Read the following passage and answer the questions. Two hundred years after Malthus predicted that population growth would overtake food production by a margin of 256 to 9, the simple fact is that food production had always been ahead of the population growth. Malthus doomsday prediction simply did not come true due to two major reasons; first population did not grow geometrically and birth rates in all western countries fell during 20th century, resulting in very slow population growth. Over the past quarter-century, birth rates have been falling in the developing countries too. Second, modern agricultural practices and better irrigation have resulted in tremendous growth in food production in almost all parts of the globe, with notable exception of Sub-Saharan Africa. Therefore, at the global level, the Malthusian doomsday never befell on us. India's population grew by about two and a half times in the past 45 years from 361 million in 1951 to an estimated 916 million in 1995. But during the same period, India's food grain production grew by nearly four times from 51 million tonnes in 1951 to 191 million tonnes in 1995
Pick out the word from the passage which means forecast
prediction
Meaning of Forecast Found in Passage
The question asks us to identify a word from the given passage that means "forecast". A forecast is an opinion or statement about what will happen in the future. We need to carefully examine each option provided and its meaning in the context of the passage.
Analyzing the Options
Let's look at the meaning of each option:
- doomsday: This word refers to a future time of great destruction or catastrophe, often associated with the end of the world. While Malthus's idea is described as a "doomsday prediction," the word "doomsday" itself doesn't mean forecast.
- overtake: This verb means to catch up with and pass something or someone. In the passage, it's used to describe how Malthus thought population growth would surpass food production, but it doesn't mean forecast.
- prediction: This noun means a statement about what you think will happen in the future. The passage uses this word directly when it says, "Malthus doomsday prediction simply did not come true...". This aligns perfectly with the meaning of "forecast".
- ratio: This refers to the quantitative relationship between two amounts, showing the relative size of one number to another (e.g., the passage mentions a ratio of 256 to 9). This is not related to forecasting.
Identifying the Correct Word
The passage discusses Malthus's views on future population growth and food production. He made a specific statement about what he believed would happen. The word "prediction" is used in the text to describe this statement, and its definition matches the meaning of "forecast". Therefore, "prediction" is the correct word from the passage that means forecast.
Important Questions from Reading Comprehension
Why, according to the writer can't people be motivated to use a resource prudently?
1. They feel that others may overuse the resource
2. It is possible to substitute the resource
3. Abundance of the resource availability
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
When do people use resources exhaustively?
The self-interest of people affects the use of renewable resources
People rooted in a locality
Which among the following is closest in meaning with the word 'deplete'?
