It is true that world population is growing，but this is not the cause of our current and future global problems．Believing this will cause us to ignore the real problem and risk long-term damage to our planet．
   Let me start by explaining why overpopulation is a myth．For one thing，the UN Population Division regularly predicts population growth but provides a low variant （變量），medium variant，and high variant to factor in various possibilities．In the 2010 revision，their high variant suggests that the world population will be almost 16 billion in 2100，but the low variant predicts it will peak（達到頂峰） at 8 billion and decrease to just over 6 billion by 2100．In most cases，it is the low variant that has come true in the past，suggesting the same will be true of their future population predictions．In addition to this，the size of families is actually decreasing．
   For another，if the Earth is overpopulated，there needs to be insufficient （短缺） food，water，and space for humans to live．However，Indian economist Raj Krishna estimates that India alone is able to increase crop produce to the point of providing the entire world's food supply．The World Food Programme confirms that there is sufficient food grown to feed the world and there is the same amount of fresh water on the planet now as there was 10，000 years ago．So how is it possible that the number of people in the world is affecting our planet？
   Therefore，it is not an increase in population but an increase in consumption that is a severe threat．Materialism and overconsumption are facts of life for everybody in the western world，as possessions reflect a person's status in society and people strive to obtain happiness through owning the latest fashionable goods．Not only that，but waste is a common occurrence which has a huge effect on our resources．It is a sad truth that 80% of the world's resources are currently used by just 20% of the world's population．
   Our overconsumption must be addressed now to make our lives more sustainable and avoid continuing the terrible damage to the environment we are causing．The key is education．If we do not work towards this but instead focus on the wrong issue，we may find ourselves living on a planet that can no longer sustain human life．

（1）According to the author，what causes our current and future global problems？

C

C

A．The increase in population．
B．Shortage of food and water．
C．The fast growth of material needs．
D．Failure to protect the environment．
（2）The underlined word "myth" in Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to

D

D

．
A．fact
B．uncertainty
C．possibility
D．misconception
（3）The author stresses that

C

C

．
A．people should save food and water
B．economists are making wrong predictions
C．wrong judgment leads to serious consequences
D．measures should be taken to reduce population
（4）What is mainly discussed in the passage？

A

A

A．The real cause of global problems．
B．The severe effect of overpopulation．
C．Reasonable use of natural resources．
D．Methods to reduce overconsumption．