Today,
among people everywhere, there is an increasing awareness and worry about the
steady growth in the world’s population.A recent survey conducted by the United Nations Fund for Population
Activities (UNFPA) reported that this growth will
continue until the end of the next century.For developing countries alone, the annual average population growth
is, at present, 4.6%
compared to 2.0%
for developed countries.At this rate, the world’s population will reach 10.2 billion by the turn of the
21st century.With
the growth in population is the problem of food security… the guarantee of a
steady supply of food.The unstoppable growth in population justifies the Malthusian
Doctrine that population of a region will continue to grow unless checked, and
this is of course alarming since it will inevitably lead to food shortages of
considerable proportions.
Our
forests are an abundant source of food and fuel, two items essential in
sustaining life.Above
30% of the world’s land surface is covered by such forests.In Asia alone, more than two
billion people depend heavily on forest products for their subsistence and
survival.To
maintain a reasonable balance between population growth and food supply, this
natural source of life — sustaining food and fuel must be conserved and
protected from its worst enemy — man himself.It is appalling (令人震驚的) to note that in many developing countries,
which are themselves heavily hit by population-food imbalance, governments
approve the cutting down of forests to meet their immediate needs for saleable
timber, and also for agricultural land.Often the cutting down and burning of forests is conducted with
total abandon owing to the absence of sound forestry techniques and management.At the rate tropical forests
are now being cleared each year, the world’s tropical forests will be
completely destroyed within the next 100 years.
In
order to maintain food security for the world’s population, the Food and
Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has launched a campaign aimed at ensuring food supply, maximizing
stability in the flow of this supply and ensuring access to it by all.Forestry, according to the FAO,
plays a vital role in making it possible to fulfill all its three objectives.Its most important role is that
of conserving soil and water.Trees provide natural protection against soil erosion (侵蝕) by absorbing the excess
water brought by heavy rains.
1.The first paragraph tells us that ____.
A.the flow of food supply is the
result of population increase.
B.the world population has
reached the 10-billion mark.
C.the problem of population
growth has caused considerable alarm in a few countries.
D.the problem of food supply goes
hand-in-hand with population increase.
2.The Malthusian Doctrine presents ____ as far as world population is
concerned.
A.a(chǎn)n optimistic view of the
future B.a(chǎn) pessimistic outlook for the
future
C.a(chǎn)n encouraging
picture D.a(chǎn)n indifferent picture
3.In this context, “this natural source of life — sustaining food and
fuel” (in Paragraph
2) refers to ____.
A.the flow of food supply
B.forests
C.woodland products
D.man’s worst enemy
4.The three objectives of the FAO can be replaced by ____.
A.stopping population
growth B.increasing food production
C.a(chǎn)chieving food security D.ensuring maximum utilization of
forests