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http://www.voanews.com/learningenglish/theclassroom/articles/american_culture/Worlds-Population-Reaches-7-Billion-134696423.html

http://nippondream.com/voa/population_article.mp3

The United Nations estimates that there are now seven billion people on Earth.

Populations are growing faster than economies in many poor countries in Africa and Asia. At the same time, low birth rates in Japan and many European nations have raised concerns. There may not be enough people to fill jobs in the future.

Population experts at the United Nations estimate that the world’s population reached six billion in October 1999. They predict it will reach nine billion by 2050, and ten billion by the end of the century.

China has a population of 1.3 billion, which is currently the world’s largest. India is second at 1.2 billion. But India is expected to pass China and reach 1.5 billion people around 2025. India will also have one of the world’syoungest populations.

In India, young people will gain many skills in their country’s growing economy. At the same time, other countries will have aging populations. But economists say that current growth rates, although high, may not create enough jobs.

Also, the public education system is failing. There are too many students in many places. Schooling is often of poor quality. Another concern is health care. Nearly half of India’s children under the age of five are malnourished. Sarah Crowe at the United Nations Children’s Fund in New Delhi says these two problems “could keep India back.”

SARAH CROWE: “That child is unable to really grow to its ability and will remain in a state of stunting and not be able to learn when it goes to school — when he or she goes to school, and indeed later earn and really pay back and pay into the economy and help the country and the region move forward. We have, you know, out of every two hundred million children who start school, only ten percent complete grade twelve.”

Michal Rutkowski is the director of human development in South Asia at the World Bank. He says the seven billionth person was likely to be a girl, born in rural Uttar Pradesh. Uttar Pradesh is one of India’s poorest and most crowded states, with nearly 200 million people.

He says reaching seven billion people in the world is a good time for a call to action.

Work Hours in the U.S.

Voice of America’s Learning English Service  19 September 2011

http://www.voanews.com/learningenglish/theclassroom/articles/american_culture/Work-Hours-in-the-US-130114803.html

http://nippondream.com/voa/work_article.mp3

What are the usual work hours of Americans?  How do Americans spend their free time?

The Bureau of Labor Statistics asked Americans these questions in a survey.  The American Time Use Survey began in 2003.  It shows how Americans spend their time.

Rachel Krantz-Kent is program manager of the American Time Use Survey.  She says that employed men worked, on average, more hours than employed women.

“One of the interesting things we know from the American Time Use Survey is that, on average, American men spend more time working for pay than American women.  However, while men work more hours than women, we also observe that women are spending more time providing childcare and doing household work such as cleaning and food preparation.”

Based on the 2010 survey, employed people work an average of seven and a half hours a day.  Full-time male workers average 8.2 hours a day.  Women average 7.8 hours a day.

More people work on weekdays than on Saturday and Sunday.  82% of employed people work on weekdays.  35% work on weekends.

From 2005 – 2009, over 50% of American workers started their jobs each day by 8:00 a.m.

The report also tells how Americans spend their time away from work.  On an average day, nearly everyone watched television, socialized, or exercised.  People spent an average of 2.7 hours a day watching television.

Adults 75 years and older averaged 1.1 hours of reading a day on weekends.  People between 15 and 19 years old averaged about six minutes of reading a day.  People 15 – 19 years old spent more time playing games or using a computer.