The Population

A. Discussion

Discuss the following questions with your classmates:

• Do these pictures match your idea of the makeup of the U. S. population?

• Do you think the pictures reflect the racial diversity of the coun­try accurately?

• Do you think there are more old people or young people in the population?

• Do you think more people live in the East or in the West of the country?

Q B. Vocabulary and Key Concepts

Read through the sentences, trying to imagine which words would fit in the blanks. Then listen to a dictation of the full sentences, and write the missing words in the blanks.

1. Most countries take a__________________ every ten years or so

in order to count the people and to know where they are living.

2. A country with a growing population is a country that is becom­ing more.

3. A person’s_________________ is partly determined by skin color

and type of hair as well as other physical characteristics.

4. The majority of the U. S. population is of European_____________ .

5. The_____________________________________ of a country’s

population gives information about where the people are living.

6. The total population of the United States is___________________

_____________________________________ many different kinds

of people.

7. In other words, the population__________________ people of

different races and ages.

8. The average age of the U. S. population, which is a

__________________ large one, has been getting________________

higher recently.

9. areas are more___________________

populated than rural areas. That is, they have more people per square mile.

10. The use of antibiotics has greatly___________________ the

_____________________________________ throughout much of

the world.

11. A country whose_____________________________________

is higher than its death rate will have an__________________

population.

12. On the average, women have a higher_________________

__________________ than men do.

Follow-up: Check the spelling of the dictated words with your teacher.

Discuss the meanings of these words and any other unfamiliar words

in the sentences.

C. Predictions

Using the photographs and the vocabulary exercise as a starting point,

write three questions that you think will be answered in the lecture.

Examples: • Is the number of minorities increasing or decreasing?

• Why is the average age of the U. S. population increasing?

1. _

2.

3.

Follow-up: After you have written your questions, share them with your teacher and your classmates.

Q D. Notetaking Preparation