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Exercise 10

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Task reminder: Read the passage carefully, then write a one-sentence summary of 5–75 words. You have 10 minutes. Aim for 55–65 words using your own words.

1. The Ageing Population

In most high-income countries, and increasingly in middle-income nations, populations are ageing rapidly as birth rates fall and life expectancy rises. By 2050, the number of people aged sixty-five or over is projected to double globally, reaching 1.5 billion. This demographic shift carries profound economic implications: smaller working-age populations will need to support larger numbers of retirees, placing pressure on pension systems, healthcare, and aged care services. At the same time, older populations bring experience, accumulated capital, and often significant consumer purchasing power. Societies that invest in lifelong learning, flexible retirement pathways, and age-friendly urban design will be better positioned to harness the opportunities of longevity while managing the challenges.


Model Summary

Rapidly ageing populations in high-income and middle-income countries, driven by falling birth rates and rising life expectancy, will place increasing strain on pensions and healthcare systems, but societies that invest in lifelong learning, flexible retirement, and age-friendly design can also capitalise on older people’s experience, capital, and purchasing power.

2. Water Scarcity

Water is essential for all life, yet access to clean freshwater is becoming an increasingly critical global challenge. Approximately two billion people currently lack access to safe drinking water, and the United Nations projects that by 2030 global demand for freshwater will exceed available supply by forty percent. Climate change is intensifying the problem: altered precipitation patterns, accelerating glacier retreat, and more frequent and severe droughts are reducing the availability and reliability of freshwater sources in many regions. Agricultural irrigation, which accounts for approximately seventy percent of global freshwater withdrawals, is a central target for efficiency improvements, alongside investments in water recycling, desalination, and watershed protection.


Model Summary

Water scarcity is escalating as two billion people already lack safe drinking water and projected demand is set to exceed supply by forty percent by 2030, driven by climate change and agricultural overuse, making efficiency improvements, water recycling, desalination, and watershed protection urgent priorities.

3. The Neuroscience of Creativity

Creativity has long been regarded as mysterious — a spark of inspiration that strikes unpredictably and resists systematic analysis. Neuroscience is beginning to shed light on the underlying brain processes involved. Research using functional MRI has identified a “default mode network” that is active during mind-wandering and apparently passive states, and which plays a crucial role in creative thinking. Contrary to the popular notion that creativity resides exclusively in the right brain, studies show that it involves dynamic interactions between multiple large-scale networks in both hemispheres. Conditions that promote creative thought include periods of incubation away from focused problem-solving, positive mood, and environments that feel psychologically safe for experimentation.


Model Summary

Neuroscience research reveals that creativity involves dynamic interactions across multiple brain networks in both hemispheres rather than residing in the right brain alone, with the default mode network active during mind-wandering playing a key role, and conditions such as incubation periods, positive mood, and psychological safety supporting creative thought.