The world is experiencing a dramatic increase in population. This is causing problems not only for poor, undeveloped countries, but also for industrialized and developing countries. Describe some of the problems that overpopulation causes, and suggest at least one possible solution. Write an essay of about 400 words. You should supply an appropriate title for your essay.

In the ?rst part of your essay you should state clearly your main argument, and in the second part you should support your argument with appropriate details. In the last part you should bring what you have written to a natural conclusion or make a summary.

Marks will be awarded for content, organization, grammar and appropriateness. Failure to follow the above instructions may result in a loss of marks .

写作思路

本题属于“问题解决型”，这类文章一般由三部分构成：问题、原因、解决方法或是问题、后果、解决方法。根据审题可知，本题要求的是先分析人口过多造成的问题，再提出建议。人口爆炸问题已经引起了世界各国的关注，相关内容相信大家都非常熟悉，一般不会有严重的偏题情况出现，但这里要提醒大家注意题目中以下两个词组：some of the problems以及at least one possible solution，也就是说，人口过多造成的问题一定要两个及两个以上，解决方法也至少要提出一条。

On Population Explosion

The human race has experienced a consistent increase in population since the beginning of its history. Too many people are added annually to the population of the world. Famine and diseases have done little to offset  this steady increase. In this essay, both the results of having more people and solutions to the critical population problem will be studied carefully.

In poor countries, it is dif?cult to provide enough food to feed even the present number of  people. In addition, education to limit the number of children per family is not always successful. Poorer countries usually have a lot of unemployment too, and an increase in population simply makes the situation worse.

In rich, industrialized and developing countries, it is very dif?cult for governments to provide effective public services in overcrowded cities. Moreover, there is usually a great deal of crime,  which is often due to high rates of unemployment. Further large increase in population only causes more overcrowding, unemployment and crime.

Besides, overpopulation is the major reason for water, soil and air pollution. It is also often the cause of starvation and even wars. In my opinion, there are two main weapons to fight against the population problem. The most important weapon we have to ?ght population growth is education. This should start at a very early age, i.e. before children even go to school. TV cartoons and children’s programs can be used to educate the very young. At high school level, students can be taught about the problem more directly. At university level, scholarships should be made available to students who wish to study further in this field. International exchange groups may also help to increase awareness. The second weapon is birth control, every woman who is pregnant, but who does not want to give birth, should be allowed by law to have an abortion.

In China, couples are penalized financially if they have more than one child. This may seem cruel, but the “one-child policy” is beginning to have an effect in the world’s most populous nation. Eventually, similar policies might also be necessary in other crowded nations such as India, for example.

The world’s population may reach 8.7 billion in 2033. If the population explosion continues,  many more people will die of starvation in poor countries, and life in the cities, even in af?uent nations, will become increasingly dif? cult. Facing such a serious situation, we must make every effort to ?nd a way out so as to save the mankind and save the world.

★用词亮点

offset：补偿，抵消

abortion：堕胎

penalize：判罚

populous：人口稠密的

affluent：富裕的

★句式亮点

Moreover, there is usually a great deal of crime, which is often due to high rates of unemployment.

本句包含which引导的非限制性定语从句，其中which指代的是整个主句，即there is usually a great deal of crime。本句句意为：此外，（那些发达国家）有很多的犯罪活动，这通常都是 由高失业率造成的。

If the population explosion continues, many more people will die of starvation in poor countries, and life in the cities, even in affluent nations, will become increasingly difficult.

本句为条件状语从句。在主句中，作者使用and连接的并列句，介绍了如果人口爆炸持续下去的话，在贫穷国家和富裕国家会造成的不同后果，这样的分类集中于一个句子中，不仅可以使得论述完整，而且结构上也更为紧凑。本句句意为：如果人口爆炸继续下去的话，那么在贫穷的国家，更多人都将饿死，而在城市中人们的生活也将愈加困难 ，即使是在富裕的国家也是如此。

 ★篇章亮点

本文结构清晰，语言言简意赅。第一段提出人口爆炸这一社会现状 ，由此引出主题句 ：Therefore, both the causes of population increase and the results of having more people are worth careful study. 在接下来的两段中，作者详细分析了人口爆炸所带来的问题，值得注意的是，作者按照地域将这部分内容分为两类：贫穷国家和富裕国家，并分别展开讨论，这显然是考虑到人口爆炸这一问题在贫穷国家和富裕国家所产生的后果是不同的，这一分类使得全文的论述更为细致有序。从篇幅可以看出，作者将重点放在了提出建议这部分。作者一共提出两条建议：教育和控制出生人口。在教育方面，作者又将其细分为小学阶段、高中阶段、大学阶段以及国际交流层面；在控制出生人口方面，作者主要举了在中国实行计划生育的例子。可见，分类论证和举例论证是本文所采用的两大论证方式，尤其是分类论证，在考生的作文 中并不多见，是本文的一大特色。