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TOEFL Study Material – Speaking Part 3
The TOEFL study material on this page is for speaking task 3.
Instructions: Listen to the lecture by clicking on the mp3 player. You should take notes as you listen. Then read the academic text below. You have 45 seconds to finish reading it. Then give a spoken summary of the key points from the lecture and reading.
TOEFL Study Material – Academic Text
Population and Age-Sex Structure
The most significant characteristic of any population is its age-sex structure, defined as the proportion of people of each gender in each different age group.
The sex-age structure determines the potential for reproduction, and therefore population growth, based on the balance of males and females of child-bearing age within a population. Thus, the age-sex structure has social policy implications.
For instance, a population with a high proportion of elderly citizens needs to consider its government-funded pension schemes and health care systems carefully.
Conversely, a demographic with a greater percentage of young children should ensure that its educational funding and child welfare policies are implemented efficaciously.
Accordingly, as the composition of a population changes over time, the government may need to re-evaluate its funding priorities.
See a sample response for this speaking task