,theyareworkingfroacomputercompanyinBeijing.

Thosewhochoosenottohavechildrenhavetoovercomesomeunexpecteddifficultiesindefendingtheirstance.

Influencedbythetraditionalviewthatonesworstsinishavingnodescendants,mostpeoplestillacceptthatawifeisnotagoodwifeifshedoesnthaveachild.

ThoughfewChinesebelieveinanafter-life,theydocarealotaboutgrowingold.Forcenturies,oneofthepurposesofhavingchildren,sonsespecially,wastohavesomeonetakecareoftheparentswhentheywereold.

Now,sincebothhusbandandwifeareworking,theywillhaveapensionwhentheyretire.Whathappensnowisthattheretiredparentsaresupportingtheiradultchildren,:Wangsaid.

Werenormalpeople,justlikeeveryoneelse,Wevejustchosentoliveourownwhichharmsnoone.Ihopepeopleunderstandus,Wangsaid.

2.ThreeBabiesAreBornEverySecond

Thereareover3,800millionpeopleintheworldtoday,andthetotalisincreasingattherateofmorethan76millionayear.UnitedNationsexpertshavecalculatedthatitcouldbemorethan7,000millionbytheendofthiscentury.

Thepopulationisgrowingmorequicklyinsomepartsofheworldthenothers.ThecontinentswiththefastestgrowthratesareLatinAmerica(2.9percent)andAfrica(2.6percent).Asiacomesthird(2.1percent)butbecauseitspresentpopulationissolargeitistherethatbyfarthegreatestnumberofpeoplewillbeaddedbeforetheendofthecentury.

3.PopulationIncreaseHasWipedouttheMaterialBenefitsPeopleHave

Achieved

Matthew:Sarah,isthereaneedtocontrolpopulationonlyincountrieslikeIndia,Africa,Brazil...thosecountriesthatwecalltheunderdevelopedcountries,oristhereacaseforlimitingpopulationinEurope,forinstance?

Sarah:Thereasononewouldhavetolimitpopulationisbecauseyourerunningoutoffoodandyourerunningoutofresources.ThepeopleinEuropeandAmericaconsumeafargreaterproportionoftheworldsresourcesandtheworldsfoodthantheydoinIndia.So...um...populationisdirectlyrelatedto...um...consumptionandyourgeneralimpactontheenvironment.Ifasanindividualyourimpactisfargreaterthenanybodyelses,um...thenthatisthefactorthatsimportant,raterthanhowmanypeoplethereare.,orhowmanypeoplecantheworldsupport.Nowits...obviouslyinthatsense,itspossibletoincreasepopulationifeverybodyswillingtoun...uselessmaterialoreatlessfood,butitisntifeverybodyscontinuallywantingmoreandmoreandmore,andthisis...seemstobethetrendatthemoment...higherandhigherconsumption..withatthesametimeagreatlyexpandingpopulation.Andtheproblemin...um...areaswhicharepoorandwhichhaveexpandingpopulationsisthattheytryanddevelopandtryand...er...get...er...morematerialbenefits,butassoonastheydothis,thepopulationincreasehaswipedoutanybenefitsthattheymayhaveum...achieved.

Matthew:Butdoyoufeelthatthisbattlewitha...arapidlyexpandingpopulationcanbewon?

Sarah:Themostsensiblethingistorealizethatyoucantgoonexpandinghumanpopulationsforeverandcountriesandindividualsmustdecidetohaveapolicywhichwouldlimitpopulation.

4.AnAfricanWomanSays:...theMenNeverTalkaboutIt.

Tous,childrenarethemostimportantthinginlife.Whenwemarry,itisnotabovealltogetahusbandorwife,buttohavechildren.Ihadmythirteenthbirthonlyafewmonthsago,andmostofmyadultlifeIhavehadtocareforababyaswellasdoallmyotherworkinthehouseandinthefields.ForalongtimeIhavewantednomorechildren,butIkeephavingthemaslongasIamwithmyhusband.Anursecomestovisitourvillageregularly.Sheholdsmeetingsforallthemenandwomentogether,toexplainabutfamilyplanning.Nowthesearewell.Knownfactstous,butstillnobodyinourvillagepracticesbirthcontrol.Whenwesittogetherwiththenurse,everybodyseemstoagreethatthisistherightthingtodowhenafamilyhadgrownbigenoughtogivetheparentssecurityintheiroldage,andthereareenoughhandstoattendtoallthedailywork.Butwhenwegohome,themennevertalkaboutit.myhusbandandIattendeverymeeting,butinourhomewehavenevertalkedaboutbirthcontrol.Idesperatelywanttostophavingmorechildren,butthiscanonlybedoneifmyhusbandsuggestsit.

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