Overpopulation, the situation of having large numbers of people with too few resources and too little space, is closely associated with poverty. It can result from high population density, or from low amounts of resources, or from both. Excessively high population densities put stress on available resources. Only a certain number of people can be supported o a given area of land, and that number depends on how much food and other resources the land can provide. In countries where people live primarily by means of simple farming, gardening, herding, hunting, and gathering, even large areas of land can support only small numbers of people because these labor - intensive subsistence activities produce only small amounts of food. In developed countries such as the United States, Japan and the countries of Western Europe, overpopulation generally is not considered a major cause of poverty. These countries produce large quantities of food through mechanized farming, which depends on commercial fertilizers, large - scale irrigation, and agricultural machinery. This form of production provides enough food to support the high densities of people in metropolitan areas. A country's level of poverty can depend greatly on its mix of population density and agricultural productivity. Bangladesh, for example, has one of the world's highest population densities, with 1,147 persons per sq km. A large majority of the people of Bangladesh engage in low - productivity manual farming, which contributes to the country's extremely high level of poverty. Some of the smaller countries in Western Europe, such as the Netherlands and Belgium, have high population densities as well. These countries practice mechanized farming and are involved in high - tech indutries, however, are therefore have high standards of living. At the other end of the spectrum, many countries in sub - Saharan Africa have population densities of less than 30 persons per sq km. Many people in these countries practice manual subsistence farming, these countries also have infertile land, and lack the economic resources and technology to boost productivity. As a consequence, these nations are very poor. The United States has both relatively low population density and high agricultural productivity; it is one of the world's weathiest nations. High birth rates contribute to overpopulation in many developing countries. Children are assets to many poor families because they provide labor, usually for farming. Cultural norms in traditionally rural societies commonly sanction the value of large families. Also, the goverments of developing countries often provide little or no support, financial or political, for farming planning; even people who wish to keep their families small have difficulty doing so. For all those reasons, developing countries tend to have high rates of population growth. 2 Question 1: Which of tho following is given as a definition of paragraph 1? A. Overpopulation B. Population density C. Simple farming D. Poverty Question 2: What will suffer when there are excessively high population densities? A. Availabe resources B. Skilled labor C. Farming methods D. Land area Question 3: The phrase "that number" in paragraph 1 refers to the number of______ A. people B. densities c. resources D. countries Question 4: In certain countries, large areas of land can only yeild small amounts of food because ______. A. there is lack of mechanization B. there are small numbers of laborers C. there is an abundance of resources D. there is no shortage of skilled labor. Question 5: Bangladesh is a country where the level of poverty depends greatly on ______, A. its population density only B. both population density and agricultural productivity C. population density in metropolitan areas. D. its high agricultural productivity. Question 6: The phrase "engage in" in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to ______. A. escape from B. look into c. give up D. participate in Question 7: The word "infertile" in paragraph 4 probably means ________. A. disused B. impossible c. unproductive D. inaccessible Question 8: Which of the following is TRUE, according to the passage? A. In certain developed countries, mechanized farming is applied. B. In sub - Saharan African countries, productivity is boosted by technology, C. There is no connection between a country's culture and overpopulation. D. All small countries in Western Europe have high population densities. Question 9: Which of the following is a contributor to overpopulation in many developing countries? A. High - tech facilities B. Economic resources C. Sufficient financial support D. High birth rates