English in Pedology and Soil Environment

Tiếng anh chuyên ngành Thổ nhưỡngvà Môi trường đất

NXB Đại học quốc gia Hà Nội 2007.

Tr 7 – 14.

Tài liệu trong Thư viện điện tử ĐH Khoa học Tự nhiên có thể được sử dụng cho mục

đích học tập và nghiên cứu cá nhân. Nghiêm cấm mọi hình thức sao chép, in ấn phục

vụ các mục đích khác nếu không được sự chấp thuận của nhà xuất bản và tác giả.

Mục lục

Unit 1 Types of species in ecosystems ................................................................................2 A. Reading ......................................................................................................................2

I. Omprehension questions .........................................................................................2 II. True - False sentences .........................................................................................3

B. Writing .......................................................................................................................4 I. Sentence - ordering .................................................................................................4 II. Gap - filling.........................................................................................................4

C. FURTHER PRACTICE ..............................................................................................5 D. TRANSLATION ........................................................................................................7

I. Translate into Vietnamese .......................................................................................7 II. Translate into English..........................................................................................7

E. Vocabulary .................................................................................................................8

Unit 1. Types of species in ecosystems

Nguyễn Thị Minh Nguyệt

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Unit 1

Types of species in ecosystems

A. Reading

* Warm-up Activities

- How important are species in ecosystems? - How many kinds of species do you know?

One way to look at an ecosystem's species from a human standpoint is to divide them into four types:

- Native species, which normally live and thrive in a particular ecosystem. - Immigrant, or alien species, which migrate into an ecosystem or which are

deliberately or accidentally introduced into an ecosystem by humans. Some of these species are beneficial to humans, while others can take over and eliminate many native species.

- Indicator species, which serve as early warnings that a community or an ecosystem is being damaged. For example, the present decline of migratory, insect-eating songbirds in North America indicates that their summer habitats there and their winter habitats in the tropical forests of Latin America and the Caribbean are rapidly disappearing.

- Keystone species affect many other organisms in an ecosystem. For example, in tropical forests, various species of bees, bats, and humming - birds play keystone roles in pollinating flowering plants, dispersing seed, or both. Some keystone species, such as the alligator, the wolf, the leopard, the lion, the giant anteater, and the giant armadillo, are top predators that exert a stabilizing effect on their ecosystems by feeding on and regulating the populations of certain species. The loss of a keystone species can lead to population crashes and extinctions of other species that depend on it for certain services - a ripple or domino effect that spreads throughout an ecosystem. According to biologist E.O.Wilson, "The loss of a keystone species is like a drill accidentally striking a power line. It causes lights to go out all over".

(Taken from "Sustaining the Earth" by Tyler Miller, G)

I. Omprehension questions

Answer the following questions

1. How are species in an ecosystem classified?

2. What is the other name of immigrant species?

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3. How are alien species brought into a new ecosystem?

4. What are the advantages and disadvantages of alien species?

5. What is the role of indicator species?

6. Name some keystone species.

7. How important are the top predators?

8. What will happen if there is a loss of a keystone species? What does biologist E.O.Wilson think about this problem?

II. True - False sentences

Decide whether the following statements are true "T", false "F" or there's no information given "N" according to the text. Correct the false statements.

1. ...... Immigrant species are also called alien species.

2. ...... Indicator species can warn others of the danger of their ecosystems.

3. ...... Keystone species are least important in their ecosystems.

4. ...... Keystone species have the largest population in ecosystems.

5. ...... In general, all species are equally essential in ecosystems.

6. ...... Bees and bats can't disperse seed and neither can ants and humming birds.

7. ...... Many other organisms in an ecosystem are affected by keystone species.

Increasing your vocabulary

Word-form: Use your dictionary to complete the table with the appropriate forms of the given words in the text. The first is done as an example.

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Adjective Noun Verb Adverb 1 beautiful beauty beautify beautifully 2. ........................... ........................... ........................... normally 3. ........................... ........................... ........................... deliberately 4. beneficial ........................... ........................... ............................ 5. ............................ ........................... affect ............................. 6. ........................... ........................... pollinate ............................. 7. ............................ ........................... ........................... accidentally 8. ............................ loss ........................... ............................ 9. ........................... extinction ........................... ............................

B. Writing

I. Sentence - ordering

Put the following words in the right order to build complete sentences.

1. Species / for / reasons / become / various / endangered.

2. Sometimes / the / extinction / presence / one / species / of / directly / can / cause / the / another / of.

3. Over / 900 species / within / next / years / the / few / disappear / will / if / do not / we / save / them.

4. Extinction / the / evolution / process / is / a / of.

5. The / a / species / Alligator / is / keystone.

II. Gap - filling

Choose one of the words or phrases below to fill in each gap in the following passage. Each word or phrase is used once only.

skin people Alligators environment meat

for to reptile ecosystems endangere

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d

is placed animal of and

birds habitats during comeback where

The American alligator, North America's largest (1) ..................., has no natural predator except (2) ................... . Hunters once killed large numbers of these animals for their exotic (3) ................... and for the supple belly (4) ................... used to make items such as shoes, belts and pocketbooks. People also considered (5) ................... to be useless, dangerous vermin and hunted them for sport or out of hatred. Between 1950 (6) ................... 1960 hunters wiped out 90% of the alligators in Louisiana, and by the 1960s the alligator population in the Florida Everglades was also near extinction.

People who say "So what?" are overlooking the alligator's keystone role in subtropical wetland (7) ................... such as Florida's Everglades. Alligators dig deep depressions, or "gator holes", which collect fresh water (8) ................... dry spells. These holes are refuges for aquatic life and supply fresh water and food (9) ................... birds and other animals. Large alligator nesting mounds also serve as nest sites for herons and egrets.

In 1967, the U.S. government (10) ................... the American alligator on the endangered species list. Protected from hunters, the alligator population had made a strong (11) ................... in many areas by 1975. The problem (12) ................... that people are invading the alligator's natural (13) ................... And while the gator's diet consists mainly (14) ................... snails, sick fish, ducks, raccoons and turtles, a pet or a person who falls into or swims in a canal, a pond, or some other areas (15)................... a gator lives is subject to attack.


C. FURTHER PRACTICE

Read the passage through to find out what is about.

The balance of nature

All the different plants and animals in a natural community are in a state of balance. This balance is achieved by the plants and animals interacting with each other and with their non-living surroundings. An example of a natural community is a woodland, and a woodland is usually dominated by a particular species of plant, such as the oak tree in an oak wood. The oak tree in this example is therefore called the dominant species but there are also many other types of plants, from brambles, bushes and small trees to mosses, lichens and algae growing on tree trunks and rocks.

The plants of a community are the producers: they use carbon dioxide, oxygen, water and nitrogen to build up their tissues using energy in the form of sunlight. The plant tissues form food for the plant-eating animals (herbivores) which are in turn eaten by the flesh-eating animals (carnivores). Thus, plants produce the basic food supply for all the animals of the

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community. The animals themselves are the consumers, and are either herbivores or carnivores.

Examples of herbivores in a woodland community are rabbits, deer, mice and snails, and insects such as aphids and caterpillars. The herbivores are sometimes eaten by the carnivores. Woodland carnivores are of all sizes, from insects such as beetles and lacewings to animals such as owls, shrews and foxes. Some carnivores feed on herbivores and some feed on the smaller carnivores, while some feed on both: a tawny owl will eat beetles and shrews as well as voles and mice. These food relationships between the different members of the community are known as food chains or food webs. All food chains start with plants. The links of the chain are formed by the herbivores that eat the plants and the carnivores that feed on the herbivores. There are more organisms at the base of a food chain than at the top; for example, there are many more green plants than carnivores in a community.

Another important section of the community is made up of the decomposers. They include the bacteria and fungi that live in the soil and feed on dead animals and plants. By doing this they break down the tissues of the dead organisms and release mineral salts into the soil.

(Taken from "Progress to First Certificate" by Leo Jones)

Exercise:

Match the words to their definitions below:

natural community species links

woodland tissues organisms

dominated flesh decomposers

meat

living things

have the most important position

area covered with growing trees

plants and animals living in one place

one ring in a chain

type of plant or animal

material making up a living thing

organisms that feed on dead tissues

Match the words to their appropriate meanings below:

bramble trunk lacewing

moss snail shrew

lichen aphid vole

algae caterpilar fungi

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a kind of tree

a kind of insect

a kind of simple plant

part of a tree

a kind of small animal

a kind of large plant

Decide whether the following statements are true "T" or false "F". Correct the false statements .

...... All the animals in a wood depend on plants for their food supply.

...... All the plants in a wood are eaten by animals.

...... Some animals eat other animals.

...... Plants depend on the sun to grow.

...... Plants depend on the gases in the atmosphere to grow.

...... Not every food chain starts with plants.

...... The consumers are at the base of a food chain.

...... Some animals eat plant-eating animals and also flesh- eating animals.

D. TRANSLATION

I. Translate into Vietnamese

All organisms, dead or alive, are potential sources of food for other organisms. A caterpillar eats a leaf; a robin eats the caterpillar; a hawk eats the robin. When plant, caterpillar, robin, and hawk all die, they in turn are consumed by decomposers. The sequence of who eats or decomposes whom in an ecosystem is called a food chain. It determines how energy moves from one organism to another through the ecosystem. Ecologists assign every organism in an ecosystem to a feeding level, or trophic level, depending on whether it is a producer or a consumer and on what it eats or decomposes. Producers belong to the first trophic level, primary consumers to the second trophic level, secondary consumers to the third trophic level, and so on.


II. Translate into English

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Tất cả các loài đều có vai trò trong hệ sinh thái của mình chính vì vậy chúng rất quan trọng. Một vài nhà khoa học cho rằng tất cả các loài đều quan trọng như nhau, nhưng một số khác lại cho rằng chỉ có một số loài nhất định là loài chủ chốt và quan trọng hơn các loài khác, ít nhất là trong việc duy trì hệ sinh thái.

Khi hai loài bất kỳ trong một hệ sinh thái có một vài hoạt động hoặc nhu cầu giống nhau chúng có thể tác động qua lại theo một mức độ nào đó.

Bất cứ một nguyên tố hay hợp chất hoá học nào mà một sinh vật phải hấp thụ để sống, lớn lên hay để sinh sản gọi là dưỡng chất. Một vài nguyên tố như cacbon, ôxy, hyđrô, nitơ và phốt pho cần với số lượng tương đối lớn. Các nguyên tố khác như sắt, đồng, clo và iốt cần với số lượng nhỏ hơn. Các nguyên tố về dinh dưỡng này và các hợp chất của chúng liên tục quay vòng.

Địa bàn cư trú của các loài động thực vật hoang dã đang bị thu hẹp và chia cắt; nhiều loài động vật quý hiếm bị săn bắt; nhiều loài có nguy cơ bị tuyệt chủng; nhiều nguồn gen quý hiếm bị suy giảm.

E. Vocabulary

algae (n) : tảo

anteater (n) : loài ăn kiến

aphid (n) : rệp vừng (côn trùng)

bramble (n) : bụi gai, bụi cây mâm xôi

carnivore (n) : loài thú ăn thịt

carnivorous (adj) : (động vật hay cây) ăn thịt

community (n) : quần xã, cộng đồng

deliberately (adv) : một cách chủ tâm, cố ý

depression (n) : chỗ lõm, chỗ sụt xuống

domino effect (n) : tác động/ảnh hưởng/hậu quả dây chuyền

drill (v) : khoan

eliminate (v) : loại bỏ

exert (v) : tác động

exotic (adj) : ngoại lai, kì lạ

fossil (n) : (vật) hoá thạch

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habitat (n) : sinh cảnh (nơi cư trú của một quần xã)

hate (v) : ghét bỏ

herbivore (n) : động vật ăn thực vật

heron (n) : con diệc

immigrant (n) : loài nhập cư

keystone (n) : yếu tố chính, chủ chốt

moss (n) : rêu

mound (n) : mô đất

native (n) : người địa phương, thổ dân

overlook (v) : không để ý, cho qua

pollinate (v) : thụ phấn (cho hoa)

predator (n) : thú ăn mồi sống

refuge (n) : nơi trú ngụ, nơi trú ẩn, nơi lánh nạn

ripple (v) : gây ra

shrew (n) : chuột chù

songbird (n) : loài chim hót

species (n) : loài

spell (n) : đợt, lượt, phiên

standpoint (n) : quan điểm

surroundings (n) : môi trường xung quanh

thrive (v) : phát triển, sinh trưởng

trunk (n) : thân cây



Tr 15 – 24.




Mục lục

Unit 2 RESOURCES.............................................................................................................. 2 A. READING...................................................................................................................... 2 B. WRITING....................................................................................................................... 5 C. FURTHER PRACTICE ................................................................................................. 7 D. TRANSLATION............................................................................................................ 9 E. VOCABULARY .......................................................................................................... 10

Unit 2. RESOURCES


Unit 2

RESOURCES

A. READING

*WARM-UP ACTIVITIES

- HOW MANY KINDS OF NATURAL RESOURCES ARE THERE?

- WHY ARE THEY IMPORTANT TO OUR LIFE?

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Types of resources:

A resource is anything we get from the living or nonliving environment to meet our needs and wants. We usually define resources in terms of humans, but resources are needed by all forms of life for their survival and good health. Some resources, such as solar energy, fresh air, fresh surface water, fertile soil and wild edible plants, are directly available for use. Most human resources, such as petroleum (oil), iron, groundwater (water occurring underground), and modern crops, aren't directly available, and their supplies are limited. They become resources only with some effort and technological ingenuity.

Petroleum, for example, was a mysterious fluid we learned how to find it, extract it, and refine it into gasoline, heating oil, and other products at affordable prices. On our short human time scale we classify resources as renewable, potentially renewable, and nonrenewable.

Non-renewable resources: nonrenewable, or exhaustible, resources exist in fixed quantities in the earth's crust. They include energy resources (coal, oil, natural gas, uranium, geothermal, energy), metallic mineral resources (iron, copper, aluminum), and nonmetallic mineral resources (salt, gypsum, clay, sand, phosphates, water and soil). We know how to find and extract more than 100 non-renewable minerals from the earth's crust. We convert these raw materials into many everyday items we use and then discard, reuse, or recycle them.

We never completely run out of any non-renewable mineral. But a mineral becomes economically depleted when finding, extracting, transporting, and processing the remaining deposits cost more than the results are worth. At that point we have five choices recycle or reuse existing supplies, waste less, use less, find a substitute, or do without and wait millions of years for more to be produced.

Some non-renewable material resources, such as copper and aluminum, can be recycled or reused to extend supplies. Recycling involves collecting and reprocessing a resource into new products. For example, aluminum cans can be collected, melted and made into new beverage cans or other aluminum products. And glass bottles can be crushed and melted to

make new bottles or other glass items. Reuse involves using a resource or over and over in the same form. Example, glass bottles can be collected, washed, and refilled many times.

Other non-renewable fuel resources - such as coal, oil, and natural gas- can't be recycled or reused. Once burned, the useful energy in their fossil fuels is gone, leaving behind only waste heat and polluting exhaust gases. Most of the economic growth per person has been fueled by nonrenewable oil, which is expected to be economically depleted within 40 to 80 years.

Renewable resources: Solar energy is called a renewable resource because on a human time scale it is essentially inexhaustible. It is expected to last at least 4 billion years while the sun completes its life cycle.

A potentially renewable resource can be renewed fairly rapidly through natural processes. Examples of such resources include forest trees, grassland grasses, wild animals, fresh lake and stream water, groundwater, fresh air, and fertile soil. One important potentially renewable resource for us and other species is biological diversity, or biodiversity. It consists of all of Earth's living organisms, classified into groups of organisms called species, which resemble one another in appearance, behavior, and chemical and genetic makeup.

But potentially renewable resources can be depleted. The highest rate at which a potentially renewable resource can be used without reducing its available supply is called its sustainable yield. If this natural replacement rate is exceeded, the available supply begins to shrink-a process known as environmental degradation.


COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS 1. What kinds of resources are available for use?

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2. How are resources divided into?

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3. What are the differences between renewable resources and nonrenewable resources?

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4. What are nonrenewable resources composed of?

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5. What can we do with nonrenewable minerals extracted from the Earth's crust?

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6. What are nonrenewable fuel resources? Why can not they be recycled or reused?

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7. Why do people regard solar energy as a renewable resource?

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8. What do people think about solar energy?

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9. Give two examples of recycling in the text or you have known?

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10. What do you think about the natural resources in the future?

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TRUE - FALSE SENTENCES Decide whether the following statements are true "T", false "F" or there’s no information

given "N" according to the text. Correct the false statements

..... There are three kinds of resources. They are non-renewable resources, renewable resources and potentially renewable resources.

..... Solar energy, fresh air, fresh surface water are infinite.

..... Waste heat and polluting exhaust gases are caused when burning coal, oil and natural gas.

..... Recycling and reusing existing supplies are two ways to reduce any non-renewable mineral in quantity.

..... It is possible to change renewable resources into non-renewable resources if we cultivate land without proper soil management.

..... Air, water and soil are usable when they are polluted.

..... Iron, copper and aluminum are all energy resources.

INCREASING YOUR VOCABULARY Which words or phrases in the text have the same meaning as:

1. meet our demands ............................

2. consist of ............................

3. come to an end ............................

4. used again ............................

5. get rid of ............................

6. take out ............................

7. change to liquid by the action of heat ............................

8. can be renewed ............................

9. can be made new again ............................

10. to be supposed ............................

B. WRITING

SENTENCE - TRANSFORMING

FINISH EACH OF THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES IN SUCH A WAY THAT IT MEANS THE SAME AS THE SENTENCE PRINTED BEFORE IT.

1. There are three types of resources: renewable, potentially renewable and nonrenewable resources.

Resources consist...

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2. Nonrenewable fuel resources cannot be recycled or reused.

People...

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3. We call solar energy a renewable resource.

We consider...

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4. They recycle copper and aluminium to extend supplies.

In order...

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5. One of causes of environmental degradation is the overuse of common-property resources owned by none and available to all.

One of causes ...........which...

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6. Solar supplies all the energy used to grow plants, to evaporate water for rain and to maintain the temperature of the planet, all necessary for human life.

Solar supplies all the energy which ...

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7. Solar energy includes the production of electricity and heat directly from solar radiation for many applications.

Solar energy consists...

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SENTENCE - BUILDING Make necessary change and additions to complete the following sentences from the

prompts given bellow.

1. Natural resources / be / materials / that / we / need / maintain / society.

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2. They / from / rocks / oceans / tissues of animals / plants / that / live / Earth / us.

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3. These materials / be / use / directly / or / process / into / household products / clothes / machinery / building.

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4. Resources / exist / fixed quantity / earth's crust / be / call / non-renewable resources.

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5. Most of non-renewable resources / be / minerals / that / be / use / industry.

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6. Whereas / renewable resources / be/ not / fixed / quantity.

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7. With proper management / such resources / will / available / man's use / indefinitely.

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CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING

USING THE ITEMS FROM THE BOX BELOW TO COMPLETE THE FLOWCHART TO CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING AFTER READING THE WHOLE TEXT.

PLANTS AND ANIMALS NON-RENEWABLE

POTENTIALLY RENEWABLE DIRECT SOLAR ENERGY

NON-METALLIC MINERALS (CLAY, SAND, PHOSPHATES) FRESH AIR

METALLIC MINERALS (IRON, COPPER, ALUMINUM) FERTILE SOIL

FIGURE 1: MAJOR TYPES OF MATERIAL RESOURCES. THIS SCHEME ISN'T

FIXED: POTENTIALLY RENEWABLE RESOURCES CAN BECOME NON-RENEWABLE RESOURCES IF USED FOR A PROLONGED TIME AT A FASTER RATE THAN THEY ARE RENEWED BY NATURAL PROCESSES.

C. FURTHER PRACTICE

Exercise 1: Gap-filling

Choose one of the words or phrases bellow to fill in the gap in the following passage. Each word or phrase is used once only.

energy discovered owing to pulled

capable generate power tamed

RESOURCES

PERPETUAL (1)...........

(2)..... WINDS, TIDES, FLOWING WATER

FOSSIL FUELS

(3)...... (4).......

(5).....................

FRESH WATER

(7)........ (8)......... (6).........

carry invented primitive throughout

extent invention protect era

(1).................... history, man has developed sources of energy to do his work. (2) ....................man had only the strength of his arms and the use of fire. He later (3) ....................how to use the energy of the wind to move his sailing vessels. He used the energy of water to turn his mills. He (4)....................animals as new sources of energy. They (5) ....................plows and wagons. A new stage in the development of the use of energy came with the invention of the steam engine. Steam could be used to develop the energy used to run machines. The discovery of electricity created an even important way of using energy. So did the invention of the gasoline engine. Man entered into a new (6) ....................of the use of energy, with the application of nuclear energy.

Man finds many ways to release energy to do work. For example, he changes the energy in a waterfall into electrical energy. He can turn this electrical current into radio waves that can (7) ....................his ideas for thousands of miles. He can release the energy into gasoline by burning it and using it to (8) .................... automobiles. He can use coal to turn water into steam and, in turn, use the steam to (9) ....................electrical energy. The nucleus of certain atoms can produce millions of times more (10) ...................per pound of material than can be made available by chemical means.

(Taken from "Longman Tests in Context" by Heaton, J.B)


Find the missing words to fill in the gaps in the sentences from the given words below:

shower storm frost breeze

lightning cliffs shade temperature

climate thunder valleys coast

1. During the night (1) .................... will fall below freezing and there will be a (2) ....................

2. During the (3) .................... many trees were blown down.

3. Although it was really boiling in the sun, there was a light (4) .................... from the sea, which made it feel quite pleasant in the (5) ....................

4. Although the storm passed us by, we could hear the (6) .................... and see the (7) .................... in the distance.

5. It is not going to rain all day, it's just quite a (8) ..................... We'll soon be able to go out.

6. The scenery in the north of the country is spectacular with (9) .................... and high snow-capped peaks, but the (10) .................. tends to be cool and wet.

7. The west (11) .................... of the country has high (12) .................... as well as sandy beaches.

(Taken from "Progress to first Certificate" by Leo Jones)

D. TRANSLATION

TRANSLATE INTO VIETNAMESE 1. ALTHOUGH NON-RENEWABLE RESOURCES EVENTUALLY RETURN TO

THE EARTH AFTER WE HAVE USED THEM, THEY DO SO IN DIFFERENT FORMS AND ARE DISPERSED AND SO IT IS OFTEN DIFFICULT TO GATHER THEM TO USE AGAIN. MERCURY IS AN EXAMPLE OF AN UNCOMMON METAL THAT IS USED IN INDUSTRIAL PROCESSES, AND IN AGRICULTURE TO KILL FUNGI. AFTER USE, IT ENTERS THE ATMOSPHERE AND OCEANS. UNFORTUNATELY IT IS NOW SO WIDELY SCATTERED THAT THERE IS NO WAY GETTING IT BACK. ONCE USED THEN NONRENEWABLE RESOURCES FREQUENTLY CANNOT BE USED AGAIN. WHEN WE RUN OUT OF THE EASILY AVAILABLE SUPPLIES THERE WILL BE NO MORE.

2. RECYCLING IS A CHALLENGE BECAUSE IT REQUIRES A BASIC CHANGE IN EVERYDAY LIFE. FOR RECYCLING TO BE SUCCESSFUL, ORDINARY PEOPLE MUST BE AWARE OF WHAT THEY BUY. THEY MUST ALSO SORT THEIR TRASH AND GARBAGE INTO CATEGORIES: ORGANIC GARBAGE, NEWSPAPERS, STEEL CANS, GLASS CONTAINERS (SOMETIMES SORTED BY COLOUR) AND PLASTIC. THE WASTE DISPOSAL TRUCKS HAVE SEPARATE COMPARTMENTS FOR EACH CATEGORY. THE TRUCKS DELIVER THE WASTE TO A RECYCLING CENTER WHERE THERE IS MORE STORING. WASTE MATERIALS OF THE SAME KIND ARE COMPACTED (CRUSHED INTO BLOCKS). A MANUFACTURER BUYS THE SORTED, COMPACTED BLOCKS OF MATERIAL TO MAKE INTO SOMETHING NEW. ONCE A CUSTOMER BUYS AND USES THE PRODUCT, THE SAME MATERIALS FOLLOW THE SAME CYCLE – BEING STORED, COLLECTED AND USED AGAIN. IN THE END, THE REAL MEANING OF RECYCLING IS PROTECTING PLANET EARTH, KEEPING IT SAFE AND CLEAN FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS. IT IS ONE WAY FOR EVERYONE TO CONTRIBUTE TO A BETTER WORLD.

(Taken from "Between the Liness" by Faust, Susan S. Johnston & Clark S. Atkinson)

TRANSLATE INTO ENGLISH

1. Ngày nay, nhu cầu sử dụng năng lượng có thể tái tạo rất lớn. Nhiên liệu hoá thạch cung cấp phần lớn nhu cầu năng lượng ở gia đình của chúng ta là nguồn tài nguyên hạn chế. Cuối cùng chúng cũng sẽ cạn kiệt và là vật ô nhiễm đáng kể. Chẳng hạn như việc đốt than đá và khí đốt thiên nhiên để sản sinh ra điện ở Australia đã gây ra khoảng một nửa lượng cacbon điôxit (CO2) thải ra hàng năm.

........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................

2. Chúng ta có thể sử dụng mặt trời như một nguồn năng lượng. Năng lượng mặt trời có một số ưu điểm hơn các nguồn năng lượng khác. Trước hết, nó là nguồn năng lượng vô tận và luôn sẵn có. Thứ hai, năng lượng mặt trời là nguồn năng lượng sạch nhất và an toàn nhất trong số tất cả các nhuồn năng lượng. Đặc biệt (không giống như nguồn năng lượng hạt nhân và năng lương hoá thạch) năng lượng mặt trời không gây ra sự ô nhiễm không khí hoặc ô nhiễm nước. Ưu điểm thứ ba của năng

lượng mặt trời là nó có thể được sử dụng để tạo khí hyđrô thay thế cho dầu, khí đốt tự nhiên và xăng.

........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................ Tuy nhiên cũng có một số nhược điểm khi chúng ta sử dụng nguồn năng lượng này. Thứ nhất, năng lượng mặt trời khi đến trái đất thì bị phân tán rộng. Hơn nữa năng lượng mặt trời không có sẵn vào ban đêm, lúc mà nhu cầu về điện của chúng ta là cao nhất. Ngoài ra nguồn năng lượng này thay đổi theo lượng mây và thay đổi theo mùa trong năm. Do có sự thay đổi này, chúng ta phải đưa ra một biện pháp để tích trữ năng lượng mặt trời nhận được từ những ngày nắng cho việc sử dụng vào ban đêm, trong thời gian thời tiết âm u và vào mùa đông.

........................................................................................................................................

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E. VOCABULARY

asphalt (n) : hắc ín

clay (n) : đất sét

convert (v) : chuyển đổi, thay đổi

crust (n) : lớp vỏ cứng

decimate (v) : phá huỷ, tiêu hao

define (v) : định nghĩa, xác định rõ

deplete (v) : tháo hết, xả hết

discard (v) : loại bỏ

diversity (n) : sự đa dạng

edible (adj) : có thể ăn được

eliminate (v) : loại bỏ, gạt ra

exhaust (v) : dùng hết, cạn kiệt

extract (v) : khai thác, rút ra

fertile (adj) : màu mỡ, phì nhiêu

fluid (n) : chất lỏng

groundwater (n) : nước ngầm

gypsum (n) : thạch cao

ingenuity (n) : óc sáng tạo, sự thông minh

limited (adj) : hạn chế, giới hạn

mysterious (adj) : đầy bí ẩn

perpetual (adj) : vĩnh viễn, bất diệt

phosphate (n) : phốt phát

potential (adj) : (thuộc) tiềm năng

raw (adj) : thô (chưa qua xử lý, chưa qua chế biến)

recycle (v) : tái chế, tái sinh, phục hồi

refine(v) : (tinh) lọc

renew (v) : làm mới trở lại

resemble (v) : giống

reuse (v) : sử dụng lại

saline (adj) : mặn, có muối

scale (n) : phạm vi, quy mô

scheme (n) : kế hoạch

substitute (n) : người, vật thay thế

waterlog (v) : ngập nước

wondrous (adj) : tuyệt vời



Tr 25 – 33.

Tài liệu trong Thư viện điện tử ĐH Khoa học Tự nhiên có thể được sử dụng cho mục đích

học tập và nghiên cứu cá nhân. Nghiêm cấm mọi hình thức sao chép, in ấn phục vụ các

mục đích khác nếu không được sự chấp thuận của nhà xuất bản và tác giả.

Mục lục

Unit 3 WATER'S IMPORTANCE AND UNIQUE PROPERTIES........................................3 A. READING............................................................................................................................3

I. Comprehension questions ................................................................................................4 II. True-False sentences ....................................................................................................5 III. Increasing your vocabulary ..........................................................................................5

B. WRITING.............................................................................................................................6 I. Sentence-correcting..........................................................................................................6 II. Sentence-building.........................................................................................................7

C. FURTHER PRACTICE .......................................................................................................8 D. TRANSLATION..................................................................................................................9

I. Translate into Vietnamse................................................................................................10 II. Translate into English.................................................................................................10

E. VOCABULARY ................................................................................................................11

Unit 3. WATER'S IMPORTANCE AND UNIQUE PROPERTIES


3

Unit 3

WATER'S IMPORTANCE AND UNIQUE PROPERTIES

A. READING

a. Warm-up Activities

- Mention some properties of water that you know.

- Is fresh water distributed equally on Earth?

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We live on the water planet. A precious film of water- most of it salt water-covers about 71% of Earth' surface. Earth's organisms are made up mostly of water. For example, a tree is about 60% water by weight, and you and most animals are about 65% water.

Fresh water is a vital resource for agriculture, manufacturing, transportation, and countless other human activities. Water also plays a key role in sculpting. Earth's surface, moderating climate, and diluting pollutants.

Water has many unique- almost magical- properties. Its high boiling point and low freezing point mean that water remains a liquid in most climates on Earth. It can store a large amount of heat without a large change in temperature. This helps protect living organisms from the shock of abrupt temperature changes, it moderates Earth's climate, and it makes water an excellent coolant. Water's ability to absorb large amounts of heat as it changes into water vapor-and to release this heat as the vapor condenses back to liquid water-is a primary factor in distributing heat throughout the world. Water can also dissolve a variety of compounds. This enables it to carry dissolved nutrients throughout the tissues of living organisms, to flush waste products out of those tissues, to serve as an all-purpose cleanser, and to help remove and dilute the water -soluble wastes of civilization. However, water's superiority as a solvent also means that it is easily polluted by water-soluble wastes.

Most substances shrink when they freeze, but liquid water expands when it becomes ice. Consequently, ice has a lower density (mass per unit of volume) than liquid water. Thus, ice floats on water, and bodies of water freeze from the top down instead of from the bottom up. Without this property, lakes and streams in cold climates would freeze solid, and most current forms of aquatic life would not exist.

Water-the lifeblood of the ecosphere - is truly a wondrous substance that connects us to one another, to other forms of life, and to the entire planet. Despite its importance, water is one of the most poorly managed resources on Earth. We waste it and pollute it. We also charge too little for making it available, thus encouraging even greater waste and pollution of this vital and potentially renewable resource.

4


I. Comprehension questions


1. How important is fresh water to our life?

.........................................................................................................................................

.........................................................................................................................................

2. How much is the salt water on Earth's surface?

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3. What do the water's high boiling point and low freezing point mean?

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4. What is the common thing among most substances when they freeze?

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5. What is the first element in distributing heat all over the World?

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6. Why does ice have a lower density than liquid water?

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7. What have we done wrong with water resource on Earth?

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8. Will our planet run out of water resource? Why or why not? What do you think about this

problem?

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5

II. True-False sentences

Decide whether the following statements are true "T" or false "F" or there’s no

information given "N" according to the text. Correct the false statements.

1. ...... 39% of Earth's surface is fresh water.

2. ...... Generally, Earth's organisms are made up of water.

3. ...... People have polluted water resource seriously and done nothing to solve

this issue.

4. ...... Because of having less density than liquid water, ice can move on

water.

5. ...... All substances become smaller when freezing except for liquid water.

6. ...... Fresh water is less important than salt water.

7. ...... A variety of compounds can be dissolved by water.

8. ...... Absorbing large amounts of heat as it changes into water vapor and

releasing this heat as the vapor condenses back to liquid water are

water's abilities.

III. Increasing your vocabulary

9. Synonyms

Find words or phrases in the text which have the same meaning as:

1. essential .....................................

2. thin coating .....................................

3. can be dissolved in water .....................................

4. turn into ice by cold .....................................

5. firm and stable in shape (not liquid) .....................................

6. living or growing in water .....................................

7. become smaller .....................................

8. move on the surface of a liquid .....................................

9. sudden .....................................

10. wonderful .....................................

6

10. Gap-filling

Complete the following statements with one of the appropriate words or phrases given below:

water-short rain water problem

fresh water surface water water pollution

water shortages water supply groundwater

water irrigation water-soluble water

a. As population and industrialization increase, (1)..................... in already (2)

..................... regions will intensify.

b. If the World's (3) ..................... were only 100 liters, our usable supply of (4)

..................... would be only 0.003 liter (one-half teaspoon).

c. In California, the basic (5) ..................... is that 75% of the population lives South of

Sacremanto but 75% of the (6) ..................... falls North of it.

d. Pollution of (7) ..................... is caused by leaching of (8) ..................... pesticides, nitrates

from commercial inorganic fertilizers and salt from (9) .....................

e. Any physical or chemical change in (10) ..................... or groundwater that can harm

living organisms or make (11) ..................... unfit for certain uses is called (12)

.....................

B. WRITING

I. Sentence-correcting

Read the following passage about the World's water supply. There are 15 mistakes in the passage. Underline the mistakes and correct them. The first is done as an example.

Water are a renewable resource and is an abundant. However, most of them is not in the form suitable for use of man. Even the very large amounts that are available is distributed unequally over the globe. The real question we need to ask is weather there is or will be a shortage in usable water. About 97.2% of all the World's water is at the salty oceans. Of the remaining 2.8%, all but about 0.32% is tidied up in the ice-caps and glaciers, lies too deep under the Earth too recover, or are in the atmosphere or topsoil. And of the fresh groundwater but surface water (lakes and rivers) remaining, over 99% is neither too expensive to get, is not readily available, or is polluted. So the total amount of usable water is about 0.003% of the total supply in Earth-or about 9 drop per 50 liters. Even so, we seemed to have an ample supply but four three factors: very unequally distribution, rapidly rising demand and increasing pollution of water supplies at urban centers.

7

(Taken from "Panorama" by Williams, R)

Example 0. are is.

1. ............. ............. 6. ............ ............. 11. ............ .............

2. ............. ............. 7. ............ ............. 12. ............ .............

3. ............ ............. 8. ............ ............. 13. ............ .............

4. ............ ............. 9. ............ ............. 14. ............ .............

5. ............ ............. 10............ ............. 15. ............ ............

II. Sentence-building

Make necessary changes and additions to complete the following passage from the prompts given below: 1. Only / tiny / fraction / the planet's abundant / water / be / available / us / as fresh water.

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2. About 97% / be / find / oceans / and / be / too salty / drinking / irrigation / industry.

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3. The remaining 3% / be / fresh water.

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4. About 2.9997% / it / be / lock / icecaps / glaciers, / or / it / be / bury / so deep / it / cost / much

/ extract.

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5. Only about 0.003% / Earth's total volume / water / be / easily / available / us / as soil

moisture, / exploitable groundwater / water vapor / lakes /streams.

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6. If / world's water supply / be / only 100 liters, / our usable supply / fresh water / would / only

about 0.003 liter.

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8

.....................................................................................................................................................

C. FURTHER PRACTICE

Read the text below and do the exercises below.

The natural world is under violent assault from man. The seas and rivers are being poisoned by radioactive wastes, by chemical discharges and by the dumping of dangerous toxins and raw sewage. The air we breathe is polluted by smoke and fumes from factories and motor vehicles; even the rain is poisoned.

It's little wonder forests and lakes are being destroyed and everywhere wildlife is disappearing. Yet the destruction continues.

Governments and industries throughout the world are intensifying their efforts to extract the Earth's mineral riches and to plunder its living resources.

The great rain forests and the frozen continents alike are seriously threatened. And this despite the warnings of the scientific community and the deep concern of millions of ordinary people.

Despite the fact, too, that we can create environmentally-clean industries, harness the power of the sun, wind and waves for our energy needs and manage the finite resources of the Earth in a way that will safeguard our future and protect all the rich variety of life-forms which share this planet with us.

But there is still hope. The forces of destruction are being challenged across the globe-and at the spearhead of this challenge is Greenpeace.

Wherever the environment is in danger, Greenpeace has made a stand. Its scientific presentations and peaceful direct actions at sea and on land have shocked governments and industries into awareness that Greenpeace will not allow the natural world to be destroyed. Those actions, too, have won the admiration and support of millions.

Thank God someone's making waves

(Taken from "Think First Certificate" by Jonauntion, R)

Exercise 1: Choose the best answers to those questions:

1. Which one of these statements is not made

a. drinking water is polluted.

b. radioactive waste poisons the sea

c. sewage isn't processed.

d. cars and factories poison the air

2. The writer................... forests and lakes are being destroyed.

a. is surprised that

b. is unsure why

c. wonders why

9

d. understands why

3. Rain-forests are being destroyed because governments and industries ........................

a. are unaware of what they are doing wrong.

b. are rich and powerful.

c. choose to ignore criticism.

d. basically care about the environment.

4. The Earth's resources..................

a. should only for people.

b. can be made to last forever.

c. will last forever.

d. belong to just humans and animals.

5. Governments and industries........................

a. don't know what Greenpeace thinks.

b. are forced to understand the problem by Greenpeace.

c. can easily ignore Greenpeace.

d. misunderstand what Greenpeace thinks.

Exercise 2: Find the words and expressions in the text that mean:

1. attack .......................................

2. rubbish .......................................

3. water and waste from toilets .......................................

4. unpleasant smoke .......................................

5. steal .......................................

6. to be in danger .......................................

7. to use a natural force to provide natural power .......................................

8. limited .......................................

9. to protect .......................................

10. to oppose .......................................

D. TRANSLATION

10

I. Translate into Vietnamse

Water pollution reduce the amount of pure, fresh water that is available for such necessities as drinking and cleaning, and for such activities as swimming and fishing. The pollutants that affect water come mainly from industries, farms and sewerage systems. Industries dump huge amounts of waste products into bodies of water each year. These wastes include chemicals, wastes from animal and plant matter, and hundreds of other substances. Wastes from farms include animal wastes, fertilizers and pesticides. Most of these materials drain off farm fields and into nearby bodies of water. Sewerage systems carry wastes from homes, offices, and industries into water. Nearly all cities have waste treatment plants that remove some of the most harmful wastes from sewage. But even most of the treated sewage contains material that harms water.

Taken from "English - Vietnammese Translation Materia for Advanced Students of

English" by Alan McGowan and Jack W.Hudson)


1. Nước ngọt mà chúng ta sử dụng bắt nguồn từ hai nguồn chính: nước trên bề mặt và nước

ngầm. Lượng nước mưa mà không ngấm xuống đất hoặc quay trở về khí quyển do sự bốc

hơi nước hoặc do thoát đi gọi là nước trên bề mặt. Nó tạo thành suối, hồ, đầm lầy, hoặc hồ

chứa. Rất nhiều nước rơi xuống do mưa, không chảy ngay vào suối nhưng lại thấm vào

trong lòng đất. Tất cả nước mà thấm qua bề mặt được gọi là nước ngầm.

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2. Ô nhiễm nước là một trong những vấn đề đáng báo động trong việc quản lí tài nguyên

nước hiện nay. Mặc dù ở nhiều nước trên thế giới người ta đã cố gắng bảo vệ và nâng cao

chất lượng nước, ô nhiễm nước vẫn tiếp tục trở nên phổ biến và gây nhiều thiệt hại cho

các nước trên thế giới, đặc biệt là các nước đang phát triển.

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11

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E. VOCABULARY

1. abrupt (adj) : đột ngột

2. abundant (adj) : dư thừa, thừa thãi

3. all-purpose (n) : nhiều mục đích khác nhau

4. assault (n) : cuộc xung đột

5. compound (n) : hợp chất

6. coolant (n) : chất làm lạnh, tác nhân làm lạnh

7. density (n) : tính dày đặc, mật độ

8. dissolve (v) : làm tan ra, hoà tan, phân huỷ

9. flush (v) : chảy mạnh, xối nước

10. groundwater (n) : nước ngầm

11. moderate (v) : làm ôn hoà, điều tiết (khí hậu)

12. pesticides (n) : thuốc trừ sâu

13. plunder (v) : lấy đi, cướp đi

14. precipitation (n) : lượng mưa/tuyết đổ xuống một khu vực

15. property (n) : đặc tính, đặc điểm, tính chất

16. radioactive waste (n) : chất thải phóng xạ

17. raw (adj) : thô (chưa qua xử lý)

18. remove (v) : loại bỏ, vứt bỏ

19. shrink (v) : rút lại co lại

20. sewerage system (n) : hệ thống cống rãnh

21. sewage (n) : nước cống

22. soak (v) : nhúng ướt, ngâm, làm ướt đẫm

23. soluble (v) : hoà tan

24. solvent (adj) : có thể hoà tan được

25. surface water (n) : nước bề mặt

26. vital (a) : quan trọng, cần cho sự sống

12

27. volume (n) : số lượng, khối lượng, dung tích

28. waste treatment plant (n) : chương trình xử lý chất thải

29. water shortage (n) : sự thiếu nước

30. water vapor (n) : hơi nước

31. wondrous (adj) : tuyệt tời



Tr 34 – 43.




Mục lục

Unit 4 POLLUTION ....................................................................................................................2 A. READING............................................................................................................................2

I. Comprehension questions ................................................................................................3 II. True - False sentences ..................................................................................................4 III. Increasing your vocabulary ..........................................................................................5

B. Writing .................................................................................................................................6 I. Sentence-building.............................................................................................................6 II. Sentence-transforming .................................................................................................7

C. Further practice ....................................................................................................................8 Exercise 2: Phrasal verb ..................................................................................................................8 Substitute the underlined verbs with one of the phrasal verbs below. .............................................8

D. Translation............................................................................................................................9 I. Translate into Vietnamese................................................................................................9 II. Translate into English.................................................................................................10

E. Vocabulary .........................................................................................................................11

Unit 4. POLLUTION


Unit 4

POLLUTION

A. READING


- What do you think about our living environment at the moment?

- Is it polluted daily?

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What is pollution? Any addition to air, water, soil or food that threatens the health, survival capability, or activities of humans or other living organisms is called pollution. Most pollutants are solid, liquid, or gaseous by-products or wastes produced when a resource is extracted, processed, made into products, or used. Pollution can also take the form of unwanted energy emissions such as excessive heat, noise, or radiation.

A major problem is that people differ on whether something is a pollutant and on acceptable levels of pollution, especially if they have to choose between pollution control and their jobs.

Sources: Pollutants can enter the environment naturally (for example, from volcanic eruptions) or through human activities (for example, from burning coal). Most natural pollution is dispersed over a large area and diluted or broken down to harmless levels by natural processes. By contrast, most serious pollution from human activities occurs in or near urban and industrial areas, where pollutants are concentrated in small volumes of air, water, and soil. Industrialized agriculture is also a major source of pollution.

Some pollutants contaminate the areas where they are produced. Other are carried by wind or flowing water to other areas. Pollution does not respect state or natural boundaries.

SOME POLLUTANTS COME FROM SINGLE, IDENTIFIABLE SOURCES, SUCH AS THE SMOKESTACK OF A POWER PLANT, THE DRAINPIPE OF A MEAT-PACKING PLANT, THE CHIMNEY OF A HOUSE, OR THE EXHAUST PIPE OF AN AUTOMOBILE. THESE ARE CALLED POINT SOURCES. OTHER POLLUTANTS ENTER THE AIR, WATER, OR SOIL FROM DISPERSED, AND OFTEN HARD TO IDENTIFY NON-POINT SOURCES. EXAMPLES ARE THE RUNOFF OF FERTILIZERS AND PESTICIDES (FROM FARMLANDS AND SUBURBAN LAWNS AND GARDENS) INTO STREAMS AND LAKES, AND PESTICIDES SPRAYED INTO THE AIR OR BLOWN BY THE WIND INTO THE ATMOSPHERE. IT IS MUCH EASIER AND CHEAPER TO IDENTIFY AND CONTROL POLLUTION FROM POINT SOURCES THAN FROM WIDELY DISPERSED NON-POINT SOURCES.

Effects: Unwanted effects of pollutants are (1) disruption of life-support systems for us and other species; (2) damage to wildlife; (3) damage to human health; (4) damage to property; and (5) nuisance effects such as noise and unpleasant smells, tastes and sights.

Three factors determine how severe the effects of pollutants will be. One is its chemical nature-how active and harmful it is to living organisms. Another is its concentration-the amount per volume unit of air, water, soil, or body weight. One way to lower concentration of a pollutant is to dilute it in a large volume of air or water. Until we started overwhelming the air and waterways with pollutants, dilution was the solution. Now it is only a partial solution.

A third factor is a pollutant's persistence-how long it stays in the air, water, soil, or body. Degradable, or non-persistent, pollutants are broken down completely or reduced to acceptable levels by natural physical, chemical, and biological processes. Those broken down by living organisms (usually by specialized bacteria) are called biodegradable pollutants. Human sewage in a river, for example, is biodegraded fairly quickly by bacteria if it is not added faster than it can be broken down.

Unfortunately, many of the substances we introduce into the environment take decades or longer to degrade. Examples of these slowly degradable or persistent pollutants include the insecticide DDT; most plastics, aluminium cans, and clorofluorocacbons (CFCs)-these latter used as coolants in refrigerators and air conditioners, as spray propellants (in some countries), and as foaming agents for making some plastics.

Non-degradable pollutants cannot be broken down by natural processes. Examples include the toxic elements lead and mercury. The best ways to deal with non-degradable pollutants are to not release them into the environment, to recycle them, or to remove, them from contaminated air, water or soil (an expensive process).

We can know little about the possible harmful effects of 80% of the 70,000 synthetic chemicals now in commercial use. Our knowledge about the effects of the 20% of these chemicals is limited, mostly because it is quite difficult, time-consuming, and expensive to get this knowledge.

(Taken from "Sustaining the Earth " by Tyler Miller, G)


Answer the following sentences

1. Give a definition of pollution?

..................................................................................................................................................

.................................................................................................................................................. 2. What are forms of pollutants? When are the wastes produced?

..................................................................................................................................................

.................................................................................................................................................. 3. How can pollutants go into the environment?

..................................................................................................................................................

.................................................................................................................................................. 4. Where does the most serious pollution from human activities happen?

..................................................................................................................................................

.................................................................................................................................................. 5. How do the pollutants pollute the environment?

..................................................................................................................................................

.................................................................................................................................................. 6. What are point sources and non-point sources?

..................................................................................................................................................

.................................................................................................................................................. 7. What are the factors determining how severe the effects of a pollutant will be?

..................................................................................................................................................

.................................................................................................................................................. 8. What does those in "Those broken down by living organisms..." refer to?.

..................................................................................................................................................

.................................................................................................................................................. 9. How long do the substances degrade?

..................................................................................................................................................

.................................................................................................................................................. 10. What does "these" in "these latter used as coolants in refrigerators..." refer to?

..................................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................................


Decide whether the following statements are true "T" or false "F". Correct the

false statements.

1. ..... Only activities of human beings pollute the environment.

2. ..... Pollutants exist in many forms but solid.

3. ..... Some pollutants come from a power plant and a meat-packing one and

some others from the chimney of a house and the exhaust pipe of an

automobile as well.

4. ..... It's not easy to identify the pollutants going into the air, water or soil from

dispersed sources.

5. ..... Controlling pollution from non-point sources is easier and cheaper than

from point sources.

6. ..... The text mentions more than five unwanted effects of pollutants.

7. ..... A pollutant's persistence means the time a pollutant stays in the air, water,

soil or body.

8. ..... Degradable pollutants and non-degradable ones can be broken down by

natural processes.

9. ..... Recycling non-degradable pollutants is one of the best ways to deal with

them.

10. ..... Iron, copper and aluminum are all energy resources.


11. Antonyms

Which words or phrases in a, b, c or d have opposite meaning to survive:

a. continue to live.

b. exist in spite of a danger, an accident, etc..

c. remain alive.

d. cease to live.

12. Synonyms

Look at the text again and say which words or phrases have the same meaning as:

1. go into ..............................

2. contamination ..............................

3. existing by nature ..............................

4. happen ..............................

5. substances that pollute the environment ..............................

6. continue in existence ..............................

7. can be identified ..............................

8. to be taken out ..............................

9. scatter widely ..............................

10. incidental products ..............................

13. Word-form

Use your dictionary to complete the table with the appropriate forms of the given words in

the text. The first is done as an example.

Noun Verb Adjective Adverb

1. beauty beautify beautiful beautifully

2. addition ........................ ............................ ............................

3. ............................ threaten ............................ ............................

4. capability ............................ ............................ ............................

5. pollution ............................ ............................ ............................

6. ............................ differ ............................ ............................

7. ............................ ............................ acceptable ............................

8. activity ............................ ............................ ............................

9. ............................ ............................ industrial ............................

10. ............................ ............................ identifiable ............................

B. Writing

I. Sentence-building

Make necessary changes and additions to complete the following passage from

the prompts given below:

1. Pollution / mean / contamination / fresh water / which / decrease / its purity / and / often / make

/ it / unsuitable / water resource use.

...............................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................

2. Pollution / also / damage / aquatic habitats / the plants / animals / live / within / them.

...............................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................

3. We / tend / think / pollutants / being poisonous.

...............................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................

4. Some pollutants / be / highly toxic.

...............................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................

5. Whereas / many / be / only / a problem / when / they / accumulate / critical concentrations.

...............................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................

6. Many organic pollutants / cause / oxygen depletion / lakes / rivers.

...............................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................

7. When / this / happen / aquatic ecosystem / be / alter.

...............................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................

II. Sentence-transforming

Finish each of the following sentences in such a way that it mean the same as the

sentence printed before it.

1. Any addition to air, water, soil threatening the health, survival capability, or activities of

humans or other living organisms is called pollution.

Any addition to air, water, soil that...

...............................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................

2. Most natural pollution is dispersed or broken down by natural processes.

Natural processes...

...............................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................

3. Industrialized agriculture is a major cause of pollution.

A major cause of pollution...

...............................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................

4. Most serious pollution from human activities occurs in or near urban and industrial areas.

Urban and industrial areas...

...............................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................

5. Some pollutants are carried by wind or flowing water to other areas.

Wind or flowing water...

...............................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................

6. Some pollutants come from single, identifiable sources.

Some pollutants are...

...............................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................

7. It's quite difficult, time-consuming, and expensive to get knowledge of synthetic chemicals.

To get...

...............................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................

C. Further practice

Exercise 1: Gap-filling: Read the following passage and fill in each gap with a suitable word

The atmosphere is filled with everything that is light enough to be carried by the wind. Much

(1)............... this pollution happens naturally as a (2)............... of dust storms, forest fires, and volcanic

eruptions. But in recent years, human (3)............ have increased the atmosphere’s burden of

pollutants. As populations around the world (4)................. grown, waste products from industry and

agriculture have poured into (5).................. skies. Engines and furnaces burning oil, coal, and natural

gas, the so-called fossil (6).................. , release a wide variety of pollutants. Chemical compounds

(7).................. as chlorofluorocarbon in refrigerators and aerosol sprays, not (8)................... pollute but

also destroy the atmosphere’s ozone (9)............... . Smoke from factories is usually reminder

(10)................. the damage done to the planet’s atmosphere.

Exercise 2: Phrasal verb

Substitute the underlined verbs with one of the phrasal verbs below.

bring up die out get rid of carry on

turn up use up look into turn into

go ahead with turn down break down consist of

1. Pollution is destroying the environment. ....................... 2 I am sorry to mention this, Sue, but I think that Peter is seeing

another woman. .......................

3. The company was told that it could begin the construction of a new plant.

.......................

4. If nation continue to dump nuclear waste at sea, the oceans will become poisoned.

.......................

5. The council has refused the request to build another car park. ....................... 6. Solar energy includes the production of electricity and heat directly

from solar radiation for many applications. .......................

7. The rhinoceros will become extinct if people continue to hunt it. ....................... 8. Government officials are investigating reports that the lake is being

polluted by a chemical factory. .......................

9. When sulphur dioxide mixes with other elements, it becomes acid rain.

.......................

10. Oil, coal and gas are being consumed so quickly that supplies will shortly be finished.

.......................

11. Factory bosses should think carefully about where they throw away waste.

.......................

12. When they arrived at the demonstration, it had already finished. ....................... (Taken from "Think First Certificate" by Jonauntion, R)

D. Translation


There are many different sources of pollution and they vary from place to place and through

the time. Some are point sources-specific places such as factories and mines which release

contaminated water. Much pollution come from diffuse or non-point sources, of which

agriculture is the most widespread. Agriculture causes water pollution in a variety of ways,

including the leaching of nitrate (from fertilizers), and the accumulation of pesticides and other

contaminants. Most water pollution problem arises from the continuous or intermittent

contaminants into streams, lake, rivers, and groundwater. From time to time there are major

pollution incidents in particular places, which create problems because they are usually

unexpected but can spread pollution across wide areas.

(Taken from "Environmental Sciences" by Wilson, R)


1. Hiện nay khói trong khí quyển nhiều đến mức mà lượng ánh sáng mặt trời ở một số thành

phố trên thế giới đã giảm xuống một cách đáng kể.

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

2. Sự ô nhiễm không khí là một trong những nguyên nhân làm con người bị bệnh. ở nhiều nước

đã có luật hạn chế lượng khói mà các nhà máy thải ra. Mặc dù chưa có đầy đủ thông tin về

những tác hại của khói trong khí quyển, các bác sỹ đã chứng minh rằng sự ô nhiễm không khí

gây bệnh ung thư phổi.

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

3. Ngày nay việc thải lưu huỳnh điôxit từ các trạm điện vẫn đang tiếp tục tăng lên. Đó là một

trong những nguyên nhân gây ra mưa axit. Các chất gây ô nhiễm khác là cacbon điôxit (CO2)

và cacbon ôxit (CO). Cacbon ôxit (CO) phần lớn do xe gắn máy gây ra và nó có ảnh hưởng

đến sức khoẻ của trẻ em. Cacbon điôxit (CO2) thì ít nguy hiểm nhất trong số các chất ô

nhiễm đã nói ở trên nhưng trong thời gian lâu hơn thì nó có thể là chất gây hại nhất.

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

4. Sự suy giảm tầng ôzôn do các hoạt động của con người gây ra là nguyên nhân tác động đến

sức khoẻ của con người và môi trường. Khí thải công nghiệp, khí thải của các phương tiện

giao thông có động cơ, khí thoát ra từ các quá trình sinh học là các nguồn chủ yếu gây ô

nhiễm không khí.

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

E. Vocabulary

1. aerosol (n) : một loại chất có trong các bình xịt

2. atmosphere (n) : khí quyển

3. bacteria (n) : vi khuẩn

4. boundary (n) : đường biên giới

5. chemical compound (n) : hợp chất hoá học

6. coal (n) : than đá

7. concentrate (v) : tập trung

8. contaminate (v) : làm nhễm bẩn, gây ô nhiễm

9. degrade (v) : làm suy thoái, suy giảm

10. differ (v) : khác, không giống

11. enter (v) : đi vào, thâm nhập

12. erupt (v) : phun trào

13. exhaust (v) : hết, cạn kiệt

14. fertilizer (n) : phân bón

15. furnaces (n) : lò luyện kim

16. identify (v) : nhận ra

17. industrialize (v) : công nghiệp hoá

18. insecticide (n) : thuốc diệt côn trùng

19. lead (n) : chì

20. major (adj) : chính, chủ yếu

21. mercury (n) : thuỷ ngân

22. organism (n) : sinh vật

23. overwhelm (v) : làm tràn ngập, áp đảo, lấn áp

24. pesticide (n) : thuốc trừ sâu

25. radiation (n) : sự phóng xạ

26. respect (v) : tôn trọng

27. sewage (n) : nước cống

28. spray (v) : phun, xịt

29. substance (n) : chất

30. volcanic eruption (n) : sự phun trào núi lửa



Tr 44 – 54.




Mục lục

Unit 5 AIR POLLUTION............................................................................................................2

A. READING............................................................................................................................2 I. Comprehension questions ................................................................................................4 II. True - False sentences ..................................................................................................5 III. Increasing your vocabulary ..........................................................................................6

B. WRITING.............................................................................................................................7 I. Sentence-building.............................................................................................................7 II. Sentence-transforming .................................................................................................8

C. FURTHER PRACTICE .......................................................................................................9 Exercise 2: Gap-filling. ..................................................................................................................10

D. TRANSLATION................................................................................................................10 I. Translate into Vietnamese..............................................................................................10 II. Translate into English.................................................................................................10

E. VOCABULARY ................................................................................................................11

Unit 5. AIR POLLUTION


Unit 5

AIR POLLUTION

A. READING


- Name some causes of air pollution that you know.

- How can we reduce air pollution in big cities?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Many pollutants

What is air pollution? It is the presence of substances that are not normally part of the

atmosphere's composition. There are many kinds of air pollutants: smoke, dust, ash, pollen,

various gases, and other substances. Many of these come from sources other than man and his

activities. They have always been present in the atmosphere. They come from the ground, from

activities of plants and animals, and even from outer space (meteoritic dust). These pollutants are

seldom harmful. Indeed, they are often beneficial. Without atmospheric dust, for example, rain

and snow would never fall.

Nature easily handles her own forms of air pollution. Heavier pollutants soon settle out of

the air. Rain, one of the nature's most effective "antipollution devices," washes dust and other

pollutants from the atmosphere. Finer particles and gases may remain airborne indefinitely,

becoming spread far and wide through the atmosphere.

Our activities threaten this natural system of checks and balances. Chimneys, incinerators,

factories, airplanes, and automobiles are discharging pollutants into the air at an ever-increasing

rate. Many scientists fear that the cycles of the earth and the atmosphere may not be able to cope

with this increased pollution.

Air pollution caused by human activities is reaching dangerous concentrations in many parts

of the world. It already presents a very serious threat to our well-being and the survival of other

life on earth.

Sources of air pollution

One of the major sources of air pollution is the internal-combustion engine. This engine,

used in most motor vehicles, does not burn all its fuel. Thus, in addition to emitting water, carbon

dioxide, and various oxides of nitrogen, it gives off a number of incompletely burned wasted

products. These include soot (carbon), carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and aldehydes. Auto

engines may also emit particles of lead, derived from the antiknock ingredients in many

gasolines.

In the United States the catalytic converter and other emission-control devices on

automobiles constructed since 1975 have reduced the carbon monoxide emissions. The

mandatory use of lead-free gasoline in vehicles thus equipped has also reduced the emission of

lead particles into the atmosphere.

In the presence of sunlight the nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons often combine to produce

irritating, smog-forming compounds. Los Angeles is particularly well known for the automotive

smogs that have plagued it since the 1940s. But other cities around the world are suffering

similar, or worse, problems as a result of human dependence on the automobile.

Chemical pollutants such as chlorofluorocarbon CFC -12 (commonly known as Freon), often

used in air conditioners, also pose a serious environmental threat. When these pollutants reach

the stratosphere, they destroy the natural ozone layer that acts as an umbrella to shield the

earth from ultraviolet radiation. Higher levels of ultraviolet radiation can cause skin cancers,

smog, and change in the earth' climatic patterns. The loss of stratospheric ozone also directly

increases the production in the atmosphere of hydrogen peroxide, a leading cause of acid rain.

Jet aircraft also release large amounts of pollutants into the atmosphere. You probably have

seen the long trail of black smoke left behind by a climbing jetliner. Many aircraft pollutants are

the same as those emitted by automobiles and trucks. Some experts are particularly alarmed by

the large quantities of water and carbon dioxide being added to the atmosphere at high altitudes.

Exhausts from railroad trains and ships also pollute the atmosphere. But transportation is not

the only source of serious air pollution. Industry and electric-power-generating plants are major

contributors. So is the burning, or incineration of solid wastes. Agricultural burning, coal-waste

fires, and forest fires also befoul the atmosphere.

(Taken from "Environmental Sciences" Wilson, R)



1. What is air pollution? How many kinds of air pollutants are there?

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

2. Where do they mainly come from? What does "these" in " many of these" refer to?

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

3. What is the significance of atmospheric dust?

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

4. What is the role of rain in the atmosphere?

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

5. What do the scientists fear?

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

6. What do chimneys, incinerators, factories, airplanes, and automobiles release into the air?

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

7. Which engine does not burn all its fuel? What kind of vehicles is used this engine?

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

8. What does the internal-combustion engine send out?

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

9. What do incompletely burned wasted products consist of?

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

10. How important are the catalytic converter and emission control devices? Where and when are

they built?

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

11. What are the advantages of mandatory use of lead-free gasoline in vehicles?

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

12. What are produced when the nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons combine?

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

13. What is the consequence of human dependence on the automobile?

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

14. What happens when chemical pollutant such as chlorofluorocarbon reach the stratosphere?

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

15. What is the importance of ozone layer?

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

16. What is the leading cause of acid rain? What are sources of serious air pollution?

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................


Decide whether the following statements are true "T" or false "F" or there’s no


1. ..... Air pollutants are mainly from man and his activities.

2. ..... Rain and snow would never come down without atmospheric dust.

3. ..... Rain is said to be one of the nature's most effective "anti-pollution devices"

because it can wash dust and other pollutants from the atmosphere.

4. ..... Some countries in the world are seriously polluted because of heavy pollutant

from factories.

5. ..... Human activities make the air polluted and threaten the natural system of

checks and balances.

6. ..... The number of air pollutants are steadily increasing as man develops and uses

new chemicals.

7. ..... The internal-combustion engine burns all its fuel and emits completely burned

wasted products.

8. ..... The carbon monoxide emissions have been increased since we built the

catalytic converter and other emission-control devices in Los Angeles.

9. ..... Many cities in the world as well as Los Angeles are suffering automotive

smogs because people depend on the automobile.

10. ..... Pollutants from aircraft and those from automobiles and trucks are quite

different.


Synonyms: Look at the text again and find words or phrases which have the same meaning

as:

1. substances which pollute the air .........................

2. gases enveloping the earth, any other planet .........................

3. deal with .........................

4. petrol without added lead compounds .........................

5. devices which can control emission .........................

6. system for regulating the humidity and temperature in a

building

.........................

7. smogs that emit from automobiles .........................

8. have a similarity to .........................

9. discharge or send out heat .........................

10. advantageous .........................

B. WRITING


Make necessary changes and additions to complete the following paragraph from the

prompts given below:

17. Human beings / be / not / only / living things / that / harm / by / air pollution.

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

18. Many plants / be / also / damaged.

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

19. Carbon monoxide, hydrocacbons, sulfur compounds, metals, acids and ozone / be / serious

threats / most vegetation.

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

20. Plants / absorb / pollutants / their leaves.

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

21. These leaves / may / develop / holes, / become / discolored / or wilt.

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

22. Eventually, / they / may / die.

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

23. This / may / lead / death / entire plant.

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................


Finish each of the following sentences in such the same way that it means the same as

the sentence printed before it.

1. Many of air pollutants come from sources other than man and his activities.

Many of air pollutants...

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

2. Without atmospheric dust, rain and snow would never fall.

If there...

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

3. Rain washes dust and other pollutants from the atmosphere.

Dust...

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

4. Air pollution caused by human activities is reaching dangerous concentration in many parts

of the world.

Air pollution that...

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

5. Transportation is one of the major source of serious air pollution and so is industry.

Both...

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

6. Many aircraft pollutants are the same as those emitted by automobiles and trucks.

Many aircraft pollutants are...

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

7. Higher levels of ultraviolet radiation can cause skin cancers, smog, and change in the earth'

climatic patterns.

Skin cancers...

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

C. FURTHER PRACTICE

Exercise 1:

Read the paragraphs below and summary which follow. Complete the summary by writing the

correct word in each blank. Write one word only.

Air pollution is a cause of ill-health in human. In a lot of countries there are laws limiting the

amount of smoke which factories can produce. Although there isn't enough information on the

effects of smoke in the atmosphere, doctors have proved that air pollution causes lung diseases.

The gases from the exhausts of cars have also increased air pollution in most countries. The lead

in petrol produces a poisonous gas which often collects in busy streets surrounded by high

buildings. Children who live in areas where there is a lot of lead in the atmosphere can not think

as quickly as other children and are clumsy when they use their hands.

There are other long-term effects of pollution. If the gases in the atmosphere continue to increase,

the Earth's climate may become warmer. A lot of the ice near the Poles may melt and may cause

serious floods.

Air (1)...................... can make people (2)............................... . Consequently, some countries

pass (3)............................ to control the quantity of (4)..................... in the air.

(5).......................... causes particular damage to the body by harming the (6)...................... .

(7)........................... should not be used in petrol because it is bad for children's

(8)......................... and make them clumsy in using their hands. Poisonous gas from

(9)........................... collects in these parts of cities where there are tall buildings. Pollution can

also have an influence on the Earth's (10)......................... . The ice may melt near the South and

the North Poles, resulting in very bad (11)......................... .

(Taken from "Longman Texts in context" by Heaton, J.B)

Exercise 2: Gap-filling.

Find the missing words to fill in these sentences from the given words below: harvest misty crops intervals

pollution forecast picked agriculture

fog hunting poisons mountains

1. Less than 2% of the British labor force is employed on farms in (1)...........................

2. In the autumn, at (2)........................... time, the (3).............................. in fields have to be

gathered in and the fruit in the orchards has to be (4)......................

3. In the Alps, cows are kept indoors in winter and spend the summer in the (5)................

4. The sport that involves chasing shooting animals is called (6)....................

5. (7)........................... is caused when waste products or (8)........................ contaminate the

environment.

6. According to the weather (9)...................., there will be sunny (10)...................... this

morning.

7. In the early morning there may be thick (11)........................... and motorists should drive

slowly.

8. We couldn't see very far from the top of the hill because it was slightly (12)................

D. TRANSLATION


Air pollution is a cause of ill-health in human. In a lot of countries there are laws limiting the

amount of smoke which factories can produce. Although there isn't enough information on the

effects of smoke in the atmosphere, doctors have proved that air pollution causes lung diseases.

The gases from the exhausts of cars have also increased air pollution in most countries. The lead

in petrol produces a poisonous gas which often collects in busy streets surrounded by high

buildings. Children who live in areas where there is a lot of lead in the atmosphere cannot think

as quickly as other children and are clumsy when they use their hands.



1. Các nhà khoa học đã thiết lập mối quan hệ giữa sự ô nhiễm không khí và thời tiết. Chúng có

thể tác động lẫn nhau theo nhiều cách khác nhau.

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

2. Hằng ngày, các thành phố lớn, các ngành công nghiệp và các loại xe gắn máy đã thải một số

chất không thể nhìn thấy bằng mắt thường vào trong không khí. Những chất này có thể không

có ngay tác hại nhưng qua thời gian một vài năm thở trong không khí này có thể làm cho

chúng ta bị ốm nặng và thậm chí có thể gây tử vong.

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

3. Như chúng ta đã biết, ô nhiễm môi trường có thể làm kích thích đến mắt, họng và phổi, gây

viêm họng, ho v.v... Trẻ em sống ở những khu vực có mức độ ô nhiễm cao sẽ có tỉ lệ mắc

bệnh hen xuyễn, chàm và các bệnh ngoài da khác cao hơn trẻ em sống ở vùng ít bị ô nhiễm.

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

4. Môi trường nông thôn ở nước ta đang bị ô nhiễm do các điều kiện vệ sinh môi trường và cơ

sở hạ tầng yếu kém. Việc sử dụng không hợp lý các loại hoá chất nông nghiệp cũng đã và

đang làm cho môi trường nông thôn ô nhiễm và suy thoái.

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

E. VOCABULARY

1. airborne (adj) : lơ lửng trong không khí

2. antiknock (n) : chất kích nổ

3. arid (adj) : khô hanh

4. ash (n) : tro

5. automotive (adj) : thuộc về ô tô

6. catalytic (adj) : gây ra sự xúc tác

7. clay (n) : đất sét

8. composition (n) : sự kết hợp, cấu tạo

9. derive from (v) : bắt nguồn từ, phát sinh từ

10. discharge (v) : thải ra

11. emit (v) : bốc ra, thoát ra

12. finer (adj) : nhỏ hơn, mảnh hơn

13. humid (adj) : ẩm ướt

14. incinerate (v) : đốt, thiêu

15. incinerator (n) : lò đốt, lò thiêu

16. indefinitely (adv) : không xác định

17. irritate (v) : kích thích

18. lead-free (n) : không có chì

19. mandatory (adj) : có tính bắt buộc

20. meteoritic (adj) : thuộc về thiên thạch

21. outer space (n) : vũ trụ

22. particle (n) : phân tử, hạt

23. plague (n) : điều tệ hại, tai hại

24. pollen (n) : phấn hoa

25. pose (v) : gây ra

26. poisonous (adj) : độc hại

27. resemble (v) : giống

28. soot (n) : muội, bồ hóng

29. spread (v) : lan tràn, trải rộng

30. well-being (n) : sức khoẻ



Tr 55 – 65.




Mục lục Unit 6 The Greenhouse effect......................................................................................................2

A. READING............................................................................................................................2 I Comprehension questions ................................................................................................3 II True - False sentences ......................................................................................................4 III Increasing your vocabulary ..........................................................................................5

B. WRITING.............................................................................................................................6 I Sentence-transforming .....................................................................................................6 II Sentence - correcting........................................................................................................7

C. FURTHER PRACTIVE .......................................................................................................8 D. TRANSLATE.....................................................................................................................10

I Translate into Vietnamese..............................................................................................10 II Translate into English.....................................................................................................10

E. VOCABULARY ................................................................................................................11

Unit 6. The Greenhouse effect


Unit 6

The Greenhouse effect

A. READING

• Warm-up Activities

- How do you know about the Greenhouse effect?

- Does it affect our daily life?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the 1960s Professor Bert Bolin predicted that the 'greenhouse effect', caused by an increase in the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere, would lead to important changes in the Earth's climate. At the time his predictions were regarded as science fiction. But it is now generally agreed that the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will double from 0.03% to 0.06% in the next 50 years and that temperatures worldwide will rise by 20 Celsius.

Although a temperature rise of 20 may not seem significant, the local effects may be much greater: in polar regions a rise of 100 by 2025 is expected and in Northern Europe a rise of 40. Indeed the first effects will be felt before the end of the century-perhaps they are already being felt...

But how does the "greenhouse effect" operate and why should such a tiny proportion of CO2 have such a harmful effect? When living creatures breathe out or when things are burned, CO2 enters the atmosphere. Until recently all of this was absorbed by plants, which converted it back into oxygen.

However, the balance of nature has been disturbed. In power stations, in factories and in our cars, we are burning more and more fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas) and this produces huge quantities of CO2 -18 billion tons of it enter the atmosphere every year. Added to this, the destruction of forests means that less CO2 can be converted into oxygen by plants. So, the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere is increasing every year.

As sunlight enters the Earth's atmosphere, the surface of the Earth is warmed. Some of this heat escapes back into space, but the rest is trapped by CO2, which acts like the glass in a greenhouse, allowing sunshine and heat to pass in but not out again. Consequently, the temperature rises.

As the temperature rises, the amount of water vapor in the air will increase and this too will absorb more of the Earth's heat. The oceans too will become warmer and store more heat, so that they increase the warming effect.

According to Dr. Syukuro Manabe of Princeton University, the polar icecaps will start to melt and the oceans will expand as more snow and ice melt. Because the exposed ground, formerly covered in snow, won't reflect the heat so well it will absorb more sunlight and this will lead to even more snowmelting.

It is predicted that the level of the sea will have risen by 1/2 to 11/2 meters by 2050 and this will affect many low-lying areas of the world-millions of people today live less than one meter above sea level.

Some areas may actually benefit: the higher temperatures may allow a longer growing season, for example. For Northern Europeans, the extra warmth may be welcome- but there is also likely to be increased rainfall.

But many areas may suffer the southern states of the USA can expect hotter summers and less rainfall, leading to worse conditions for agriculture, and the Mediterranean region will probably be much drier and hotter than now.

The experts agree that the "greenhouse effect" will bring significant changes to the Earth's climate. The inhabitants of this planet will have to get used to living in a hotter world.


I Comprehension questions


1. According to Professor Bert Bolin's predictions what would lead to changes in the Earth's

climate?

..................................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................................

2. What is released into the atmosphere when things are burnt? What absorb this?

..................................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................................

3. What is expected by 2025?

..................................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................................

4. Why can less carbon dioxide be converted into oxygen by plants?

..................................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................................

5. What happen when we are burning fossil fuels in power stations, in factories and in cars?

..................................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................................

6. What is trapped by CO2 when sunlight enters the Earth's atmosphere? Why does the

temperature rise?

..................................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................................

7. What do they predict by 2050? What will this have effect on?

..................................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................................

8. What will absorb more of the Earth's heat as the temperature rises? What increase the

warming effect?

..................................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................................

9. Which parts of the USA may tolerate worse conditions for agriculture?

..................................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................................

10. What do the experts think about the "Greenhouse effect"?

..................................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................................

II True - False sentences

Decide whether the following statements are true "T" or false "F". Correct the false statements.

..... Professor Bolin's predictions were not taken seriously at first.

..... Only a small proportion of the atmosphere consists of carbon dioxide.

..... No changes in climate will become noticeable for 50 years or more.

..... The rise in temperature will probably be 20 in every part of the World.

..... In the North of Europe, temperatures are likely to rise less than in polar regions.

..... CO2 is produced naturally when we breathe or burn things.

..... CO2 is converted naturally into oxygen by plants.

..... Increased temperatures will also affect the amount of rainfall.

..... Countries like Greece and Italy are likely to have more rain.

..... Some parts of the World may become cooler as a result of the "Greenhouse

effect".

III Increasing your vocabulary

Compound prepositions

Fill in the gaps in these sentences with suitable phrases from the list below. The first is done for you as an example.

ahead of as for due to owing to

apart from as regards except for on behalf of

according

to

by means of instead of in addition to/ as well

as

1. The flight was cancelled ... owing to... the fog.

2. We had wonderful weather every day ......................Sunday.

3. Pollution can only be prevented .........................international laws.

4. I love all animals ........................ dogs.

5. Tropical forests are being destroyed ..................... the demand for hardwood for furniture.

6. .................... the weather forecast, it's going to snow.

7. Just a minute, I'll go ................... you and hold the door open.

8. Hello. I'm phoning .................. Mr Brown. He asked me to give you a message.

9. People should protect trees ....................... cutting them down.

10. They have two cats ........................ four pet rabbits.

11. .............. pets. I don't think that people should keep them in small apartments.

12. ............... conservation, I believe that the government should impose controls.


B. WRITING

I Sentence-transforming

Finish each of the following sentences in such a way that it means the same as the


1. A road is so narrow that cars can not park here.

The road is too narrow ...

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

2. They ought to make it wider at this point.

It is...

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

3. There is too little space here to make the road wider.

There isn't ...

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

4. It is possible to cut down a lot of trees on both sides.

A lot of ...

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

5. there aren't enough trees here in any case.

But there are too ...

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

6. Even a few trees can make it too dark for drivers to see clearly.

Even a few trees can make it so ...

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

II Sentence - correcting

Choose the underlined words or phrases which would not be appropriate written

English and correct them.

1. Sometime air pollution in cities causes a "Greenhouse effect" in which the

A B C

atmosphere is warmed because of the buildup of carbon dioxide.

D

2. At very cool, clear nights the air in contact with the ground maybe cooler so as to

A B C

form droplets to water which are left on the ground as dew.

D

3. The more fearsome of all the animals in the western Hemisphere is the grizzly bear.

A B C D

4. The ability to convert raw materials into valuabler commodities is the basic of

A B C

an industrial economy and the foundation of a high standard of living.

D

5. The average age of the Mediterranean olive trees grow today is two hundred years.

A B C D

C. FURTHER PRACTIVE

Exercise 1: Read the following sentences about the different forms of energy available. Match

the sentences in Part I with the correct sentences in Part II and write the correct letter in each

space.

Part I.

1. Muscles and wood were the first sources of energy used by early man.

2. Coal made the Industrial Revolution in the nineteenth century possible.

3. Today we depend on oil more than any other fuel.

4. Gas is considered as a "mineral" because, together with coal, it is part of the Earth's crust.

5. Hydroelectric power is used to produce electricity.

6. Geothermal energy is produced from the heat stored in the Earth's core.

7. The wind was used as a power source over 1,300 years ago in Pesia when the first windmill

was built to turn a millstone.

8. Waves have enormous power.

9. Incoming tides can be trapped behind a dam across a bay or an estuary.

10. A huge amount of solar energy reaches the Earth's outer atmosphere.

11. Nuclear fuels, such as uranium-235 and plutonium, can be made to produce immense heat

by a process called "fission"

Part II.

A. Like oil, it is a fossil fuel and is thus a non-renewable source of energy.

B. One danger, however, is in getting rid of the radioactive wastes which are produced.

C. They increase and decrease more slowly than the wind, thus making them easier to use as a

source of energy.

D. It was the first fossil fuel to be used to power machinery.

E. However, it is thinly spread and collecting it in countries like Britain and northern Europe

is still difficult and expensive.

F. It is used as fuel in cars, ships and airplanes, and even in rockets.

G. It is produced by the fall of water trapped in a dam.

H. It took thousands of years to progress to using coal on a large scale.

I. This material heat helps to produce geysers and steam springs and can be used to generate

electricity in countries like New Zealand.

J. The water is then allowed to flow out past water wheels as the tide goes out.

K. For modern purposes, however, it is necessary to build a machine which can store the

energy obtained for use on calm days.



Fill in the gaps with suitable words without referring back the information in the text obove.

1. The burning of (1)....................... (coal, oil and natural gas) and the destruction of

(2)........................ increase CO2 in the (3)........................

2. The surface of the Earth radiates (4)....................... . Some of this escapes into

(5)......................., but the rest is (6)...................... by the CO2. The temperature rises.

3. The rise in temperature increases the amount of water (7)........................ in the air and this

(8)........................ more of the Earth's heat.

4. At the poles, snow and ice melt as the (9)........................ temperature rises. Because the

exposed surface doesn't absorb the (10)................... so well, it (11)................. more sunlight

and more (12)........................ is melted.

5. As the Oceans (13)........................ more heat, they increase the (14)........................ effect.

The Oceans (15)........................ and rise as more snow and ice melt.

D. TRANSLATE

I Translate into Vietnamese

The atmosphere consists mainly of nitrogen (78 per cent), oxygen (21) per cent) and

argon (0.9 per cent): the remaining 0.1 per cent includes trace gases that are active in causing

global warming. The amounts of these "greenhouse gases" in the atmosphere varied before

humankind appeared, due to volcanic emissions, or because of fluctuations in biogeochemical

cycles or because climate changed. However, during roughly the last two centuries, human

activity has been increasing the atmospheric concentration of some greenhouse gases at rates

which probably pose a significant threat to global climate.

................................................................................................................................................

................................................................................................................................................

................................................................................................................................................

................................................................................................................................................

................................................................................................................................................

................................................................................................................................................

II Translate into English

1. Nhà kính là toà nhà mà các mặt bên và mái của nó được làm bằng kính vì thế mà nhiệt

độ bên trong nhà được tăng cường. Nhà kính được sử dụng để trồng các loại cây cần nhiệt độ

cao. Con người có thể gây ra sự thay đổi đối với khí hậu. Sự thay đổi này là do việc tăng mức

cacbon điôxít trong khí quyển, do vậy làm tăng nhiệt độ bề mặt trái đất. Và điều này có thể làm

thay đổi hiện tượng mà chúng ta vẫn thường biết đến đó là "hiệu ứng nhà kính".

................................................................................................................................................

................................................................................................................................................

................................................................................................................................................

................................................................................................................................................

................................................................................................................................................

2. Hiệu ứng nhà kính không còn là một hiện tượng mới mẻ. Trong vài thế kỷ qua, các nhà

khoa học đã nhận ra rằng lớp khí bao bọc xung quanh trái đất một cách tự nhiên như một tấm

chăn , chặn năng lượng phản chiếu của mặt trời lại, ngăn nó không thể thoát vào không trung.

Điều này làm cho trái đất của chúng ta đủ ấm cho con người, cho thực vật và động vật. Tuy

nhiên, hoạt động gần đây của con người đã làm tăng sự tập trung của khí hiệu ứng nhà kính và

tăng khả năng cản sức nóng của chúng.

................................................................................................................................................

................................................................................................................................................

................................................................................................................................................

................................................................................................................................................

................................................................................................................................................

E. VOCABULARY

actually (adv) : thực sự

balance (v) : làm cân bằng

climate (n) : khí hậu

consequently (adv) : bởi vậy, hậu quả

creature (n) : sinh vật

destruction (n) : sự phá huỷ

double (v) : nhân đôi

effect (n) : tác động, ảnh hưởng

escape (v) : trốn thoát

expand (v) : mở rộng

expect (v) : hy vọng, mong chờ

extra (adj) : thêm, phụ, ngoài

former (adj) : (thuộc) cũ, trước

formerly (adv) : trước đây

fuel (n) : nhiên liệu

gas (n) : khí

icecap (n) : lớp băng phủ các vùng cực

lead (v) : dẫn đến

likely (adv) : có thể, có lẽ

local (adj) : (thuộc) địa phương

melt (v) : tan chảy

planet (n) : hành tinh

polar (n) : cực (địa lý)

predict (v) : đoán, dự đoán

probable (adj) : có thể, có lẽ

proportion (n) : phần, tỉ lệ

rainfall (n) : lượng mưa

reflect (v) : phản chiếu

significant (adj) : quan trọng

tiny (adj) : vô cùng nhỏ bé

trap (n) : chặn lại, ngăn lại

vapor (n) : hơi, khí

worldwide (adj) : toàn thế giới



Tr 66 – 76.




Mục lục Unit 7 Human impact on the environment .......................................................................... 2

A. READING...................................................................................................................... 2 I Comprehension Questions.......................................................................................... 3 II True - False sentences ................................................................................................ 4 III Increasing your vocabulary .................................................................................... 5

B. WRITING....................................................................................................................... 5 I Sentence-building....................................................................................................... 5 II Sentence-transforming ............................................................................................... 7

C. FURTHER PRACTIVE ................................................................................................. 8 D. TRANSLATION............................................................................................................ 9

I Translate into Vietnamese.......................................................................................... 9 II Translate into English................................................................................................. 9

E. VOCABULARY .......................................................................................................... 11

Unit 7. Human impact on the environment


Unit 7

Human impact on the environment

A. READING

• Warm-up activities

- Where does air pollution mainly come from?

- What should we do to prevent pollution?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Air pollution is one of the most pervasive environmental problems because atmospheric currents can carry contaminated air to every part of the globe. Most air pollution comes from automobile emissions and from power plants that burn coal and oil to produce energy for industrial and consumer use. Carbon dioxide and other harmful gases released into the air from these sources adversely affect weather patterns and the health of people, animals, and plants.

Industrialized nations produce most of the world’s air pollution. For example, although the United States is home to just 5 percent of the world’s population, the country generates 22 percent of human-made carbon dioxide emissions and 19 percent of all greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane. These emissions harm the environment by causing acidic rain and global warming, and by depleting the protective ozone layer that surrounds the earth.

Acid rain, a serious threat around the world, occurs when sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions from automobiles and fossil fuel burning power plants fall back to Earth as acidic precipitation.

Global warming is another negative by-product of air pollution, and although there is debate about the sources of the problem, most scientists agree that the earth is heating up. One of the principle causes is thought to be high atmospheric concentrations of gases such as carbon dioxide and methane. These and related substances are called "greenhouse" gases because they trap heat in the earth’s atmosphere instead of letting it radiate into space, thereby, raising air temperature.

If the warming trend continues, glaciers would melt, causing sea levels to rise by as much as 65 centimeters, a depth that would inundate most coastal cities. Low-lying island nations would disappear altogether, and fertile farmland would turn to desert.

Another serious problem related to air pollution is the shrinking of the atmospheric ozone layer that blocks out dangerous ultraviolet (UV) light. First reported over Antarctica in the 1980s, ozone holes have since been detected over parts of North America and elsewhere. The holes are created when ozone molecules are destroyed by chloroflourocarbons (CFCs), chemicals that are used in refrigerants and aerosol containers and can drift into the upper atmosphere if not properly contained.

Some scientists estimate that 60 percent of the ozone layer may already have been lost to pollution, and that even a percent loss could add a total of 330,000 new cases of skin cancer and 1.6 million cases of eye cataracts worldwide. The high levels of UV light that cause skin cancer and eye problems may also harm plankton, the foundation of the food chain in oceans. Serious declines in plankton levels could lead to catastrophic losses of other sea life.

(Taken from "Encarta-World Atlas", Microsoft 2000®)

I Comprehension Questions

Answer the questions

1. Where does most air pollution in the world originate from?

..................................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................................

2. What are weather patterns and the health of people, animals, and plants affected by?

..................................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................................

3. How do the human-made carbon dioxide emissions and greenhouse gases harm the

environment?

..................................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................................

4. When does acid rain occur?

..................................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................................

5. What is the main cause of global warming?

..................................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................................

6. Why are carbon dioxide, methane and related substances called "greenhouse" gases?

..................................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................................

7. What will happen if the warming trend continues?

..................................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................................

8. How are the ozone holes created?

..................................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................................

9. What substances are used in refrigerants and aerosol containers? Where can they go to if

they are not properly contained?

..................................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................................

10. What do skin cancer and eye problems result from?

..................................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................................

II True - False sentences

Decide whether the following statements are true "T", false "F" or there’s no information

given "N" according to the text. Correct the false statements.

..... Air pollution comes not only from automobile emissions but also from power

plants.

..... Developing countries produce air pollution greatly.

..... The United States’ population accounts for 5 percent of the world’s population.

..... Acid rain is a serious threat in industrialized nations.

..... Ozone layer is known as a protective layer for the earth.

..... People in industrialized countries as well as in less developed countries want to

reduce air pollution.

..... "Greenhouse" gases let heat in the earth’s atmosphere radiate into space .

..... When CFCs destroy ozone molecules, ozone holes are created.

..... Recently more than 330,000 new cases of skin cancer and 1.6 million cases of

eye cataracts worldwide have been reported.

..... Plankton is the foundation of the food chain in oceans.

III Increasing your vocabulary

Synonyms

Look at the text again and say which words or phrases have the same meaning as:

1. spreading throughout ..............................

2. originate from ..............................

3. unfavourably ..............................

4. cause damage ..............................

5. incidental product ..............................

6. cities near the beach ..............................

7. becoming smaller ..............................

8. move slowly ..............................

9. discover ..............................

10. disastrous ..............................

B. WRITING

I Sentence-building

Make necessary changes and additions to complete the following passage from the prompts

given below:

1. Environmental pollution / be / term / that / refer / all the ways / by which / people /

pollute / surroundings.

..................................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................................

2. People / dirty / air / gases / smoke.

..................................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................................

3. They / poison / water / too many / fertilizers / pesticides.

..................................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................................

4. People / also / pollute / surroundings / various other ways.

..................................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................................

5. For example, / they / ruin / natural beauty / scattering / junk / litter / the land / the water.

..................................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................................

6. They / operate / machine / motor vehicles / that / fill / air / disturbing / noise.

..................................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................................

7. Nearly / everyone / cause / pollution / some way.

..................................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................................

8. Thus, / to end / or / great / reduce / pollution / immediately, / people / would / have / stop

/ using / many things / such / fertilizers / pesticides.

..................................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................................

9. Governments / can / pass / laws / that / require / businesses / individuals / stop / or / cut

down on / polluting activities.

..................................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................................

10. Individuals / groups of people / can / work / persuade / business / take action toward

reducing pollution.

..................................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................................

II Sentence-transforming

Change the following sentences from active voice into passive voice and vice versa:

1. Too much fertilizers or pesticides can ruin soil.

Soil...

............................................................................................................................................

............................................................................................................................................

2. Today, 75 percent of all the world’s energy is consumed by a quarter of the world’s

population.

A quarter of...

............................................................................................................................................

............................................................................................................................................

3. Pollution can be gradually reduced in several ways.

People...

............................................................................................................................................

............................................................................................................................................

4. Polluted water kills fish and other marine life.

Fish and other marine life...

............................................................................................................................................

............................................................................................................................................

5. Much pollution is caused by things that benefit people.

Things...

............................................................................................................................................

............................................................................................................................................

6. Greenpeace expects that hydrochloroflourocarbons (HCFCs) will come under strict

control at the parties to the Montreal Protocol in the next few years.

It...

............................................................................................................................................

............................................................................................................................................

7. Ozone is considered a dangerous pollutant when it exists close to the ground.

People...

............................................................................................................................................

............................................................................................................................................

8. Some factors may slow global warming.

Globe warming...

............................................................................................................................................

............................................................................................................................................

9. The statistics in the text were supplied by the US Environmental Protection Agency.

The US Environmental Protection Agency...

............................................................................................................................................

............................................................................................................................................

10. Rain washes pollutants out of the air and deposits them on the land and in bodies of

water.

Pollutants...

............................................................................................................................................

............................................................................................................................................

C. FURTHER PRACTIVE

Exercise 1: Choose one of the words or phrases below to fill in each gap in the following passage. Each word or phrase is used once only.

affected danger on grow during

pollution polluted reduce major simple

pollutants thing for increase problem

change cities development the areas

People have always (1)..........................their surroundings. But throughout much of history, pollution was not a major (2).......................... .Most people lived in uncrowded rural areas, and the (3)........................ they produced were widely scattered. People had no pollution-causing machines or motor vehicles. The (4)................ of crowded industrial cities in the 1700s and 1800s made pollution a (5)........................ problem. People and factories in these cities put huge amounts of pollutants into small areas. (6)......................... the 1900s, urban areas continued to develop and other new inventions made pollution steadily worse. By the mid-1900s, pollution had (7).......................... the water in every major lake and river and the air over every city in (8)......................... United States and other industrial countries. Since the late 1960s, millions of people have become alarmed by the (9)........................... of pollution. Large numbers of people are now working to (10).......................... pollution.

(Taken from "English-Vietnamese Translation Materials

for Advanced Students of English" by Alan Mc Gowan and Jack Hudson)

Exercise 2: Read the following passage. Put the correct word from the list below in each blank. You may use some words more than one.

so so much so many too too much too many enough

We are all slowly destroying the earth. The seas and rivers are (1).................. dirty to swim in. There is (2)...................... smoke in the air that it is unhealthy to live in many of the world’s cities. In one well-known city, for example, poisonous gases from cars pollute the air (3)...................... that traffic policemen have to wear oxygen masks.

We have cut down (4)......................... trees that are now vast areas of wasteland all over the world. As a result, farmers in parts of Africa cannot grow (5)....................... to eat. In certain countries in Asia, there is (6)...................... little rice. Moreover, we do not take (7)..................... care of the countryside. Wild animals are quickly disappearing. For instance, tigers are rare in India now because we have killed (8)................... for them to survive. However, it isn’t (9)................. simply to talk about the problem. We must act now before it is (10)....................... late to do anything about it. Join us now. Save the Earth. This is (11)..................... important to ignore.

(Taken from "Longman Texts in Context" by Heaton J. B)

D. TRANSLATION

I Translate into Vietnamese

The greenhouse effect is not a new phenomenon. Scientists have known centuries that a layer of gases naturally surrounds the earth like an insulting blanket, trapping the reflected energy of the sun and preventing it from escaping into space. That is what makes the earth warm enough for people, plants and animals. However, recent human activity has boosted concentrations of greenhouse gases and enhanced their heat-trapping ability. The main culprit is carbon dioxide (CO2) which scientists estimate amounts for nearly half of global warming. CO2 is released from burning fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas) and from clearing and burning forests.

There are other important greenhouse gases too and they cannot be ignored – CFCs, for example, may account for 25 per cent of global warming in the next century if their production is not scaled back. But CO2 is the pivotal one. The UN International Panel on Climatic Change now says that CO2 levels could double within 40 years if present rates of fossil-fuel burning and deforestation continue. That could mean an average temperature increase between two and four degrees centigrade and a sea-level of perhaps a foot by 2050.

(Taken from "Passport to ILTS" by Diana Hopkins & Mark Nettle)

II Translate into English

1. Người ta đã ước tính được rằng 50% sự ô nhiễm khí quyển và 20% của hiện tượng hiệu

ứng nhà kính trên thế giới là do các loại xe có động cơ gây ra. Để bảo tồn năng lượng,

giảm thiểu sự ô nhiễm không khí và những ảnh hưởng mang tính toàn cầu của sự ô

nhiễm này thì việc chuyển các loại xe chạy bằng động cơ đi-e-zen sang loại xe chạy

bằng điện là vô cùng cần thiết.

............................................................................................................................................

............................................................................................................................................

............................................................................................................................................

............................................................................................................................................

............................................................................................................................................

2. Ô-zôn được tạo thành từ ba nguyên tử ô-xy, trái với hai nguyên tử ô-xy có mặt trong

khí ô-xy mà chúng ta vẫn cần để thở. Bản thân ô-zôn rất độc hại và nó được xem như là

một chất gây ô nhiễm nguy hại nếu như nó tồn tại gần mặt đất. Trên tầng bình lưu, ô-

zôn thực hiện một chức năng rất quan trọng đối với cuộc sống trên trái đất. ở đó, ô-zôn

sẽ chắn bức xạ cực tím và bảo vệ trái đất khỏi bức xạ (nhiệt) mặt trời. Những ảnh hưởng

của việc suy giảm tầng ô-zôn bao gồm:

tỉ lệ ung thư da cao hơn

nhiều bệnh về mắt hơn (gồm cả bệnh đục thuỷ tinh thể)

giảm hệ thống miễn dịch ở con người

phá huỷ sự sống dưới nước và hệ sinh thái

gây thiệt hại cho nông nghiệp và các loài thực vật tự nhiên

tăng hiện tượng hiệu ứng nhà kính tự nhiên

thay đổi nhiệt độ của khí quyển.

............................................................................................................................................

............................................................................................................................................

............................................................................................................................................

............................................................................................................................................

............................................................................................................................................

............................................................................................................................................

............................................................................................................................................

............................................................................................................................................

............................................................................................................................................

............................................................................................................................................

............................................................................................................................................

............................................................................................................................................

............................................................................................................................................

............................................................................................................................................

............................................................................................................................................

............................................................................................................................................

............................................................................................................................................

E. VOCABULARY

adversely (adv) : bất lợi, có hại

atmospheric current (n) : luồng khí

automobile emissions (n) : khí thải từ các loại xe có động cơ

by-product (n) : sản phẩm phụ

cataract (n) : bệnh đục thuỷ tinh thể

catastrophic (adj) : thảm hoạ, tai biến

debate (v) : bàn luận, tranh cãi, suy nghĩ, cân nhắc

detect (v) : khám phá ra, phát hiện

diesel-propelled car (n) : xe chạy bằng động cơ đi-e-zen

drift (v) : trôi dạt

electric car (n) : xe (chạy bằng) điện

environmental protection (n) : việc bảo vệ môi sinh

food chain (n) : chuỗi thức ăn

glacier (n) : sông băng

hemisphere (n) : bán cầu

human immune system (n) : hệ thống miễn dịch ở con người

inundate (v) : ngập tràn, ngập lụt

oxygen atom (n) : nguyên tử ô-xy

oxygen mask (n) : mặt nạ ô-xy

ozone depletion (n) : sự suy giảm tầng ô-zôn

ozone molecule (n) : phân tử ô-zôn

pervasive (adj) : tràn ngập, toả khắp

plankton (n) : sinh vật trôi nổi

precipitation (n) : (lượng) mưa, tuyết

radiate (v) : toả ra, phát ra

rare (adj) : hiếm

screen (v) : che, chắn

shield (v) : bảo vệ

trap (v) : giữ lại, không thoát ra được

wasteland (n) : vùng đất hoang



Tr 77 – 82.




Mục lục

Unit 8 The stratosphere: our global sunscreen..........................................................................2

A. READING............................................................................................................................2 I. Comprehension questions ................................................................................................2 II. True – false statements.................................................................................................3 III. Increasing your vocabulary ..........................................................................................4

B. WRITING.............................................................................................................................4 I. Sentence-building.............................................................................................................4 II. Sentence-transforming .................................................................................................5

C. FURTHER PREACTIVE.....................................................................................................6 D. TRANSLATION..................................................................................................................6

I. Translate into Vietnamese................................................................................................6 II. Translate into English...................................................................................................7

E. VOCABULARY ..................................................................................................................7

Unit 8. The stratosphere: our global sunscreen


Unit 8

The stratosphere: our global sunscreen

A. READING


- Where is the stratosphere?

- How important is the stratosphere?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The atmosphere’s second layer is the stratosphere, which extends from 17-18 kilometers above Earth’s surface. It is a much more peaceful place than the troposphere. Although the stratosphere contains less matter than the troposphere, its composition is similar, with two notable exceptions. Its volume of water vapor is about 1,000 times less and its volume of ozone (O3) is about 1,000 times greater.

Stratosphere ozone is produced when some of the stratosphere’s oxygen molecules interact with lighting and solar radiation. This thin layer of ozone keeps about 99% of the harmful ultraviolet radiation given off by the sun from reaching Earth’s surface. This filtering action protects us from increased sunburn, skin and eye cancer, cataracts and damage to the immune system. This global sunscreen also prevents damage to some plants, aquatic organisms, and other land animals. Furthermore, it keeps much of the oxygen in the troposphere from being converted to toxic ozone by incoming UV radiation. The trace amounts of ozone that do form in the troposphere as a component of urban smog damage plants, the respiratory system of humans and other animals, and materials such as rubber.

Thus our good health and that of many other species depend on having enough "good" ozone in the stratosphere and as litter as possible "bad" ozone in the troposphere. Unfortunately, our activities are increasing the amount of harmful ozone in the tropospheric air we must breathe and decreasing the amount of beneficial ozone in the stratosphere.

Air in the stratosphere, unlike that in the troposphere, is calm, with little vertical mixing. Pilots like to fly in this layer because it has so little turbulence and such excellent visibility. Flying in the stratosphere also improves fuel efficiency because the thin air offers little resistance to the forward thrust of the plane. And unlike the troposphere, temperature rises with altitude in the stratosphere until there is another reversal at the stratopause, which makes the end of the stratosphere and the beginning of the atmosphere’s next layer.




1. Where is the stratosphere ?

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

2. How useful is the stratosphere ozone to life on Earth?

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

3. What do our good health as well as that of many other species rely on?

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

4. What are advantages of flying in the stratosphere ?

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

5. What leads to the increase in the amount of harmful ozone in the tropospheric air we must

breathe and decrease the amount of beneficial ozone in the stratosphere?

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

II. True – false statements

Decide whether the following statements are true (T), false (F) or there’s no information given (N) according to the text.

..... Air in the troposphere is as calm as that in the stratosphere.

..... The composition of the stratosphere is similar to that of troposphere except for

its volume of water vapor and its volume of ozone.

..... Human activities are decreasing the amount of harmful ozone in the

tropospheric air we must breathe and increasing the amount of beneficial ozone

in the stratosphere.

..... The troposphere extends only about 17 kilometers above sea level at the equator

and about 8 kilometers above the poles.

..... In the stratosphere, temperature rises with altitude.


Find word or phrase in the text that have the same meaning to:

1. very small quantities

2. the system protecting against infection

3. poisonous

4. plants and animals living in water

5. power of resisting

.............................................

.............................................

.............................................

.............................................

.............................................

B. WRITING


Make any changes and additions to complete the following sentences.

6. Small amounts / carbon dioxide / water vapor / trace amounts / ozone, methane, nitrous

oxide, chlorofluorocarbons / other gases / troposphere / play / key role / determine / Earth’s

average temperature.

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

7. Because / population growth, / one out of three persons / world / lack / enough fuel / keep

warm / cook food.

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

8. A potentially renewable resource / can / renew / fairly / quick / through natural processes.

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

9. Unless / fertilizers / be / use / properly, / agriculture productivity / be / increase.

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

10. Environment science / be / study / how / we / other species / interact / one another / the non-

living environment of matter and energy.

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................


Rewrite the following sentences without changing their meanings.

1. Unless it rains, millions of pounds’ worth crops will be lost.

If ...

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

2. It was dark and consequently photosynthesis couldn’t take place.

It was too...

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

3. We should use cleaner and safer fuels to control and reduce air pollution.

In order...

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

4. Daily temperature fluctuations seldom affect the soil deeper than about 30-40m.

Daily temperature fluctuations seldom have...

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

5. As we are burning more and more fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas), they will soon become

extinct.

The more...

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

C. FURTHER PREACTIVE

Gap-filling: Choose one suitable word among the given words. Each is used once only.

than vary a level and

effect more the layers with

affect fluctuate Earth surface climate

fewer changes fluctuations atmosphere temperature

Soil temperatures resulting from the sun’s radiation change with the depth (1)................... with the time of day. For example, the maximum daily (2)................... at deep soil depths is delayed, even by several hours, after the time when the air temperature reaches a maximum. Conversely, on cool nights, the deep soil (3)................... don’t cool as fast as 4)................... layers because of the insulting effect of the overlying soil . Heat flow is slower in soil than in the (5)................... . The deeper the soil layer, (6)................... longer it takes a temperature change to reach it and thus the less will be the actual temperature fluctuation from day to day or week to week. Daily temperature (7)................... seldom (8)................... the soil deeper than about 30-40 cm. Below about 1m the soil (9)................... slowly from season to season. The mean summer and mean winter temperatures at 1m deep seldom differ by (10).................... than 50C in the subtropics; differences increase several degrees in temperate regions.

D. TRANSLATION


Stratosphere ozone is produced when some of the stratosphere’s oxygen molecules interact with lighting and solar radiation. This thin layer of ozone keeps about 99% of the harmful ultraviolet radiation given off by the sun from reaching Earth’s surface. This filtering action protects us from increased sunburn, skin and eye cancer, cataracts and damage to the immune system. This global sunscreen also prevents damage to some plants, aquatic organisms, and other land animals. Furthermore, it keeps much of the oxygen in the troposphere from being converted to toxic ozone by incoming UV radiation. The trace amounts of ozone that do form in the troposphere as a component of urban smog damage plants, the respiratory system of humans and other animals, and materials such as rubber.


1. Việc sản xuất lương thực trên toàn cầu trong hai thập kỷ qua đã gia tăng một cách đáng kể.

Tuy nhiên đây cũng là một nguyên nhân dẫn đến sự ô nhiễm môi trường.

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

2. Hiệu ứng nhà kính gây ra do việc tăng lượng khí CO2 trong không khí có thể dẫn đến những

thay đổi quan trọng đối với khí hậu toàn cầu.

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

E. VOCABULARY

1. cataract (n) : bệnh đục thuỷ tinh thể

2. composition (n) : thành phần

3. extend (v) : mở rộng, kéo dài

4. immune system (n) : hệ thống miễn dịch

5. interact (v) : tương tác

6. molecule (n) : phân tử

7. notable (adj) : đáng chú ý, nổi bật

8. respiratory system (n) : hệ hô hấp

9. reversal (n) : sự đảo lộn

10. stratosphere (n) : tầng bình lưu

11. sunburn (n) : sự rám nắng

12. sunscreen (n) : tấm chắn bức xạ mặt trời

13. thrust (v) : đẩy mạnh

14. troposphere (n) : tầng đối lưu

15. turbulance (n) : sự bất ổn, xáo trộn

16. ultraviolet radiation (n) : bức xạ cực tím

17. vertical (n) : phương thẳng đứng

18. water vapor (n) : hơi nước



Tr 83 – 91.




Mục lục

Unit 9 SOIL ..............................................................................................................................2

A. READING .......................................................................................................................2 I. Comprehension questions............................................................................................3 II. True - False questions..............................................................................................4 III. Increasing your vocabulary .....................................................................................4

B. Writing.............................................................................................................................5 I. Sentence - transforming...............................................................................................5 II. Sentence-building ....................................................................................................6

C. Further practice................................................................................................................7 D. Translation.......................................................................................................................8

I. Translate into Vietnamese ...........................................................................................8 II. Translate into English..............................................................................................8

E. Vocabulary ....................................................................................................................10

Unit 9. SOIL


Unit 9

SOIL

A. READING


- What are the components of soil?

- How many horizons of soil are there?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What is soil? Soil is a complex mixture of inorganic materials (clay, silt, pebbles, and sand), decaying organic matter, water, air, and billions of living organisms. Soil forms when life-forms decay, when solid rock weathers and crumbles, and when sediments are deposited by erosion. Unless you are a farmer, you probably think of soil as dirt- something you don't want on your hands, clothes, or carpet. Yet your life and the lives of other organisms depend on soil, especially topsoil. To a large extent all flesh is soil nutrients. Soil also provides us with wood, paper, cotton, medicines-everything we get from plants-and helps purify the water we drink. Yet since the beginning of agriculture we have abused this vital, potentially renewable resource. Entire civilizations have collapsed because they mismanaged the topsoil that supported their populations.

Mature soils are arranged in a series of zones called soil horizons, each with a distinct texture and composition that varies with different types of soils. A cross-sectional view of the horizons in a soil is called a soil profile. Most mature soils have at least three of the possible horizons.

The top layer, the surface-litter layer or O-horizon, consists mostly of freshly fallen and partially decomposed leaves, twigs, animals waste, fungi, and other organic materials. Normally it is brown or black in color. The- topsoil layer, or A- horizon, are a porous mixture of partially decomposed organic matter (humus) and some inorganic mineral particles. Usually it is darker and looser than deeper layers. The roots of most plants and most of the soil's organic matter are concentrated in these two upper layers. As long as these layers are anchored by vegetation, soil stores water and releases it in a nourishing trickle instead of a devastating flood.

The two top layers of most well-developed soils teem with bacteria, fungi, earthworms, and small insects. These layers are also home for burrowing animals such as moles and gophers. These soil-dwellers interact in complex food webs.

Bacteria and other decomposer microorganisms are found by the billions in every handful of topsoil. They recycle the nutrients we and other land organisms need by breaking down some of the complex organic compounds in the upper soil into simpler inorganic compounds soluble in soil water. Soil moisture carrying these dissolved nutrients is drawn up by the roots of plants and transported through stems and into leaves.

Some organic litter in the two top layers is broken down into a sticky, brown residue of partially decomposed organic material called humus. Because humus is only slightly soluble in water, most of it stays in the topsoil layer. A fertile soil, producing high crop yields, has a thick topsoil layer with lots of humus. Humus also helps topsoil hold water and helps keep nutrients taken up by plant roots from being carried away as rainwater percolates downward through the topsoil.




1. How does soil form?

...............................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................

2. What does soil give us? When did people start to abuse soil?

...............................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................

3. Why haven't we succeeded in civilizing?

...............................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................

4. When are mature soils called soil horizons? How many possible horizons do they have?

...............................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................

5. What are two top layers? What are there in these top layers?

...............................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................

6. What does the topsoil layer consist of?

...............................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................

7. Where can soil-dwellers interact?

...............................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................

8. How do bacteria and other decomposer microorganisms recycle the nutrients?

...............................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................

9. Why does most of humus stay in the topsoil layer?

...............................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................

10. Which soil can produce high crop yields?

...............................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................

II. True - False questions

Decide whether the following statements are true "T" or false "F". Correct the false

statements.

1. ...... Neither our life nor the lives of other organisms depend on topsoil.

2. ...... Not all mature soils have at least three of the possible horizons.

3. ...... Soil can not be used again. It is used once only.

4. ...... Only mores and gophers live in A-horizon.

5. ...... The composition of the surface-litter layer is quite different from that of the

topsoil layer.

6. ...... We can find only one or two billion of bacteria and other decomposer

microorganisms in every handful of topsoil.

7. ...... Because of having a thick topsoil layer with lots of humus, a fertile soil

produces high crop yields.

8. ...... The color of the deeper layer is not so dark as the topsoil layer.

9. ...... Some living organisms are found in soil.

10. ...... One of the characteristics of humus is to help topsoil hold water.


Synonyms

Find words or phrases in the text that can be replaced by the following:

1. complicated ..................................

2. composition ..................................

3. mixture of two or more things ..................................

4. act on each other ..................................

5. use again and again ..................................

6. fully developed ..................................

7. full of pores ..................................

8. overwhelming ..................................

9. matter deposited on the land by water or wind ..................................

10. advanced stage of social development ..................................

Gap-filling

Complete the following statements with one of the appropriate words given bellow.

topsoil soil horizons living organisms

inorganic materials the surface-litter layer horizons

soil profile organic matter the topsoil layer

soil-dwellers food webs mature soils

1. Soil is a mixture of (1)....................., decaying (2)......................, water, air and billions of

(3).........................

2. Mature soils are arranged in a series of zones called (4)......................

3. Your life and the lives of other organisms depend on soil, especially (5)..................

4. A cross-sectional view of the horizons in a soil is called (6)....................

5. The top-layer, (7).....................,consists mostly of freshly fallen and partially decomposed

leaves, twigs, animal waste, fungi and other organic materials.

6. (8)...................is a mixture of partially decomposed organic matter and some inorganic

mineral particles.

7. Most (9)................... have at least three of the possible (10).................

8. The (11).................. interact in complex (12)...................

B. Writing

I. Sentence - transforming

Finish each of the following sentences in such a way that it means the same as the sentence printed before it. 1. Unless you are a farmer, you probably think of soil as dirt.

If you are...

...............................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................

2. The surface-litter layer is brown or black in color.

The color of...

...............................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................

3. The topsoil layer is darker and looser than the deeper layers.

The deeper layer...

...............................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................

4. The two top layers of most well-developed soils teem with bacteria, fungi, earthworms,

and small insects.

There are ...

...............................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................

5. A fertile soil producing high crop yields has a thick topsoil layer with lots of humus.

A soil which...

...............................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................

6. If a soil is too dry, the seeds will not germinate.

Unless...

...............................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................

7. When the young plant break the soil surface, food manufacture by photosynthesis can

begin.

When the soil surface...

...............................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................

II. Sentence-building

Make any changes and additions to complete the following sentences from the prompts given bellow. 8. Too much / cultivation / destroy / soil structure.

...............................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................

9. The plant / produce / food / chemical substances / present / soil / air.

...............................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................

10. We / can / use a unit / called / soil profile / describe / soils.

...............................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................

11. When / we / want / compare / two soils, / we / examine / profiles.

...............................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................

12. The root hairs / be / part / a plant / which / absorb / water / mineral / soil.

...............................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................

13. The temperature / wet / soils / be / lower / than / well-drained soils.

...............................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................

14. Seeds / can not / germinate / a soil / which / lack / sufficient oxygen.

...............................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................

15. It / take / century / form / 1 inch / new topsoil.

...............................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................

C. Further practice

Gap-filling

Read the following paragraph. Put a circle round the letter of the correct word or words to use in each blank

1. a. passes b. used to pass c. would pass d. passed

2. a. are burning b. would burn c. have burnt d. were burnt 3. a. not used b. did not use c. not using d. was not used 4. a. doubles b. had doubled c. will double d. would double 5. a. were unable b. would be unable c. will be unable d. are unable 6. a. has declined b. will decline c. declines d. would decline 7. a. believed b. is believing c. believing d. is believed 8. a. would use b. used c. use d. will use 9. a. did not increase b. would not increase c. does not increase d. may not increase 10. a. would never use b. may never be used c. would never be used d. may never use 11. a. was b. used to be c. would be d. has been

When man first learned how to make a fire, he began to use fuel for the first time. The fuel he used was probably wood. As time (1)......................., man eventually discovered that substances such as coal and oil (2)........................ .

Coal (3)..................... very widely as a source of energy until the last century. With the coming of the industrial revolution, it was soon realized that production (4).................... if coal was used instead of wood. Nowadays, many of the huge factories and electricity generating stations (5)..................... to function if there was no coal.

In the last twenty or thirty years, however, the use of coal (6)..................... As a result, there have been changes in the coal industry. It (7).................... that more people (8)...................... coal if oil and gas were not so readily available.

There is more than enough coal in the world for man's needs for the next two hundred years if our use of coal (9)................... . Unfortunately, however, about half of the world's coal (10)................... . Mining much of it (11)..................... very expensive even if it was possible to use new equipment.

(Taken from "Extra Practice" by George, D)

D. Translation


Three materials in various compositions; water (including snow), rock and soil cover the Earth surface. Soil results from the weathering of rock materials, which involves both the physical breakdown of rock into small particles and chemical alteration of its composition. There are, however, many other processes, which together produce the distinctive features of the material we call soil and organize this material into soil on the surface of the land. Of primary importance are the processes associated with plants, animals and microorganisms, which colonize the soil.

(Taken from "Land Use" by O’Callaghan, J.R)


1. Do các cấp hạt của đất rất nhỏ nên nước không thể ngấm qua đất một cách dễ dàng.

.......................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................

2. Nếu có quá nhiều nước ở trong đất thì nó phải được tháo rút.

.......................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................

3. Thành phần đất ở những vùng khô cằn và thành phần của đá gốc rất giống nhau.

.......................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................

4. Trong nhiều thế kỷ qua người ta đã nhận ra rằng, mặc quần áo màu sáng trong khí hậu nóng thì mát

hơn là mặc quần áo màu tối vì màu tối hấp thụ nhiệt nhiều hơn. Tương tự như thế, đất sẫm màu hấp

thụ nhiệt nhiều hơn đất sáng màu. Mặc dù đất tối màu có lượng mùn cao, hấp thụ nhiệt nhiều hơn

đất sáng màu, nhưng loại đất này lại thường xuyên chứa được nhiều nước hơn.

.......................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................

5. Môi trường đô thị ở nước ta đang bị ô nhiễm do các chất thải rắn và nước thải chưa được thu gom

và xử lý theo đúng quy định. Thêm vào đó thì khí thải, tiếng ồn và bụi từ các phương tiện giao thông

và các ngành sản xuất quy mô vừa và nhỏ cùng với cơ sở hạ tầng yếu kém càng làm cho điều kiện

vệ sinh môi trường ở đô thị lâm vào tình trạng báo động. Hệ thống cấp thoát nước lạc hậu, xống cấp,

không đáp ứng được yêu cầu. Mức ô nhiễm không khí do bụi và các khí thải độc hại ở nhiều nơi

vượt tiêu chuẩn cho phép nhiều lần, đặc biệt ở một số thành phố lớn như Hà Nội, thành phố Hồ Chí

Minh vượt tiêu chuẩn cho phép từ 2 đến 3 lần.

.......................................................................................................................................................

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.......................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................

E. Vocabulary

1. abuse (v) : lạm dụng

2. anchor (v) : neo, bám chặt

3. civilization (n) : sự văn minh, sự khai hoá

4. complex (adj) : phức tạp

5. compound (n) : hợp chất

6. crumble (v) : vỡ vụn

7. decay (v) : thối rữa, mục nát

8. decompose (v) : phân huỷ

9. earthworm (n) : con giun đất

10. fungus (n) : nấm

11. humus (n) : mùn cây

12. inorganic (adj) : (thuộc) vô cơ

13. interact (v) : tương tác

14. material (n) : vật chất

15. mature (adj) : trưởng thành

16. mineral (n) : khoáng chất

17. mixture (n) : hỗn hợp

18. mole (n) : số phân tử gam của vật chất

19. particle (n) : phân tử, hạt

20. pebble (n) : đá cuội

21. percolate (v) : ngấm

22. porous (adj) : lỗ rỗng, tính rỗng

23. purify (v) : lọc, làm cho tinh khiết

24. recycle (v) : tái chế

25. resource (n) : tài nguyên

26. root (n) : rễ cây

27. sand (n) : cát

28. sediment (n) : trầm tích

29. soil profile (n) : phẫu diện đất

30. soluble (adj) : có thể hoà tan

31. stem (n) : thân cây

32. topsoil (n) : (tầng) đất mặt

33. zone (n) : miền, vùng



Tr 92 – 100.

Tài liệu trong Thư viện điện tử ĐH Khoa học Tự nhiên có thể được sử dụng cho

mục đích học tập và nghiên cứu cá nhân. Nghiêm cấm mọi hình thức sao chép, in

ấn phục vụ các mục đích khác nếu không được sự chấp thuận của nhà xuất bản và

tác giả.

Mục lục

Unit 10 Soil texture, porosity, acidity .............................................................................. 2

A. Reading...................................................................................................................... 2 I. Comprehension questions...................................................................................... 3 II. True-false questions........................................................................................... 4 III. Increasing your vocabulary ............................................................................... 4

B. Writing....................................................................................................................... 5 C. Further practice.......................................................................................................... 6 D. Translation................................................................................................................. 8

I. Translate into Vietnamese ..................................................................................... 8 II. Translate into English........................................................................................ 8

E. Vocabulary ................................................................................................................ 9

Unit 10. Soil texture, porosity, acidity


Unit 10

Soil texture, porosity, acidity

A. Reading

• Warm-up activities

- Name the soils and their characteristics that you know.

- Which soil is best for growing most crops?

.................................................................................................................................................

Soils vary in their content of clay (very fine particles), silt (fine particles), sand (medium-size particles), and gravel (coarse to very coarse particles). The relative amounts of the different sizes and types of mineral particles determine soil texture. Soils containing a mixture of clay, sand silt and humus are called loams.

To get an idea of a soil's texture, take a small amount of topsoil, moisten it, and rub it between your fingers and thumb. A gritty feel means that it contains a lot of sand. A sticky feel means a high clay content, and you should be able to roll it into a clump. Silt-laden soil feels smooth like flour. A loam topsoil, best suited for plant growth, has a texture between these extremes-a crumbly, spongy feeling with many of its particles clumped loosely together.

Soil texture helps determine soil porosity: a measure of the volume of pores or spaces per volume of soil and average distances between those spaces. A porous soil (with many pores) can hold water and air than a less porous soil. The average size of the spaces or pores in a soil determines soil permeability: the rate at which water and air move from upper to lower soil layers. Soil porosity is also influenced by soil structure: how soil particles are organized and clumped together.

Loams are the best soils for growing most crops because they hold lots of water but not too tightly for plant roots to absorb. Sandy soils are easy to work, but water flows rapidly through them. They are useful for growing irrigated crops or those with low water requirements, such as peanuts and strawberries.

The particles in clay soils are very small and easily compacted. When these soils get wet, they form large, dense clumps, explaining why wet clay can be molded into bricks and pottery. Clay soils are more porous and have a greater water-holding capacity than sandy soils, but the pore spaces are so small that these soils have a low permeability. Because little water can infiltrate to lower levels, the upper layers can easily become too waterlogged for most crops.

Acidity and basicity of substances in water solution are commonly expressed in terms of pH. Soils vary in acidity, and the pH of a soil influences uptake of soil nutrients by plants. Plants vary in the pH ranges they can tolerate

(Taken from "Sustaining the Earth" by Tyler Miller, G.)



1. How do soils vary? How can we give a concept of soil's texture?

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........................................................................................................................................

2. Which soils are loams ? Why are they the best for growing crops?

........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................

3. Why can we roll soil with a high clay content?

........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................

4. Why does a porous soil hold more water and air than a less porous soil?

........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................

5. What does soil permeability mean? What can determine it?

........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................

6. Why can people mould wet clay into bricks and pottery?

........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................

7. What are characteristics of the particles in clay soil?

........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................

8. Are sandy soils useful for growing peanuts and strawberries?

........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................

9. What does the soil structure have influence on?

........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................

10. Why are the upper layers easy to become waterlogged for crops?

........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................

II. True-false questions

Decide whether the following statements are true "T" or false "F". Correct the false statements. 1. ...... The relative amounts of the different sizes and types of mineral particles

determine loams.

2. ...... People have to depend on clay, silt, gravel and sand content to group soil into

textual classes.

3. ...... Loams are soils, which contain a mixture of clay, sand, silt, and humus.

4. ...... It's difficult to get an idea of soil composition.

5. ...... A less porous soil can hold less water than a porous soil.

6. ...... There are not many pores in porous soil.

7. ...... Sandy soil is good for growing peanuts and strawberries.

8. ...... Bricks and pottery are made from wet clay.

9. ...... Clay soils and sandy soils have the same water-holding capacity.

10. ...... The pore spaces of clay soils are very small.


Complete the following statements with the appreciate words given below: sand water and air mineral particles

gravel wet clay sandy soil

loams clay content soil texture

11. Soils containing a mixture of a clay, sand silt and humus are called (1).............

12. Bricks and pottery are made from (2).......................

13. A porous soil (with many pores) can hold (3)..................than a less porous soil.

14. (4)...................... are easy to work, but water flows rapidly through them.

15. A gritty feel means that it contains a lot of (5)......................

16. A sticky feel means a high (6)..................

17. The relative amounts of the different size and of (7)......................... determine

(8).................

18. Soils vary in their content of clay, silt, sand and (9)......................

B. Writing

Sentence-transforming

Finish each of the following sentences in such a way that it means the same as the sentence printed before it.

1. Soil containing a mixture of clay, sand, silt and humus are called loams.

Loams are soils which...

........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................

2. A porous soil can hold more water and air than a less porous soil.

A less porous soil...

........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................

3. Loams are the best soils for growing most crops because they hold lots of water but

not too tightly for plant roots to absorb.

As...

........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................

4. It is useful for growing irrigated crops in sandy soils.

Sandy soils...

........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................

5. People can mold wet clay into bricks and pottery.

Brick and pottery...

........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................

6. Clay soils have a greater water-holding capacity than sandy soils.

Sandy soils ...

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........................................................................................................................................

C. Further practice

Exercise 1: Expression of degree

Look at the following pairs of sentences. Notice that the first half of each sentence describes a state and the second half expresses a consequence.

Example: The soil was dry so the seed could not germinate.

The soil was heavy and clayey and , as a result, it was unsuitable for

root crops

We can express these sentences in another way using the expression of degree too:

Example: The soil was too dry for the seed to germinate.

The soil was too heavy and clayey to be suitable for root crops.

Rewrite the following sentences using too as in example (c) and (d) above and make any other changes that are necessary.

7. The soil particles are fine so the water cannot percolate easily through the soil.

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........................................................................................................................................

8. Because the soil was compact, it was not suitable for root crops.

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9. Soil aeration was inadequate and consequently the plant could not receive a proper

supply of oxygen.

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10. As a result of the land being waterlogged, it was not possible to produce a healthy

crop.

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11. The soil profile was so shallow that it could not give the roots sufficient anchorage.

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12. As the root system was poorly developed, the plant could not produce a good top

growth.

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13. It was dark as a result photosynthesis could not take place.

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14. The current was so swift that the silt would not be deposited.

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Now look at the sentences you have written and rewrite them using not + adjective + enough, using the adjective given for each sentence .

Example: The soil was too dry for the seed to germinate. (wet)

= The soil was not wet enough for the seed to germinate.

The soil was too heavy and clayey to be suitable for root crops. (light

and sandy)

= The soil was not light and sandy enough to be suitable for root crops.

1. The soil particles are fine so the water cannot percolate easily through the soil

(coarse).

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2. Because the soil was compact, it was not suitable for root crops.

(loose)

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3. Soil aeration was inadequate and consequently the plant could not receive a proper

supply of oxygen.

(adaquate)

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4. As a result of the land being waterlogged, it was not possible to produce a healthy

crop.

(well-drained)

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5. The soil profile was so shallow that it could not give the roots sufficient anchorage.

(deep)

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6. As the root system was poorly developed, the plant could not produce a good top

growth.

(well-developed)

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7. It was dark as a result photosynthesis could not take place.

(bright)

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8. The current was so swift that the silt would not be deposited.

(slow)

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D. Translation


The soil is always an important component in the system comprising the lithosphere,

the atmosphere and the biosphere. Soil particles reflect the varying nature of the

interactions with this system. Soil is very essential for many human activities, and we can

only successfully and sustainably undertake these activities if we understand how soil has

been developed and how it is affected by changes in the system, particularly those in the

biosphere caused by our manipulation of vegetation and soil.

(Taken from "Environmental Sciences" by Wilson, R.)


1. ánh sáng mặt trời cung cấp năng lượng cho quá trình chuyển nước từ đất và cacbon

điôxít từ không khí thành đường và hyđrát cacbon.

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2. Việc canh tác quá nhiều làm phá hủy cấu trúc của đất.

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3. Nếu đất quá lạnh thì sự nảy mầm của cây cối không thể xảy ra.

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4. Thành phần cơ giới là đặc tính quan trọng của đất bởi vì ở một phạm vi nào đó nó sẽ

quyết định tỷ lệ hút nước, sự tích trữ nước ở trong đất, tính thấm khí và nó sẽ ảnh

hưởng đến độ phì nhiêu của đất. Ví dụ, đất cát thô rất dễ canh tác, có tính thấm khí tốt

cho sự phát triển của rễ và dễ làm ướt, nhưng loại đất này cũng khô rất nhanh và dễ bị

mất các chất dinh dưỡng cho cây trồng. Còn các loại đất sét lại rất khó làm ướt, khó

canh tác và cũng khó tháo rút nước.

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E. Vocabulary

1. absorb (v) : hấp thụ, ngấm

2. brick (n) : gạch

3. clay (n) : đất sét

4. clump (v) : tạo thành lùm, thành đống

5. coarse (adj) : thô, không mịn

6. compact (adj) : nén, rắn chắc

7. content (n) : hàm lượng

8. dense (adj) : dày đặc, chặt

9. grit (n) : hạt cát, hạt sỏi

10. infiltrate (v) : xâm nhập

11. irrigate (v) : tưới nước

12. loam (n) : đất giàu mùn, đất thịt

13. moisten (v) : làm ẩm

14. mold (v) : đúc theo khuôn

15. permeable (adj) : dễ them

16. porous (adj) : lỗ rỗng, tính rỗng

17. pottery (n) : đồ gốm

18. roll (v) : cuộn tròn, vo viên

19. rub (v) : chà xát

20. sticky (adj) : dẻo, dính

21. spongy (adj) : mềm, xốp, đàn hồi

22. tolerate (v) : chịu đựng

23. volume (n) : khối lượng

24. waterlogged (adj) : ngập úng



Tr 101 – 109.




tác giả.

Mục lục

Unit 11 The origin And composition of soil..................................................................... 2

A. Reading...................................................................................................................... 2 I. Comprehension questions...................................................................................... 3 II. True - False sentences........................................................................................ 4 III. Increasing your vocabulary ............................................................................... 5

B. Writing....................................................................................................................... 5 I. Sentence-rephrasing .............................................................................................. 5

C. Further practice.......................................................................................................... 7 D. Translation................................................................................................................. 8

I. Translate into Vietnamese ..................................................................................... 8 II. Translate into English........................................................................................ 9

E. VOCABULARY ....................................................................................................... 9

Unit 11. The origin And composition of soil


Unit 11

The origin And composition of soil

A. Reading


- What does weathering mean?

- Is chemical weathering different from physical one?

...........................................................................................................................................

Soil is the residue composed of two main ingredients: mineral material and organic material. 2Organic material originates from dead plants and animals and materials other than this are derived from rocks of various kinds. These rocks are broken down into small particles by mechanical disintegration and chemical decomposition. This breaking process, known as weathering, may thus be both physical and chemical.

5When weathering processes are largely physical-by heat or wind, for instance-the composition of the soil is very similar to that of parent rock. In arid regions weathering is mostly by physical means. But in humid regions chemical processes of weathering are equally important. 8In such regions rock particles are affected by water which may contain carbonic or other weak acids. These acids dissolve some of the particles in the rocks. The mineral material that is left behind is insoluble. Consequently, the insoluble mineral residues in the soil have less resemblance to the original rocks. There are large amounts of organic matter in the so down il, too.

The process of soil formation results in the development of the soil profile. 14This is made up of a succession of horizontal layers, or "horizons", of varying thickness, from the surface to the parent rock. Generally speaking, there are three distinct horizons, known as A, B and C. A is the topsoil, which is coarse-grained, and dark in color because of the presence of humus. B is known as the sub-soil which contains some of the products leached, or washed, out of the A-horizon. The C-horizon consists of parent material which has been weathered in the upper part, and unweathered rock bellow.

Any sample of soil contains particles of different sizes. 20These have been divided into the following size groups:

Material Diameter (mm)

Gravel

coarse sand

fine sand

silt

clay

more than 2.0

2.0-0.2

0.2-0.02

0.02-0.002

less than 0.002

Soils range from pure clays to pure sands. 22Most of them contain various proportions of sand, silt, and clay and these varying proportion make up a soil 's textural class. The principle classes in order of increasing fineness of material are sand, loamy sand, loam, silt, silty clay loam, clay loam, silt and clay.

Any soil contains both mineral and organic matter. 25Clay particles are the most important of the mineral particles because they are the smallest. Smaller the sized particles have a greater exposed surface area than larger sized particles. The smaller the size of a particle, the greater is its reactivity. That is to say, smaller sized particles can react or combine with water, nutrients and humus more easily than larger sized particles. Thus, a clay soil is more reactive than any other type of soil. Humus from decomposed organic matter is vital to a soil as it makes a heavier soil lighter. 31In addition, it helps to bind the mineral particles together in "crumbs".

(Taken from "English in Agriculture" by Alan Mountford)



1. What are the two major ingredients of soil?

...........................................................................................................................................

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2. Where does organic material and inorganic material originate?

...........................................................................................................................................

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3. When is the composition of the soil and the parent rock the same?

...........................................................................................................................................

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4. What are the rock particles in humid regions affected by? What does water in such

regions consist of?

...........................................................................................................................................

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5. What kind of material is insoluble when acids dissolve some particles in the rocks?

...........................................................................................................................................

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6. What lead to the development of the soil profile?

...........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

7. How many distinct horizons are there? What are they? What are the C-horizon

composed of?

...........................................................................................................................................

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8. What is the color of the topsoil? How many groups can we divide particles of different

sizes into?

...........................................................................................................................................

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9. Why are clay particles the most important of the mineral particles?

...........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

10. What is the importance of humus?

...........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................


Decide whether the following statements are true "T" or false "F". Correct the false

sentences.

1. ...... Mineral materials in soil are derived from various kinds of rocks.

2. ...... Physical weathering doesn't break down rocks into particles, neither does

chemical one.

3. ...... The composition of the soil in arid regions has a close resemblance to that of

the parent rock.

4. ...... Soils in arid regions and soils in humid regions are the same.

5. ...... Soils in humid regions are similar to the parent rock.

6. ...... There are a succession of soil horizons from the surface to the parent rock.

7. ...... Particles bigger than silt are clay particles .

8. ...... A clay loam contains particles of greater fineness than a loamy sand.

9. ...... Gravel particles are the least important of the mineral particles because of

being the biggest.

10. ...... If the size of a particle is larger, its reactivity is better.


Synonyms: Find words or phrase in the text which have the same meaning as:

1. areas ....................................

2. damp ....................................

3. incapable of being dissolved ....................................

4. cohere ....................................

5. original rocks ....................................

6. rot ....................................

7. rough ....................................

8. similarity ....................................

9. small stones ....................................

10. substance that provides essential nourishment ....................................

B. Writing

I. Sentence-rephrasing

Rewrite the following sentences replacing the words printed in italics with

expressions from the text which have the same meaning :

1. Material other than mineral material is derived from dead plants and animals.

...........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

2. Breaking down rocks into small particles is performed mostly by heat or wind in arid

and semi-arid regions.

...........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

3. The remains of mineral materials that can not be dissolved in water have litter

similarity to the parent rocks in humid regions.

...........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

4. The succession of horizontal layers in a soil are called the topsoil, the sub-soil and the

parent material.

...........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

Writing descriptions

There are various patterns for describing the structure of the soil.

Examples: The soil is a loam that is slightly compact in structure.

= The soil is a loam with a slightly compact structure.

= The soil is a loam with a structure that is slightly compact.

= The soil is a loam that has a slightly compact structure.

= The soil is a loam having a slightly compact structure.

Rephrase he sentences below in each of the other ways shown in the examples

above:

5. The soil is a sandy loam that is granular in structure.

...........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

6. The soil is a sandy loam with a cemented and compact structure.

...........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

7. The soil is a silty loam with a structure that is blocky and weakly granular.

...........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

8. The soil is a clay loam that has a laminated and compact structure.

...........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

C. Further practice

Exercise 1. Word-checking:

Fill in each gap with a word or phrase without looking back the text:

1. If the soil material is not organic, it is derived from........................

2. Rocks of various kinds are........................into small particles.

3. 3. The breaking down process is known as ........................

4. Weathering may be both ........................ and ........................

5. If the weathering processes are physical the composition of the soil is very ........................

to the composition of the ........................ rock.

6. In humid regions the water dissolves some of the rock particles, but leaves behind mineral

material that is.........................

7. From the surface to the parent rock there are a succession of horizontal layers, or-

........................

8. Sand, loamy sand, loam, silt loam, silty clay loam, clay loam, silt and clay are arranged in

order of...........................of particles.

9. Clay loam comes after .......................... sand.

10. A clay loam contains........................ of greater fineness than loamy sand.

Exercise 2. Contextual reference:

1. In sentence 2 this refers to:

a. mineral material

b. organic material

2. In sentence 5 that refers to:

a. heat or wind

b. the composition

c. the soil

3. In sentence 8 such regions refers to:

a. arid regions

b. humid regions

4. In sentence 14 this refers to:

a. the process of soil formation

b. the development of the soil profile

c. the soil profile itself

5. In sentence 20 these refers to:

a. particles

b. different sizes

6. In sentence 22 them refers to:

a. soils

b. pure clays

c. pure sands

7. In sentence 25 they refers to:

a. mineral particles

b. clay particles

8. In sentence 31 it refers to:

a. a heavy soil

b. organic matter

c. humus

D. Translation


There is much scientific work that remains to be done to improve our understanding

of the biology of soil. The development of food production systems which exploit

biological processes to a greater extent should now be the common aim of scientists in

both developed and developing countries. However, the use of pesticides and inorganic

fertilizers is likely to continue, combined with biological control agents, to form integrated

systems of pest and disease control. Such strategies will involve a shift away from energy-

intensive technologies to more knowledge-intensive technologies.



1. Hai thành phần chính của đất là chất hữu cơ và chất vô cơ. Chúng thay đổi cùng với

thời gian.

...........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

2. Ngày nay vai trò của đất trong việc tác động đến cấu tạo của nguồn nước, đặc biệt liên

quan đến chất lượng của nước uống, đang trở nên một vấn đề lớn trên thế giới.

...........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

3. Đất mà trong đó sét chiếm ưu thế gọi là đất sét. Đất mà có hàm lượng bùn cao gọi là

đất bùn. Đất có tỷ lệ cát cao gọi là đất cát. Một loại đất mà không thể hiện những đặc

tính vật lý nổi bật như ba nhóm trên gọi là đất thịt. Điều đáng lưu ý là đất thịt không

chứa tỷ lệ phần trăm bằng nhau của cát, bùn và đất sét. Tuy nhiên, đất thịt lại thể hiện

những đặc tính tương đối giống nhau của cát, bùn và sét.

...........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

E. VOCABULARY

1. arid (adj) : khô

2. bind (v) : trói, buộc, kết hợp

3. blocky (adj) : khối, tảng

4. coarse (adj) : không mịn, thô

5. decompose (v) : phân huỷ

6. disintegrate (v) : làm tan rã

7. fineness (n) : độ mịn

8. gravel (n) : sỏi

9. horizon (n) : tầng (đất)

10. humid (adj) : ẩm ướt

11. humidify (v) : làm cho ẩm

12. insoluble (adj) : không thể thấm được

13. largely (adv) : ở một chừng mực nào đó

14. loam (n) : đất giàu mùn, đất thịt

15. nutrient (n) : dưỡng chất

16. originate (v) : bắt nguồn

17. parent rock (n) : đá gốc

18. resemblance (n) : sự giống nhau

19. resemble (v) : giống với

20. residue (n) : cặn

21. silt (n) : phù sa (limon)

22. subsoil (n) : lớp đất dưới

23. succession (n) : sự nối tiếp, chuỗi



Tr 110 – 119.




Mục lục

Unit 12 PROFILES OF SOILS............................................................................................. 2

A. READING...................................................................................................................... 2 B. WRITING....................................................................................................................... 3 C. Further practice .............................................................................................................. 7 D. Translation...................................................................................................................... 8

I. Translate into Vietnamese.......................................................................................... 8 II. Translate into English............................................................................................. 8

E. VOCABULARY ............................................................................................................ 9

Unit 12. PROFILES OF SOILS


Unit 12

PROFILES OF SOILS

A. READING


- What do you examine when you want to compare two soils?

- What do soil profiles represent?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Profile of soil A: Red Earth

The A-horizon extends to a depth of 36 cm. The soil consists of a brownish red sandy loam. It has a porous and friable granular structure which is mixed with pebbles. The B-horizon extends from 36 cm to 130 cm and is red in color. It is a sandy loam, gravelly in structure with large quantities of pebbles. The C-horizon, which extends down to 244 cm, has a yellowish white color. It is sandy, with a structure which is a cemented and compact mass, made up of decomposed felspars.


Now study the following figure which summarizes the information presented in the description above.

Horizon Depth (cm) Color Soil type (textural class)

Structure Other features

A 0 – 36 brownish red

sandy loam porous and friable granular

mixed with pebbles

B 36 - 130 Red sandy loam gravelly mixed with large quantities of pebbles

C 130 - 244 yellowish white

sandy cemented and compact mass

decomposed felspars

Figure 2: Profile of Soil A: Red Earth

B. WRITING

Exercise 1: Writing descriptions from figures.

Read the following descriptions of soil profiles and made figure presenting the information as in the example above:

Profile of soil B: Laterite

The A-horizon extends down to 61 cm. Its color is brownish deep red. The textural class of the soil is a clay loam. It has a loose granular structure which is mixed with gravel. The B-horizon which extends from 61 cm to 259 cm is a clay loam. It is bright red with a gravelly laterite structure. The C-horizon below 259 cm is red, mottled with yellow and whitish colors. It is rocky consisting of honey-combed laterite.

Horizon Depth (cm) Color Soil types (textural class)


A

B

C

Figure 3: Profile of soil B: Laterite

Profile of soil C: Mountain and hill soil

The A-horizon extends to a depth of 18 cm. Light brownish gray in color; the soil type is a sandy loam with a friable granular structure. Another feature is that it is slightly sticky when wet. The B-horizon extends from 18 cm to 66 cm. It is yellowish brown in color and consists of a moist clay loam having a blocky, very hard and compact structure. It is also sticky when wet. The C1-horizon goes down to 97 cm and is yellowish brown in color. A moist clay loam, the soil has a blocky, extremely firm structure which is difficult to cut. It is very sticky when wet, and some parent material is mixed with the soil. Below 97 cm, the C2-horizon is yellowish brown, a clay loam which is soft and easy to cut when moist. It has a laminated and compact clay shale structure.

Horizon Depth (cm) Color Soil type (textual class)

Structure Other feature

A

B

C1

C2

Figure 4: Profile of soil C: Mountain and hill soil

Exercise 2. Write descriptive paragraphs:

Study the following figure and then complete the paragraph below describing soil profile D.



A1 0 - 15 brownish gray

coarse sandy clay loam

crumb contains pieces of quartz

A2 15 - 61 dark gray heavy clay loam hard crumb B 61 - 137 brownish

or whitish gray

heavy clay loam hard crumb contains white and dark carbonate nodules

C below 137 ash gray heavy clay loam mixed with disintegrating rock

Figure 5: Profile of soil D: Black soil

....................... extends to a depth of.................. . ................. in color, the soil type is ............................. with a ....................... structure. A feature is the presence of ......................... . ......................... extends from .............................. and is ...................... in color. It consists of a ............................... having a .............................. . The B-horizon goes down to ................................... and is ................................... in color. The textural class of the soil is a ................................ The soil has a .......................... which contains ................................. . Below 137 cm the C ................................ is ..............................., a..............................................................

Exercise 3: Write descriptive paragraphs of your own bases on the figures below.


Structure Other feature

A 0 - 18 pink silty loam blocky, tending to be weakly granular

dry and hard

B 18 - 58 light brown

silty clay loam weakly laminar, developing to blocky and nutty

somewhat porous and dry

C 58 - 127 pinkish to slight brown

silty clay loam compact and hard

somewhat gritty

Figure 6: Profile of soil E: Desert soil

.................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................

.................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................

.................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................

.................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................

.................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................

.................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................

.................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................

.................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................

Exercise 3. Comparative sentences.

We can make comparative statements using the following patterns:

Particles of fine sand are coarser than particles of clay.

= Particles of clay are not as coarse as particles of fine sand.

Transported soils are more common than sedentary soils in humid regions.

= Sedentary soils are less common than transported soils in humid regions.

Soil particles Diameter (mm)

gravel 2.0 or more

coarse sand 2.0 - 0.2

fine sand 0.2 - 0.02

silt 0.02 - 0.002

clay 0.002 or less

Figure 7: Soil particles

Compare the particle size of:

1. fine sand with silt (fine)

......................................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................................

2. clay with fine sand (coarse)

......................................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................................

3. fine sand with gravel (coarse)

......................................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................................

A: light sandy soil B: heavy clay soil % % gravel 1.2 1.3 sand 37.4 33.7 silt 38.6 26.9 clay 11.8 28.3 humus 4.5 7.8 other contents 6.5 2.0

Figure 8: Soil contents

Compare the contents of these soils in terms of:

(i) The percentage of............

(ii) The .......... content............

(iii) A light sandy soil ............

1. their sand content

......................................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................................

2. their silt content

......................................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................................

3. their clay content

......................................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................................

4. their humus content.

......................................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................................

Top soil Sub-soil Color dark light Particle sizes coarse fine Living organisms many few Elements for plant food rich poor

Figure 9: Characteristics of the top soil and the sub-soil

Using the information in figure 9 compare the characteristics of the top soil and the sub-soil in terms of:

1. color:

(i) The top soil .......................................................................................................

(ii) The sub-soil is ..................................................................................................

2. particle size:

(i) The particle sizes of the top soil .......................................................................

(ii) The particle sizes of the sub-soil ......................................................................

living organisms:

(i) There are ................................................................................... in the top soil.

(ii) There are .................................................................................. in the sub-soil.

3. elements for plant food:

(i) The top soil is ....................................................................................................

(ii) The sub-soil is ..................................................................................................

C. Further practice

Making comparison by inference Complete the sentences with the comparative from of an appropriate adjective, or more / less.

1. Soils show great variations in their sizes and arrangements of their constituent particles.

A sandy soil has larger particles than a clay soil. A sandy loam has ... ...................

particles than a clay loam.

2. Soils also vary greatly in color. A brightly colored soil indicates a higher degree of

oxidation. So, a red soil has been ...............oxidized than a black soil.

3. As agriculture becomes more intensive, the soil may be modified by those who form it.

A soil can be made less alkaline by adding sulphur. Any soil can be made ....................

acid by adding lime.

4. The sulphur content of certain soils in Oregon, U.S.A., is less than 0.15%. On average in

the U.S.A. soil contains several times this amount. We may say then that most soils

contain ......................... sulphur than those of Oregon.

5. All the spaces, or pores, in between the solid soil particles are filled with air and water.

The proportions of air and water which are contained in these pores are determined

mainly by the size of the pores. The bigger the size of the pores the more air and

............................ water the soil will contain. Thus, sandy soils contain larger pore

spaces, but the total amount of pore space is ........................... because the particles

are........................... . On the other hand, clay soils contain smaller pore spaces but the

total amount of pore space is ......................... because the particles are

much........................... . As a result, clay soils are generally ........................ than sandy

soils.

D. Translation


The idea of sustainable development was first presented by the International Union for the

Conservation of Nature (IUCN 1980) in an international forum of the World Conservation

Strategy. In essence, the concept of sustainable development invokes present development of

available resources without compromissing the ability of future generations to meet their

needs. Many people would argue that this is an abstract idea that is impossible to achieve.

How can this generation understand the needs of future generations, even before they have

been born, let alone future needs before they have been formulated.

The practical application of the concept of sustainable development should involve a

greater environmental awareness, by both governments and individuals. The IUCN argued

that three priorities should be incorporated into all development programmes:

♦ the maintenance of ecological processes

♦ the sustainable use of resources

♦ the maintenance of generic diversity.

(Taken from "UNEP World Wide Web Site 1996")


1. Các hoạt động của thực vật và động vật sống và sự phân hủy của các chất thải hữu cơ

và các chất cặn bã có ảnh hưởng đến sự phát triển của đất. Sự khác nhau của các loại đất

mà ban đầu là do sự khác nhau của cây trồng là điều đáng chú ý đặc biệt trong việc thoát

hơi nước ở lá cây. Minnesota, Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, Taxas và phần lớn các bang

ở phía tây nước Mỹ là những nơi mà người ta có thể dễ dàng quan sát được sự khác biệt

này.

......................................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................................

2. Khí hậu cũng có ảnh hưởng đến sự hình thành của đất một cách gián tiếp thông qua các

tác động của nó đối với cây trồng. Các loại khí hậu khô chỉ cung cấp đủ độ ẩm cho các

loại cỏ ngắn và thưa hoặc cây bụi. Chúng không đủ dày đặc để bảo vệ đất khỏi sự xói

mòn do gió và xói mòn do nước gây ra.

......................................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................................

3. Các loại đất thay đổi theo số lượng các chất dinh dưỡng (khác nhau) mà chúng có thể

cung cấp cho sự phát triển của cây trồng. Hàm lượng các chất dinh dưỡng có sẵn phụ

thuộc vào:

♦ nhu cầu và khả năng cạnh tranh chất dinh dưỡng của cây cối

♦ số lượng và các nguồn cung cấp chất dinh dưỡng hiện hữu

♦ các điều kiện môi trường như nhiệt độ, nước, tính thấm khí

Để biết được nhu cầu về phân bón cho từng loại đất này chúng ta cần phải xem xét cả ba yếu tố trên.

................................................................................................................................

................................................................................................................................

................................................................................................................................

................................................................................................................................

................................................................................................................................

E. VOCABULARY

1. arrangement (n) : sự sắp xếp

2. coarse (adj) : thô, không mịn

3. coarse sand (n) : cát thô

4. evaporation (n) : sự bốc hơi, sự bay bơi (về mặt vật lý)

5. evaportranspiration : sự thoát hơi nước (qua lỗ khí trên bề mặt lá)

6. extend (v) : mở rộng

7. fine sand (n) : cát mịn

8. felspar (n) : khoáng fenspat

9. friable (adj) : dễ nát vụn

10. future generation (n) : thế hệ tương lai

11. granular (adj) : như hột, có dạng hột

12. gravelly (adj) : như sỏi

13. honey-comb (n) : hình tổ ong

14. humus (n) : mùn

15. shrink (v) : co lại, rút ngắn lại

16. laminate (v) : cán mỏng

17. laterite (n) : đá ong, đá đỏ

18. modify (v) : làm thay đổi

19. moist (adj) : ẩm

20. mottle (v) : chấm, lốm đốm

21. pebble (n) : đá cuội, sỏi

22. sedentary soil (n) : đất tàn tích

23. shale (n) : phiến thạch

24. silt (n) : bùn

25. silty soil (n) : đất bùn

26. summarize (v) : tóm tắt

27. sustainable development (n) : sự phát triển bền vững

28. transported soil (n) : đất hình thành trên bồi tích

29. vary (v) : thay đổi

30. IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature)

: Tổ chức Quốc tế về bảo tồn thiên nhiên



Tr 120 – 130.




tác giả.

Mục lục

Unit 13 SOIL EROSION................................................................................................... 2

A. Reading...................................................................................................................... 2 I. Comprehension questions...................................................................................... 3 II. True-False sentences.......................................................................................... 4 III. Increasing your vocabulary ............................................................................... 4

B. WRITING.................................................................................................................. 5 I. Sentence - building ................................................................................................ 5 II. Sentence – transforming .................................................................................... 6

C. FURTHER PRACTICE............................................................................................. 7 D. TRANSLATION ....................................................................................................... 9

I. Translate into Vietnamese ..................................................................................... 9 II. Translate into English...................................................................................... 10

E. VOCABULARY ..................................................................................................... 11

Unit 13. SOIL EROSION


Unit 13

SOIL EROSION

A. Reading


- What are the causes of soil erosion?

- What should be done to prevent the soil from erosion?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Soil erosion is the movement of soil components, especially surface-litter and topsoil, from one place to another. The two main movers are flowing water and wind. Although wind causes some erosion, most is caused by moving water.

Some soil erosion is natural, but the roots of plants generally anchor the soil. In undisturbed vegetated ecosystems, soil is not usually lost faster than it forms. However, farming, logging, building, overgrazing by livestock, fire, and other activities that destroy plant cover leave soil vulnerable to erosion.

Losing topsoil makes a soil less fertile and less able to hold water. The resulting sediment, the largest source of water pollution, clogs irrigation ditches, boat channels, reservoirs, and lakes. Fish die. Water is cloudy and tastes bad. Flood risk increases.

Soil, especially topsoil, is classified as a potentially renewable resource because it is continuously regenerated by natural processes. However, in tropical and temperate areas it takes 200-1.000 years for 2.54 centimeters (1 inch) of new topsoil to form, depending on climate and soil type. If topsoil erodes faster than it forms on a piece of land, the soil there becomes a non-renewable resource. Annual erosion rates for farmland throughout the world are 7-100 times the natural renewal rate. Soil erosion is milder on forestland and rangeland that on cropland, but forest soil takes two to three times longer to restore itself than does cropland. Construction sites usually have the highest erosion rates by far.

Today topsoil is eroding faster than it forms on about one-third of the world's cropland. A 1992 study by the World Resources Institute found that soil on more than 12 million square kilometers (5 million square miles) of land - an area the size of China and India combined - had been seriously eroded since 1945. The study also found that 89,000 square kilometers (34,000 square miles) of land scattered across the globe was too eroded to grow crops anymore. Overgrazing is the worst culprit, accounting for 35% of the damage, with the heaviest losses in Africa and Australia. Deforestation causes 30% of Earth's severely eroded land and is most prevalent in Asia and South America. Unsustainable methods of farming cause 28% of such erosion, with two-thirds of the damage found in North America.

Each year we must feed more 90 million people with an estimated 24 billion metric tons (26 billion tons) less topsoil. This topsoil washing and blowing into the world's streams, lakes, and oceans each year would fill a train of freight cars long enough to

encircle the planet 150 times. The situation is worsening as many farmers in LDCs plow easily erodible lands to feed themselves.

(Taken from "Sustaining the Earth" by Tyler Miller, G. )


Answer the following questions 1. What cause soil erosion?

...................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................

2. In which ecosystem is soil formation faster than its loss?

...................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................

3. How do farming, logging, building, overgrazing and other activities affect the soil?

...................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................

4. What can make a soil less fertile and less able to hold water?

...................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................

5. What is the largest source of water pollution?

...................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................

6. Why is topsoil classified as a potentially renewable resource?

...................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................

7. How long does it take to form 1 inch of new topsoil in tropical and temperate

regions? What does it depend on?

...................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................

8. What happens when topsoil erodes faster than it forms on a piece of land?

...................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................

9. What are annual erosion rates for farmland all over the world?

...................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................

10. What did the World Resource Institute find in its study?

...................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................


Decide whether the following statements are true "T", false "F" or there’s no information given "N" according to the text. Correct the false sentences. 1. ...... Surface-litter and topsoil are two main components of soil when soil erosion

occurs.

2. ...... Farming and logging are two most serious ways making soil vulnerable to

erosion.

3. ...... Losing topsoil is a cause that makes flood risk increases.

4. ...... It takes decades to form 1 inch of new topsoil in tropical and temperature area.

5. ...... The soil becomes a non-renewable resource if topsoil erodes faster than it

forms on a piece of land.

6. ...... Soil erosion on forestland is the most serious.

7. ...... Restoring cropland takes much more time than restoring forestland.

8. ...... In 1992, about 89,000 square kilometers of land on earth was so eroded that

people couldn't grow crops.

9. ...... Enough topsoil erodes away each day in the United Stated to fill a line of

dump trucks 5,600 kilometers (3,500 miles) long.

10. ...... Unsustainable methods of farming account for 30% of soil erosion every year.


Synonyms: Refer back to the text and find synonyms for the following words/phrases:

1. destroy gradually ...............................

2. not disturbed ..............................

3. animals on farm .............................

4. matter deposited on the land by water or wind .............................

5. supply with water .............................

6. generate again ..............................

Word-form: Use your dictionary to complete the table with the appropriate forms of the given words in the text. The first is done as an example.

Noun Verb Adjective Adverb

1. Beauty beautify beautiful beautifully

2. erosion …………… …………… ……………

3. …………… ……………… …………… especially

4. movement …………… …………… ……………

5. …………… …………… natural ……………

6. …………… …………… …………… potentially

7. deforestation …………… …………… ……………

8. …………… …………… vulnerable ……………

9. …………… regenerate …………… ……………

10. …………… …………… mild ……………

B. WRITING

I. Sentence - building

Make necessary changes and additions to complete the passage from the prompts below: 1. Vanishing topsoil / creeping desertification / be / still / serious problems / parts / United

States.

.........................................................................................................................................

.........................................................................................................................................

2. Today / soil / cultivated land / United States / be / eroding / about 16 times faster / it /

can form.

.........................................................................................................................................

.........................................................................................................................................

3. And / erosion rates / be / even higher / heavily farmed regions.

.........................................................................................................................................

.........................................................................................................................................

4. Parts / the Western rangelands / the Great Plains / be / undergoing / desertification /

from / overcultivation / overgrazing / and depletion of groundwater / which / be / use /

irrigation.

.........................................................................................................................................

.........................................................................................................................................

5. Some / country's most productive agricultural lands / have / lose / about / half their

topsoil.

.........................................................................................................................................

.........................................................................................................................................

6. California's soil / be / eroding / 80 times / than / it / can / form.

.........................................................................................................................................

.........................................................................................................................................

II. Sentence – transforming

Finish each of the following sentences in such a way that it means the same as the sentence printed before it: 7. Topsoil is continuously regenerated by natural processes.

Natural processes...

.........................................................................................................................................

.........................................................................................................................................

8. Today topsoil is eroding faster than it forms on about one-thirds of the world's

cropland.

Today topsoil forms...

.........................................................................................................................................

.........................................................................................................................................

9. Soil erosion is milder on forestland and rangeland than on cropland.

Soil erosion on cropland...

.........................................................................................................................................

.........................................................................................................................................

10. In 1935 the United States established the Soil Conservation Service under the

Department of Agriculture.

1935 is...

.........................................................................................................................................

.........................................................................................................................................

11. People estimate that salinization is reducing yields on one-fourths of the world's

irrigated cropland.

It...

.........................................................................................................................................

.........................................................................................................................................

C. FURTHER PRACTICE


Choose one of the words below to fill in each gap in the following passage. Each word is used once only.

that amounts more growth scheme

process production they soil wet

also an it quantities out

be qualities salts produce to

Salts can be flushed (1) .................... of soil by applying much (2) ................ irritation water than is needed for crop (3) ....................., but this practice increases pumping and crop-production costs, and (4) .................... wastes enormous (5)................of water.

Heavily salinized (6) .......................... can also be renewed by taking the land out of (7) ........................ for two to five years, installing (8).............. underground network of perforated drainage pipes, and flushing the soil with large (9) .................. of low-salt water. This costly (10) ......................... , however, only slows the salt buildup, it does not stop the (11) .................... . Flushing (12) ....................... from the soil (13).................. makes down-stream irrigation water saltier unless the saline water can (14).................. drained into evaporation ponds rather than returned (15)................ the stream or canal.

Exercise 2: Study the following short passage and complete the statements about

them below:

1. The colors of soils is closely related to their condition of aeration. In well-drained soils

iron compounds are oxidized to their ferric state, which is indicated by reds, yellows

and browns. When good drainage is absent, soils tend to be gray, often with greenish

gray or mottled sub-soils.

Write less, more, better or poorer in the spaces provided:

a. A red soil is....................... drained than a gray soil.

b. A gray soil has been..................... oxidized than a yellow soil.

c. Greenish soils are ................... well-drained than brown soils.

d. A red soil has...................... conditions of aeration than a grey soil.

e. Well-drained soils are ...................... aerated than badly drained soils.

f. Grey and greenish soils have....................... drainage than oxidized red soils.

g. There is....................... air in a well-drained soil than in a badly drained soil.

2. The soil microbes which decompose organic materials grow best at pH 6.5. Near this

pH, conditions are best for the availability of most plant nutrients. As the acidity

increases, the availability of nearly all important nutrients diminishes. Phosphorous, in

particular, is held as insoluble compounds in highly acid soils. As acidity decreases

iron, manganese, copper and zinc grow scarce. Most upland soils developed under

forests in humid regions are too acid for the best growth of pasture grasses, vegetables

and many other plants.

Write less , more, fewer, not as good or higher in the spaces provided:

a. At a pH value of below 4 there are.................... important nutrients in the soil.

b. There is................... soluble phosphorous in highly acid soils.

c. Iron, manganese, copper and zinc are ..................... available in ....................

alkaline soils.

d. Vegetables prefer conditions of ....................... acidity than is found in most upland

soils.

e. Conditions are........................ for the decomposition of organic materials by soil

microbes at low pH soil values.

D. TRANSLATION


1. The costs of soil erosion may be divided into direct (on-site) or indirect (off-site).

The main direct cost is a decline in crop productivity. Indirect costs include

siltation of reservoirs, canals, streams (with associated loss of water supplies,

power generation capacity, flooding, increased dredging costs, etc), land-slide

damage to roads, infrastructure and housing. The direct costs are vast; the indirect

costs may also be and sometimes exceed on-site impacts (many large and smaller

hydropower and irrigation projects have been ruined by soil erosion). Soil

contributes considerably to the value of land; once soil degradation begins, land

values generally fall; ultimately the result may be virtually worthless, unsaleable

wasteland. Slight or moderate degradation may be sufficient to restrict what can be

grown (due to insufficient depth of soil or poor quality soil); it may also, by

reducing available soil moisture, reduce the land's resistance to drought.


2. Soil pollution damages the thin layer of fertile soil that covers much of the earth’s

land and is essential for growing food. Natural processes took thousands of years to

form the soil that supports crops. But, through careless treatment, people can

destroy soil in a few years. In nature, cycles similar to those that keep water clean

work to keep soil fertile. Plant and animal wastes, including dead organisms,

accumulate in the soil. Bacteria and fungi decay these wastes, breaking them down

into nitrates, phosphates, and other nutrients. The nutrients feed growing plants,

and when the plants die the cycle begins again. People use fertilizers and pesticides

to grow more and better crops. Fertilizers add extra nutrients to the soil and

increase the amount of a crop that can be grown on an area of land. But the use of

large amounts of fertilizer may decrease the ability of bacteria to decay wastes and

produce nutrients naturally. Pesticides destroy weeds and insects that harm crops.

But pesticides may also harm bacteria and other helpful organisms in the soil.

Much damage to soil results from erosion. Erosion is the wearing away of soil. It

can result from the removal of trees, grass, and other plants that hold soil in place.

Wind can then blow the bare soil away and rain can wash it away. Careless farming

methods are major cause of erosion. The clearing of land for construction projects

such as roads and real estate developments, also cause erosion.

(Taken from "English-Vietnamese Translation Materials for Advanced Students of

English" by Alan Mc Gowan and Jack W. Hudson)


3. Sự bảo tồn đất liên quan đến việc giảm sự xói mòn đất, ngăn không để các chất

dinh dưỡng trong đất bị cạn kiệt và khôi phục lại những chất dinh dưỡng đã mất đi

do sự xói mòn, do rửa trôi và do trồng trọt quá nhiều.

......................................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................................

4. ở những miền đất thấp vùng nhiệt đới, hoạt động chặt phá gỗ là nguyên nhân chính

của sự xói mòn đất. Nhiều khu vực rộng lớn trên thế giới phải chịu sự suy thoái của

đất do hậu quả của việc sản xuất đường, thuốc lá và lạc.

......................................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................................

5. Nông nghiệp có thể dẫn đến sự thiệt hại của đất qua sự xói mòn và nó rơi vào tình

trạng kém năng suất do hậu quả của sự ô nhiễm, sự muối hoá, sự ngập úng và nhiều

quá trình khác. Sự suy thoái của đất là một trong những vấn đề lớn trên toàn cầu. Ví

dụ, ở Mỹ khoảng 1/3 đất trồng hoa màu bị ảnh hưởng nghiêm trọng. Một vài thiệt

hại do tự nhiên hoặc do con người gây ra là điều khó tránh khỏi nhưng phần lớn lại

là hậu quả của các biện pháp bảo tồn đất không thích hợp.

......................................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................................

E. VOCABULARY

1. annually (adj) : hàng năm

2. classify (v) : phân loại

3. cloudy (adj) : vẩn đục

4. component (n) : phần hợp thành

5. creeping desertification (n) : sự sa mạc hoá dần dần

6. cropland (n) : đất trồng trọt

7. culprit (n) : tội phạm, thủ phạm

8. cultivated land (n) : đất canh tác

9. ditch (n) : đường hào, rãnh

10. encircle (v) : vòng quanh, bao quanh

11. erode (v) : xói mòn

12. generally (adv) : dần dần

13. heavily farmed land (n) : vùng đất trồng trọt/canh tác nhiều

14. livestock (n) : vật nuôi

15. log (n) : gỗ

16. microbe (n) : vi sinh vật

17. overgrazing (n) : sự chăn thả quá mức

18. prevalent (adj) : thịnh hành, chiếm ưu thế

19. reservoir (n) : hồ chứa nhân tạo

20. risk (n) : rủi ro

21. salt (n) : muối

22. salty (adj) : mặn, có chứa muối

23. saline (adj) : mặn, có tính chất như muối

24. scatter (v) : phân tán

25. soil degradation (n) : sự suy thoái đất

26. temperate (adj) : ôn hoà

27. undisturbed (adj) : không bị xáo trộn, ổn định

28. vegetate (v) : sống đời sống thực vật

29. vulnerable (adj) : dễ bị tổn thương, dễ nhạy cảm



Tr 131 – 141.




Mục lục Unit 14 Soil degradation ........................................................................................................ 1

A. Reading........................................................................................................................... 2 I. Comprehension questions .......................................................................................... 3 II. True-False statements............................................................................................. 4 III. Increase your vocabulary ....................................................................................... 4

B. WRITING....................................................................................................................... 4 I. Sentence - building..................................................................................................... 4 II. Sentence - transforming ......................................................................................... 4

C. FURTHER PRACTICE ................................................................................................. 4 Exercise 2: Gap-filling ............................................................................................................... 4

D. TRANSLATION............................................................................................................ 4 I. Translate into Vietnamese.......................................................................................... 4 II. Translate into English............................................................................................. 4

E. Vocabulary ..................................................................................................................... 4

Unit 14

Soil degradation

Unit 14. Soil degradation


A. Reading


- Name some effects of soil degradation?

- Are soil degradation and soil erosion the same?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Soil degradation is generally a component of desertification however, it may take place without leading to particularly desert-like conditions. Soil degradation might be defined as a reduction of the current and/or future capability of soil to produce (in terms of quantity or quality). Soil degradation can be both quantitative (loss of soil due to erosion, mass-movement or solution) or qualitative (decline in fertility; reduction of plant nutrients; structural changes; changes in aeration or moisture contents; change in trace elements, salts, alkaline compounds; pollution with some chemical compounds; change in soil flora or fauna). Soil degradation can be a natural phenomenon, for example leaching of glacial soils, pan formation, activity of wildlife, laterite or plinthite, or it may be due to human activity.

Soil is usually formed at a very slow rate (typically a few mm per century), but removal can easily take place at a rate of several centimeters per year or even per hour. Soil renewal depends on a complex of factors that can easily be disrupted. Therefore, although potentially a renewable resource, soil can become a non-renewable resource if mismanaged (some soils require much more careful management than others). The process of soil degradation may be difficult and very costly to halt or reverse once it gets under way, particularly if vital seeds, fungi and soil organisms are lost (and with such loss there is also likely to be altered microclimate and structural alterations of the topsoil).

Soil degradation is one of the crucial problems today: it is occurring worldwide afflicting DCs and LDCs from the Equator to the poles and is getting worse. The world was quick to recognize an 'oil crisis' in 1973/74, yet, in spite of the fact that it affects all people, millions of them directly, and was a serious problem in many regions long before the 1970s, soil degradation has had much less attention. If oil reserves were depleted, soil resources would become more and more valuable because:

• first, with less energy and artificial fertilizers, agricultural strategies would in many

regions have to be revised (global and regional pollution may also force revision)

• second, it may be necessary to grow crops to substitute for the energy and industrial

raw materials presently obtained from petroleum as well as produce food crops.

For years, over wide areas of the globe, soil degradation has been masked by improving agricultural yields; these improvements have frequently been accomplished at the expense of accelerated soil damage. There may come the time where soil damage reaches a critical point in areas vital for food or commodity production, and technology may not be able to further boost yields to compensate. Some claim there are already signs that technology and crop improvement have reaches a 'plateau'.

At present soil degradation is mainly associated with land use - farming, grazing, logging, mining, etc. Increasingly soil degradation will become a much more general risk, affecting untouched, natural landscapes as well as those used by humans through acid deposition, pesticide, radioactivity and other pollutants.

Soil degradation can occur even before there has been any erosion (indeed can predispose a soil to erosion), as a consequence of acid deposition, compaction, salts or alkali accumulation, burning, oxidation of organic matter, etc. It is difficult to give a precise definition of soil erosion; a reasonable working definition might be the removal ('eating-away') of soil material by water or wind at rates in excess of soil formation. Soil erosion is generally the culmination of a degradation process, and could be regarded as a 'disease' of landscape not just of soil, as it relates to vegetation, climates, etc.

Added to erosion are the effects of mass-movement (the downhill movement of surface materials, including solid rock, under the influence of gravity and solution. Mass-movement can occur rapidly (landslides, rockfalls, etc) or much more slowly (as 'creep'). As a result of mass-movement surface materials come to rest in a steady-state that depends on the material's character, the slope of underlying terrain, rainfall, and gravity.

(Taken from "Developing the Environment - Problem and Management" by Barrow, C.J)



1. Give the definition of soil degradation.

...................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................

2. It is said that soil degradation is a natural phenomenon. Give examples of this.

...................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................

3. What are rates of soil formation and soil removal?

...................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................

4. Soil is a renewable resource. Can it become non-renewable resources?

...................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................

5. Is the process of soil degradation difficult to halt? And when?

...................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................

6. What has soil degradation been masked by for years?

...................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................

7. What is soil degradation now mainly associated with?

...................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................

8. Why will increasingly soil degradation become a much more general risk?

...................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................

9. Why does soil degradation occur?

...................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................

10. What make surface materials come to rest in a steady-state?

...................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................

II. True-False statements

Decide whether the following statements are true "T", false "F" or there’s no

information given "N" according to the text. Correct the false sentences.

1. ...... Soil degradation is caused by either nature or human activities.

2. ...... Soil degrades both in quality and quantity.

3. ...... When soil fertility declines it means that soil degradation is in quantity.

4. ...... Soil removal takes place at a lower rate than its formation.

5. ...... Soil degradation may take place because thereis labour shortage.

6. ...... It’s quite expensive and difficult to stop the process of soil degradation if there

aren’t any vital seeds, fungi ang soil organisms in soil.

7. ...... Soil degradation is a serious problem nowadays as it is occurring in some parts

of the world.

8. ...... It is seldom easy to establish a definite population increase-soil degradation

relationship.

9. ...... After an ‘oil crisis’ was zecognized, many nations in the world paid much

attention to soil degradation.

10. ...... Soil would become more and more valuable because of the depletion of oil

reserves.

11. ...... Farming and mining are two basic factors causing soil degradation.

12. ...... By improving agricultural yields, the degradation of soils in large regions in the

world has been masked for ages.

13. ...... Soil erosion can happen after soil degradation.

14. ...... Mass-movement is the downhill movement of surface materials influenced by

gravity.

III. Increase your vocabulary

Synonyms: Look at the text again and say which words or phrases have the same

meaning as:

1. part of a larger whole ...............

2. manufacture ...............

3. very small quantity ...............

4. manage badly ...............

5. stop temporarily ...............

6. reduce in number or quantity ...............

7. small localized climate ...............

8. force attracting to the central of the Earth ...............

B. WRITING

I. Sentence - building

Make necessary changes and additions to complete the following passage from the

prompts given below:

1. Livestock / have / two main / effect / soil.

...................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................

2. First, / grazing animals / remove / vegetation / exposing soil / wind / rain.

...................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................

3. Second, / animals / trample / surface / and / either / dislodge / soil particles / or /

compact / surface / reducing infiltration.

...................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................

4. The result / these actions / be / increase / soil removal.

...................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................

5. The rates / damage / pattern of damage / vary / according / type / livestock / and /

other factors.

...................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................

6. Erosion / be / likely / worse / around / places / where / livestock / be / keep / for /

night.

...................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................

II. Sentence - transforming

Finish each of the following sentences in such a way that it means the same as the


1. In many tropical lowlands logging activities have been a major cause of soil erosion.

A major cause...

...................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................

2. There may be slow changes in soil chemistry and structure.

The changes...

...................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................

3. The process of soil degradation may be difficult and costly to halt.

It ...

...................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................

4. If oil reserves were depleted, soil resources would become more valuable.

Unless ...

...................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................

5. Soil degradation might be controlled by managing land use.

Managing...

...................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................

6. Ploughing is often a cause of land degradation.

One of...

...................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................

7. The UNEP has a World Soils Policy aiming to develop methodologies to monitor

global soil and land resources.

The UNEP has a World Soils Policy which ...

...................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................

C. FURTHER PRACTICE

Exercise 1: Gap-filling.

Complete the following sentences with one of the appropriate words given below. ecology

reactor

environment

contaminated

pollution

dumped

waste

extinct

acid

fallout

1. The world in which we live is our (1) .......................

2. Smoke, dirt, and noise are all types of (2) .........................

3. If man continues to hunt whales, they will shortly become (3) .......................

4. Everyday rubbish and chemicals are taken out to sea and (4) ....................... It's

disgusting and should be stopped.

5. In many parts of the world trees and lakes are being destroyed by (5) ........rain.

6. At Chernobyl, in the USSR, there was an accident at a nuclear (6) ................ When it

exploded, large areas of the surrounding countryside were (7) ................ and there

was (8) ................ all over Europe.

7. (9) ..................... is the science that studies relationship between different life forms

in nature.

8. When uran is used up, it has to be kept in a safe place. It is extremely difficult to

dispose of nuclear (10) .......................


Choose one of the words below to fill in each gap in the following passage. Each word

is used once only.

say most spend hard advise

part

son

richer

living

growth

poorer

methods

children

rely

populations

Over-population is the (1)................. difficult global problem to tackle. It is hard to (2)............... a couple in a very poor (3)............... of the world not to produce as many (4)................. , especially where infant mortality rates are high and they may (5)................. on their children to provide family support later in life. The practical aspects of birth control, particularly through artifical (6)................, are often actively discouraged by some of the world’s major religions. Perhaps the optimum way of encouraging slower population (7)................... is by increasing the overall stadard of (8)................, or the quality of life, for many people in the (9)................ nations. It is only through increased personal and national security that (10)................ seem to stabilise at sensible levels.


Exercise 3: Read the following paragraph carefully. The world's oceans are so vast that they can cope with the present levels of pollution.

However, little is known about long-term effects of such slow poisoning. The most serious problem of modern times is that man is destroying the Earth's natural resources and transforming huge areas into wasteland. As a result, it is becoming extremely difficult to grow enough to feed the world's rapidly increasing population. A way of protecting all the wildlife on the Earth must also be found as many species are in danger of disappearing completely from the face of the Earth. The dangers, however, are not confined solely to the land and the sea. The smoke in the atmosphere, for example, is increasing so much that the amount of sunlight has been reduced in many cities. Man's whole environment is being changed in a serious way.

(Taken from "Longman Tests in Context" by Heaton, J.B)

For each of the following dictionary definitions, write down the correct word in the

passage:

1. birds, animals, fish which are not tamed wildlife ............................

2. keeping something safe from harm .........................................

3. the process of making something dirty or impure .........................................

4. barren area, desert .........................................

5. the air, water and land in which we live .........................................

6. completely changing in form or nature .........................................

7. wealth, goods or products people can use .........................................

8. the air surrounding the earth .........................................

9. the number of people living in a place .........................................

10. difficulty which needs attention and thought .........................................

11. results, consequences .........................................

D. TRANSLATION


1. Ozone depletion occurs in the upper atmosphere (stratosphere). Depletion of the ozone

layer has been observed directly from ground stations and by satellite for a number of

years, and is predominately caused by chemical reactions involving chlorine atoms.

Ozone depletion has been observed to be greatest over Antarctica. In the atmosphere

above Antarctica a series of chemical reactions that take place on the surface of frozen

particles in polar stratospheric clouds provide a reservoir of chlorine atoms. As the Sun

returns during spring, the built-up reservoir of chlorine atoms destroys ozone quickly,

this leads to the so-called ‘ozone hole’ and explain why the ozone depletion is seen to be

greatest in this region.

2. It is estimated that over the last decade the direct positive greenhouse effect from the

CFCs has been effectively cancelled by ozone depletion. Nevertherless, the chemical

reactions that destroy ozone in the stratosphere occur all around the planet, and recently

a smaller amount of ozone depletion has been observed in the Artic and other northern

hemisphere regions. In contrast to ozone depletion, the greenhouse effect refers to the

role of particular gases in the atmosphere which act to keep the planet warmer than it

would be without them.


3. Hạn hán rất phổ biến ở những vùng lục địa nhiệt đới. Hạn hán xuất hiện khi một vùng

không đủ độ ẩm để đáp ứng nhu cầu của thực vật, con người, vật nuôi hoặc thú hoang.

Hạn hán có thể dẫn tới sự sa mạc hóa nhưng nó không phải là nguyên nhân chính của sự

sa mạc hóa.

..............................................................................................................................................

..............................................................................................................................................

..............................................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

4. Tác động của con người đối với cây trồng tự nhiên có thể thông qua sự ô nhiễm nước và

không khí. Sự ô nhiễm sẽ làm giảm sự tăng trưởng của cây và có thể dẫn tới các dạng

suy thoái khác của môi trường ví dụ như là sự xói mòn của đất.

..............................................................................................................................................

..............................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................

5. Trong những năm gần đây sự cố cháy rừng có chiều hướng gia tăng do ảnh hưởng của

sự thay đổi khí hậu và do các hoạt động thiếu ý thức của con người.

..............................................................................................................................................

....................................................................................................................................

6. Bảo vệ và sử dụng bền vững tài nguyên đa dạng sinh học của các hệ sinh thái rừng phải

đồng bộ với việc bảo vệ các hệ sinh thái biển và xem đó là một nội dung quan trọng của

chiến lược bảo vệ môi trường quốc gia ở nước ta trong giai đoạn 2001 – 2010.

..............................................................................................................................................

..............................................................................................................................................

..............................................................................................................................................

.........................................................................................................................

E. Vocabulary

1. aerate (v) : làm thông khí

2. afflict (v) : làm khổ, gây ưu phiền

3. component (n) : phần hợp thành

4. crucial (adj) : quan trọng, có tính quyết định

5. define (v) : vạch rõ, xác định

6. deplete (v) : cạn kiệt

7. distort (v) : vặn vẹo, méo mó

8. fauna (n) : hệ động vật

9. flora (n) : hệ thực vật

10. gracial (adj) : (thuộc) băng hà

11. gravitational force : trọng lực

12. gravity (n) : sức hút, lực hút

13. halt (v) : tạm dừng, tạm nghỉ

14. insidious (adj) : làm hại một cách âm thầm

15. landslip (n) : sự lở đất

16. mask (v) : che đậy, bảo vệ

17. microclimate (n) : vi khí hậu

18. mismanage (v) : quản lý kém

19. moisture (n) : độ ẩm

20. pan (n) : chảo

21. periodic (adj) : phân kỳ

22. plateau (n) : bình nguyên

23. predominately (adv) : chính, chủ yếu

24. remove (v) : loại bỏ

25. renewal (n) : sự làm mới trở lại

26. reserve (v) : bảo tồn

27. solution (n) : giải pháp

28. stratosphere (n) : tầng bình lưu

29. terrain (n) : địa thế, địa hình

30. wasteland (n) : đất hoang, đất cằn cỗi

31. trace (n) : lượng rất nhỏ, vết



Tr 142 – 154.




Mục lục

Unit 15 Human impact on soils ............................................................................................. 2

A. Reading........................................................................................................................... 2 I. Comprehension questions .......................................................................................... 3 II. True-False sentences .............................................................................................. 4 I. Comprehension questions .......................................................................................... 6 II. True-False sentences .............................................................................................. 8 III. Increasing your vocabulary .................................................................................... 8

B. WRITING....................................................................................................................... 9 I. Sentence-building....................................................................................................... 9 II. Sentence - transforming ....................................................................................... 10

C. FURTHER PRACTICE ............................................................................................... 11 Gap-filling ................................................................................................................................ 11

D. TRANSLATION.......................................................................................................... 12 I. Translate into Vietnamese........................................................................................ 12 II. Translate into English........................................................................................... 12

E. Vocabulary ................................................................................................................... 13

Unit 15. HUMAN IMPACT ON SOILS


Unit 15

HUMAN IMPACT ON SOILS

A. Reading


- What are the good and the bad effects of human activities on soils?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

part I

Soil is a great natural resource. It is a combination of mineral and organic matter, structurally arranged in layers, and capable of supporting plant and animal life. Soils cannot exist without plants, and plants are dependent on soils for support, air, water, and nutrients.

Soils are highly variable in nature. This variation includes their structure, layering, color, range of particle sizes, chemistry, nutrients, acidity, temperature, water content, thickness, organic content, and its associated biota. These properties vary because of differences in the parent material, climate, topography, organic content, and the amount of time it has had to develop. Changes in one or more of these factors may drastically alter the soil properties, changing its nature and ability to support particular plant species. These changes can happen very easily, having profound effects on the soil and the landscape such as vegetation reduction, soil erosion, slope instability, increased flooding, and more sediment in rivers. The major changes induced by human activities include chemical changes (salinization and laterization), structural changes (compaction), hydrological changes, and soil erosion.

There are many chemical changes within a soil which can be initiated by humans. The most widespread and problematic are salinization and laterization.

Salinization involves the accumulation of salts such as sodium chloride, potassium chloride, calcium sulphate, and sodium carbonate within a soil. This makes the soil alkaline, caustic, and generally restricts or inhibits plant growth. Salinization may also lead to secondary problems such as soil erosion resulting from poor plant growth. Salinization may occur naturally in semi-arid and arid areas where evapotranspiration or direct evaporation from the soil exceeds precipitation. It may also occur in coastal regions which have saline groundwater.

In areas where the evaporation of water from the soil is high, water is drawn upwards and evaporated from the soil surface. Hence salts are left behind and are concentrated near the surface of the soil. These results in a hard salty layer within the soil called a salt pan. Salinization can be induced by irrigation and water abstraction.

The abstraction of water leads to a rise in the groundwater table, driving salts towards the surface. In coastal regions, withdrawal of underground freshwater, which floats on top of underground saline water (originating from the sea), pulls the saline water beneath it nearer to

the ground surface, contaminating the fresh water in the soil. In addition, water in wells may become saline and therefore useless. This is a particularly big problem in coastal regions such as California and Israel, and islands such as Bahrain and Long Island, New York. This was also a problem in cities such as London and Liverpool during the middle of the last century, until effective management of groundwater resources was introduced.

Irrigation also enhances salinization by increasing the height of the water table in the immediate and adjacent areas over which irrigated water is spread. This leads to the evaporation of water from within the soil, providing a process by which soil salts can be concentrated and drawn towards the ground surface. With the rapid expansion of irrigation schemes in the last 20 years, the UN estimates that as much as 25 per cent of irrigated areas have become affected by salinization, making it a major land management problem. For example, the percentage of soils affected and water logged amounts to 50 per cent of the irrigation areas in Iraq, 23 per cent in Pakistan, 30 per cent in Egypt, and 15 per cent in Iran.

(Taken from "Environment Soil Biology" by Martin, W)



1. What is the two-sided dependence of soil and plants?

........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................

2. What does the variation of soil consist of?

........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................

3. What make the soil properties change? How do these changes occur?

........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................

4. Give examples of these changes' effects on soil and landscape.

........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................

5. What are the most widespread and problematic chemical changes?

........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................

6. What does salinization involve? What makes the soil alkaline, caustic, and generally

restricts or inhibits plants growth?

........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................

7. Where does salinization take place?

........................................................................................................................................

............................................................................................................................ ............

8. Where are salt left behind and concentrated near surface of the soil?

........................................................................................................................................

............................................................................................................................ ............

9. When there are a lot of salts in a soil layer, what do you call this phenomenon?

........................................................................................................................................

............................................................................................................................ ............

10. What is the big problem in coastal regions?

........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................

11. How does irrigation enhance salinization?

........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................

12. What does the UN estimate?

........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................


Decide whether the following statements are true "T", false "F" or there’s no

information "N" according to the text. Correct the false statements.

1. ...... There's an interaction between soil and plants.

2. ...... Changes to a soil structure can also have a profound effect on its properties.

3. ...... Because of having differences in the parent material, climate, topography,

organic content, and the amount of time it has had to develop, the soil properties

change.

4. ...... Alteration in topography can not make the soil properties alter.

5. ...... Vegetation reduction and soil erosion are the most serious effects of changes of

soil properties on the soil.

6. ...... Human beings cause many chemical changes.

7. ...... Salinization takes place in coastal areas only.

8. ...... Salinization prevent plants from growing.

9. ...... The great impact on soil is caused by soil erosion.

10. ...... The soil in coastal areas with high evaporation of water from the soil is very

salty.

11. ...... In coastal regions, fresh water is not polluted and wells are not salty.

12. ...... London is the only city in the world suffering water problem for the last

decades.

PART II

Laterization of the soil is a major problem in the tropics where soils are enriched in aluminum and iron oxides. These metal oxides accumulate due to strong tropical weathering. Minerals in rocks are decomposed releasing metal ions into the soil water. These are transported and concentrated by seasonal wetting and drying of the soil as layers of metal oxides. Problems start to occur when these lateritic layers become exposes to air. They become hard and inhibit plant growth leading to soil erosion and its associated problems. Exposure of these layers may also be due to soil erosion, often as a result of deforestation. In addition, deforestation may lead to increased evaporation of water from the soil, enhancing the process of laterization. The extent to which laterization is a problem has not been fully assessed, but particular problem areas include northern India, the Cameroon, and central Africa. Unfortunately, populations in these countries are heavily dependent on soil for subsistence agriculture and often degradation is difficult to reduce due to increasing pressures of population growth on those lands.

Changes to a soil structure - its mutual arrangement of grains - can also have a profound effect on properties. These include the soil ability to retain water, to allow water to enter and flow through it, the strength of the soil, the degree to which the plant can penetrate it as well as the withdrawal of water from it, and it resistance to erosion. The main way soil structure can be altered is through the compaction, the pushing together of soil grain. This may be done by vehicles driving over its surface, overgrazing, trampling along public footpaths, or by ploughing, which compress the soil immediately below the ploughed surface.

Compaction reduces the ability of a soil to retain water, to hold air, and to allow water to enter the soil and it increases its hardness. This retards or inhibits plant growth and it may

enhance processes such as soil erosion by wind and water. Soil compaction is a worldwide problem, but it is often greatest in developed countries where vehicles are common. Soils are commonly ruined adjacent to building sites, and on old battlefields or military training areas where heavy vehicles are particularly common. Unfortunately, compaction of soil is one of the hardest soil problems to remedy and it may take many decades before a soil can regain its original structure.

Human also alters the chemistry of soil by the addition of organic or artificial fertilizers. This may help increase the agricultural productivity, but it may also be detrimental to the soil, especially if the fertilizers are incorrectly applied. This may lead to the deterioration of the soil, a reduction in vegetation, soil erosion and other associated phenomena.

By far the greatest impact on the soil is caused by soil erosion. This includes the abrasion of water running over the surface, the breakup of soil due to the impact of raindrops, and the deflation of soil particles by the wind. The various causal factors that may initiate soil erosion have already been discussed, such as deforestation, grazing, salinization, laterization, and compaction. Many of these factors are inter-linked and should not be considered in isolation. Bad farming techniques, urbanization, construction, mining, wars, and fires may also accelerate them. Some of the worst affected areas are the result of a combination of these. These areas include many of the coastal regions of the Mediterranean Sea, where fires and wars have led to vast areas of badlands. Particularly, problematic are the consequences of soil erosion. These include the increased likelihood of flooding, increased sediment loads often leading to silting up of reservoirs, and landsliding.

Much can be done to try to retard soil erosion and conserve soil resources. These include re-vegetation, crop management, slope run-off control, construction of gabions, and retaining walls and the dissemination of information regarding good land-use practices. There is still, however, much to be achieved with regard to the correct use of one of the most valuable natural resources.

(Taken from "Environment Soil Biology" by Martin,W.)



1. What is the main problem in the tropics? What are thesoils in the tropics enriched

in?

........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................

2. What do the decomposed minerals in rocks release into the soil water? What may

lead to increased evaporation of water from soils?

........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................

3. People in what countries depend on soil for substance agriculture heavily?

........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................

4. Why is it difficult to reduce soil degradation in these countries?

........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................

5. How do changes to a soil structure affect soil properties? What do these include?

........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................

6. What is soil compaction caused by? What effects does compaction have on soils?

........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................

7. How long does it take to regain soil original structure?

........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................

8. How do people change the chemistry of soils?

........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................

9. What are good and bad sides of the addition of organic and artificial fertilizers to

soils?

........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................

10. What are the causal factors initiating soil erosion?

........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................

11. What should we do to retard soil erosion and conserve soil resources?

........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................

12. In your opinion, what have we done wrong with our soil resources?

........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................


Decide whether the following statements are true "T", false "F", or there’s no


1. ....... Soil erosion is the most serious impact on the soil.

2. ....... If the fertilizers are used properly, agricultural productivity will be increased.

3. ....... Neither organic fertilizers nor artificial fertilizers have bad effects on soils.

4. ....... Careful monitoring and management of erosional and depositional processes

have to be undertaken to care for this environment.

5. ....... Before minerals in rocks are decomposed, they emit metal ions into the soil

water.

6. ....... When lateritic layers are exposed to air, they become hard and it is difficult to

grow plants on.

7. ....... Soil erosion is one of the crucial problems in the world today.

8. ....... Soil degradation in India, the Cameroon, and Central Africa is blamed on the

growth of human population.

9. ....... In developed countries soil compaction is not a problem because of the number

of vehicles in these countries.

10. ....... The pushing together of soil grains is called soil compaction.

11. ....... Rapid degradation of the forest soil accompanies deforestation.

12. ....... Compaction allows water to enter the soil and make the soil softer.


Synonyms: Which words or phrases in part II have the same meaning as:

13. delay a progress ......................................

14. hasten ......................................

15. find access into ......................................

16. lying near ......................................

17. become worse ......................................

18. wearing away ......................................

19. link together ......................................

20. thrust out ......................................

B. WRITING


Make necessary changes and additions to complete the following sentences from the

prompts given below.

1. It / be / clear / that / man / be / now / one / major factors / soil formation /

development.

........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................

2. Deforestation / the degradation / other vegetation, / particularly / near / margins /

deserts / have caused / vegetated land / become barren / in / process / called /

desertification.

........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................

3. Many scientists / argue / desertification / have not / occur / as / result / human /

activities.

........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................

4. Organic soils / develop / mostly / plants / have / fall / stagnant water / where

decomposition / be / slow.

........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................

5. Soil organic matter / be / a / very / active / important / portion / soil.

........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................

6. Organic materials / be / decompose / microorganisms / particularly / bacteria / fungi.

........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................

7. Today, human activity / may / play / role / soil / degradation / world.

........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................

II. Sentence - transforming

Change the following sentences from passive voice into active voice and vice versa.

8. Our effects on soils are highlighted by catastrophic events.

........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................

9. People have classified soils according to their texture.

........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................

10. Carbonates may be found in all the particles-size classes of soil.

........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................

11. Two of them are doing a research on soil formation.

........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................

12. Agricultural management causes seasonal changes particularly in the topsoil through

cultivation and fertilization.

........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................

13. This book deals with the measurement of soil properties.

........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................

14. The natural cycle has been broken down by the application of other materials to soil

which adds a new dimension to soil formation.

........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................

15. The great impact on soil is caused by soil erosion.

........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................

16. Human beings cause many chemical changes.

........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................

17. Unsustainable methods of farming cause erosion.

........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................

C. FURTHER PRACTICE

Gap-filling

Choose the correct word or phrase to fill in each gap in the following passage. Each

of them is used once only.

consists

enabling

except

ideal

involves

keeping

litter

necessary

normal

piles

preserve

provide for

spaces

where

which

without

Conservation is the protection and wise management of the environment. People practice conservation so that the environment can (1) .................... their needs and the needs of all other living things. (2) ....................... conservation, all the resources (3) ....................... for life-air, animals, energy, minerals, plant, soil, and water-would be damaged, wasted, or destroyed.

Conservation also (4) ........................... a concern for the quality of the environment, so that people can enjoy living. It means (5) ...................... the environment comfortable and safe - and an interesting, stimulating place in (6) ...................... to live. A healthy environment includes clean streets and high ways, with open (7) ........................ in cities for parks and playgrounds. (8) .....................surroundings means landscapes free for junk and (9) ...................... They include wilderness regions (10) ...................... animals and plants can be safe from destruction by human being.


D. TRANSLATION


The domestication of animals has a major impact on the soil surface. Heavy grazing of

cattle leads to trampling and compaction of the soil, reducing its capacity to hold water and

altering its structure. Ultimately this leads to soil erosion, both by wind and water. Selective

grazing of particular plants may lead to changes in the nature of the vegetation cover. In the

UK, for example, heavily grazed pastures in Scotland are dominated by bracken, a successful

plant which survives because it is particularly distasteful and prickly to sheep and cattle. The

growth of trees may be inhibited as grazers favor young saplings. Grazing, however, may

have positive effects on the land because the animals provide faeces, a natural fertilizer rich in

nitrates and other nutrients. Animals also help propagate seeds, and grazing may increase

species diversity by opening up new communities and creating new niches.

(Taken from "Environment Soil Biology" by Martin.UW.)


1. Việc tưới tiêu và canh tác thông qua sử dụng máy móc có thể dẫn tới sự ngập úng và

giảm chất hữu cơ trong đất.

........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................

2. Sự tích tụ chất hữu cơ dẫn đến sự phân biệt về tầng đất trong hầu hết các loại đất.

ảnh hưởng của chất hữu cơ đối với các quy trình của đất sẽ phụ thuộc không chỉ vào

lượng chất hữu cơ mà còn phụ thuộc vào mức độ phân hủy.

........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................

3. Các sinh vật trong đất đóng một vai trò trọng trong sự hình thành và phát triển của

đất.

........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................

4. Sự phát triển của đất có thể được xem như là kết quả cuối cùng của các quá trình

hình thành đất và sự xói mòn đất.

........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................

E. Vocabulary

1. abrasion (n) : sự bào mòn

2. accelerate (v) : hối thúc

3. accumulate (v) : tích tụ

4. adjacent (adj) : gần kề, lân cận

5. breakup (n) : sự phá vỡ

6. caustic (adj) : ăn mòn

7. compact (adj) : nén, chặt

8. compress (v) : nén, ép

9. contract (v) : co lại, rút lại

11. detriment (n) : thiệt hại

12. drain (v) : rút nước, thoát nước

13. expose (v) : phơi trần, để lộ

14. extrude (v) : phụt ra

15. hydrology (n) : thủy văn học

17. initiate (v) : bắt nguồn, xuất phát từ

18. instability (n) : không ổn định

19. inter-link (v) : kết nối

20. landslide (n) : lở đất

21. likelihood (n) : sự có thể

22. mutual (adj) : lẫn nhau

23. penetrate (v) : thâm nhập, thấm

24. precipitate (v) : thúc đẩy, đẩy nhanh

25. precipitation (n) : lượng mưa

26. property (n) : đặc tính

27. regain (v) : thu lại

28. remedy (n) : chữa trị, biện pháp phòng ngừa

29. retain (v) : giữ lại

30. retard (v) : làm chậm lại

31. saline (adj) : có muối, mặn

33. slop (n) : nước thải

34. slope (n) : chỗ dốc, nghiêng

35. subside (v) : lún

36. subsidence (n) : sự lún xuống

37, topography (n) : địa hình học

38, trampling (v) : giẫm đạp

39. transpire (v) : tiết ra, thoát ra

40. undesirable (adj) : không mong muốn



Tr 155 – 177.




Mục lục

Unit 16 SOIL FACTORS FOR PLANT GROWTH.................................................3 A. READING..................................................................................................3

I. COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS ..............................................................4 II. TRUE-FALSE QUESTIONS ........................................................................5 III. INCREASING YOUR VOCABULARY ..................................................5

B. WRITING ..................................................................................................6 I. SENTENCE-BUILDING ..............................................................................6 II. SENTENCE - TRANSFORMING ................................................................7

C. FURTHER PRACTICE.............................................................................7 D. TRANSLATION......................................................................................10

I. TRANSLATE INTO VIETNAMESE .........................................................10 II. TRANSLATE INTO ENGLISH..................................................................10

E. VOCABULARY......................................................................................11 GLOSSARY OF TERMS AND ABRREVIATIONS....................................................14 REFERENCES...............................................................................................................26

Unit 16. SOIL FACTORS FOR PLANT GROWTH


3

Unit 16

SOIL FACTORS FOR PLANT GROWTH

A. READING

*WARM-UP ACTIVITIES

- Name some soil factors that are good for plant growth. - Which one is the most important to most crops? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The soil properties important to the growth of plants are used in soil taxonomy.

One of these factors is soil fertility, the plant nutrients available in the soil. At present, 16 chemical elements are known to be essential for the growth of crop plants. These plant nutrients are hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen from air and water; phosphorus, potassium, sulfur, calcium, iron, manganese, zinc, molybdenum, and chlorine from the soil; and nitrogen from both air and soil.

Soil is the source of 13 of the 16 essential plant nutrients. All of these 13 except nitrogen originate in the parent rocks from which the soil developed. Clearly, the soil concentrations of these 13 nutrients and the conditions making them available to plants are of fundamental importance to plant growth. Plant nutrients found in the soil are chemical constituents of that soil.

As important as the chemical properties are to plants, the physical properties of soil may often be critical to the growing plant. The physical soil properties include soil pore sizes and related problems of aeration and water content, soil stability, soil texture, soil consistency, and the hardness or cementation of soil layers.

Water and air occupy the pore spaces in the soil. Following heavy and prolonged rain or irrigation, the soil pores may fill almost completely with water in a few hours. Some water will move downward in respond to gravity, and the larger pores will be emptied of their water but refilled with air. As more water is lost by evaporation or by transpiration (water movement through the plant), air will replace more of the space previously occupied by the lost water. The next soaking rain or irrigation will replace these changes in air and water in soil. For good plant growth there much be enough pore space to hold air and enough small pore spaces to retain water to satisfy the needs of plant roots for oxygen and water between cycles of rainfall or irrigation.

Soil stability - resistance to erosion by wind or water-is determined partly by the particle sizes in the soil (soil texture). More often, soil structure- the bonding of individual mineral particles into larger stable particles called aggregates-resists erosion even further.

4

The magnitude of plant growth reflects a composite of many favorable and unfavorable factors. Favorable growth factors include adequate aeration, water, nutrients, adequate soil deep, and proper soil temperature. Unfavorable growth factors are many, among which are toxic levels of certain elements, diseases, harmful insects, adverse temperature, inadequate or excess sunlight. Any accurate estimate of the plant productivity of a soil must include all favorable and unfavorable factors.

(Taken from "Soils-an introduction to soils and plant growth" by Donahue Miller Shickluma)

I. COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

Answer the following questions. 1. What does soil fertility means? .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 2. How many chemical elements essential for the plant growth are there? .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 3. How many essential plant nutrients are there in soil? .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 4. What are chemical constituents of soil? .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 5. How important are the physical properties of soil to the growing plant? What

are the physical soil properties composed of? .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 6. What are the pore spaces taken up by? .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 7. In response to gravity, which direction does water move? .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 8. When water is lost by evaporation or by transpiration, what will replace the

space previously occupied by the lost water? .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 9. What are the needs of plant roots? What is soil stability determined by?

5

.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 10. What are favorable and unfavorable growth factors? ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

II. TRUE-FALSE QUESTIONS

Decide whether the following statements are true "T", false "F" or there’s no information givenvc "N" according to the text. Correct the false statements. 1. ...... There are 13 essential plant nutrients in soil and they all originate in

the parent rocks except nitrogen. 2. ...... The chemical properties and the physical properties of soil are

unequally important to the growing plant. 3. ...... The importance of soil pores is to hold water and air in soil. 4. ...... The number of chemical elements considered to be essential for the

growth of plants now varies from 13 to 16. 5. ...... Plant roots can absorb oxygen and water from soil unless there are soil pores. 6. ...... The pore spaces in soil are filled up with water after heavy rains. 7. ...... Today, sufficient water and adequate soil are pressing problems for

most of the people of the world. 8. ...... The particle sizes in the soil determine soil structure. 9. ...... Water and nutrients are two unfavorable factors of the growth of plants. 10. ...... Water can pass through a permeable soil more easily than through an

impermeable soil.

III. INCREASING YOUR VOCABULARY

1. Synonyms: Which words or phrases in the text have the same meaning as:

1. decisive ................................... 2. take up ................................... 3. degree of density ................................... 4. turning from solid or liquid into vapor ................................... 5. hold or tie together ................................... 6. the supply with water ................................... 7. meet desires ................................... 8. recurrent round ...................................

2. Word-form: Use your dictionary to complete the table with the appropriate forms of the given words in the text. The first is done as an example.

6

Noun Verb Adjective Adverb 1. beauty Beautify beautiful ........................ 2. ........................ ........................ available ........................ 3. ........................ Grow ........................ ........................ 4. ........................ ........................ essential 5. stability ........................ ........................ ........................ 6. irrigation ........................ ........................ ........................ 7. ........................ determine ........................ ........................ 8. ........................ ........................ accurate ........................ 9. ........................ ........................ ........................ completely 10. ........................ Repeat ........................ ........................

B. WRITING

I. SENTENCE-BUILDING

Make necessary changes and additions to complete the following paragraph from the prompts below:

1. One meaning / drainage / be / natural ability / soil / allow / a downward movement / water.

.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 2. The ease / which / water / can / pass / through / a soil / depend / the

proportions / in / it / of coarse / fine particles / such / sand / clay. .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 3. The finer / particles / become, / more slowly / water / percolate / through / soil. .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 4. So, heavy soils / such / clay / be / more / impermeable / light soils. .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 5. When / there / be / too / water / in / soil, / some / it / must / drained off. .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 6. Good drainage / make / a soil / easier / work. ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

7

7. It / also / help / increase / feeding area / soil / for / roots / plants. ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

II. SENTENCE - TRANSFORMING

Change the following sentences from active voice into passive voice 1. The tiny root hairs absorb water and minerals. .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 2. An increase in the number of root hairs increases the power of absorption. .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 3. The plant uses oxygen to break down carbohydrates. .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 4. The human body requires small quantities of several minerals. .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 5. Soil texture influences all aspects of root development. .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 6. Too much cultivation destroys the soil structure. .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 7. We can use a unit called a soil profile to describe soils. ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

C. FURTHER PRACTICE

Exercise 1: Gap - filling

Choose one of the words or phrases below to fill in each gap in the following passage. Each word or phrase is used one only.

abundantly available like transferred almost evaporated have turned out although eventually since used up manufacturing exchanging spell turned up

Our demand for water is constantly increasing. Every year, there are more and more people in the world. Factories (1) ...................... more and more products, and

8

need more and more water. We live in a world of water. But (2) ....................... all of it - about 97 per cent - is in the oceans. This water is too salty to be used for drinking, farming, and (3) ......................... Only about 3 per cent of the world's water is fresh. Most of this water is not easily (4) ...................... to man because it is locked in glaciers and icecaps.

There is as much water on earth today as there ever was or will ever be. Most of the water we use finds it way to the oceans. There, it is (5) ...................... by the sun. It then falls back to the earth (6) ........................ rain. Water is used and reused over and over again. It is never (7) ....................

(8) ....................... the world as a whole has plenty of fresh water, some regions have a water shortage. Rain does not fall (9) ........................ over the earth. Some regions are always too dry, and others too wet. A region that usually gets enough rain may suddenly have a serious dry (10) ........................ and another region may be flooded with too much rain.


Exercise 2: Sentence - correcting Choose the underlined word or phrase which would not be appropriate in

standard written English and correct them. 1. Animal and human use the energy finding in food to operate their bodies and A B C D

muscles. 2. About 2 millions years, people got their flood by hunting animals and collecting A B C

roots, berries and other products of nature. D 3. The ability to convert raw materials into valuable commodities is the basic of an A B C

industrial economy and the foundation of a high standard of living. D 4. The average age of the Mediterranean olive trees grow today is two hundred years. A B C D 5. In the ancient world, the olive was the richer source of necessary oil. A B C D 6. Two-thirds of the cultivated land of the Hawaiian islands are used to grow sugar

cane. A B C D 7. In all organisms, from human beings to bacteria and viruses, the genes, or units

9

A B C of heredity are composed from nucleic acid.

D Exersice 3: Gap-filling: Use these words to finish the sentences. Each is used

once only.

blight drought famine gene pool staple foods clones emigrate floods habitat propagation starvation fungus hybrid income domesticated variety

1. In Ireland in the 1840s, the potato crop suffered from a (1)........................ , a plant disease. The rotting was caused by a (2).................... . The resulting lack of food caused a (3)........................ . More than ten percent of the Irish population died of (4).................. . There was simply not enough food to keep them all alive.

2. To grow a potato plant, you can plant seeds or you can plant a plug, a piece of potato from last year’s crop. The potatoes that grow from plugs are actually (5).................... plants that are genetically the same as the plants from last year. Planting potato plugs is the most common method of potato plant (6)..................

3. A great storm dropped large amounts of rain on India, and the rivers rose, causing serious, widespread (7)..................

4. Three thousand varieties of potatoes grow in South America. Each type has adapted to a specific set of conditions, including available water, sunlight, soil type, and altitude. In other words, the plants adapted to their (8).................. . As a result, these three thousand potato plant types constitute a variety of generic material for improving potatoes, a (9).............................. for researchers to work with.

5. One (10)............................... of potato became popular in Ireland. 6. Some parts of Africa have had little or no rainfall for years. Because of the

(11).................... , there isn’t enough water for gardens to thrive, so people have moved to other areas, and the desert has grown larger.

7. If a farmer produces more food than her family needs, then the extra food can be a source of (12)....................... because she can sell the surplus.

8. The potato for the Irish; rice for the people in the Far East; squash, beans, and corn for the Iroquois – these are the (13)........................... of these people.

9. After a terrible famine, people are likely to leave their homes, to (14)............... to a new country.

10

10. A (15).................. is ‘made’ from the generic material of two parent plants.

(Taken from "Between the Lines" by Faust, Susan S. Johnston & Clark S. Atkinson)

D. TRANSLATION

I. TRANSLATE INTO VIETNAMESE

Soil formation comprises two different processes. First, the changes from consolidated mass (rock) not capable of growing plants to the development of an unconsolidated (loose) layer of material that can support plants if climate is suitable and water is available. Second, the changes occurring within the loose material as time passes. This latter process is also called soil development. Actually, the change from a solid mass to loose soil material and other changes within the soil profile occur simultaneously. Soil formation is used to mean both the production of unconsolidated material by weathering processes and soil profile development, which are the changes involved in the development of horizons. Horizons tell much about the characteristics of a soil. They include information about depth of organic matter accumulation, soil denseness from clay deposition and the extent leaching.

(Taken from "Environment Soil Biology" by Martin, W)

II. TRANSLATE INTO ENGLISH

1. Các quá trình hình thành của đất bắt đầu bằng sự phong hóa của đá và các khoáng chất. Sự bào mòn vật lý của các cấp hạt và các phản ứng hóa học liên tục gây ra sự thay đổi của đất.

.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 2. Phong hóa vật lý là một quá trình xảy ra chậm. Ngược lại, phong hoá hóa học

thường xảy ra nhanh. .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 3. Muối luôn gây hại đối với cây non nhưng không hẳn vào thời điểm nảy mầm,

mặc dù sự tập chung muối cao có thể làm chậm sự nảy mầm của hạt giống một vài ngày hoặc ngăn cản nó hoàn toàn. Do muối hoà tan dễ di chuyển cùng với nước, sự bốc hơi đã chuyển muối lên mặt đất, nơi mà chúng tích tụ lại. Các loại cây xanh có dung hạn khác nhau đối với lượng muối ở trong đất và những ảnh hưởng cụ thể đối với từng bộ phận của cây xanh cũng hoàn toàn khác nhau.

......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

11

..................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................

E. VOCABULARY

1. adequate (adj) : đầy đủ, tương xứng 2. aggregate (n) : đá vụn để làm bê tông 3. altitude (n) : độ cao 4. basalt (n) : đá basan 5. blight (n) : bệnh tàn lụi (vì côn trùng), rệp vừng 6. bond (v) : liên kết 7. category (n) : loại 8. composite (adj) : hợp lại 9. consistency (n) : độ đặc 10. clone (n) : sinh vật vô tính 11. clone (v) : sinh sản theo cách vô tính 12. define (v) : xác định 13. determine (v) : quyết định 14. domesticate (v) : làm cho quen (với), thuần hoá 15. drain (v) : rút, thoát nước, làm cạn 16. drainage (n) : hệ thống thoát nước, sự tháo rút 17. drought (n) : hạn hán 18. estimate (n) : ước tính 19. excess (n) : sự vượt quá 20. famine (n) : nạn đói 21. fundamental (adj) : quan trọng, thiết yếu 22. fungus (n) : nấm 23. genetically (adj) : được xác định bằng di truyền, có quan hệ di truyền 24. hybrid (n) : cây lai, vật lai 25. igneous (adj) : đá macma 26. impermeable (adj) : không thấm qua được 27. induce (v) : gây ra, đem lại 28. marble (n) : đá cẩm thạch 29. metamorphosis (n) : đá biến chất 30. penetrate (v) : thấm qua, thâm nhập 31. percolate (v) : thấm dần 32. propagation (n) : sự truyền giống, sự nhân giống 33. recurrent (adj) : lặp đi lặp lại 34. response (n) : đáp lại, phản ứng lại

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35. slate (n) : đá phiến 36. soaking (adj) : ướt đẫm, ngấm 37. staple (adj) : chính, chủ yếu, quan trọng 38. starvation (n) : sự đói ăn, sự chết đói 39. stratify (v) : xếp thành tầng, phân tầng 40. thrive (v) : phát triển, phồn thịnh, phát đạt 41. taxonomy (n) : phân loại học 42. transpire (v) : thoát ra, bốc ra

13

SOME ELEMENTS ESSENTIAL FOR THE GROWTH OF TREES

1. Boron Bo

2. Calcium Canxi

3. Carbon Cacbon

4. Chlorine Clo

5. Copper Đồng

6. Hydrogen Hiđrô

7. Iron Sắt

8. Magnesium Magiê

9. Manganese Mangan

10. Molybdenum Molip đen

11. Nitrogen Nitơ

12. Oxygen ôxy

13. Phosphorus Phốt pho

14. Potassium Kali

15. Sulfur Lưu huỳnh

16. Zinc Kẽm

14

GLOSSARY OF TERMS AND ABRREVIATIONS

A

abrasion (n) : sự bào mòn abrupt (adj) : đột ngột absorb (v) : hấp thụ, ngấm abundant (adj) : dư thừa, thừa thãi abuse (v) : lạm dụng accelerate (v) : hối thúc accumulate (v) : tích tụ actually (adv) : thực sự adequate (adj) : đầy đủ, tương xứng adjacent (adj) : gần kề, lân cận adversely (adv) : bất lợi, có hại aerate (v) : làm thông khí aerosol (n) : một loại chất có trong các bình xịt afflict (v) : làm khổ, gây ưu phiền aggregate (n) : đá vụn để làm bê tông airborne (adj) : lơ lửng trong không khí algae (n) : tảo all-purpose (n) : nhiều mục đích khác nhau altitude (n) : độ cao anchor (v) : neo, bám chặt annually (adj) : hàng năm anteater (n) : loài ăn kiến antiknock (n) : chất kích nổ aphid (n) : rệp vừng (côn trùng) arid (adj) : khô hanh arrangement (n) : sự sắp xếp ash (n) : tro asphalt (n) : hắc ín assault (n) : cuộc xung đột atmosphere (n) : khí quyển atmospheric current (n) : luồng khí automobile emissions (n) : khí thải từ các loại xe có động cơ automotive (adj) : thuộc về ô tô

B

bacteria (n) : vi khuẩn balance (v) : làm cân bằng basalt (n) : đá basan bind (v) : trói, buộc, kết hợp blight (n) : bệnh tàn lụi (vì côn trùng), rệp vừng

15

blocky (adj) : khối, tảng bond (v) : liên kết boundary (n) : đường biên giới bramble (n) : bụi gai, bụi cây mâm xôi breakup (n) : sự phá vỡ brick (n) : gạch by-product (n) : sản phẩm phụ

C

carnivore (n) : loài thú ăn thịt carnivorous (adj) : (động vật hay cây) ăn thịt catalytic (adj) : gây ra sự xúc tác cataract (n) : bệnh đục thuỷ tinh thể catastrophic (adj) : thảm hoạ, tai biến category (n) : loại caustic (adj) : ăn mòn chemical compound (n) : hợp chất hoá học civilization (n) : sự văn minh, sự khai hoá classify (v) : phân loại clay (n) : đất sét climate (n) : khí hậu clone (n) : sinh vật vô tính clone (v) : sinh sản theo cách vô tính cloudy (adj) : vẩn đục, không trong clump (v) : tạo thành lùm, thành đống coal (n) : than đá coarse (adj) : thô, không mịn coarse sand (n) : cát thô community (n) : quần xã, cộng đồng compact (adj) : nén, chặt complex (adj) : phức tạp component (n) : phần hợp thành composite (adj) : hợp lại composition (n) : sự kết hợp, cấu tạo, thành phần compound (n) : hợp chất compress (v) : nén, ép concentrate (v) : tập trung consequently (adv) : bởi vậy, hậu quả consistency (n) : độ đặc contaminate (v) : làm nhễm bẩn, gây ô nhiễm content (n) : hàm lượng contract (v) : co lại, rút lại convert (v) : chuyển đổi, thay đổi coolant (n) : chất làm lạnh, tác nhân làm lạnh creature (n) : sinh vật creeping desertification (n) : sự sa mạc hoá dần dần

16

cropland (n) : đất trồng trọt crucial (adj) : quan trọng, có tính quyết định crumble (v) : vỡ vụn crust (n) : lớp vỏ cứng culprit (n) : tội phạm, thủ phạm cultivated land (n) : đất canh tác

D

debate (v) : bàn luận, tranh cãi, suy nghĩ, cân nhắc decay (v) : thối rữa, mục nát decimate (v) : phá huỷ, tiêu hao decompose (v) : phân huỷ define (v) : định nghĩa, xác định rõ define (v) : xác định degrade (v) : làm suy thoái, suy giảm deliberately (adv) : một cách chủ tâm, cố ý dense (adj) : dày đặc, chặt density (n) : tính dày đặc, mật độ deplete (v) : tháo hết, xả hết, cạn kiệt depression (n) : chỗ lõm, chỗ sụt xuống derive from (v) : bắt nguồn từ, phát sinh từ destruction (n) : sự phá huỷ detect (v) : khám phá ra, phát hiện determine (v) : quyết định detriment (n) : thiệt hại diesel-propelled car (n) : xe chạy bằng động cơ đi-e-zen differ (v) : khác, không giống discard (v) : loại bỏ discharge (v) : thải ra disintegrate (v) : làm tan rã dissolve (v) : làm tan ra, hoà tan, phân huỷ distort (v) : vặn vẹo, méo mó ditch (n) : đường hào, rãnh diversity (n) : sự đa dạng domesticate (v) : làm cho quen (với), thuần hoá domino effect (n) : tác động/ảnh hưởng/hậu quả dây chuyền double (v) : nhân đôi drain (v) : rút, thoát nước, làm cạn drainage (n) : hệ thống thoát nước, sự tháo rút drift (v) : trôi dạt drill (v) : khoan drought (n) : hạn hán

E

earthworm (n) : con giun đất edible (adj) : có thể ăn được

17

effect (n) : tác động, ảnh hưởng electric car (n) : xe (chạy bằng) điện eliminate (v) : loại bỏ, gạt ra emit (v) : bốc ra, thoát ra encircle (v) : vòng quanh, bao quanh enter (v) : đi vào, thâm nhập environmental protection (n) : việc bảo vệ môi sinh erode (v) : xói mòn erupt (v) : phun trào escape (v) : trốn thoát estimate (n) : ước tính evaporation (n) : sự bốc hơi, sự bay bơi (về mặt vật lý) evaportranspiration : sự thoát hơi nước (qua lỗ khí trên bề mặt lá) excess (n) : sự vượt quá exert (v) : tác động exhaust (v) : dùng hết, cạn kiệt exotic (adj) : ngoại lai, kì lạ expand (v) : mở rộng expect (v) : hy vọng, mong chờ expose (v) : phơi trần, để lộ extend (v) : mở rộng, kéo dài extra (adj) : thêm, phụ, ngoài extract (v) : khai thác, rút ra extrude (v) : phụt ra

F

famine (n) : nạn đói fauna (n) : hệ động vật felspar (n) : khoáng fenspat fertile (adj) : màu mỡ, phì nhiêu fertilizer (n) : phân bón fine sand (n) : cát mịn fineness (n) : độ mịn finer (adj) : nhỏ hơn, mảnh hơn flora (n) : hệ thực vật fluid (n) : chất lỏng flush (v) : chảy mạnh, xối nước food chain (n) : chuỗi thức ăn former (adj) : (thuộc) cũ, trước formerly (adv) : trước đây fossil (n) : (vật) hoá thạch friable (adj) : dễ nát vụn fuel (n) : nhiên liệu fundamental (adj) : quan trọng, thiết yếu fungus (n) : nấm furnaces (n) : lò luyện kim

18

future generation (n) : thế hệ tương lai

G

gas (n) : khí generally (adv) : dần dần genetically (adj) : được xác định bằng di truyền, có quan hệ di

truyền glacier (n) : sông băng gracial (adj) : (thuộc) băng hà granular (adj) : như hột, có dạng hột gravel (n) : sỏi gravelly (adj) : như sỏi gravitational force : trọng lực gravity (n) : sức hút, lực hút grit (n) : hạt cát, hạt sỏi groundwater (n) : nước ngầm gypsum (n) : thạch cao

H

habitat (n) : sinh cảnh (nơi cư trú của một quần xã) halt (v) : tạm dừng, tạm nghỉ hate (v) : ghét bỏ heavily farmed land (n) : vùng đất trồng trọt/canh tác nhiều hemisphere (n) : bán cầu herbivore (n) : động vật ăn thực vật heron (n) : con diệc honey-comb (n) : hình tổ ong horizon (n) : tầng (đất) human immune system (n) : hệ thống miễn dịch ở con người humid (adj) : ẩm ướt humidify (v) : làm cho ẩm humus (n) : mùn hybrid (n) : cây lai, vật lai hydrology (n) : thủy văn học

I

icecap (n) : lớp băng phủ các vùng cực identify (v) : nhận ra igneous (adj) : đá macma immigrant (n) : loài nhập cư immune system (n) : hệ thống miễn dịch impermeable (adj) : không thấm qua được incinerate (v) : đốt, thiêu incinerator (n) : lò đốt, lò thiêu

19

indefinitely (adv) : không xác định induce (v) : gây ra, đem lại industrialize (v) : công nghiệp hoá infiltrate (v) : xâm nhập ingenuity (n) : óc sáng tạo, sự thông minh initiate (v) : bắt nguồn, xuất phát từ inorganic (adj) : (thuộc) vô cơ insecticide (n) : thuốc diệt côn trùng insidious (adj) : làm hại một cách âm thầm insoluble (adj) : không thể thấm được instability (n) : không ổn định interact (v) : tương tác interact (v) : tương tác inter-link (v) : kết nối inundate (v) : ngập tràn, ngập lụt irrigate (v) : tưới nước irritate (v) : kích thích IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature)

: Tổ chức Quốc tế về bảo tồn thiên nhiên

K

keystone (n) : yếu tố chính, chủ chốt

L

laminate (v) : cán mỏng landslide (n) : lở đất landslip (n) : sự lở đất largely (adv) : ở một chừng mực nào đó laterite (n) : đá ong, đá đỏ lead (n) : chì lead (v) : dẫn đến lead-free (n) : không có chì likelihood (n) : sự có thể likely (adv) : có thể, có lẽ limited (adj) : hạn chế, giới hạn livestock (n) : vật nuôi loam (n) : đất giàu mùn, đất thịt local (adj) : (thuộc) địa phương log (n) : gỗ

M

major (adj) : chính, chủ yếu mandatory (adj) : có tính bắt buộc marble (n) : đá cẩm thạch mask (v) : che đậy, bảo vệ

20

material (n) : vật chất mature (adj) : trưởng thành melt (v) : tan chảy mercury (n) : thuỷ ngân metamorphosis (n) : đá biến chất meteoritic (adj) : thuộc về thiên thạch microbe (n) : vi sinh vật microclimate (n) : vi khí hậu mineral (n) : khoáng chất mismanage (v) : quản lý kém mixture (n) : hỗn hợp moderate (v) : làm ôn hoà, điều tiết (khí hậu) modify (v) : làm thay đổi moist (adj) : ẩm moisten (v) : làm ẩm moisture (n) : độ ẩm mold (v) : đúc theo khuôn mole (n) : số phân tử gam của vật chất molecule (n) : phân tử moss (n) : rêu mottle (v) : chấm, lốm đốm mound (n) : mô đất mutual (adj) : lẫn nhau mysterious (adj) : đầy bí ẩn

N

native (n) : người địa phương, thổ dân notable (adj) : đáng chú ý, nổi bật nutrient (n) : dưỡng chất

O

organism (n) : sinh vật originate (v) : bắt nguồn outer space (n) : vũ trụ overgrazing (n) : sự chăn thả quá mức overlook (v) : không để ý, cho qua overwhelm (v) : làm tràn ngập, áp đảo, lấn áp oxygen atom (n) : nguyên tử ô-xy oxygen mask (n) : mặt nạ ô-xy ozone depletion (n) : sự suy giảm tầng ô-zôn ozone molecule (n) : phân tử ô-zôn

P

21

pan (n) : chảo parent rock (n) : đá gốc particle (n) : phân tử, hạt particle (n) : phân tử, hạt pebble (n) : đá cuội, sỏi penetrate (v) : thấm qua, thâm nhập periodic (adj) : phân kỳ permeable (adj) : dễ thấm perpetual (adj) : vĩnh viễn, bất diệt pervasive (adj) : tràn ngập, toả khắp pesticide (n) : thuốc trừ sâu phosphate (n) : phốt phát plague (n) : điều tệ hại, tai hại planet (n) : hành tinh plankton (n) : sinh vật trôi nổi plateau (n) : bình nguyên plunder (v) : lấy đi, cướp đi poisonous (adj) : độc hại polar (n) : cực (địa lý) pollen (n) : phấn hoa pollinate (v) : thụ phấn (cho hoa) porous (adj) : lỗ rỗng, tính rỗng pose (v) : gây ra potential (adj) : (thuộc) tiềm năng pottery (n) : đồ gốm precipitate (v) : thúc đẩy, đẩy nhanh precipitation (n) : lượng mưa/tuyết đổ xuống một khu vực precipitation (n) : (lượng) mưa, tuyết predator (n) : thú ăn mồi sống predict (v) : đoán, dự đoán predominately (adv) : chính, chủ yếu prevalent (adj) : thịnh hành, chiếm ưu thế probable (adj) : có thể, có lẽ propagation (n) : sự truyền giống, sự nhân giống property (n) : đặc tính, đặc điểm, tính chất proportion (n) : phần, tỉ lệ purify (v) : lọc, làm cho tinh khiết

R

radiate (v) : toả ra, phát ra radiation (n) : sự phóng xạ radioactive waste (n) : chất thải phóng xạ rainfall (n) : lượng mưa rare (adj) : hiếm raw (adj) : thô (chưa qua xử lý, chưa qua chế biến) recurrent (adj) : lặp đi lặp lại

22

recycle (v) : tái chế, tái sinh, phục hồi refine(v) : (tinh) lọc reflect (v) : phản chiếu refuge (n) : nơi trú ngụ, nơi trú ẩn, nơi lánh nạn regain (v) : thu lại remedy (n) : chữa trị, biện pháp phòng ngừa remove (v) : loại bỏ, vứt bỏ renew (v) : làm mới trở lại renewal (n) : sự làm mới trở lại resemblance (n) : sự giống nhau resemble (v) : giống với reserve (v) : bảo tồn reservoir (n) : hồ chứa nhân tạo residue (n) : cặn resource (n) : tài nguyên respect (v) : tôn trọng respiratory system (n) : hệ hô hấp response (n) : đáp lại, phản ứng lại retain (v) : giữ lại retard (v) : làm chậm lại reuse (v) : sử dụng lại reversal (n) : sự đảo lộn ripple (v) : gây ra risk (n) : rủi ro roll (v) : cuộn tròn, vo viên root (n) : rễ cây rub (v) : chà xát

S

saline (adj) : mặn, có tính chất như muối salt (n) : muối salty (adj) : mặn, có chứa muối sand (n) : cát scale (n) : phạm vi, quy mô scatter (v) : phân tán scheme (n) : kế hoạch screen (v) : che, chắn sedentary soil (n) : đất tàn tích sediment (n) : trầm tích sewage (n) : nước cống sewage (n) : nước cống sewerage system (n) : hệ thống cống rãnh shale (n) : phiến thạch shield (v) : bảo vệ shrew (n) : chuột chù shrink (v) : co lại, rút ngắn lại

23

significant (adj) : quan trọng silt (n) : phù sa (limon) silty soil (n) : đất bùn slate (n) : đá phiến slop (n) : nước thải slope (n) : chỗ dốc, nghiêng soak (v) : nhúng ướt, ngâm, làm ướt đẫm soaking (adj) : ướt đẫm, ngấm soil degradation (n) : sự suy thoái đất soil profile (n) : phẫu diện đất soluble (adj) : có thể hoà tan soluble (v) : hoà tan solution (n) : giải pháp solvent (adj) : có thể hoà tan được songbird (n) : loài chim hót soot (n) : muội, bồ hóng species (n) : loài spell (n) : đợt, lượt, phiên spongy (adj) : mềm, xốp, đàn hồi spray (v) : phun, xịt spread (v) : lan tràn, trải rộng standpoint (n) : quan điểm staple (adj) : chính, chủ yếu, quan trọng starvation (n) : sự đói ăn, sự chết đói stem (n) : thân cây sticky (adj) : dẻo, dính stratify (v) : xếp thành tầng, phân tầng stratosphere (n) : tầng bình lưu subside (v) : lún subsidence (n) : sự lún xuống subsoil (n) : lớp đất dưới substance (n) : chất substitute (n) : người, vật thay thế succession (n) : sự nối tiếp, chuỗi summarize (v) : tóm tắt sunburn (n) : sự rám nắng sunscreen (n) : tấm chắn bức xạ mặt trời surface water (n) : nước bề mặt surroundings (n) : môi trường xung quanh sustainable development (n) : sự phát triển bền vững

T

taxonomy (n) : phân loại học temperate (adj) : ôn hoà terrain (n) : địa thế, địa hình

24

thrive (v) : phát triển, sinh trưởng thrust (v) : đẩy mạnh tiny (adj) : vô cùng nhỏ bé tolerate (v) : chịu đựng topography (n) : địa hình học topsoil (n) : (tầng) đất mặt trace (n) : lượng rất nhỏ, vết trampling (v) : giẫm đạp transpire (v) : tiết ra, thoát ra transported soil (n) : đất hình thành trên bồi tích trap (n) : chặn lại, ngăn lại troposphere (n) : tầng đối lưu trunk (n) : thân cây turbulance (n) : sự bất ổn, xáo trộn

U

ultraviolet radiation (n) : bức xạ cực tím undesirable (adj) : không mong muốn undisturbed (adj) : không bị xáo trộn, ổn định

V

vapor (n) : hơi, khí vary (v) : thay đổi vegetate (v) : sống đời sống thực vật vertical (n) : phương thẳng đứng vital (a) : quan trọng, cần cho sự sống volcanic eruption (n) : sự phun trào núi lửa volume (n) : số lượng, khối lượng, dung tích vulnerable (adj) : dễ bị tổn thương, dễ nhạy cảm

W

waste treatment plant (n) : chương trình xử lý chất thải wasteland (n) : vùng đất hoang water shortage (n) : sự thiếu nước water vapor (n) : hơi nước waterlog (v) : ngập nước waterlogged (adj) : ngập úng well-being (n) : sức khoẻ wondrous (adj) : tuyệt tời worldwide (adj) : toàn thế giới

25

Z

zone (n) : miền, vùng

26

REFERENCES

1. Alan Mc Gowan & Jack Hudson, 1997. English-Vietnamese Translation Materials for Advanced Students of English .National University,College of Foreign Languages.

2. Alan Mountford, 1989. English in Agriculture. International Thomson Publishing, The United States of America

3. Barrow, C. J. 1995. Developing the Environment-Problems and Management. John Willey and Sons Inc, New York.

4. Bộ Khoa học Công nghệ và Môi trường, 2001. Từ điển Đa dạng Sinh học và Phát triển bền vững Anh - Việt. Nxb KHKT. Hà Nội

5. Christopher, St. J. Yates, 1998. Earth Sciences. Cassell, Great Britain. 6. Cục Môi Trường, 2001. Chiến lược bảo vệ môi trường Quốc gia. Hà Nội. 7. Dians Hopkins & Mark Nettle, Passport to ILTS. New York, London, Sydney.. 8. Encarta-World Atlas", Microsoft 2000đ 9. Faust Susan S. Johnston & Clark S. Atkinson, 2002. Between the Lines. Nxb Trẻ. 10. George, D. 1995. Extra Practice. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 11. Heaton, J. B. 1990. Longman Tests in Context. Cambridge University Press,

Cambridge. 12 Hội Khoa học Đất Việt Nam, 2000. Từ điển Thổ Nhưỡng học Anh - Việt. Nxb

KHKT. Hà Nội. 13. Jonauntion, R. 1989. Think First Certificate. Longman Press, New York. 14. Johns, L. 1996. Progress to First Certificate. Cambridge Examinations

Publishing. Melbourne. 15. Martin, W. 1995. Environment Soil Biology. The University Press, Cambridge. 16. Miller, G. 1993. Sustaining the Earth. International Thomson Publishing. The

United States of America. 17. O'Callaghan, J. R. 1996. Land Use. The University of Newcastle, United

Kingdom. 18. Raymon Miller, W. 1983. Soil-an Introduction to Soil and Plant Growth.

Prentice-Hall, Inc, The United States of America. 19. UNEP World Wide Web Site 1996. 20. Wilson, R. 1992. Environmental Sciences. Oxford University Press. Oxford. 21. Williams, R. 1982. Panorama. Lomgman Group. Singapore National Printers.

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English in Pedology and Soil Environment

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