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 rate but not nearly as much as the Chinese have. If current growth【C3】______continue, India's population will pass China's around the year 2028【C4】______about 1.7 billion. Should that happen, it won't be the fault of the【C5】______women of Kerala, a state in southern India.【C6】______India as a whole adds almost 20 million people a year, Kerala's population is virtually【C7】______. The reason is no mystery: nearly two-thirds of Kerala women【C8】______birth control, compared with about 40% in the entire nation. The difference lies in the【C9】______put on health programs,【C10】______birth control, by the state authorities, which in 1957 became India's first elected Communist government. And an educational tradition and matrilineal(母系的)customs in parts of Kerala help girls and boys get【C11】______good schooling.【C12】______one in three Indian women is【C13】______, 90% of those in Kerala can read and write. Higher literacy(识字)rates【C14】______family planning.'【C15】______our parents, we know that we can do more for our children if we have【C16】______of them,' says Laila Cheran, who lives in the village of Kudamaloor. She had limited herself【C17】______three children one below the national【C18】______of four. That kind of【C19】______will keep Kerala from putting added【C20】______on world food supplies. 【C1】