IV. Reading Comprehension 

Directions: There are two passages in this part. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinishedstatements. For each of them there are four choices marked

Questions 31-35 are based on the following passage.  

   The advantages and disadvantages of a large population have long been a subject of discussion amongeconomists. It has been argued that the supply of good land is limited. To feed a large population, inferior landmust be cultivated and the good land worked intensively. Thus, each person produces less and this means alower average income than what could be obtained with a smaller population. Other economists have arguedthat a large population gives more scope for specialization and the development of facilities such as ports,roads and railways, which are no likely to be built unless there is a big demand to justify them.

   One of the difficulties in carrying out a world-wide birth control program lies in the fact that officialattitudes to population growth vary from country to country depending on the level of industrial developmentand the availability of food and raw materials. In the developing country where a vastly expanded population ispressing hard upon the limits of food, space and natural resources, it will be the first concern of government toplace a limit on the birthrate, whatever the consequences may be. In the highly industrialized society theproblem may be more complex. A decreasing birth rate may lead to unemployment because it results in adeclining market for manufactured goods. When the pressure of population on housing declines, prices alsodecline and the building industry is weakened. Faced with considerations such as these, the government of adeveloped country may well prefer to see a slowly increasing population rather than one which is stable or indecline.