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Bài đọc số 3 - topic Environment.
Air Pollution
Smog hanging over cities is the most familiar and obvious form of air pollution. But there are different kinds of pollution—some visible, some invisible—that contribute to global warming. Generally any substance that people introduce into the atmosphere that has damaging effects on living things and the environment is considered air pollution.
Carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, is the main pollutant that is warming Earth. Though living things emit carbon dioxide when they breathe, carbon dioxide is widely considered to be a pollutant when associated with cars, planes, power plants, and other human activities that involve the burning of fossil fuels such as gasoline and natural gas.
Other greenhouse gases include methane—which comes from such sources as swamps and gas emitted by livestock—and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which were used in refrigerants and aerosol propellants until they were banned because of their deteriorating effect on Earth's ozone layer.
Another pollutant associated with climate change is sulfur dioxide, a component of smog. Sulfur dioxide and closely related chemicals are known primarily as a cause of acid rain. But they also reflect light when released in the atmosphere, which keeps sunlight out and causes Earth to cool. Volcanic eruptions can spew massive amounts of sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere, sometimes causing cooling that lasts for years. In fact, volcanoes used to be the main source of atmospheric sulfur dioxide; today people are.
Industrialized countries have worked to reduce levels of sulfur dioxide, smog, and smoke in order to improve people's health. But the lower sulfur dioxide levels may actually make global warming worse.
Most people agree that to curb global warming, a variety of measures need to be taken. On a personal level, driving and flying less, recycling, and conservation reduces a person’s "carbon footprint"—the amount of carbon dioxide a person is responsible for putting into the atmosphere.
On a larger scale, governments are taking measures to limit emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. One way is through the Kyoto Protocol, an agreement between countries that they will cut back on carbon dioxide emissions. Another method is to put taxes on carbon emissions or higher taxes on gasoline, so that people and companies will have greater incentives to conserve energy and pollute less.
A. New words
1. Substance - N: chất liệu, vật chất, bản chất, nội dung, tính có giá trị, tài sản
+ a particular kind of matter with uniform properties.
+ the real physical matter of which a person or thing consists and which has a tangible, solid presence.
+ the quality of having a solid basis in reality or fact.
+ the essential nature underlying phenomena, which is subject to changes and accidents.
2. Emit
- V: phát ra, tỏa ra, phát xạ, phát hành - produce and discharge (something, especially gas or radiation), make (a sound)
- SYN: afford , beam , belch , breathe , cast out
3. Fossil fuel: Nhiên liệu hóa thạch - a natural fuel such as coal or gas, formed in the geological past from the remains of living organisms.
4. Fossil:
- Adj: hóa thạch, cổ lỗ, lỗi thời –
- N: vật hóa thạch, người cổ lỗ, lỗi thời - the remains or impression of a prehistoric plant or animal embedded in rock and preserved in petrified form.
5. Swamp:
- N: đầm lầy, vũng lầy - an area of low-lying, uncultivated ground where water collects; a bog or marsh.
- V: làm ngập nước, làm ướt đẫm, tràn ngập, che khuất, làm mất tác dụng, bị ngập vào - overwhelm or flood with water, overwhelm with an excessive amount of something.
- SYN: overwhelm, bombard, flood, inundate; marsh, wetland, bog.
6. Livestock
- N: vật nuôi, thú nuôi, gia súc - farm animals regarded as an asset.
7. Refrigerant
- Adj: làm lạnh, để đông lạnh - causing cooling or refrigeration.
- N: chất làm lạnh, chất để đông lạnh - a substance used for refrigeration.
8. Aerosol
- N: bình phun - a substance enclosed under pressure and released as a fine spray by means of a propellant gas.
9. Propellant
- Adj: đẩy đi, đẩy tới - capable of propelling something.
- N: chất nổ đẩy (đạn, tên lửa) - a substance that propels something, in particular: an inert fluid, liquefied under pressure; an explosive that fires bullets from a firearm; a substance used as a reagent in a rocket engine to provide thrust.
10. Deteriorate
- V: làm hư hỏng, làm giảm giá trị, làm cho xấu đi - become progressively worse.
- SYN: worsen, get worse, weaken, decline, slip, fail, relapse, degenerate.
11. Volcanic
- Adj: thuộc núi lửa, giống như núi lửa; nóng nảy, hung hăng, mãnh liệt, sục sôi, dữ dội - relating to or produced by a volcano or volcanoes; (of a feeling or emotion) bursting out or liable to burst out violently.
12. Eruption:
- N: sự phun, phun trào, sự nổ ra, sự ban phát, sự mọc lên - an act or instance of erupting; a spot, rash, or other mark appearing suddenly on the skin.
- SYN: explosion, blast.
13. Spew:
- N: sự nôn, mửa - vomit
- V: nôn ra, chúc nòng súng, làm tuôn thành dòng, đẩy ra - expel large quantities of (something) rapidly and forcibly
- SYN: flow, run, pour, stream, circulate, pump, cascade, spurt, gush.
14. Atmospheric
- Adj: thuộc khí quyển, thuộc không khí - relating to the atmosphere of the earth, creating a distinctive mood, typically of romance or nostalgia.
- SYN: airy, climatic, barometrical, baroscopic, meteorological, aerial, ethereal, hazy, misty, pneumatic.
15. Incentive:
- Adj: khuyến khích, khích lệ
- N: sự khuyến khích, khích lệ, thúc đẩy, động cơ - a thing that motivates or encourages someone to do something
- SYN: motivation, stimulus, impetus, inspiration, inducement.
16. Gasoline:
- N: khí đốt, nhiên liệu, dầu hỏa, xăng
- SYN: petrol, oil, diesel.
17. Smog
- N: sương khói, khói lẫn sương, khói mù - fog or haze intensified by smoke or other atmospheric pollutants.
- SYN: smoke, fume, exhaust.
18. Conserve
- V: duy trì, bảo tồn, bảo toàn, gìn giữ - protect (something, especially something of environmental or cultural importance) from harm or destruction, prevent the wasteful overuse of (a resource).
- N: mứt quả - a preparation made by preserving fruit with sugar; jam or marmalade.
B. Exercise:
1. Do the following statement agree with the information in the reading passage?
Write Yes if the statement is true according to the passage.
No if the statement is false according to the passage.
Not given if the information is not given in the passage.
a. Air pollution is the main component of global warming.
b. Both Carbon dioxide and methane are considered kinds of greenhouse gas.
c. Sulfur dioxide only causes harmful effects to the Earth.
d. The Kyoto protocol and taxes on carbon emissions and gasoline are considered to be the most effective methods to deal with air pollution.
e. Volcanoes are the main source of atmospheric sulfur dioxide today.
2. Choose the most relevant answer for each question.
a. The word “they” in line 14 refers to:
(i). Volcanic eruptions
(ii). Sulfur dioxide and closely related chemicals
(iii). Acid rains
(iv). Atmosphere pollutants
b. What is the main idea of the reading passage?
(i). There are different kinds of pollution that contribute to global warming.
(ii). Air pollution has damaging effects on living things and the environment.
(iii). Air pollution needs to be solved in personal level and world-wide scale.
(iv). A variety of measures need to be taken to deal with air pollution that comes from many sources.
ANSWERS
1.
a. Air pollution is the main component of global warming.
NG. There are different kinds of pollution—some visible, some invisible—that contribute to global warming.
b. Both Carbon dioxide and methane are considered kinds of greenhouse gas.
Yes. Carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, is the main pollutant that is warming Earth. Other greenhouse gases include methane.
c. Sulfur dioxide only causes harmful effects to the Earth.
No. Sulfur dioxide and closely related chemicals are known primarily as a cause of acid rain. But they also reflect light when released in the atmosphere, which keeps sunlight out and causes Earth to cool.
d. The Kyoto protocol and taxes on carbon emissions and gasoline are considered to be the most effective methods to deal with air pollution.
NG. Governments are taking measures to limit emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. One way is through the Kyoto Protocol. Another method is to put taxes on carbon emissions or higher taxes on gasoline.
e. Volcanoes are the main source of atmospheric sulfur dioxide today.
No. Volcanoes used to be the main source of atmospheric sulfur dioxide.
2.
a. (ii). Sulfur dioxide and closely related chemicals.
b. (iv). A variety of measures need to be taken to deal with air pollution that comes from many sources.
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