Question

The cost of children by Ruth Mace, explain the “apace” as it is used in the opening paragraph of the passage.

Answer 1

The word "apace" in this paragraph means "quickly" or "swiftly". The author is talking about birth rate declines, not only in the Western world, but all around the world; it is a trend that is not going to disappear or slow down anytime soon, and it is conquering the world at a pace that is becoming faster every moment. In other words, the trend is growing in speed.