Questões de Inglês

Instrução: A questão refere-se ao texto abaixo.

Tasmania’s beautiful quarantine site

by Dr Tiana Templeman

[1]  When World War One broke out in 1914, the German crew of the SS Oberhausen were declared
“enemy aliens” and were caught by a band of 11 Australian naval reservists. Captain Johann Meir and his
sailors, who were getting timber in Port Huon in Tasmania at the time, could have topped up with fuel and
got out of port. Instead, they stayed, as it was safer than returning to Germany to fight. After piercing their
[5]   ship’s liquor casks and sharing the booze with their captors, all of them arrived in the capital, Hobart, rolling
drunk. The reservists had some explaining to do, while the Germans were eventually sent to an internment
camp at Bruny Island Quarantine Station. Conditions at the camp were reasonably good and Captain Meir
was reported as saying, “What better place to spend the war?”. He wasn’t the first, nor would he be the
last, to experience the freedom and isolation of Bruny Island.
[10]   The tiny island located off Tasmania’s south-east coast has played a significant role in Australia’s
history as its isolation made it the perfect location for quarantine. From 1884, passengers arriving in
Tasmania had to be disease-free before they were allowed into the general community. Instead of being
confined to a ship, they served out their isolation period and underwent health checks ashore at Bruny
Island Quarantine Station.
[15]   Prior to this, Europeans passing by as early as 1777, as vessels travelling around the Cape of Good
Hope in South Africa often used Adventure Bay on Bruny Island as a safe anchorage for replenishing
supplies such as water and wood. However, European occupation of the Quarantine Station site didn’t
occur until 1856, with the arrival of the Cox family.
Anthony Cox was transported from England to Hobart as a convict in 1833 for housebreaking. He was
[20]   granted a conditional pardon in May 1849 and married convict Jane Daly soon after. As an ex-convict “of
good conduct and disposition to industry”, he received a 19-acre parcel of land from the government on
the site that would become the Bruny Island Quarantine Station. Cox and his family cut firewood for a living
on land that was widely regarded as “very poor”, yet their home, Shellwood Cottage, was neatly fenced
and surrounded by flowers. Compared to the hardships of convict life, the freedom and serenity of Bruny
[25]   Island was akin to paradise.
The land was eventually sold, and the Bruny Island Quarantine Station was built in the mid-1800s to
avoid the spread of contagious diseases such as typhoid and smallpox that were prevalent at the time. The
opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 saw an increase in international travel, and thousands of immigrants
travelling to Australia on passenger ships to start a new life in the colonies were quarantined on Bruny
[30]   Island.
Three of the original buildings from this time remain and can be seen today. The cleansing room
provided pedestrian access to the isolation block and was enclosed by a 3m fence, which also surrounded
the Health Officer’s quarters and the hospital, observation wards, laundry and mortuary. The mortuary was
divided into two sections, with one half used for disinfection and fumigation of passengers; and the other
[35]   used as a morgue that fortunately saw little use over the years.
When Captain Johann Meir and his sailors arrived at the Quarantine Station in January 1915, it had
been set up as a German internment camp. The crew were put to work with other Germans cutting wood
and clearing land. There were around 70 internees in total and just 15 guards to patrol almost 2km of
shoreline and a long fence. The task of stopping them from escaping would have been impossible – had
[40]   the prisoners actually wanted to leave.
Perhaps it was because they proved to have such little interest in escaping that the prisoners were
given so much freedom. They often worked outside the Quarantine Station boundaries and constructed
their own buildings, including several camps well away from the main base. According to Kathy Duncombe,
researcher and committee member of the Friends of Bruny Island Quarantine Station, one of their biggest
[45]   challenges was boredom. “They spent their time chopping down trees, which were sold, but also because
it gave them something to do. Some of them made ships in bottles to pass the time.”
After the Germans were moved to Holsworthy Internment Camp in Sydney in 1915, things were quiet
at the Quarantine Station – but not for long. The end of World War One coincided with the beginning of
the Spanish influenza pandemic. Instead of coming home to victory parades and being reunited with
[50]   their families, Tasmanian soldiers returning from war spent seven days in quarantine at Bruny Island with
hundreds of other men. While they were initially disappointed with the delay in their return home, many later
realized it was the best thing that could have happened. They could get their land legs after many days at
sea and talk to others who had experienced the horrors of war. This was good for the men psychologically
as many didn’t want to burden their families. There was swimming, fishing, football, a movie tent, and a
[55]   boxing ring, which helped the soldiers release anger and frustration. Spirits were lifted by care packages

from the Red Cross Society containing luxuries such as cigarettes, books and fruit.
More about the Quarantine Station’s history continues to be discovered, like the German internee’s
diary a 90-year-old man who speaks the same German dialect is translating. There are 578 pages filled
with beautiful handwriting and photographs of things we had never seen before. History never stands still,
[60]   there is always more to be told.

Disponível em: http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20200505-tasmanias-ruggedly-beautiful-quarantine-site. Acesso em: 6 maio 2019

Instrução: A questão refere-se ao texto abaixo.

Tasmania’s beautiful quarantine site

by Dr Tiana Templeman

[1]  When World War One broke out in 1914, the German crew of the SS Oberhausen were declared
“enemy aliens” and were caught by a band of 11 Australian naval reservists. Captain Johann Meir and his
sailors, who were getting timber in Port Huon in Tasmania at the time, could have topped up with fuel and
got out of port. Instead, they stayed, as it was safer than returning to Germany to fight. After piercing their
[5]   ship’s liquor casks and sharing the booze with their captors, all of them arrived in the capital, Hobart, rolling
drunk. The reservists had some explaining to do, while the Germans were eventually sent to an internment
camp at Bruny Island Quarantine Station. Conditions at the camp were reasonably good and Captain Meir
was reported as saying, “What better place to spend the war?”. He wasn’t the first, nor would he be the
last, to experience the freedom and isolation of Bruny Island.
[10]   The tiny island located off Tasmania’s south-east coast has played a significant role in Australia’s
history as its isolation made it the perfect location for quarantine. From 1884, passengers arriving in
Tasmania had to be disease-free before they were allowed into the general community. Instead of being
confined to a ship, they served out their isolation period and underwent health checks ashore at Bruny
Island Quarantine Station.
[15]   Prior to this, Europeans passing by as early as 1777, as vessels travelling around the Cape of Good
Hope in South Africa often used Adventure Bay on Bruny Island as a safe anchorage for replenishing
supplies such as water and wood. However, European occupation of the Quarantine Station site didn’t
occur until 1856, with the arrival of the Cox family.
Anthony Cox was transported from England to Hobart as a convict in 1833 for housebreaking. He was
[20]   granted a conditional pardon in May 1849 and married convict Jane Daly soon after. As an ex-convict “of
good conduct and disposition to industry”, he received a 19-acre parcel of land from the government on
the site that would become the Bruny Island Quarantine Station. Cox and his family cut firewood for a living
on land that was widely regarded as “very poor”, yet their home, Shellwood Cottage, was neatly fenced
and surrounded by flowers. Compared to the hardships of convict life, the freedom and serenity of Bruny
[25]   Island was akin to paradise.
The land was eventually sold, and the Bruny Island Quarantine Station was built in the mid-1800s to
avoid the spread of contagious diseases such as typhoid and smallpox that were prevalent at the time. The
opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 saw an increase in international travel, and thousands of immigrants
travelling to Australia on passenger ships to start a new life in the colonies were quarantined on Bruny
[30]   Island.
Three of the original buildings from this time remain and can be seen today. The cleansing room
provided pedestrian access to the isolation block and was enclosed by a 3m fence, which also surrounded
the Health Officer’s quarters and the hospital, observation wards, laundry and mortuary. The mortuary was
divided into two sections, with one half used for disinfection and fumigation of passengers; and the other
[35]   used as a morgue that fortunately saw little use over the years.
When Captain Johann Meir and his sailors arrived at the Quarantine Station in January 1915, it had
been set up as a German internment camp. The crew were put to work with other Germans cutting wood
and clearing land. There were around 70 internees in total and just 15 guards to patrol almost 2km of
shoreline and a long fence. The task of stopping them from escaping would have been impossible – had
[40]   the prisoners actually wanted to leave.
Perhaps it was because they proved to have such little interest in escaping that the prisoners were
given so much freedom. They often worked outside the Quarantine Station boundaries and constructed
their own buildings, including several camps well away from the main base. According to Kathy Duncombe,
researcher and committee member of the Friends of Bruny Island Quarantine Station, one of their biggest
[45]   challenges was boredom. “They spent their time chopping down trees, which were sold, but also because
it gave them something to do. Some of them made ships in bottles to pass the time.”
After the Germans were moved to Holsworthy Internment Camp in Sydney in 1915, things were quiet
at the Quarantine Station – but not for long. The end of World War One coincided with the beginning of
the Spanish influenza pandemic. Instead of coming home to victory parades and being reunited with
[50]   their families, Tasmanian soldiers returning from war spent seven days in quarantine at Bruny Island with
hundreds of other men. While they were initially disappointed with the delay in their return home, many later
realized it was the best thing that could have happened. They could get their land legs after many days at
sea and talk to others who had experienced the horrors of war. This was good for the men psychologically
as many didn’t want to burden their families. There was swimming, fishing, football, a movie tent, and a
[55]   boxing ring, which helped the soldiers release anger and frustration. Spirits were lifted by care packages

from the Red Cross Society containing luxuries such as cigarettes, books and fruit.
More about the Quarantine Station’s history continues to be discovered, like the German internee’s
diary a 90-year-old man who speaks the same German dialect is translating. There are 578 pages filled
with beautiful handwriting and photographs of things we had never seen before. History never stands still,
[60]   there is always more to be told.

Disponível em: http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20200505-tasmanias-ruggedly-beautiful-quarantine-site. Acesso em: 6 maio 2019

Instrução: A questão refere-se ao texto abaixo.

Tasmania’s beautiful quarantine site

by Dr Tiana Templeman

[1]  When World War One broke out in 1914, the German crew of the SS Oberhausen were declared
“enemy aliens” and were caught by a band of 11 Australian naval reservists. Captain Johann Meir and his
sailors, who were getting timber in Port Huon in Tasmania at the time, could have topped up with fuel and
got out of port. Instead, they stayed, as it was safer than returning to Germany to fight. After piercing their
[5]   ship’s liquor casks and sharing the booze with their captors, all of them arrived in the capital, Hobart, rolling
drunk. The reservists had some explaining to do, while the Germans were eventually sent to an internment
camp at Bruny Island Quarantine Station. Conditions at the camp were reasonably good and Captain Meir
was reported as saying, “What better place to spend the war?”. He wasn’t the first, nor would he be the
last, to experience the freedom and isolation of Bruny Island.
[10]   The tiny island located off Tasmania’s south-east coast has played a significant role in Australia’s
history as its isolation made it the perfect location for quarantine. From 1884, passengers arriving in
Tasmania had to be disease-free before they were allowed into the general community. Instead of being
confined to a ship, they served out their isolation period and underwent health checks ashore at Bruny
Island Quarantine Station.
[15]   Prior to this, Europeans passing by as early as 1777, as vessels travelling around the Cape of Good
Hope in South Africa often used Adventure Bay on Bruny Island as a safe anchorage for replenishing
supplies such as water and wood. However, European occupation of the Quarantine Station site didn’t
occur until 1856, with the arrival of the Cox family.
Anthony Cox was transported from England to Hobart as a convict in 1833 for housebreaking. He was
[20]   granted a conditional pardon in May 1849 and married convict Jane Daly soon after. As an ex-convict “of
good conduct and disposition to industry”, he received a 19-acre parcel of land from the government on
the site that would become the Bruny Island Quarantine Station. Cox and his family cut firewood for a living
on land that was widely regarded as “very poor”, yet their home, Shellwood Cottage, was neatly fenced
and surrounded by flowers. Compared to the hardships of convict life, the freedom and serenity of Bruny
[25]   Island was akin to paradise.
The land was eventually sold, and the Bruny Island Quarantine Station was built in the mid-1800s to
avoid the spread of contagious diseases such as typhoid and smallpox that were prevalent at the time. The
opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 saw an increase in international travel, and thousands of immigrants
travelling to Australia on passenger ships to start a new life in the colonies were quarantined on Bruny
[30]   Island.
Three of the original buildings from this time remain and can be seen today. The cleansing room
provided pedestrian access to the isolation block and was enclosed by a 3m fence, which also surrounded
the Health Officer’s quarters and the hospital, observation wards, laundry and mortuary. The mortuary was
divided into two sections, with one half used for disinfection and fumigation of passengers; and the other
[35]   used as a morgue that fortunately saw little use over the years.
When Captain Johann Meir and his sailors arrived at the Quarantine Station in January 1915, it had
been set up as a German internment camp. The crew were put to work with other Germans cutting wood
and clearing land. There were around 70 internees in total and just 15 guards to patrol almost 2km of
shoreline and a long fence. The task of stopping them from escaping would have been impossible – had
[40]   the prisoners actually wanted to leave.
Perhaps it was because they proved to have such little interest in escaping that the prisoners were
given so much freedom. They often worked outside the Quarantine Station boundaries and constructed
their own buildings, including several camps well away from the main base. According to Kathy Duncombe,
researcher and committee member of the Friends of Bruny Island Quarantine Station, one of their biggest
[45]   challenges was boredom. “They spent their time chopping down trees, which were sold, but also because
it gave them something to do. Some of them made ships in bottles to pass the time.”
After the Germans were moved to Holsworthy Internment Camp in Sydney in 1915, things were quiet
at the Quarantine Station – but not for long. The end of World War One coincided with the beginning of
the Spanish influenza pandemic. Instead of coming home to victory parades and being reunited with
[50]   their families, Tasmanian soldiers returning from war spent seven days in quarantine at Bruny Island with
hundreds of other men. While they were initially disappointed with the delay in their return home, many later
realized it was the best thing that could have happened. They could get their land legs after many days at
sea and talk to others who had experienced the horrors of war. This was good for the men psychologically
as many didn’t want to burden their families. There was swimming, fishing, football, a movie tent, and a
[55]   boxing ring, which helped the soldiers release anger and frustration. Spirits were lifted by care packages

from the Red Cross Society containing luxuries such as cigarettes, books and fruit.
More about the Quarantine Station’s history continues to be discovered, like the German internee’s
diary a 90-year-old man who speaks the same German dialect is translating. There are 578 pages filled
with beautiful handwriting and photographs of things we had never seen before. History never stands still,
[60]   there is always more to be told.

Disponível em: http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20200505-tasmanias-ruggedly-beautiful-quarantine-site. Acesso em: 6 maio 2019

Instrução: A questão refere-se ao texto abaixo.

Tasmania’s beautiful quarantine site

by Dr Tiana Templeman

[1]  When World War One broke out in 1914, the German crew of the SS Oberhausen were declared
“enemy aliens” and were caught by a band of 11 Australian naval reservists. Captain Johann Meir and his
sailors, who were getting timber in Port Huon in Tasmania at the time, could have topped up with fuel and
got out of port. Instead, they stayed, as it was safer than returning to Germany to fight. After piercing their
[5]   ship’s liquor casks and sharing the booze with their captors, all of them arrived in the capital, Hobart, rolling
drunk. The reservists had some explaining to do, while the Germans were eventually sent to an internment
camp at Bruny Island Quarantine Station. Conditions at the camp were reasonably good and Captain Meir
was reported as saying, “What better place to spend the war?”. He wasn’t the first, nor would he be the
last, to experience the freedom and isolation of Bruny Island.
[10]   The tiny island located off Tasmania’s south-east coast has played a significant role in Australia’s
history as its isolation made it the perfect location for quarantine. From 1884, passengers arriving in
Tasmania had to be disease-free before they were allowed into the general community. Instead of being
confined to a ship, they served out their isolation period and underwent health checks ashore at Bruny
Island Quarantine Station.
[15]   Prior to this, Europeans passing by as early as 1777, as vessels travelling around the Cape of Good
Hope in South Africa often used Adventure Bay on Bruny Island as a safe anchorage for replenishing
supplies such as water and wood. However, European occupation of the Quarantine Station site didn’t
occur until 1856, with the arrival of the Cox family.
Anthony Cox was transported from England to Hobart as a convict in 1833 for housebreaking. He was
[20]   granted a conditional pardon in May 1849 and married convict Jane Daly soon after. As an ex-convict “of
good conduct and disposition to industry”, he received a 19-acre parcel of land from the government on
the site that would become the Bruny Island Quarantine Station. Cox and his family cut firewood for a living
on land that was widely regarded as “very poor”, yet their home, Shellwood Cottage, was neatly fenced
and surrounded by flowers. Compared to the hardships of convict life, the freedom and serenity of Bruny
[25]   Island was akin to paradise.
The land was eventually sold, and the Bruny Island Quarantine Station was built in the mid-1800s to
avoid the spread of contagious diseases such as typhoid and smallpox that were prevalent at the time. The
opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 saw an increase in international travel, and thousands of immigrants
travelling to Australia on passenger ships to start a new life in the colonies were quarantined on Bruny
[30]   Island.
Three of the original buildings from this time remain and can be seen today. The cleansing room
provided pedestrian access to the isolation block and was enclosed by a 3m fence, which also surrounded
the Health Officer’s quarters and the hospital, observation wards, laundry and mortuary. The mortuary was
divided into two sections, with one half used for disinfection and fumigation of passengers; and the other
[35]   used as a morgue that fortunately saw little use over the years.
When Captain Johann Meir and his sailors arrived at the Quarantine Station in January 1915, it had
been set up as a German internment camp. The crew were put to work with other Germans cutting wood
and clearing land. There were around 70 internees in total and just 15 guards to patrol almost 2km of
shoreline and a long fence. The task of stopping them from escaping would have been impossible – had
[40]   the prisoners actually wanted to leave.
Perhaps it was because they proved to have such little interest in escaping that the prisoners were
given so much freedom. They often worked outside the Quarantine Station boundaries and constructed
their own buildings, including several camps well away from the main base. According to Kathy Duncombe,
researcher and committee member of the Friends of Bruny Island Quarantine Station, one of their biggest
[45]   challenges was boredom. “They spent their time chopping down trees, which were sold, but also because
it gave them something to do. Some of them made ships in bottles to pass the time.”
After the Germans were moved to Holsworthy Internment Camp in Sydney in 1915, things were quiet
at the Quarantine Station – but not for long. The end of World War One coincided with the beginning of
the Spanish influenza pandemic. Instead of coming home to victory parades and being reunited with
[50]   their families, Tasmanian soldiers returning from war spent seven days in quarantine at Bruny Island with
hundreds of other men. While they were initially disappointed with the delay in their return home, many later
realized it was the best thing that could have happened. They could get their land legs after many days at
sea and talk to others who had experienced the horrors of war. This was good for the men psychologically
as many didn’t want to burden their families. There was swimming, fishing, football, a movie tent, and a
[55]   boxing ring, which helped the soldiers release anger and frustration. Spirits were lifted by care packages

from the Red Cross Society containing luxuries such as cigarettes, books and fruit.
More about the Quarantine Station’s history continues to be discovered, like the German internee’s
diary a 90-year-old man who speaks the same German dialect is translating. There are 578 pages filled
with beautiful handwriting and photographs of things we had never seen before. History never stands still,
[60]   there is always more to be told.

Disponível em: http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20200505-tasmanias-ruggedly-beautiful-quarantine-site. Acesso em: 6 maio 2019

Instrução: A questão refere-se ao texto abaixo.

Tasmania’s beautiful quarantine site

by Dr Tiana Templeman

[1]  When World War One broke out in 1914, the German crew of the SS Oberhausen were declared
“enemy aliens” and were caught by a band of 11 Australian naval reservists. Captain Johann Meir and his
sailors, who were getting timber in Port Huon in Tasmania at the time, could have topped up with fuel and
got out of port. Instead, they stayed, as it was safer than returning to Germany to fight. After piercing their
[5]   ship’s liquor casks and sharing the booze with their captors, all of them arrived in the capital, Hobart, rolling
drunk. The reservists had some explaining to do, while the Germans were eventually sent to an internment
camp at Bruny Island Quarantine Station. Conditions at the camp were reasonably good and Captain Meir
was reported as saying, “What better place to spend the war?”. He wasn’t the first, nor would he be the
last, to experience the freedom and isolation of Bruny Island.
[10]   The tiny island located off Tasmania’s south-east coast has played a significant role in Australia’s
history as its isolation made it the perfect location for quarantine. From 1884, passengers arriving in
Tasmania had to be disease-free before they were allowed into the general community. Instead of being
confined to a ship, they served out their isolation period and underwent health checks ashore at Bruny
Island Quarantine Station.
[15]   Prior to this, Europeans passing by as early as 1777, as vessels travelling around the Cape of Good
Hope in South Africa often used Adventure Bay on Bruny Island as a safe anchorage for replenishing
supplies such as water and wood. However, European occupation of the Quarantine Station site didn’t
occur until 1856, with the arrival of the Cox family.
Anthony Cox was transported from England to Hobart as a convict in 1833 for housebreaking. He was
[20]   granted a conditional pardon in May 1849 and married convict Jane Daly soon after. As an ex-convict “of
good conduct and disposition to industry”, he received a 19-acre parcel of land from the government on
the site that would become the Bruny Island Quarantine Station. Cox and his family cut firewood for a living
on land that was widely regarded as “very poor”, yet their home, Shellwood Cottage, was neatly fenced
and surrounded by flowers. Compared to the hardships of convict life, the freedom and serenity of Bruny
[25]   Island was akin to paradise.
The land was eventually sold, and the Bruny Island Quarantine Station was built in the mid-1800s to
avoid the spread of contagious diseases such as typhoid and smallpox that were prevalent at the time. The
opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 saw an increase in international travel, and thousands of immigrants
travelling to Australia on passenger ships to start a new life in the colonies were quarantined on Bruny
[30]   Island.
Three of the original buildings from this time remain and can be seen today. The cleansing room
provided pedestrian access to the isolation block and was enclosed by a 3m fence, which also surrounded
the Health Officer’s quarters and the hospital, observation wards, laundry and mortuary. The mortuary was
divided into two sections, with one half used for disinfection and fumigation of passengers; and the other
[35]   used as a morgue that fortunately saw little use over the years.
When Captain Johann Meir and his sailors arrived at the Quarantine Station in January 1915, it had
been set up as a German internment camp. The crew were put to work with other Germans cutting wood
and clearing land. There were around 70 internees in total and just 15 guards to patrol almost 2km of
shoreline and a long fence. The task of stopping them from escaping would have been impossible – had
[40]   the prisoners actually wanted to leave.
Perhaps it was because they proved to have such little interest in escaping that the prisoners were
given so much freedom. They often worked outside the Quarantine Station boundaries and constructed
their own buildings, including several camps well away from the main base. According to Kathy Duncombe,
researcher and committee member of the Friends of Bruny Island Quarantine Station, one of their biggest
[45]   challenges was boredom. “They spent their time chopping down trees, which were sold, but also because
it gave them something to do. Some of them made ships in bottles to pass the time.”
After the Germans were moved to Holsworthy Internment Camp in Sydney in 1915, things were quiet
at the Quarantine Station – but not for long. The end of World War One coincided with the beginning of
the Spanish influenza pandemic. Instead of coming home to victory parades and being reunited with
[50]   their families, Tasmanian soldiers returning from war spent seven days in quarantine at Bruny Island with
hundreds of other men. While they were initially disappointed with the delay in their return home, many later
realized it was the best thing that could have happened. They could get their land legs after many days at
sea and talk to others who had experienced the horrors of war. This was good for the men psychologically
as many didn’t want to burden their families. There was swimming, fishing, football, a movie tent, and a
[55]   boxing ring, which helped the soldiers release anger and frustration. Spirits were lifted by care packages

from the Red Cross Society containing luxuries such as cigarettes, books and fruit.
More about the Quarantine Station’s history continues to be discovered, like the German internee’s
diary a 90-year-old man who speaks the same German dialect is translating. There are 578 pages filled
with beautiful handwriting and photographs of things we had never seen before. History never stands still,
[60]   there is always more to be told.

Disponível em: http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20200505-tasmanias-ruggedly-beautiful-quarantine-site. Acesso em: 6 maio 2019

The World Might Be Running Low on Americans

    The world has been stricken by scarcity. Our post-pandemic pantry has run bare of gasoline, lumber, microchips, chicken wings, ketchup packets, cat food, used cars and Chickfil-A sauce. Like the Great Toilet Paper Scare of 2020, though, many of these shortages are the consequence of near-term, Covid-related disruptions. Soon enough there will again be a chicken wing in every pot and more than enough condiments to go with it.

    But there is one recently announced potential shortage that should give Americans great reason for concern. It is a shortfall that the nation has rarely had to face, and nobody quite knows how things will work when we begin to run out.

    I speak, of course, of all of us: The world may be running low on Americans — most crucially, tomorrow’s working-age, childbearing, idea-generating, community-building young Americans. Late last month, the Census Bureau released the first results from its 2020 count, and the numbers confirmed what demographers have been warning of for years: The United States is undergoing “demographic stagnation,” transitioning from a relatively fast-growing country of young people to a slow-growing, older nation.

    Many Americans might consider slow growth a blessing. Your city could already be packed to the gills, the roads clogged with traffic and housing prices shooting through the roof. Why do we need more folks? And, anyway, aren’t we supposed to be conserving resources on a planet whose climate is changing? Yet demographic stagnation could bring its own high costs, among them a steady reduction in dynamism, productivity and a slowdown in national and individual prosperity, even a diminishment of global power.

    And there is no real reason we have to endure such a transition, not even an environmental one. Even if your own city is packed like tinned fish, the U.S. overall can accommodate millions more people. Most of the counties in the U.S. are losing working-age adults; if these declines persist, local economies will falter, tax bases will dry up, and local governments will struggle to maintain services. Growth is not just an option but a necessity — it’s not just that we can afford to have more people, it may be that we can’t afford not to.

    But how does a country get more people? There are two ways: Make them, and invite them in. Increasing the first is relatively difficult — birthrates are declining across the world, and while family-friendly policies may be beneficial for many reasons, they seem to do little to get people to have more babies. On the second method, though, the United States enjoys a significant advantage — people around the globe have long been clamoring to live here, notwithstanding our government’s recent hostility to foreigners. This fact presents a relatively simple policy solution to a vexing long-term issue: America needs more people, and the world has people to send us. All we have to do is let more of them in.

    For decades, the United States has enjoyed a significant economic advantage over other industrialized nations — our population was growing faster, which suggested a more youthful and more prosperous future. But in the last decade, American fertility has gone down. At the same time, there has been a slowdown in immigration.

    The Census Bureau’s latest numbers show that these trends are catching up with us. As of April 1, it reports that there were 331,449,281 residents in the United States, an increase of just 7.4 percent since 2010 — the second-smallest decade-long growth rate ever recorded, only slightly ahead of the 7.3 percent growth during the Depression-struck 1930s.

    The bureau projects that sometime next decade — that is, in the 2030s — Americans over 65 will outnumber Americans younger than 18 for the first time in our history. The nation will cross the 400-million population mark sometime in the late 2050s, but by then we’ll be quite long in the tooth — about half of Americans will be over 45, and one fifth will be older than 85.

    The idea that more people will lead to greater prosperity may sound counterintuitive — wouldn’t more people just consume more of our scarce resources? Human history generally refutes this simple intuition. Because more people usually make for more workers, more companies, and most fundamentally, more new ideas for pushing humanity forward, economic studies suggest that population growth is often an important catalyst of economic growth.

    A declining global population might be beneficial in some ways; fewer people would most likely mean less carbon emission, for example — though less than you might think, since leading climate models already assume slowing population growth over the coming century. And a declining population could be catastrophic in other ways. In a recent paper, Chad Jones, an economist at Stanford, argues that a global population decline could reduce the fundamental innovativeness of humankind. The theory is simple: Without enough people, the font of new ideas dries up, Jones argues; without new ideas, progress could be imperiled.

    There are more direct ways that slow growth can hurt us. As a country’s population grows heavy with retiring older people and light with working younger people, you get a problem of too many eaters and too few cooks. Programs for seniors like Social Security and Medicare may suffer as they become dependent on ever-fewer working taxpayers for funding. Another problem is the lack of people to do all the work. For instance, experts predict a major shortage of health care workers, especially home care workers, who will be needed to help the aging nation.

    In a recent report, Ali Noorani, the chief executive of the National Immigration Forum, an immigration-advocacy group, and a co-author, Danilo Zak, say that increasing legal immigration by slightly more than a third each year would keep America’s ratio of working young people to retired old people stable over the next four decades.

    As an immigrant myself, I have to confess I find much of the demographic argument in favor of greater immigration quite a bit too anodyne. Immigrants bring a lot more to the United States than simply working-age bodies for toiling in pursuit of greater economic growth. I also believe that the United States’ founding idea of universal equality will never be fully realized until we recognize that people outside our borders are as worthy of our ideals as those here through an accident of birth.