The Population
Pre-listening
Warm-up Questions
What’s your idea of the makeup of the U.S.
population?
If you were a photographer, how would you
reflect the racial diversity of the country
accurately?
Pre-listening
Warm-up Questions
Do you think there are more old people or
young people in the population of U.S.?
Why? What about the case in China?
Do you think more people live in the East or
in the West of the country? Why? How
about the case in China?
Pre-listening
Vocabulary and Key Concepts
Read through the sentences and figure out
what words would fit in the blanks. Then check
your answers by listening to a dictation of the
full sentences.
Pre-listening
Vocabulary and Key Concepts
Most countries take a census every ten years or so
in order to count the people and know where they
are living.
A country with a growing population is a country
that is becoming more populous.
A person’s race is partly determined by skin color
and type of hair as well as other physical
characteristics.
The majority of the U.S. population is of European
origin.
Pre-listening
Vocabulary and Key Concepts
The geographical distribution of a country’s
population gives information about where the
people are living.
The total population of the United States is made
up of many different kinds of people.
In other words, the population comprises people of
different races and ages.
The average age of the U.S. population, which is a
relatively large one, has been getting progressively
higher recently.
Pre-listening
Vocabulary and Key Concepts
Metropolitan areas are more densely populated
than rural areas. That is, they have more people
per square mile.
The use of antibiotics has greatly decreased the
death rate through out much of the world.
A country whose birth rate is higher than its death
rate will have an increasing population.
On the average, women have a higher life
expectancy than men do.
Pre-listening
Predictions.
Using the pictures in your textbook and the
vocabulary exercises as a starting point, write
3 questions that you think you can get
answers in the lecture.
Pre-listening
Note-taking Preparation
Number Notation
whole number (37 mill.)
percentage (28%)
fraction (3/4)
ratio (1:6)
Pre-listening
Note-taking Preparation
Rhetorical Cues
A rhetorical cue is a word or even a sentence that lets us
know that some important information is coming or that a
new subtopic or point is being introduced. Order the
following rhetorical cues. Decide in which order you will
hear them in today’s lecture.
Pre-listening
Note-taking Preparation
Rhetorical Cues
First of all, let’s take a look …
Another way of looking at the population…
Today we’re going to talk about population…
Before we finish today…
Now, to finish up…
(2-3-1-5-4)
Listening
First Listening
Listen for general ideas:
After a brief introduction, the lecturer lists his 3
subtopics. He then goes on to discuss each one
individually. As you listen, write down the 3
major subtopics.
ST1: population by race and origin
ST2: population by geographical distribution
ST3: population in terms of age and sex
Listening
Further Listening
Write down necessary relevant details
below the main subtopics to which they
belong. Remember to use proper
number notation to save time.
Listening
Post-listening
Listen to the lecture once more. Then you will hear 10
questions. Write short answer to these questions.
Which two countries have a larger population than the United
States?
(People’s Republic of China, India)
What was the population of the United States in the latest
census?
(281 mill.)
Which group is bigger, blacks or Hispanics?
(Hispanics, 12.5%)
Listening
Post-listening
Which state is more populous, Florida or Texas?
(Texas)
In what two regions of the country do most
Americans live?
(the South and the West)
What percentage of the population lives in rural
areas?
(20%)
How many more women than men are there in the
U.S. population?
(by more than 5 mill.)
Listening
Post-listening
About how many years longer do women live than
men in the United States?
(about 6 years)
What was the increase in the average age from
1990 to 2000?
(2.2 years)
What two factors account for the increase of the
average age?
(a decreasing birth rate and an increase life
expectancy)
Oral Activities
Rehearsal of the Lecture
With the help of the above questions
and your notes, retell the contents of the
lecture to your classmate who might
miss the lecture.
Oral Activities
Group Discussion
Discuss with your classmates the following
questions and decide what information to include.
Write the answers in complete sentences in paragraph
form in about 125 words.
What’s the purpose of census?
Why are there women than men in the United States?
Why is there a progressive higher death rate for males as
they get older? (life expectancy; dangerous work; more
pressure; bad habits; wars)
Is it a good thing or a bad thing for much more people living in
urban areas than in rural areas?
What do you think will be the questionnaire in a community
survey?
The end