Unit7-Listening-Listening
You will hear Dr. Brown, a world population expert, talk about the world population . Listen to the interview and do the tasks that follow.
Unit 7: WORLD POPULATION
Interviewer: Good evening ladies and gentlemen. In our program tonight, we are honoured to have Dr.
Brown, a world famous population expert. Dr. Brown, could you tell us something about the world
population?
Dr. Brown: Well, there are over 6,700 million people in the world today, and the total is increasing at the
rate of about 76 million a year. Experts say that the population of the world could be over 7 billion by the
year 2015.
Interviewer: Do all parts of the world have the same rate of population growth?
Dr. Brown: No, they don’t. The population is growing more quickly in some parts of the world than others.
Latin America ranks first, Africa second, and Asia third.
Interviewer: What is the main reason for the population explosion?
Dr. Brown: Well, I think the main reason is a fall in death rates. This is due to the improvement of the living
conditions and medical care.
Interviewer: I believe the explosion of population has caused many problems. Is it right?
Dr. Brown: Yes, it is. It caused a lot of problems such as shortage of food, lack of hospitals and schools,
illiteracy, and low living standards.
Interviewer: Can you make some suggestions on how to solve these problems?
Dr. Brown: I think, there are a number of solutions to the problems. The first is to educate people and make
them aware of the danger of having more children. The second is to provide safe, inexpensive birthcontrol
methods. The third is to strictly implement a family planning policy. And the fourth is to exercise strict and
fair reward and punishment policies.
Interviewer: Thank you very much for being with us tonight, Dr. Brown.
Dr. Brown: You’re welcome.