US population passes 300 million

Level 2 Intermediate
1 Key words
milestone
census
net
urban
impact
decline
1. The adjective

sunbelt
ageing

means relating to towns and cities.

2. If something has or makes an

3.

myth
congestion

,ithasaneffectorinuence.

isasituationwhereaplaceiscrowdedwithpeopleorvehicles.

4. A

isagradualreductionintheamountorqualityofsomething.

5. A

isasituationwheregovernmentofcialscountthenumberofpeopleinacountry.

6. A

isaneventthatmarksanimportantstageinaprocess.

7.

immigrationisthenumberofpeoplearrivingminusthenumberofpeopleleaving.

8. The

isthesouthernpartoftheUSAfromCaliforniatoFlorida.

9. An

populationisonethatisgrowingolder.

10. A

isastorythatpeoplewronglybelieveistrue.

Find the information

1.WhatisthecurrentpopulationoftheUSA?
2.InwhatyeardidtheUSpopulationreach200million?
3.WhenwilltheUSpopulationreach400million?
4.WhatpercentageofAmericansliveinurbanorsuburbanareas?
5.WhatpercentageoftheworldsenergydoestheUSAuse?
6.HowmuchfarmlandiscoveredinconcreteeverydayintheUSA?

US population passes 300 million

by Ed Pilkington in New York
AbabyborninAmericathisweektookthepopulationoftheUSAto300million.Itshighlypossiblethatthe
babywasthechildofaLatinAmericanimmigrant,perhapsinLosAngeles.In1967Lifemagazineidentied
the200millionthAmericanasRobertKenWoo,afourthgenerationChineseAmericanfromAtlanta.Thatwas
simplyaguesstoo.Butthisstoryhassomesubstance.Americahasreachedamilestoneinitspopulation
growthandthisismakingpeoplereectinthesamewaytheydoonmajorbirthdaysoranniversaries.

NEWS LESSONS / US population passes 300 million / Intermediate

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TheUScensusbureaucalculatesthatoneAmericanisborneverysevenseconds,onediesevery13sec
onds,andanimmigrantarrives(net)every31seconds.Addthosetogetherandyougetanetpopulationgain
ofonepersonevery11seconds.Overthepast100yearstheUShasseenthelargestpopulationgrowthin
itshistory.Andthistrendwillprobablycontinuethroughthiscentury,thoughtherateofgrowthisexpectedto
stoprisingaroundtheyear2070.Thepopulationincreasedfrom200to300millioninjust39yearsanditis
expectedthatthepopulationwillreach400millioninjust37yearstime.

US population passes 300 million

Level 2 Intermediate
Apartfromtheincreaseinpopulation,thecompositionofAmerica,itshumanmakeup,andevenitsculture
andlifestyles,arechangingdramatically.TherstmajorchangeiswhereAmericanslive.Themainpopulation
centresareslowlymovingfromthenortheasttothesouthandwest.ThefastestgrowingstatesareNevada,
ArizonaandTexas.ThepopulationisnotevenlyspreadacrossAmericaeither.Morethanhalflivein10of
the 50 states, most of them along the coasts.
WilliamFrey,apopulationexpertattheBrookingsInstitutioninWashington,saidtheUSwasnowmoving
towardsanewsunbeltbeyondFlorida,TexasandCalifornia.Asthecoastalareasbecomecrowded,people
havestartedtomovefurtherinlandtoplaceslikeArizona,Nevada,GeorgiaandTennessee.Theother
sideofthistrendisthattheGreatPlains,theculturalsymbolofcowboyAmerica,isbecomingincreasinglya
myth.Themidwesternstatesareemptyingasthepopulationmovestothebigcities.Inthepast100yearsthe
proportionofAmericanslivinginurbanandsuburbanareashasdoubledto80%.Theideaofthefrontier,of
existenceunderanopensky,stillexistsinmovies,butfewerandfewerpeopleliveinsuchplaces.
Populationchangeisalsohavinganimpactontheenvironment.AccordingtotheCentreforEnvironment
andPopulation,anindependentresearchbody,themaineffectsofagrowingpopulationarefeltaroundthe
urbanareasandareincreasedbyAmericansbeliefthatbiggerequalsbetter.WhenItravelabroadand
comeback,Imalwaysshockedbytheconsumptionhere.Carsarebigger,peopletravelfurtherdistances,
theybuildbiggerhouses,thecentresdirector,VictoriaMarkham,said.ItisoftensaidthattheUShas5%
oftheworldspopulationbutuses25%ofitsenergy.AlessknownfactisthateachAmericannowoccupies
about20%morelandforhousing,schools,shops,roadsandsoonthanheorshedid20yearsago.Almost
1,214hectaresoffarmlandarecoveredinconcreteeveryday,andtherateisincreasing.
Thisbringsustothemostcontroversialchange:Americasethniccompositionandtheroleofimmigration.In
1970thenewlyimmigrantproportionoftheAmericanpeoplewas5%.Todayitis12.1%andrising.The
largestsinglenationalgroupofimmigrantsisMexican,andthelargestethnicgroupHispanic.By2050
thecensusbureaubelievesthattheproportionofnonHispanicwhiteswillhavefallenfrom69%in2000
toabout50%,Hispanicswillhavedoubledto24%,Asiansalsoto8%,whiletheproportionofAfrican
Americanswillincreaseslightlyto14%.ForMrFrey,theriseoftheHispaniccommunity,withtheiryounger
averageagesandhigherbirthrates,willhelptostopthedeclineinarapidlyageingwhitepopulation.For
RoyBeck,presidentofNumbersUSA,aresearchgroupfocusingonimmigration,thelongtermincreaseis
entirelytheresultofimmigration.Ifwehadzeronetimmigrationwewouldneverhavereached300million;
thepopulationwouldbeabout245milliontoday.Theresult,hesays,ismorecongestion,morerestrictions
andthedeclineofindividualism,freedomandspace.Inshort,AmericaisturningintoEurope.
GuardianNews&Media2006

3 Comprehension check
Choose the best answer according to the information in the text.
1. Whathappensevery11secondsintheUSA?
a. an immigrant arrives
b. someonedies
c. thepopulationincreasesbyone

NEWS LESSONS / US population passes 300 million / Intermediate

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2. Whenistherateofgrowthinpopulationexpectedtostop?
a. aroundtheyear2070
b. in37yearstime
c. when it reaches 400 million

US population passes 300 million

Level 2 Intermediate
3. Whatishappeningtothemidwesternstates?
a. theirpopulationisdeclining
b. theirpopulationisincreasingrapidly
c. peoplearemovingtobigcitiesinthesestates
4. WhatdoesRoyBeckthinktheresultofimmigrationis?
a. alargeincreaseinpopulation
b. morecongestionandlessfreedomandspace
c. ahigherbirthrate

4 Vocabulary Adjectives
Match the words in the left-hand column with their opposites in the right-hand column.
1. urban

a. inland

2. coastal

b. minor

3. major

c.longterm

4. net

d. gradual

5. rapid

e. rural

6. shortterm

f. gross

5 Vocabulary Word building

Complete the table.
Verb

Noun

1. grow
2.guess
3. arrive
4.exist
5. consume
6. compose
7. decline

NEWS LESSONS / US population passes 300 million / Intermediate

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8. restrict

US population passes 300 million

Level 2 Intermediate
6 Vocabulary Prepositions
Fill the gaps using an appropriate preposition. Check your answers in the text.
itshistory

1.thelargestpopulationgrowth
2.thistrendwillcontinue

thiscentury

3.thepopulationincreasedto300million
4.apart

just39years

theincreaseinpopulation

5.thepopulationisnotevenlyspread

America

6.mostpeoplelive

the coasts

7.theUSismoving

anewsunbelt

8.existence

anopensky

7 Discussion

NEWS LESSONS / US population passes 300 million / Intermediate

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Would you like to move to another country? If you had to move to another country, which country would
you move to and why?