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Introduction
The population of planet Earth is exploding and its people are on the move. Where
are we going? What are we leaving behind? How are our lifestyles changing? The
following article discusses these questions and the good and bad consequences
that may lie ahead in the future.

Overpopulation Fuels Megacities,

for Better or Worse
A In October of 2011, the world population hit an estimated seven billion
for the first time in history. Not only are more babies being born, but
people in the 21st century are healthier and they are living longer than ever
before. Will we have the resources—food, water, energy—to sustain this
ever-growing population? Where are all of these people going to live? 5

The Urban Explosion

B Well, not in the countryside. The speed of urbanization—the rate
at which the rural population of the world is moving to larger cities—is
amazing. In l950, only one in three people lived in urban areas, while the
rest lived on farms or in towns and small communities. At the same time,
only two cities in the world—Tokyo and New York City—were considered 10
megacities: cities with a population of over 10 million. Now, there are 26
megacities and more are being added yearly. Over l80,000 people a day
migrate from rural areas to cities. The number of megacities is expected
to double over the next ten to twenty years.* Already well on their way
to becoming megacities are Belhai in China, Palembang in Indonesia, 15
Chittagong in Bangladesh, Toluca in Mexico, and Ghaziabad, Surat, and
Faridabad in India.
C The traditional pattern has been that industrial revolutions prompt
people to abandon the countryside. North America and Europe experienced
their industrial revolutions in the 1800s. This was a time when new 20
machines for farming and manufacturing changed human life forever.
Farming became more mechanized and this mechanization meant that fewer
people were needed to run a farm. Many country dwellers moved to cities in
search of better jobs, higher wages, and an easier life.

New Problems in Many Places

D In China, the recent industrial revolution is the most rapid the world has 25
ever seen. The Chinese economic explosion brought millions of people to the
big cities. In January of 2012, China officially announced that more than half

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 of its population was now urban: 51%, or 690.79 million, were living in cities,
compared to 656.56 million residing in rural areas. Chengdu, for instance, a
smaller city that previously had been almost unknown except for its panda 30
bears and teahouses, is now a thriving industrial and business center of
14 million inhabitants and moving rapidly toward the 20-million mark.
E Rapid urbanization creates problems related to housing, education, jobs,
clean water supply, sewage treatment, and crime. Infrastructure—such as
roads, railroads, trains, and metros—needs to be built or enlarged to move 35

the ever-increasing population from place to place. Slums have sprung up

around many of the great cities of the world—Rio de Janiero, Mexico City,
Cairo, Mumbai, Beijing, Johannesburg—just to name a few places. An
estimated 1 billion people—almost one-seventh of the world’s population—
live in shanty towns mainly in Africa, Latin America, and Asia. 40

F The highest rate of urban migration is in Sub-Saharan Africa. Due to

armed conflicts among different groups, failing crops, droughts, and f loods,
people are fleeing to cities at twice the rate of other countries. Because they
are not economically sound, these cities are unable to incorporate the huge
populations moving into them. Richard Kollodge, editor of the United 45
Nations Population Fund report released in October 2011, noted that many
countries in Sub-Saharan Africa have high birth rates but low economic
growth rates. “The population is growing faster than the government’s
ability to meet the need for services, education, and health. Economic
growth isn’t keeping up with population growth,” said Kollodge. The result 50
is that the countries are rapidly becoming poorer.

Looking to the Future

G Is there any hope for the future? Experts in many fields are working on
the problems of overpopulation and overcrowded cities. The two problems
are closely tied. Education of women and access to birth control can lead
to fewer and healthier children. City planners and architects can devise 55
cities that make optimal use of the finite land of the earth. Engineers can
work on ways to develop new water sources and improve the infrastructure
of cities and the public transportation. Scientists are finding new types of
clean energy and ways to reduce carbon emissions. Agricultural expertise
can help grow the food to feed the masses. All of this will take international 60
cooperation and vast sums of money.
H And how does all of this relate to megacities? Joel Cohen, a professor
of population studies at Columbia University in New York, suggests that
well-designed smaller cities of about 1 million could provide a better future
for urban life. But at the rate the population is growing now, Cohen said, 65
“We are going to need to construct a city of a million people every five days
for the next 40 years.”
Source: “Overpopulation Fuels Megacities, for Better or Worse” (Miki Knezevic)

* The statistics in this paragraph are taken from “The Challenges Facing an Urban World,” by Mark
Kinver, BBC News, 6/13/2011.

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After You Read

2 Recalling Information Mark each statement with (for true) or (for false).
Then correct the false statements to make them true. Remember to read the article
(or parts of it) again if necessary. If you can do this activity successfully, then you
have read well enough for your present purpose.
1. In the year 2011 the world population reached seven billion, which
means that fewer people are being born now than in the past.

2. T In 1950 there were only two megacities, but now there are over 25,
almost all of them in Europe and North America.
3. T Traditionally, an industrial revolution causes people to leave rural areas
and go to live in the cities.
4. T What is happening now in China is the most rapid industrial revolution
that the world has known.
5. F More than half of the Chinese population now lives in the countryside.
6. T Rapid urbanization creates a great need for infrastructure to be built,
such as roads and subways.
7. In Sub-Saharan Africa today, people are not moving to the cities but are
staying in the rural areas and practicing agriculture.
8. When the population is growing very fast and the economy is not, a
country becomes poor.
9. Some solutions that experts are working on for the problem of
overpopulation are educating women, developing new water sources, and
improving public transportation.

Strategy
Finding the Main Idea of a Reading
It is often useful to find the main idea (the most important concept) of an article.
Sometimes the main idea is expressed right at the beginning in a topic sentence.
Then the rest of the article gives details to support the idea or explanations or
subordinate (secondary) ideas that relate to it. Usually, however, the main idea is
not stated in one sentence, and you have to read through the whole article to find
it. Do not confuse the main idea with a subordinate idea that relates to only one
part of the article.

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 3 Finding the Main Idea of a Reading Look at the following statements.
Then choose the one that you think best expresses the main idea of
, , and mark it with for Main Idea. Two of the
statements express secondary ideas; mark those with for Secondary. One of the
statements expresses an idea that is not included in the article at all; mark that one
as for Not Included.
1. Because of armed conflicts and bad weather conditions, many people in
Africa and other parts of the world are leaving rural areas and going to
live in cities that can not support them.
2. The urbanization now happening in China is a great success because the
country is industrializing very fast, and so its cities have no slums around
them and offer good jobs for everyone.
3. In recent years the world’s huge population is going through a time of
rapid urbanization that in many places is presenting new problems that
need to be solved for the good of humanity.
4. In 1950, there were just two “megacities” (cities with more than 10
million inhabitants) on the planet, New York and Tokyo; now there are
at least 26 and every year more are added.

Strategy
Understanding the Meaning of Words from Context
The of something is its surroundings or situation. The context of a word is
what goes before it and after it. You can often guess the meaning of a new word by
reading past it to the next sentence. If the meaning is still unclear, read the sentence
before the word. If necessary, read the whole paragraph. Then go back and try to
understand the word again.

4 Understanding the Meaning of Words from Context Choose the

best definition or synonym for each of the italicized words. If necessary, go back to
the article and re-read the word in its larger context. If you are unsure, try putting the
synonym you have chosen into its place in the sentence and see if it makes sense.
1. In October of 2011, the world population hit an estimated seven billion…
(Hint: How do people get a number like this?)
A a calculated C a large
B an exact D an imaginary
2. Will we have the resources—food, water, energy—to sustain this ever-
growing population? (Hint: Items inside of dashes are often examples.)
A books C materials
B knowledge D money

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 3. The traditional pattern has been that industrial revolutions prompt
people to abandon the countryside.
A appreciate C fear
B dislike D leave
4. In January of 2012, China officially announced that more than half of its
population was now urban…
A denied C reported
B discovered D understood
5. Slums have sprung up around many of the great cities of the world…
(Hint: Look for a synonym in the next sentence in the article.)
A vegetable gardens on very small parcels of ground
B free government housing developments
C high-tech companies offering low salaries
D extremely poor unplanned neighborhoods
6. Due to armed conflicts… , failing crops, droughts, and f loods, people are
fleeing to cities… (Hint: Notice that in a list the items belong to the same
category and also, often two items of opposite meaning are placed side by
side to give a contrast.)
A bad politics and corruption
B times of confusion
C times with no rain
D unemployment
7. Because they are not economically sound, these cities are unable to
incorporate the huge populations…
A crowded C strong
B designed D weak
8. City planners… can devise cities that make optimal use of the finite land
of the earth.
A extended C unlimited
B limited D wild
9. Engineers can… improve the infrastructure of cities…
A defend C learn about
B destroy D make better
10. Agricultural expertise can help grow the food to feed the masses.
(Hint: Think about the meaning of the smaller word inside of expertise.)
A knowledge C machinery
B labor D wealth

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 Strategy
Understanding Compound Words
Some English words are called because they are composed (made
up) of smaller words joined together. Sometimes the smaller words are linked by
hyphens, but most of the time they aren’t. If you don’t know whether to use a hyphen
or not, look the word up in a dictionary or online.

To understand the meaning of compound words, break them into their smaller parts
and look at the context. Then you can usually guess their meaning. You already
saw two examples of compound words in the title of the article: and
. Here are some more examples.
Examples
(books): these are books that show you how to help or improve yourself

: a place marked off where you cross a street by walking

: a description of someone who is not receiving enough money for his

or her work

5 Understanding Compound Words The compound words, written in italics,

are taken from the reading selection. Guess the meaning of each word by breaking
it into the smaller words inside of it. If necessary, go back to the reading and look for
clues to the word’s meaning in its context. (The letter of the paragraph is given for
each word to help you to locate it.) Write the meaning in the blank.

1. Will we have the resources… to sustain this ever-growing population? (A)

2. The traditional pattern has been that industrial revolutions prompt people to
abandon the countryside. (C)

3. Chengdu… previously had been almost unknown except for its panda bears
and teahouses… (D)

4. Infrastructure—such as roads, railroads, trains, and metros—needs to be built…

(E)

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 5. … needs to be built or enlarged to move the ever-increasing population from
place to place. (E)

6. An estimated 1 billion people—almost one-seventh of the world’s population… (E)

7. Experts… are working on the problems of overpopulation and overcrowded cities. (G)

8. … a professor… suggests that well-designed smaller cities… could provide a

better future for urban life. (H)

Strategy
Analyzing Words with Suffixes and Prefixes
A suffix is a group of letters added to the of a word to make a new word. For
example, take the noun and add the suffix to it, and you get the adjective
, as in the sentence . Take the verb and
add the suffix and you get the noun .

Sometimes there is a spelling change. For example, if the word ends in a silent ,
sometimes you drop the before adding the suffix. Sometimes you change the to
before adding the suffix. Take the noun and add the suffix , and you get
the adjective .

Here are examples of some common suffixes:

-al comic + -al = comical; finance + -al = financial
-er teach + -er = teacher; write + -er = writer
-tion connect + tion = connection; educate + tion = education
-ation specialize + ation = specialization; realize + ation = realization

A prefix is a group of letters added to the of a word (rather than to the end,
like a suffix). Like compound words, words with prefixes sometimes have hyphens
and sometimes don’t. Two prefixes occur in the reading: sub- and un.

Here are the meanings of these two prefixes:

sub- means very cold temperatures
zero degrees.
un She was for six hours after the accident.

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