China has more people than any other country in the world. China is almost equivalent, land-
wise, to the United States. However, China has a much larger population.

The bars on the graph above compare the populations of China and the United States. Over
1,300,000,000 people live in China. This is four times more than the number of people who live in the United States!
Many Chinese live in cities. As people move to the cities, the cities grow. People build houses and businesses on land that was once used for farming. Then the land can no longer be used to grow crops. This makes it hard for China to grow enough food for its people.
The government was not sure there was enough food to feed people in the growing cities. So lawmakers tried to keep the cities from growing. The government even made a law to control population growth. The law said that most families living in cities should only have one child. Parents who have more than one child would have to pay a fine.

B. Choose the correct answers.
1. This passage is mostly about _________
a. the differences between China and the United States.
b. the size of China's population and where people live.
c. laws in China about the population.

d. why it's hard to have children in cities.
2. According to the passage, China's population is ________
a. about equal to the U.S. population
b. about half of the U.S. population
c. about four times larger than the U.S. population
d. only a tiny bit more than the U.S. population
3. Why does the author use the bar graph?
a. To compare whether China or the U.S. is a better country
b. To show that China is smaller than the U.S
c. To help the reader compare the populations of China and the U.S
d. To prove that China's population has grown dramatically.
4. Based on information in this passage, it can be concluded that _______
a. it would be better if people only lived in city areas.
b. many Chinese people want to move to other countries.
c. there is enough land in China to grow food for everyone.
d. the Chinese government is worried about the population growth.
5. Which of the following is NOT true?
a. China covers roughly the same land area as the United States
b. All farmland in China was converted into homes.
c. The government of China was worried about food shortages.
d. China adopted a one-child policy to control population growth.

China has more people than any other country in the world. China is almost equivalent, land-
wise, to the United States. However, China has a much larger population.

The bars on the graph above compare the populations of China and the United States. Over
1,300,000,000 people live in China. This is four times more than the number of people who live in the United States!
Many Chinese live in cities. As people move to the cities, the cities grow. People build houses and businesses on land that was once used for farming. Then the land can no longer be used to grow crops. This makes it hard for China to grow enough food for its people.
The government was not sure there was enough food to feed people in the growing cities. So lawmakers tried to keep the cities from growing. The government even made a law to control population growth. The law said that most families living in cities should only have one child. Parents who have more than one child would have to pay a fine.
A. Match the words with their definitions.
1. equivalent a. food that is farmed
2. land-wise b. a sum of money given when a rule or law is broken
3. crops c. the increase in the number of people in a place
4. population growth d. alike in size
5. fine e. relating to land

Write an article (120-150 words) about other advantages and disadvantages of living in a smart city. Use the suggested ideas in 1, the sample in 2, and the outline below to help you.

THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF SMART CITIES

Smart cities are built on new technologies to improve people's lives. The idea of living in one of them sounds very exciting. But is a life controlled by smart technologies good or bad for us?

Let’s start with the advantages. ________________________________

What about the disadvantages? ________________________________

In conclusion, there are both advantages and disadvantages of living in a smart city. In my opinion, ________________________________

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

One of the most important social developments that helped to make possible a shift in thinking about the role of public education was the effect of the baby boom of the 1950's and 1960's on the schools. In the 1920's, but especially in the Depression conditions of the 1930's, the United States experienced a declining birth rate – every thousand women aged fifteen to forty-four gave birth to about 118 live children in 1920, 89.2 in 1930, 75.8 in 1936, and 80 in 1940. With the growing prosperity brought on by the Second World War and the economic boom that followed it, young people married and established households earlier and began to raise larger families than had their predecessors during the Depression. Birth rates rose to 102 per thousand in 1946, 106.2 in 1950, and 118 in 1955. Although economics was probably the most important determinant, it is not the only explanation for the baby boom. The increased value placed on the idea of the family also helps to explain this rise in birth rates. The baby boomers began streaming into the first grade by the mid-1940's and became a flood by 1950. The public school system suddenly found itself overtaxed. While the number of schoolchildren rose because of wartime and postwar conditions, these same conditions made the schools even less prepared to cope with the flood. The wartime economy meant that few new schools were built between 1940 and 1945. Moreover, during the war and in the boom times that followed large numbers of teachers left their profession for better-paying jobs elsewhere in the economy.

Therefore, in the 1950's and 1960's, the baby boom hit an antiquated and inadequate school system. Consequently, the "custodial rhetoric" of the 1930's and early 1940's no longer made sense; that is, keeping youths aged sixteen and older out of the labor market by keeping them in school could no longer be a high priority for an institution unable to find space and staff to teach younger children aged five to sixteen. With the baby boom, the focus of educators and of laymen interested in education inevitably turned toward the lower grades and back to basic academic skills and discipline. The system no longer had much interest in offering nontraditional, new, and extra services to older youths.

Question:The public school of the 1950's and 1960's faced all of the following problems EXCEPT _________.

A. an inadequate number of school buildings

B. old-fashioned facilities

C. a shortage of teachers

D. a declining number of students

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

One of the most important social developments that helped to make possible a shift in thinking about the role of public education was the effect of the baby boom of the 1950's and 1960's on the schools. In the 1920's, but especially in the Depression conditions of the 1930's, the United States experienced a declining birth rate – every thousand women aged fifteen to forty-four gave birth to about 118 live children in 1920, 89.2 in 1930, 75.8 in 1936, and 80 in 1940. With the growing prosperity brought on by the Second World War and the economic boom that followed it, young people married and established households earlier and began to raise larger families than had their predecessors during the Depression. Birth rates rose to 102 per thousand in 1946, 106.2 in 1950, and 118 in 1955. Although economics was probably the most important determinant, it is not the only explanation for the baby boom. The increased value placed on the idea of the family also helps to explain this rise in birth rates. The baby boomers began streaming into the first grade by the mid-1940's and became a flood by 1950. The public school system suddenly found itself overtaxed. While the number of schoolchildren rose because of wartime and postwar conditions, these same conditions made the schools even less prepared to cope with the flood. The wartime economy meant that few new schools were built between 1940 and 1945. Moreover, during the war and in the boom times that followed large numbers of teachers left their profession for better-paying jobs elsewhere in the economy.

Therefore, in the 1950's and 1960's, the baby boom hit an antiquated and inadequate school system. Consequently, the "custodial rhetoric" of the 1930's and early 1940's no longer made sense; that is, keeping youths aged sixteen and older out of the labor market by keeping them in school could no longer be a high priority for an institution unable to find space and staff to teach younger children aged five to sixteen. With the baby boom, the focus of educators and of laymen interested in education inevitably turned toward the lower grades and back to basic academic skills and discipline. The system no longer had much interest in offering nontraditional, new, and extra services to older youths.

Question:According to the passage, why did teachers leave the teaching profession after the outbreak of the war?

A. Teaching positions were scarce.

B. They were dissatisfied with the curriculum.

C. Other jobs provided higher salaries.

D. They needed to be retrained.

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

One of the most important social developments that helped to make possible a shift in thinking about the role of public education was the effect of the baby boom of the 1950's and 1960's on the schools. In the 1920's, but especially in the Depression conditions of the 1930's, the United States experienced a declining birth rate – every thousand women aged fifteen to forty-four gave birth to about 118 live children in 1920, 89.2 in 1930, 75.8 in 1936, and 80 in 1940. With the growing prosperity brought on by the Second World War and the economic boom that followed it, young people married and established households earlier and began to raise larger families than had their predecessors during the Depression. Birth rates rose to 102 per thousand in 1946, 106.2 in 1950, and 118 in 1955. Although economics was probably the most important determinant, it is not the only explanation for the baby boom. The increased value placed on the idea of the family also helps to explain this rise in birth rates. The baby boomers began streaming into the first grade by the mid-1940's and became a flood by 1950. The public school system suddenly found itself overtaxed. While the number of schoolchildren rose because of wartime and postwar conditions, these same conditions made the schools even less prepared to cope with the flood. The wartime economy meant that few new schools were built between 1940 and 1945. Moreover, during the war and in the boom times that followed large numbers of teachers left their profession for better-paying jobs elsewhere in the economy.

Therefore, in the 1950's and 1960's, the baby boom hit an antiquated and inadequate school system. Consequently, the "custodial rhetoric" of the 1930's and early 1940's no longer made sense; that is, keeping youths aged sixteen and older out of the labor market by keeping them in school could no longer be a high priority for an institution unable to find space and staff to teach younger children aged five to sixteen. With the baby boom, the focus of educators and of laymen interested in education inevitably turned toward the lower grades and back to basic academic skills and discipline. The system no longer had much interest in offering nontraditional, new, and extra services to older youths.

Question:The word "overtaxed" in line 14 is closest in meaning to _________.

A. changed too much

B. plentifully supplied

C. heavily burdened

D. well prepared