With 950 million people, India ranks second to China among the most populous countries. But since China 【C1】______ a family planning program in 1971, India has been closing the 【C2】______ . Indians have reduced their birth 【C3】______ but not nearly as much as the Chinese have. If the current situation continues, India's population will 【C4】______ China's around the year 2028 at about 1.7 billion. 【C5】______ that happen, it won't be the 【C6】______ of the enlightened(有知识的) women of Kerala, a state in southern India. 【C7】______ India as a whole adds almost 20 million people a year, Kerala' s population is virtually 【C8】______ . The reason is no mystery: nearly two-thirds of Kerala women practice birth control, 【C9】______ about 40% in the entire nation. The difference 【C10】______ the emphasis put on health programs, 【C11】______ birth control, by the state authorities, 【C12】______ in 1957 became India's first elected Communist 【C13】______ . And an educational tradition and matrilineal (母系的) customs in parts of Kerala help girls and boys get 【C14】______ good schooling. While one in three Indian women is 【C15】______ , 90% of those in Kerala can read and write. Higher literacy rates. 【C16】______ family planning. 'Unlike oar parents, we know that we can do more for our children if we have 【C17】______ of them,' says Laila Cherian, 33, who lives in the village of Kudamaloor. She has restricted herself 【C18】______ three children—one below the national 【C19】______ of four. That kind of restraint will keep Kerala from putting added 【C20】______ on world food supplies. 【C1】