Passage 1

With its two giants, China and India, Asia is the home of the majority of the world’ s population, and Africa is the second most populous continent on the planet.
    Its most populous countries are China with 1. 3 billion and India with 1. 2 billion, followed far behind by the United States, Indonesia and Brazil.
    According to the United Nation’s report, Europe is the only continent whose total population is expected to decline, dropping to 700 million residents in the year 2025, due to its negative birth rate.
    The same report also shows that the population in North America, with Canada, the United States and Mexico, is expected to rise to over 450 million in 2020.

US-China educational exchanges are growing at an ever increasing pace as the number of US students studying in China continues to rise year after year.
    In the 2012-2013 school year, over 25,000 students studied in China for credit or engaged themselves in internships or high school programs.
    The US government has also recognized the importance of increasing global competency and intercultural skills among US students. President Obama, together with the US Department of State, has launched an educational exchanges program with China.
    This program is aimed at promoting international education and diplomatic ties between the U. S. and China. Following this trend, university partnerships with Chinese institutions are on the rise.