Questionsare based on the following passage. A very important world problem is the increa
Questionsare based on the following passage.
A very important world problem is the increasing number of people who actually inhab-it this planet. The limited amount of land and land resources will soon be unable to supportthe huge population if it continues to grow at its present rate.
So why is this huge increase in population taking place? It is really due to the spread ofthe knowledge and practice of what is becoming known as "Death Control". You have nodoubt heard of the term "Birth Control". "Death Control" is something rather different. Itrecognises the work of the doctors and scientists who now keep alive people who, not verylong ago, would have died of a variety of then incurable diseases. Through a wide variety oftechnological innovations that include farming methods and the control of deadly diseases,we have found ways to reduce the rate at which we die. However, this success is the verycause of the greatest threat to mankind.
If we examine the amount of land available for this ever-increasing population, we be-gin to see the problem. If everyone on the planet had an equal share of land, we would eachhave about 50,000 square metres. This figure seems to be quite encouraging until we exam-ine the amount of usable land we actually have. More than three-fifths of the world"s landcannot produce food.
Obviously, with so little land to support us, we should be taking great care not to reduceit further. But we are not! Instead, we are consuming its "capital" —— its nonrenewable fos-sil fuels and other mineral deposits that took millions of years to form. but which are nowbeing destroyed in decades. We are also doing the same with other vital resources not usu-ally thought of as being nonrenewable such as fertile soils, groundwater and the millions ofother species that share the earth with us.
It is a very common belief that the problems of the population explosion are causedmainly by poor people living in poor countries who do not know enough to limit theirreproduction. This is not true. The actual number of people in an area is not as important asthe effect they have on nature. Developing countries do have an effect on their environment,but it is the populations of richer countries that have a far greater impact on the earth asa whole.
According to the passage, what contributes to the population increase? 查看材料
A.Human beings" ignorance.
B.The failure of"Birth Control".
C.The success of"Death Control".
D.Technological innovations.