When you read this sentence, the population of the earth has grown by 10 people. Most of these new people are born in developing countries.
In the developed countries of Europe and North America, the population is growing very slowly. This is because women in these countries have，on average (平均) , only one or two children. In the developing countries, more than one billion people already live below the poverty line (贫困线) . Children get little or no time at school and suffer from many kinds of diseases.
The UN has said that the world's population will reach 12.5 billion people by the year 2100. If the number makes your head spinning (眩晕) you're not alone. Many experts are worrying that so fast population growth could have very bad results.
| A. These countries are found in much of Africa，South America and parts of Asia. B. These people don't have enough food to eat and they live in poor housing. C. That may not sound much, but it's about 14,000 people per hour. D. But in the developing countries, many women have five or more children. E. It could do harm to the environment and increase the number of poor people. |
