PART I: LISTENING

How wireless energy from space could power everything

Link:
https://www.ted.com/talks/ali_hajimiri_how_wireless_energy_from_space_could_power_everything/c/transcript
Energy and data are the major currencies of our lives today. Over the last couple of decades, we've seen data going from being wired to
becoming wireless. And this has helped democratize access to information. Can we do the same thing with energy? Can we send
energy when we want, where we want and as much as we want and in the process, eliminate the last wire? If we could do this, the
possibilities would be endless. From Earth to space.
I'd like to tell you about our dream of wireless energy transfer today. It starts with something we are all familiar with -- waves. So
waves are very essential to our lives. You can hear this talk because of acoustic waves. You can see this talk because of a certain kind of
electromagnetic waves, called light. And the odds are, if you're watching it on the internet, you're using some sort of wireless
connectivity that relies on wireless and RF waves. If you have two waves that have the same frequency and are going up and
down and they come together at some point in space, they will add and make a wave that's twice the height but carries four times the
energy. Now, if the same two waves come together at some other place in space, but one is running half a period late, they cancel and
you get very little energy, practically no energy.
This is the basis for a process that has been known for a long time. It's called interference. The idea here is that if you go and sit at the
edge of a pond and take both hands and put them in the water and move them up and down, each hand makes a wave. But because of
the interaction of these waves, there will be some directions where you get more energy and there are some directions that you will get
less. Can we make it go only in one direction? Well, you need more hands. And they have to go perfectly synchronized. But if you do
that, what happens is that most of your energy starts traveling straight down.
Now, this is a remarkable thing because if you think about each one of those little hands, each one of those little sources, they would
send energy all over the place. But when they work together, the result is that the energy is going mostly in one direction. Now, if the
timing was the reason for this happening, maybe we can play with it. Maybe we can mess with it and see what happens. So what if
each one of these sources goes a little bit after the one next to it? So in that case, what happens is that these waves start going in
different directions, and you can change that direction purely by controlling timing and nothing else. Now, this makes it possible to
change this direction without any mechanical movement. So it can be almost instantaneous.
You can go even further. You can think about creating a magnifying glass. A focusing system, where you can actually send the
energy, most of it, close to 90 percent of it, in one focal point. But again, since you're controlling the timing, you can create different
focal points, and you can send it to them. And this is the basis for wireless energy transfer. It's as if you have an army of ants that are
working in perfect synchronization. And each one of them contributes a little bit of energy. But as a whole, they send it to the right
place. Now, obviously here, timing is everything, like life and comedy.
So we’ve taken this concept, and we've built these electronic chips, integrated circuits, that each one of them generates a little bit of
power. But again, as a group, they are designed to work in perfect synchronization and drive these little antennas that transmit the
energy. Now this army of ants, or army of antennas, is working together to create those focal points of energy. And what I will show
you next is some examples of how that actually operates.
So what you have here, for example, is a generator unit that's sending power wirelessly to the two receivers. And here the point is to see
how well-defined these focal points are. That LED panel basically is receiving that power and showing it. So you can see energy is
going only where it needs to go and nowhere else. You can take this and put one of these generators on the ceiling of your conference
room or your living room and transmit energy to various devices that need energy.
Now this generator on the ceiling is going to power a light bulb. Now, as we move the light bulb, what happens is that you see that
there's no energy in the new location, but the system finds it, tracks it and sends it to the new location. And you can see that it
dynamically tracks it back and forth. You can use this to send energy to one light bulb or to the next one or to both of them at the same
time.
Now you can use something like this, for example, to power a drone. This is a battery-less drone that's being purely powered by that
generator facing up from the bottom. And it can also use the same tracking approach to track the drone.
So now that we know that we can send energy wirelessly, the question is, how far can we go? Really, how far can we go? Could we
put photovoltaics in space, solar panels in space, and collect the energy and send that wirelessly to Earth?
This is not a new idea. The first time it was mentioned, it was in a short science-fiction story by Isaac Asimov from 1941. And what I
love about this story is that it's about a self-conscious robot. And the humans describing this idea to the self-conscious robot, after
which the robot says, "Do you expect me to believe such a far-fetched, crazy notion? What do you take me for?"
The first question almost always asked is that, “Why do you want to put your solar panels in space? Why don’t you put them up in the
desert and be done with it?” Right? A few reasons. First is that in space you get about eight times more energy because you don't have
day and night, you don't have clouds, you don't have seasons, and you don't have the atmospheric absorption. Also, now that you have
this ability to send energy where you want and when you want dynamically, you can imagine that you have dispatchable power. On
top of that, it's an always-available power. This can be used for a place, for example, let's say an island hit by a hurricane where there’s
no power. Or a city in war zone where the power infrastructure is being constantly attacked. You can think about using this to send
power to a remote village in sub-Saharan Africa where there is no infrastructure for power transmission. And that way democratize the
access to energy. Or send it somewhere above the Arctic circle.
So all of these things are great. But the question is, if it has been known for such a long time and it's such a great thing, why hasn't it
been done so far?
The main reason is that the way it has been envisioned before, they've been thinking about it as a big elephant. If you're thinking about
putting big solar panels in space, collecting the power, generating a lot of energy, and then putting it into a massive parabolic dish
antenna and sending it to a fixed location on Earth. Sending things to space is expensive. You pay dollars -- and that's plural -- per
gram. The other problem is that even if you could afford it, assembly of something like this in space is still beyond the capabilities that
we have today.
So we came up with a very different approach where we took our generators and turned them into flexible, fabric-like structures. We
are utilizing the amazing power of electronics, integrated electronics and flexible electronics, to make this very lightweight, flexible,
fabric-like structures that you can roll and pack. And this allows you to have these satellites packed for launch and deployed in
space, where each one of these units would be about several tens of meters on the side. And then you can pack a whole bunch of
them and create a constellation of them that flies in space and forms your power station to send green energy to Earth. This will be
flying in formation around the Earth. Obviously, this is not the size of the planet because we're talking about a kilometer across for the
whole whole constellation and the planet is a little bit larger than a kilometer.
We've been developing, as a proof of concept, technology demonstrator, and this is called Maple, which demonstrates the power of
flexible structures and electronic circuitry to generate and transmit power in space. We integrated that with two other technology
demonstrators for deployable structures and photovoltaics that were developed by three teams, led by myself and two of my
colleagues. And we integrated into a satellite that was launched recently. And the purpose of this experiment has been to demonstrate
the power transfer, wireless power transfer in space.
Now that brings me back to the promise of wireless energy transfer and what it could mean for us. I believe this technology is too
compelling to go away. And I believe it's bound to appear in our lives in one form or another. And that is something to look forward to.
 LIFE STORIES
Link: https://vietjack.com/tieng-anh-12-moi/
Cindy: Welcome to our talk show with guest speaker Mr Andy Lewis, a sociologist. Mr Lewis...

Andy: Please call me Andy. I don't want to be too formal.

Cindy: No problem, Andy. These days, our audience seem to be overwhelmed with stories in the newspapers or on the
Internet - stories about celebrities, political figures, or even ordinary people around us.

Andy: You mean we're living in a world of stories and scandals?

Cindy: Right. As a sociologist, do you have any advice for our audience?

Andy: I think there're two sides to this issue. We need some life skills to protect ourselves. First, we don't want other
people to take advantage of our stories. They may use our private lives for blackmail or slander... in order to harm our
reputation or just for fun.

Cindy: For whatever purpose, it could be extremely damaging.

Andy: Exactly. So we should not reveal too much of our private life on social networking sites.

Cindy: I agree. But how about the stories of other people? Should we read or follow these stories?

Andy: That's the second point I want to discuss. Another life skill is learning from other people's lives. Everyone's life
story is like a book that can teach us something. So we should open that book and read it critically.

Cindy: Critically? Can you explain this?

Andy: It means we should make careful judgements when reading a life story and ask ourselves questions like, ‘Why is
this story told?’ or ‘What lessons can I learn from it?’

Cindy: Lessons such as...?

Andy: Such as a person's reasons for failure or success. This may help us to avoid similar failure or to adopt a new way
of life so we can improve ourselves and become better human beings.

Cindy: Very interesting. Thank you, Andy, for your advice and for sharing your thoughts with our listeners. Next week...

URBANISATION
Link: https://vietjack.com/tieng-anh-12-moi/unit-2-listening.jsp

Hello, everyone. Last week, we talked about the cause of urbanisation. Today, I'll discuss its advantages and
disadvantages.

Urbanisation can bring about a lot of benefits. It can offer people from rural areas not only opportunities for better-paid
jobs, but also access to schools, hospitals and other social services. As a result, people's overall standard of living can
improve.

People in rural areas tend to be more conservative and follow old-fashioned practices like child marriage and gender
discrimination. The process of urbanisation can actually change their mindset and help them to accept more progressive
ideas.

However, there are also some obvious disadvantages. High rates of urbanisation can contribute to more crime in big
cities. Although many people benefit, not all get the opportunity of a good and stable job. Unemployed, people are more
likely to engage in robbery, kidnapping, murder and other illegal activities. Another problem caused by urbanisation is
the shortage of affordable housing in big cities, which can result in growth of slums with no sanitation or drinking water.
In addition, urbanisation leads to the shift of the working population from agriculture to industries. Labour shortages in
rural areas are likely to result in a decrease in agricultural and food production as well.

To sum up urbanisation can bring social and health benefits; however, it also has its own drawbacks. I've only discussed
some of them. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to raise them and I'll try my best to answer them.

Which type of milk is best for you?

Link: https://www.ted.com/talks/jonathan_j_o_sullivan_and_grace_e_cunningham_which_type_of_milk_is_best_for_you/transcript
If you go to the store in search of milk, there are a dizzying number of products to choose from. There’s dairy milk, but also plant-based
products. To turn a plant into something resembling milk, it must be either soaked, drained, rinsed, and milled into a thick paste, or
dried, and milled into flour. The plant paste or flour is then fortified with vitamins and minerals, flavoured, and diluted with water.
The result is a barrage of options that share many of the qualities of animal milk. So which milk is actually best for you? Let’s dive into
some of the most popular milks: dairy, almond, soy, or oat?
A 250 ml glass of cow’s milk contains 8 grams of protein, 12 grams of carbohydrates, and 2 to 8 grams of fat depending on if it’s skim,
reduced fat, or whole. That’s approximately 15% the daily protein an average adult needs, roughly 10% the carbohydrates and 2 to
15% the fat.
Most plant-based milks have less carbohydrates than dairy milk. They also have less fat, but more of what’s often called “good
fats.” Meanwhile, the healthy nutrients vitamin D and calcium found in dairy milk don’t occur naturally in most plant-based milks.
Looking more closely at our plant-based milks, both almond and oat are low in protein compared to dairy. But while almond milk has
the least nutrients of the four, oat milk is full of beta-glucans, a healthy type of fibre. It also has a lot of carbohydrates compared to other
plant milks— sometimes as much as dairy milk.
Soy milk, meanwhile, has as much protein as cow’s milk and is also a great source of potassium. Soybeans contain isoflavone, which
people used to think might trigger hormonal imbalances by mimicking the function of estrogen. But ultimately, soy milk contains very
small amounts of isoflavones, which have a much weaker effect on our bodies than estrogen.
Depending on individual circumstances, one of these milks may be the clear winner: if you’re lactose intolerant, then the plant-based
milks pull ahead, while if you’re allergic to nuts, almond milk is out. For people who don’t have access to a wide and varied diet, dairy
milk can be the most efficient way to get these nutrients. But all else being equal, any one of these four milks is nutritious enough to be
part of a balanced diet. That’s why for many people, the milk that’s best for you is actually the milk that’s best for the planet. So which
uses the fewest resources and produces the least pollution?
It takes almost 4 square kilometers to produce just one glass of cow’s milk, land use that drives deforestation and habitat
destruction. Most of that is land the cows live on, and some is used to grow their feed. Many cows eat soy beans and oats. It takes
much less land to grow the oats or soybeans for milk than it does to feed a dairy cow— only about a quarter square kilometer per
glass. Almond milk has similar land use. But where that land is also matters— soybean farms are a major driver of deforestation, while
oat and almond farms aren’t.
Making milk uses water every step of the way, but it’s the farming stage where big differences emerge. Dairy milk uses the most water
— about 120 liters per glass, mostly to water cows and grow their food. Almonds take second place, at more than 70 liters of water per
glass. Most of that water is used to grow almond trees, which take years of watering before they start producing almonds. The trees
must be watered consistently, or they die, while many other crops can be left fallow and still produce later. All told, soy and oats require
less water to grow: only about 5 to 10 liters per glass of milk.
Milk production generates some greenhouse gas emissions— about 0.1 to 0.2 kilograms per glass for the plant-based milks. But for
dairy milk, the cows themselves also produce emissions by burping and farting out large quantities of the gas methane. Overall, each
glass of dairy milk contributes over half a kilogram of greenhouse gas emissions.
So while depending on your dietary needs, any one of these milks may be a good fit, in terms of the health of our planet there’s a strong
case for choosing plant-based milks, particularly oat or soy milk.

Whatever happened to acid rain?

Link:
https://www.ted.com/talks/joseph_goffman_whatever_happened_to_acid_rain/transcript
In 1963, scientists studying Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in New Hampshire made a shocking discovery. Their most recent
rainfall samples were nearly 100 times more acidic than usual. At these levels, additional downpours of acid rain would destroy the
region’s marine and arboreal ecosystems in a matter of decades. Urgently sharing their findings with fellow researchers, they were
determined to answer two questions: what was causing this deadly rainfall? And what could be done to stop it?
Rain is never just composed of water. Chemicals and particulates in the atmosphere can be found in every drop, and some compounds
— like carbon dioxide— make even regular rainfall slightly acidic. But this pales in comparison to the powerful acids produced when
water interacts with oxides of nitrogen or sulfur dioxide. On the pH scale which measures acidity, each whole number is 10 times more
acidic than the one above it. And where normal rain has a pH of roughly 5.4, rain that’s interacted with these gases can rank as low as
3.7. Oxides of nitrogen and sulfur dioxide can appear naturally as a short-lived byproduct of volcanic eruptions or lightning strikes. But
power plants, refineries, and vehicles that use fossil fuels consistently pump large quantities into the air.
These dangerous gases travel with the wind spreading hundreds of kilometers from the pollution’s source. Acting like roaming clouds
of destruction, their presence dramatically increases the acidity of local precipitation, creating acid rain, acid snow, and acid fog. These
all acidify lakes and streams, kill crops and forests, and damage soil to inhibit future growth. Over time, acid rain can even corrode
human structures made of stone or metal.
By the 1970s, scientists in North America and Europe classified acid rain as a major environmental threat. But despite clear evidence
tying the problem to air pollution, companies denied responsibility and cast doubt on the research. In the United States, corporations
lobbied against regulating pollution, and convinced politicians that such policies would raise energy costs and threaten jobs. These
obstacles led the government to delay changes, and mandate further research into the issue. But after a decade of mounting concern,
Congress finally took action.
Since the bulk of sulfur dioxide emissions came from power plants, the government set a limit on the total amount of it the electric
power sector could emit each year. Then, they divided the permitted emissions into a fixed number of “allowances” distributed to each
power plant. A plant could then choose to emit as much sulfur dioxide as they were allowed, or reduce their emissions and sell their
unused allowances to other power plants. This system, known as “cap and trade,” offered power plants the economic flexibility to keep
costs low while strictly limiting pollution.
Many critics called these allowances licenses to pollute, or said the government was selling clean air. But since the cap was set to lower
five years into the program, it forced every utility company to reduce emissions in the long term. Some plants added desulfurizing
scrubbers to their smokestacks, or switched to low-sulfur coal and natural gas. Oxides of nitrogen emissions were also reduced with
relatively low-cost technologies. These advances allowed the power sector to grow while the cap kept pollution under control. By
1985, Canada and the European Union adopted their own solutions, and international treaties began circulating to reduce air pollution
worldwide.
Today, this science-driven economic policy has largely eliminated acid rain across the United States and Canada. And while many
ecosystems still need time to recover, scientists have sped up the restoration of other areas by reintroducing essential organisms killed
off by acid rain. Some countries, like Russia, India, and China still rely heavily on high-sulfur coal and continue to struggle with the
environmental consequences. However, acid rain’s relatively quick journey from major threat to minor issue is rightly celebrated as a
victory for policies that protect the environment. Cap and trade can’t solve every environmental problem. But by using scientific
consensus to guide policy, adopting efficient technology, and being unafraid to impose reasonable costs for pollution, countries can
stop a growing storm of destruction before it’s too late.

The big-beaked, rock-munching fish that protect coral

reefs
Link: https://www.ted.com/talks/mike_gil_the_big_beaked_rock_munching_fish_that_protect_coral_reefs
As the sun rises over a quiet coral reef, one animal breaks the morning silence. Named for their vibrant scales and beak-like teeth, these
parrotfish are devouring a particularly crunchy breakfast: rocks. It may not be immediately clear why any creature would take bites out
of the seafloor. But the diet of these flashy foragers actually plays a key role in defending the coral reef’s complex ecosystem.
Massive coral reefs begin with tiny coral larvae, which settle on the seafloor’s hard surfaces and metamorphasize into coral
polyps. Over time, these polyps generate rock-like skeletons made of calcium carbonate. Together, colonies of polyps produce large
three-dimensional structures, which form the basis of an underwater metropolis. These coral complexes are full of nooks and
crannies that house and protect countless life forms. Even though coral reefs occupy less than one percent of the ocean floor, these
dense ecosystems are home to more than twenty-five percent of marine life.
Many fish use corals as shelters for sleeping and to hide from large predators between their trips foraging for seaweed. As the primary
food source for many of the reef’s fish and invertebrates, seaweed is vital to this ecosystem. But in high densities, seaweed can become
problematic, and even lethal to corals. Seaweed grows on the same hard open surfaces that coral larvae rely on, and their growth
prevents new coral from settling and expanding. These competitors have also evolved a variety of ways to kill existing
corals, including smothering and abrasion. Some seaweed species even engage in chemical warfare— synthesizing compounds that
destroy coral on contact.
This is where parrotfish come in. Like many reef fish, these colorful creatures eat seaweed. But unlike their neighbors, parrotfish can
completely remove even the tiniest scraps of seaweed from the ocean floor. Their so-called beak is actually a mosaic of tightly-packed
teeth which can scrape and grind rock, allowing them to consume every bit of seaweed covering a stony surface. This helps parrotfish
reach seaweed other fish can’t consume, while simultaneously clearing out open space for new corals to settle and existing colonies to
expand.
Eating rocks is just one way parrotfish help manage seaweed. Through a dynamic system of social networks, parrotfish can convey
information to other coral dwelling fish. Each fish’s presence and simple routine behaviors produce sensory information that nearby
fish can see, hear, or smell. They can even detect changes in water pressure produced by their neighbors using a special sensory
organ. All these factors can inform the behavior of nearby fish. For example, a fish safely entering an open feeding ground and not
getting attacked means it’s safe to forage. Conversely, a fish rapidly leaving a location can provide an early warning that a threat is
approaching. By simply trying to stay alive, these reef fish can incidentally help their neighbors survive— and more of these fish
means less seaweed.
Unfortunately, human activities over the last several decades have disrupted almost every part of this complex system. In many coral
reefs, overfishing has reduced the number of parrotfish, as well as other seaweed eaters, such as surgeonfish and rabbitfish. This has led
to unchecked seaweed growth, which threatens to degrade entire coral reefs. The parrotfish that remain live in much smaller
communities. Their reduced numbers can weaken their social network, making surviving fish more timid and less effective at
controlling seaweed.
Today, climate change and pollution are lowering coral’s natural defenses while contributing to runaway seaweed growth— leaving
reef ecosystems more fragile than ever. Our reefs are vitally important to both marine and human life. Their unparalleled biodiversity
offers unique opportunities for ecotourism, sustainable fishing, and scientific research, while their rocky structures guard coastlines
from waves and storm surges. Fortunately, continued research into reef species like the quirky and critical parrotfish can inform new
strategies for preserving these essential ecosystems.

What if there were 1 trillion more trees?

Link: https://www.ted.com/talks/jean_francois_bastin_what_if_there_were_1_trillion_more_trees
Standing at almost 84 meters tall, this is the largest known living tree on the planet. Nicknamed General Sherman, this giant sequoia
has sequestered roughly 1,400 tons of atmospheric carbon over its estimated 2,500 years on earth. Very few trees can compete with this
carbon impact, but today, humanity produces more than 1,400 tons of carbon every minute. To combat climate change, we need to
steeply reduce fossil fuel emissions, and draw down excess CO2 to restore our atmosphere’s balance of greenhouse gases. But what
can trees do to help in this fight? And how do they sequester carbon in the first place?
Like all plants, trees consume atmospheric carbon through a chemical reaction called photosynthesis. This process uses energy from
sunlight to convert water and carbon dioxide into oxygen and energy-storing carbohydrates. Plants then consume these carbohydrates
in a reverse process called respiration, converting them to energy and releasing carbon back into the atmosphere. In trees, however, a
large portion of that carbon isn’t released, and instead, is stored as newly formed wood tissue. During their lifetimes, trees act as carbon
vaults, and they continue to draw down carbon for as long as they grow. However, when a tree dies and decays, some of its carbon will
be released back into the air. A significant amount of CO2 is stored in the soil, where it can remain for thousands of years. But
eventually, that carbon also seeps back into the atmosphere.
So if trees are going to help fight a long-term problem like climate change, they need to survive to sequester their carbon for the longest
period possible, while also reproducing quickly. Is there one type of tree we could plant that meets these criteria? Some fast growing,
long-lived, super sequestering species we could scatter worldwide? Not that we know of. But even if such a tree existed, it wouldn’t be
a good long-term solution. Forests are complex networks of living organisms, and there’s no one species that can thrive in every
ecosystem. The most sustainable trees to plant are always native ones; species that already play a role in their local
environment. Preliminary research shows that ecosystems with a naturally occurring diversity of trees have less competition for
resources and better resist climate change. This means we can’t just plant trees to draw down carbon; we need to restore depleted
ecosystems.
There are numerous regions that have been clear cut or developed that are ripe for restoring. In 2019, a study led by Zurich’s
Crowtherlab analyzed satellite imagery of the world’s existing tree cover. By combining it with climate and soil data and excluding
areas necessary for human use, they determined Earth could support nearly one billion hectares of additional forest. That’s roughly 1.2
trillion trees. This staggering number surprised the scientific community, prompting additional research. Scientists now cite a more
conservative but still remarkable figure. By their revised estimates, these restored ecosystems could capture anywhere from 100 to 200
billion tons of carbon, accounting for over one-sixth of humanity’s carbon emissions.
More than half of the potential forest canopy for new restoration efforts can be found in just six countries. And the study can also
provide insight into existing restoration projects, like The Bonn Challenge, which aims to restore 350 million hectares of forest by
2030.
But this is where it gets complicated. Ecosystems are incredibly complex, and it’s unclear whether they’re best restored by human
intervention. It’s possible the right thing to do for certain areas is to simply leave them alone. Additionally, some researchers worry that
restoring forests on this scale may have unintended consequences, like producing natural bio-chemicals at a pace that could actually
accelerate climate change. And even if we succeed in restoring these areas, future generations would need to protect them from the
natural and economic forces that previously depleted them.
Taken together, these challenges have damaged confidence in restoration projects worldwide. And the complexity of rebuilding
ecosystems demonstrates how important it is to protect our existing forests. But hopefully, restoring some of these depleted regions will
give us the data and conviction necessary to combat climate change on a larger scale. If we get it right, maybe these modern trees will
have time to grow into carbon carrying titans.

Can we create the "perfect" farm?

Link: https://www.ted.com/talks/brent_loken_can_we_create_the_perfect_farm
About 10,000 years ago, humans began to farm. This agricultural revolution was a turning point in our history that enabled people to
settle, build and create. In short, agriculture enabled the existence of civilization.
Today, approximately 40 percent of our planet is farmland. Spread all over the world, these agricultural lands are the pieces to a global
puzzle we are all facing: in the future, how can we feed every member of a growing population a healthy diet? Meeting this goal will
require nothing short of a second agricultural revolution.
The first agricultural revolution was characterized by expansion and exploitation, feeding people at the expense of forests, wildlife and
water and destabilizing the climate in the process. That's not an option the next time around. Agriculture depends on a stable
climate with predictable seasons and weather patterns. This means we can't keep expanding our agricultural lands, because doing so
will undermine the environmental conditions that make agriculture possible in the first place. Instead, the next agricultural
revolution will have to increase the output of our existing farmland for the long term while protecting biodiversity, conserving
water and reducing pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. So what will the future farms look like?
This drone is part of a fleet that monitors the crops below. The farm may look haphazard but is a delicately engineered use of the
land that intertwines crops and livestock with wild habitats. Conventional farming methods cleared large swathes of land and planted
them with a single crop, eradicating wildlife and emitting huge amounts of greenhouse gases in the process. This approach aims to
correct that damage.
Meanwhile, moving among the crops, teams of field robots apply fertilizer in targeted doses. Inside the soil, hundreds of sensors gather
data on nutrients and water levels. This information reduces unnecessary water use and tells farmers where they should apply more and
less fertilizer instead of causing pollution by showering it across the whole farm.
But the farms of the future won't be all sensors and robots. These technologies are designed to help us produce food in a way that
works with the environment rather than against it, taking into account the nuances of local ecosystems. Lower-cost agricultural
practices can also serve those same goals and are much more accessible to many farmers. In fact, many such practices are already in
use today and stand to have an increasingly large impact as more farmers adopt them.
In Costa Rica, farmers have intertwined farmland with tropical habitat so successfully that they have significantly contributed to
doubling the country's forest cover. This provides food and habitat for wildlife as well as natural pollination and pest control from the
birds and insects these farms attract, producing food while restoring the planet.
In the United States, ranchers are raising cattle on grasslands composed of native species, generating a valuable protein source using
production methods that store carbon and protect biodiversity.
In Bangladesh, Cambodia and Nepal, new approaches to rice production may dramatically decrease greenhouse gas emissions in the
future. Rice is a staple food for three billion people and the main source of livelihood for millions of households. More than 90 percent
of rice is grown in flooded paddies, which use a lot of water and release 11 percent of annual methane emissions, which accounts for
one to two percent of total annual greenhouse gas emissions globally. By experimenting with new strains of rice, irrigating less and
adopting less labor-intensive ways of planting seeds, farmers in these countries have already increased their incomes and crop
yields while cutting down on greenhouse gas emissions.
In Zambia, numerous organizations are investing in locally specific methods to improve crop production, reduce forest loss and
improve livelihoods for local farmers. These efforts are projected to increase crop yield by almost a quarter over the next few
decades. If combined with methods to combat deforestation in the region, they could move the country toward a resilient, climate-
focused agricultural sector.
And in India, where up to 40 percent of post-harvest food is lost or wasted due to poor infrastructure, farmers have already started to
implement solar-powered cold storage capsules that help thousands of rural farmers preserve their produce and become a viable part of
the supply chain.
It will take all of these methods, from the most high-tech to the lowest-cost, to revolutionize farming. High-tech interventions stand to
amplify climate- and conservation-oriented approaches to farming, and large producers will need to invest in implementing these
technologies. Meanwhile, we'll have to expand access to the lower-cost methods for smaller-scale farmers. This vision of future
farming will also require a global shift toward more plant-based diets and huge reductions in food loss and waste, both of which will
reduce pressure on the land and allow farmers to do more with what they have available.
If we optimize food production, both on land and sea, we can feed humanity within the environmental limits of the earth, but there's a
very small margin of error, and it will take unprecedented global cooperation and coordination of the agricultural lands we have today.

The "myth" of the boiling frog

Link: https://www.ted.com/talks/ted_ed_the_myth_of_the_boiling_frog/transcript
Two frogs are minding their own business in the swamp when WHAM— they’re kidnapped.
They come to in a kitchen, captives of a menacing chef. He boils up a pot of water and lobs one of the frogs in. But it’s having none of
this. The second its toes hit the scalding water it jumps right out the window.
The chef refills the pot, but this time he doesn’t turn on the heat. He plops the second frog in, and this frog’s okay with that. The chef
turns the heat on, very low, and the temperature of water slowly rises. So slowly that the frog doesn’t notice. In fact, it basks in the
balmy water. Only when the surface begins to bubble does the frog realize: it’s toast.
What’s funny about this parable is that it’s not scientifically true... for frogs. In reality, a frog will detect slowly heating water and leap to
safety. Humans, on the other hand, are a different story. We’re perfectly happy to sit in the pot and slowly turn up the heat, all the while
insisting it isn’t our hand on the dial, arguing about whether we can trust thermometers, and questioning— even if they’re right, does it
matter?
It does.
Since 1850, global average temperatures have risen by 1 degree Celsius. That may not sound like a lot, but it is.
Why? 1 degree is an average. Many places have already gotten much warmer than that. Some places in the Arctic have already
warmed 4 degrees. If global average temperatures increase 1 more degree, the coldest nights in the Arctic might get 10 degrees
warmer. The warmest days in Mumbai might get 5 degrees hotter.
So how did we get here?
Almost everything that makes modern life possible relies on fossil fuels: coal, oil, and gas full of carbon from ancient organic
matter. When we burn fossil fuels, we release carbon dioxide that builds up in our atmosphere, where it remains for hundreds or even
thousands of years, letting heat in, but not out.
The heat comes from sunlight, which passes through the atmosphere to Earth, where it gets absorbed and warms everything up. Warm
objects emit infrared radiation, which should pass back out into space, because most atmospheric gases don’t absorb it. But greenhouse
gases— carbon dioxide and methane— do absorb infrared wavelengths. So when we add more of those gases to the atmosphere, less
heat makes it back out to space, and our planet warms up.
If we keep emitting greenhouse gases at our current pace, scientists predict temperatures will rise 4 degrees from their pre-industrial
levels by 2100. They’ve identified 1.5 degrees of warming— global averages half a degree warmer than today’s— as a threshold
beyond which the negative impacts of climate change will become increasingly severe. To keep from crossing that threshold, we need
to get our greenhouse gas emissions down to zero as fast as possible.
Or rather, we have to get emissions down to what's called net zero, meaning we may still be putting some greenhouse gases into the
atmosphere, but we take out as much as we put in.
This doesn’t mean we can just keep emitting and sequester all that carbon— we couldn’t keep up with our emissions through natural
methods, and technological solutions would be prohibitively expensive and require huge amounts of permanent storage. Instead, while
we switch from coal, oil, and natural gas to clean energy and fuels, which will take time, we can mitigate the damage by removing
carbon from the atmosphere.
Jumping out of the proverbial pot isn’t an option, but we can do something the frogs can’t: reach over, and turn down the heat.

Are we running out of clean water?

Link: https://www.ted.com/talks/balsher_singh_sidhu_are_we_running_out_of_clean_water
From space, our planet appears to be more ocean than Earth. But despite the water covering 71% of the planet’s surface, more than half
the world’s population endures extreme water scarcity for at least one month a year. And current estimates predict that by 2040, up to
20 more countries could be experiencing water shortages. Taken together, these bleak statistics raise a startling question: are we running
out of clean water?
Well yes, and no. At a planetary scale, Earth can’t run out of freshwater thanks to the water cycle, a system that continuously produces
and recycles water, morphing it from vapour, to liquid, to ice as it circulates around the globe. So this isn’t really a question of how
much water there is, but of how much of it is accessible to us. 97% of earth’s liquid is saltwater, too loaded with minerals for humans to
drink or use in agriculture. Of the remaining 3% of potentially usable freshwater, more than two-thirds is frozen in ice caps and
glaciers. That leaves less than 1% available for sustaining all life on Earth, spread across our planet in rivers, lakes, underground
aquifers, ground ice and permafrost. It’s these sources of water that are being rapidly depleted by humans, but slowly replenished by
rain and snowfall.
And this limited supply isn’t distributed evenly around the globe. Diverse climates and geography provide some regions with more
rainfall and natural water sources, while other areas have geographic features that make transporting water much more difficult. And
supplying the infrastructure and energy it would take to move water across these regions is extremely expensive.
In many of these water-poor areas, as well as some with greater access to water, humanity is guzzling up the local water supply faster
than it can be replenished. And when more quickly renewed sources can’t meet the demand, we start pumping it out of our finite
underground reserves. Of Earth’s 37 major underground reservoirs, 21 are on track to be irreversibly emptied. So while it’s true that our
planet isn’t actually losing water, we are depleting the water sources we rely on at an unsustainable pace.
This might seem surprising – after all, on average, people only drink about two liters of water a day. But water plays a hidden role in
our daily lives, and in that same 24 hours, most people will actually consume an estimated 3000 liters of water. In fact, household water
– which we use to drink, cook, and clean – accounts for only 3.6% of humanity’s water consumption. Another 4.4% goes to the wide
range of factories which make the products we buy each day. But the remaining 92% of our water consumption is all spent on a single
industry: agriculture.
Our farms drain the equivalent of 3.3 billion Olympic-sized swimming pools every year, all of it swallowed up by crops and
livestock to feed Earth’s growing population. Agriculture currently covers 37% of Earth’s land area, posing the biggest threat to our
regional water supplies. And yet, it’s also a necessity. So how do we limit agriculture’s thirst while still feeding those who rely on it?
Farmers are already finding ingenious ways to reduce their impact, like using special irrigation techniques to grow “more crop per
drop”, and breeding new crops that are less thirsty. Other industries are following suit, adopting production processes that reuse and
recycle water. On a personal level, reducing food waste is the first step to reducing water use, since one-third of the food that leaves
farms is currently wasted or thrown away. You might also want to consider eating less water-intensive foods like shelled nuts and red
meat. Adopting a vegetarian lifestyle could reduce up to one third of your water footprint. Our planet may never run out of water, but it
doesn’t have to for individuals to go thirsty. Solving this local problem requires a global solution, and small day-to-day decisions can
affect reservoirs around the world.

How do wind turbines work?

Link: https://www.ted.com/talks/rebecca_j_barthelmie_and_sara_c_pryor_how_do_wind_turbines_work
Every 24 hours, wind generates enough kinetic energy to produce roughly 35 times more electricity than humanity uses each day. And
unlike coal or oil, this resource is totally renewed each day. So how can we harness this incredible amount of energy, and is it possible
to create a world powered entirely by wind?
The basic principle of wind energy is simple. A series of sails or blades mounted around a rotor catch the wind and translate its kinetic
energy into rotational energy. Traditional windmills use that rotational energy to grind wheat or pump water. But in modern wind
turbines, it turns a generator that creates electricity. This conversion from wind to rotational energy to electricity has defined wind
turbines since their invention in the late 19th century. And there are three primary factors that determine just how much energy they can
produce: the size and orientation of the blades, the blade’s aerodynamic design, and the amount of wind turning the rotor.
First up, blade orientation. Wind turbines can be designed with their rotor on a vertical axis or a horizontal axis. Vertical blades can pick
up wind coming from any direction, but with much less efficiency than horizontal axis rotors. Horizontal designs allow blades to
capture the wind’s full force by tracking the wind’s direction and turning to face it. This turning process is called yawing, and older
windmills achieved it through manual monitoring. Today, wind sensors and computer systems automatically adjust the blades with
expert precision to capture as much energy as possible.
Outside rotor orientation, the blades themselves need to be shaped to maximize efficiency. While early designs used flat
blades, modern blades are curved like airplane wings. Wind travels faster over the curved surface, creating a low-pressure pocket
above the blade that forces it upwards. Since the amount of lift depends on the angle at which the wind is moving relative to the
blade, modern blades also incorporate a twist, optimizing how much of the blade can cut into the wind. Made of fiberglass and resin
layers, these blades are strong enough to operate through rain, lightning, and blistering sunlight for over 20 years.
Even with aerodynamic blades and a horizontal rotor, a wind turbine can only capture wind if it's in a windy environment. Wind speeds
typically increase the higher into the atmosphere you travel. So today, most turbines are well over 100 meters tall, with equally large
rotor diameters. A turbine of this height and size can capture a huge amount of wind, generating enough electricity every year to power
750 American homes. A wind farm of 200 similarly sized turbines could power over 150,000 American homes— or twice as many
European homes— for an entire year. Offshore wind farms contain an even greater number of even larger turbines. In 2019, the largest
wind turbine ever built began operating off the coast of the Netherlands. With a rotor diameter of 220 meters, just one of these
turbines can meet the annual power needs of 16,000 European households.
Despite its amazing potential, wind energy still faces challenges. Wind may be a free and unlimited fuel, but no matter how large or
efficient a turbine is there's a mathematical limit to how much wind it can convert into electricity. German physicist Albert Betz
calculated that since some wind must remain to keep the blades spinning, a turbine can only ever capture 59.3% of the wind’s
energy. Additionally, some people feel turbines disrupt natural scenery, and wind energy’s intermittent availability can make it difficult
to integrate into electrical grids.
But even with these challenges, modern wind turbines have made wind energy the most efficient and inexpensive source of
electricity. Wind turbines already provide essential energy for communities around the world. And for many farmers, hosting a wind
turbine can be a reliable source of additional income. With continued improvements in wind forecasting, electrical grid infrastructure
and energy storage, wind power might blow away all our energy problems.

PART 2: GRAMMAR
Link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/11DpORWSNk_URvpReLl06rN5oB5sgfCxv/view

PART 3: VOCABULARIES
Link1: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1raZt0HjJKCI4455FKHDIbcdmNsLf26Pw
Link2: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1raZt0HjJKCI4455FKHDIbcdmNsLf26Pw
PART 4: READING
CORONA VIRUS

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate
the correct answer to each of the questions.

The coronavirus is usually transmitted by droplets, such as those produced when coughing and sneezing, and by direct or
indirect contact with secretions infected by the virus. The virus may also shed in blood, urine and faeces, and, therefore,
there is potential for transmission through contact with a wide range of bodily fluids. Certainly, person-to-person spread
has been confirmed in community and healthcare settings across Asia and into Europe. There is also a possibility that
asymptomatic carriers may be able to infect people. Public Health England (PHE) has classified the COVID-19 infection
as an airborne, high consequence infectious disease (HCID) in the UK.

The application of infection prevention and control (IPC) principles are already widely used by healthcare professionals
within hospital and community settings to both prevent the spread of infections and to control outbreaks when they do
occur. The WHO has issued interim guidance regarding IPC when COVID-19 is suspected. This advice is echoed by
guidance issued by PHE.

PHE suggests the coronavirus may pose complications, such as illness pneumonia or severe acute respiratory infection.
They also suggest that patients with long-term conditions or are immunocompromised are at risk of these complications.
It is important that as first-line staff, midwives are also familiar with the recommended IPC principles and measures, and
ensure they have the appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) when caring for a patient with suspected COVID-
19.

1. Which could be the best title for the passage?

A. Problems Related to the Coronavirus

B. Epidemic Situation in England by coronavirus

C. Advice for Those Who Infected with Coronavirus

D. Coronavirus Transmission and Prevention

2. According to the passage, the coronavirus can be found in all of the following except ______.

A. blood B. clothes C. urine D. faeces

3. The word "interim" in paragraph 2 mostly mean ______

A. temporary B. everlasting C. permanent D. effective

4. The word “They” in the last paragraph refers to ______.

A. COVID-19 B. WHO C. IPC D. PHE

5. Which of the following is TRUE about those with long-term conditions as stated in the passage?

A. They can work in the WHO.

B. They are employees of Public Health England.

C. They are at risk of illness pneumonia or severe acute respiratory infection.

D. They can work as first-line staff like midwives .

ENTERTAINMENT

Most of us tend to think of production when we think of mass media industries. After all, it is the output of this production
– the papers we read, the cable TV shows we watch – that grab our attention, make us happy or angry, interested or bored.
Moreover, most public discussion about mass communication tends to be about production. The latest gossip about that
actor will be in what film, the angry comments a mayor makes about the violence on local TV news, the newest CDs by
an up-and-coming group – these are the kinds of topics that focus our attention on the making of content, not its
distribution or exhibition.

Media executives know, however, that production is only one step in the arduous and risky process of getting a mass
media idea to an audience. Distribution is the delivery of the produced material to the point where it will be shown to its
intended audience. The activity takes place out of public view. We have already mentioned the NBC acts as a distributor
when it disseminates television programming via satellite to TV stations. When Philadelphia Newspapers Inc. delivers its
Philadelphia Inquirer to city newsstands, when Twentieth – Century – Fox moves its Musicland stores, they are
involved in distribution to exhibitions.

Question 1. In this passage, “arduous” means _____________.

A. difficult B. lucrative C. lengthy D. free

Question 2. The passage states that people tend to focus on production because

A. it takes place out of public view

B. mass media companies do not own production divisions

C. the output of mass media is intended to grab our attention

D. companies can function as both producers and distributors

Question 3. In this passage, to “disseminate” means to __ .

A. create B. send out C. take in D. fertilize

Question 4. This passage states that distribution is _______________________

A. the first step in mass media production

B. the most talked-about step in mass media production

C. at least as important as production

D. not as important as exhibition

Question 5. The author’s purpose in writing this passage is to ____________.

A. tell an interesting story B. define a concept clearly

C. describe a scene vividly D. argue with the reader

ĐÁP ÁN

1 - A; 2 - C; 3 - B; 4 - C; 5 - B;

CURIOUS

Curious about which digital camera is best for you? Where you can hear reggae music in Toronto? Or what the distance is
to Mars? Question-and-answer sites offer an alternative to the ubiquitous search engine: a place to post a question –
and then wait for another Internet user to respond.
The idea isn’t new: Usenet newsgroups have let us do this for years. But Q&A sites offer features that enhance and
simplify the process. All offer eBay-like feedback, where users rate the helpfulness of experts: over time, these scores
become a benchmark score for determining how trustworthy someone’s answers are. Question-and-answer sites also e-
mail you when an expert has responded, and they offer personalized page where you can see the questions you’ve asked,
the people who have responded, and what they’ve had to say.

Question 1. In this passage, “ubiquitous” means _________________

A. difficult B. new C. common D. expert

Question 2. The organization pattern of the second paragraph of the passage may be best described as
_________________.

A. cause/effect B. example/ illustrationsC. description D. classification

Question 3. The tone of this passage can best be described as ________________.

A. negative B. hysterical C. opinionated D. objective

Question 4. The main idea of this passage is that ________________ .

A. Question-and-answer sites have alternative to search engines.

B. Usenet newsgroups have been around for years.

C. The idea of question-and-answer sites is not new.

D. People have a lot of questions to be answered.

Question 5. The author’s purpose is writing this passage is to _______________

A. tell a story B. give information

C. persuade D. entertain

ĐÁP ÁN

1 - C; 2 - C; 3 - D; 4 - A; 5 - B;

When we were in England last year, I went fishing with my friend, Peter. Early in the morning we were sitting quietly by
the side of the lake when we had an unpleasant surprise. We saw a duck come along with three ducklings padding
cheerfully behind her. As we watched them, there was a sudden swirl in the water. We caught a glimpse of the vicious
jaws of a pike – a fish which is rather like a freshwater shark – and one of the ducklings was dragged below the surface.

This incident made Peter furious. He vowed to catch the pike. On three successive mornings we returned to the vicinity
and used several different kinds of bait. On the third day Peter was lucky. Using an artificial frog as bait, he managed to
hook the monster. There was a desperate fight but Peter was determined to capture the pike and succeeded. When he had
got it ashore and killed it, he wieghed the fish and found that it scaled nearly thirty pounds – a record for that district.

Question 1 .Why do you think Peter was sitting quietly by the lake?

A. He was watching the ducks.

B. He was waiting for the pike to appear.

C. He wasn’t very talkative.

D. He was fishing

Question 2 . To what does surprise in line 3 probably refer?

A. to the duck. B. to the ducklings.

C. to the action of the pike. D. to the time of the day.

Question 3. What were Peter’s feelings about the incident two days later?

A. He caught and killed the pike.

B. He vowed that he would catch the remaining ducklings

C. He remained determined to catch the pike.

D. He caught a frog and used it as bait for the pike.

Question 4 . How much was the pike worth?

A. about thirty pounds.

B. about two hundred and forty dollars.

C. the passage contains no information on this point.

D. the passage says that the fish scaled nearly thirty pound.
Question 5 . Which of the following titles best sums up the whole passage?

A. Mysterious disappearance of ducklings.

B. Record pike caught by an angry fisherman.

C. Revenge on a duck.

D. Huge pike caught by fisherman after desperate struggle atsea.

ĐÁP ÁN

1 - D; 2 - C; 3 - B; 4 - C; 5 - C;  

ANIMATION

Animation traditionally is done by hand-drawing or painting successive frame of an object, each slightly different than the
proceeding frame. In computer animation, although the computer may be the one to draw the different frames, in most
cases the artist will draw the beginning and ending frames and the computer will produce the drawings between the first
and the last drawing. This is generally referred to as computer-assisted animation, because the computer is more of a
helper than an originator.

In full computer animation, complex mathematical formulas are used to produce the final sequences of pictures. These
formulas operate on extensive databases of numbers that defines the objects in the pictures as they exist in mathematical
space. The database consists of endpoints, and color and intensity information. Highly trained professionals are needed to
produce such effects because animation that obtains high degrees of realism involves computer techniques from three
dimensional transformation, shading, and curvatures.

High-tech computer animation for film involves very expensive computer systems along with special color terminals or
frame buffers. The frame buffer is nothing more than a giant image memory for viewing a single frame. It temporarily
holds the image for display on the screen.

A camera can be used to film directly from the computer’s display screen, but for the highest quality images possible,
expensive film recorders are used. The computer computers the positions and colors for the figures in the picture, and
sends this information to the recorder, which captures it on film. Sometimes, however, the images are stored on a large
magnetic disk before being sent to the recorder. Once this process is completed, it is replaced for the next frame. When
the entire sequence has been recorded on the film, the film must be developed before the animation can be viewed. If the
entire sequence does not seem right, the motions must be corrected, recomputed, redisplayed, and rerecorded. This
approach can be very expensive and time – consuming. Often, computer-animation companies first do motion tests with
simple computer-generated line drawings before selling their computers to the task of calculating the high-resolution,
realistic-looking images.

Question 1: What aspect of computer animation does the passage mainly discuss?

A. The production procession B. The equipment needed

C. The high cost D. The role of the artist

Question 2: According to the passage, in computer-assisted animation the role of the computer is to draw the
_______________.

A. first frame B. middle frames C. last frame D. entire sequences of frames

Question 3: The word “they” in the second paragraph refers to .

A. formulas B. objects C. numbers D. database

Question 4: According to the passage, the frame buffers mentioned in the third paragraph are used to ____________.

A. add color to the images B expose several frames at the same time

C. store individual images D. create new frames

Question 5: According to the passage, the positions and colors of the figures in high-tech animation are determined by
______________.

A. drawing several versions B. enlarging one frame at a lime

C. analyzing the sequence from different angles D. using computer calculations

Question 6: The word “captures” in the fourth paragraph is closest in meaning to _________.

A. separates B. registers C. describes D. numbers

Question 7: The word “Once” in the fourth paragraph is closest in meaning to____________ .

A. before B. since C. after D. while

Question 8: According to the passage, how do computer-animation companies often test motion?

A. They experiment with computer-generated line drawings.

B. They hand-draw successive frames.

C. They calculate high-resolutions images.

D. They develop extensive mathematical formulas.

Question 9: The word “task” in the fourth paragraph is closest in meaning to__________ .

A. possibility B. position C. time D. job

Question 10: Which of the following statement is supported by the passage?

A. Computers have reduced the costs of animation.

B. In the future, traditional artists will no longer be needed.

C. Artists are unable to produce drawings as high in quality as computer drawings.

D. Animation involves a wide range of technical and artistic skills.

ĐÁP ÁN

1 - A; 2 - B; 3 - B; 4 - C; 5 - D; 6 - B; 7 - C; 8 - A; 9 - A; 10 - D;  

CANADA
Basic to any understanding of Canada in the 20 years after the Second World War is the country’s impressive population
growth. For every three Canadians in 1945, there were over five  in 1966. In September 1966 Canada’s population
passed the 20 million mark. Most of this surging growth came from natural increase. The depression of the 1930s and
the war had held back marriages, and the catching-up process began after 1945. The baby boom continued through the
decade of the 1950s, producing a population increase of nearly fifteen percent in the five years from 1951 to 1956. This
rate of increase had been exceeded only once before in Canada’s history, in the decade before 1911, when the prairies
were being settled. Undoubtedly, the good economic conditions of the 1950s supported a growth in the population, but the
expansion also derived from a trend toward earlier marriages and an increase in the average size of families. In 1957 the
Canadian birth rate stood at 28 per thousand, one of the highest in the world.

After the peak year of 1957, the birth rate in Canada began to decline. It continued falling until in 1966 it stood at the
lowest level in 25 years. Partly this decline reflected the low level of births during the depression and the war, but it was
also caused by changes in Canadian society.

Young people were staying at school longer, more women were working; young married couples were buying
automobiles or houses before starting families; rising living standards were cutting down the size of families. It appeared
that Canada was once more falling in step with the trend toward smaller families that had occurred all through the
Western world since the time of the Industrial Revolution.

Although the growth in Canada’s population had slowed down by 1966 (the increase in the first half of the 1960s was
only nine percent), another large population wave was coming over the horizon. It would be composed of the children
who were born during the period of the high birth rate prior to 1957.

Question 1. What does the passage mainly discuss?

A. Educational changes in Canadian society

B. Canada during the Second World War

C. Population trends in postwar Canada

D. Standards of living in Canada

Question 2. The word “five” in bold refers to

A Canadians B. years C. decades D. marriages

Question 3. The word “surging” in bold is closest in meaning to

A. new B. extra C. accelerating D. surprising

Question 4. The author suggests that in Canada during the 1950’s

A. the urban population decreased rapidly

B. fewer people married

C. economic conditions were poor

D. the birth rate was very high

Question 5. The word “trend” in bold is closest in meaning to

A. tendency B. aim C. growth D. directive

Question 6. The word “peak” in bold is closest in meaning to

A. pointed B. dismal C. mountain D. maximum

Question 7. The author mention all of the following as causes of declines in population growth after 1957 EXCEPT
_____________

A. people being better educated B. people getting married earlier

C. better standards of living D. couples buying houses

Question 8. It can be inferred from the passage that before the Industrial Revolution

A. families were larger

B. population statistics were unreliable

C. the population grew steadily

D. economic conditions were bad

Question 9. The word “it” in bold refers to ____________

A. horizon B. population wave C. nine percent D. first half

Question 10. The phrase “prior to” in bold is closest in meaning to ________________
A. behind B. since C. during D. preceding

ĐÁP ÁN

1 - C; 2 - A; 3 - C; 4 - D; 5 - A; 6 - D; 7 - B; 8 - A; 9 - B; 10 –

In the past, technology and progress was very slow. People “invented” farming 12,000 years ago but it took 8,000 years
for the idea to go around the world. Then, about 3,500 years ago, people called “potters” used round wheels to turn and
make plates. But it took hundreds of years before some clever person thought, if we join two wheels together and make
them bigger, we can use them to move things

In the last few centuries, things have begun to move faster. Take a 20th-century invention like the aeroplane, for example.
The first acroplane flight on 17 December 1903 only lasted 12 seconds, and the plane only went 37 metres. It can’t have
been very exciting to watch, but that flight changed the world. Sixteen years later, the first plane flew across the Atlantic,
and only fifty years after that, men walked on the moon. Technology is now changing our world faster and faster. So what
will the future bring?

One of the first changes will be the materials we use. Scientists have just invented an amazing new material called
graphene, and soon we will use it to do lots of things. With graphene batteries in your mobile, it will take a few seconds to
charge your phone or download a thousand gigabytes of information! Today, we make most products in factories, but in
the future, scientists will invent living materials. Then we won’t make things like cars and furniture in factories – we will
grow them!

Thirty years ago, people couldn’t have imagined social media like Twitter and Facebook. Now we can’t live without
them. But this is only the start. Right now, scientists are putting microchips in some disabled people’s brains, to help them
see, hear and communicate better. In the future, we may all use these technologies. We won’t need smartphones to use
social media or search the internet because the internet will be in our heads!

More people will go into space in the future, too. Space tourism has already begun, and a hundred years from now, there
may be many hotels in space. One day, we may get most of our energy from space too. In 1941, the writer Isaac Asimov
wrote about a solar power station in space. People laughed at his idea then, but we should have listened to him. Today,
many people are trying to develop a space solar power station. After all, the sun always shines above the clouds!

Question 10: The writer says that in the past ___________.

A, people didn’t invent many things

B, people didn’t want to use wheels

C,  most inventions were to do with farming

D,  it took time for new ideas to change things

Question 11: Why does the writer use the example of the aeroplane?

A, To explain why transport changed in the 20th century.

B, Because he thinks It’s the most important invention in history.

C,  To explain how space travel started.

D,  To show how an invention developed quickly.

Question 12: What does the writer say about the future of communication?

A, We can’t know what the most popular social media will be. B, Microchips will become faster.

C,  We won’t use the internet as much. D,  We won’t need devices like smartphones.

Question 13: What does the writer say about space solar power?

A, It’s an old idea, but people are only starting to develop it now.

B, It’s a science fiction idea, and nobody really thinks it will work.

C, It’s much easier to build a solar power station in space than on Earth.

D, People tried it in 1941, but they didn’t succeed.

Question 14: The best title for the article would be ___________.

A, Man in space

B, Will computers rule the world?

C, More and more inventions

D, Progress now and then

Key: https://ccedu.vn/doc-tin/bai-tap-doc-hieu-tieng-anh-co-dap-an/

ACCIDENTS

Accidents do not occur at random. People eighty-five years of age and older are twenty-two times likely to die
accidentally than are children five to nine years old.  The risk for native Americans is four times that for Asian-
Americans and twice that for white Americans or African-Americans. Males suffer accidents at more than twice the rate
of females, in part because they are more prone to risky behavior. Alaskans are more than three times as likely as Rhode
Islanders to die in an accident. Texans are twenty-one times more likely than New Jerseyites to die in a natural disaster.
Among the one hundred most populous counties, Kern County, California (Bakersfield), has an accident fatality rate three
times greater than Summit County, Ohio (Akron)

Accidents happens more often to poor people. Those living in poverty receive inferior  medical care, are more apt to
reside in houses with faulty heating and electrical systems, drive older cars with fewer safety features, and are less likely
to use safety belts. People in rural areas have more accidents than city or suburban dwellers because farming is much
riskier than working in a factory or office and because emergency medical services are less readily available. These two
factors – low income and rural residence – may explain why the south has a higher accident rate than the north.

(Source: Proficiency Reading)

Question 38: Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A, Children aged five to nine face the greatest accident risk.

B, All people face an equal risk of having an accident.

C, One in every 22 people aged 85 and over will die in an accident.

D, The risk of having an accident is greater among certain groups of people.

Question 39: The word “inferior” in the passage is closest in meaning to__________.

A, modern      B, low-quality            C, well-equipped       D,  unsafe

Question 40: According to the passage, which of the following groups of people in America face the highest risk of
having an accident?

A, Native Americans B, Asian-Americans C, White Americans D, African-Americans

Question 41: What does the word “that” in the passage refer to?

A, males B, native Americans C, the risk

D, African-Americans

Question 42: Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a reason for a higher accident rate among the poor?

A, Little knowledge about safety. B, Inadequate medical services.

C, Poor housing and working conditions. D, Use of cars which incorporate fewer safety features.

Keys: https://vndoc.com/15-bai-doc-hieu-on-thi-thpt-quoc-gia-2021-mon-anh-
co-dap-an-235921
PART 5: WRITING
I. Các tr ường hợp viết lại câu trong ti ếng Anh

 Dùng 1 cấu trúc nào đó trong Tiếng Anh

 Dùng dạng khác của từ
 Chuyển từ chủ động sang bị động
 Chuyển từ câu trực tiếp sang gián tiếp
 Các trường hợp về đảo ngữ…

II. Chú ý quan tr ọng khi vi ết lại câu ti ếng Anh

 Chú ý về thì: câu được viết lại phải cùng thì với câu đã cho.
 Chú ý về ngữ pháp: câu được viết lại phải đúng về ngữ pháp.
 Chú ý về nghĩa của câu sau khi viết phải không đổi so với câu ban đầu.

III. Phương pháp học dạng bài này

Phương pháp: sưu tập và làm càng nhiều mẫu câu càng tốt, sau đó đọc đi đọc lại nhiều lần cho thuộc lòng các cấu trúc.
Để hoàn thành 5 câu hỏi này trong một thời gian ngắn, học sinh nên theo 4 bước sau:

Bước 1: Đọc kỹ câu cho trước và cố gắng hiểu trọn vẹn ý của câu đó. Chú ý đến những từ khóa, S&V, và cấu trúc được
sử dụng ở câu gốc.

Bước 2: Chú ý những từ cho trước. Đưa ra ý tưởng viết lại câu sử dụng cách khác, cấu trúc khác mà vẫn giữ được ý
nguyên vẹn của câu cho trước.

Bước 3: Viết câu mới. Chú ý đến: Chủ ngữ và động từ mới, thì của câu mới, chú ý sự thay đổi của các cụm từ tương
ứng (như although- despite, adj-adv, if- unless...)

Bước 4: Đọc và kiểm tra lỗi, có thêm chỉnh sửa nếu cần

IV. Mẹo nhỏ khi làm bài tập viết lại câu

Sử dụng các cấu trúc ngữ pháp tiếng Anh thông dụng để thực hiện các bài tập viết lại câu là một cách thức đơn giản
thường được nhiều học viên anh ngữ áp dụng. Các trường hợp viết lại câu trong tiếng Anh phổ biến nhất có thể kể đến
như:

Dùng một cấu trúc trong tiếng Anh nhất định nào đó tương đồng về nghĩa với câu gốc.

Chuyển từ thể thức chủ động sang thể thức bị động.

Chuyển từ thể thức trực tiếp sang thể thức gián tiếp.

Các trường hợp đa dạng khác nhau về đảo ngữ cấu trúc tiếng Anh.

Một số điểm chú ý khi làm bài tập viết lại câu tiếng Anh:

Về thì: phải viết cùng thì với câu đã cho trong đề bài.

Về ngữ pháp: câu viết lại phải tuân theo đúng ngữ pháp của cấu trúc tiếng Anh được sử dụng. Một số cấu trúc cần lưu ý
là: câu bị động, trần thuật, ao ước ứih và so sánh.

Về ngữ nghĩa: câu được viết lại sau khi hoàn thành phải không thay đổi nghĩa so với ban đầu.

Ngoài ra còn phải chú ý tới việc sử dụng các liên từ như before, after hay for, since…

V. 100 c ấu trúc vi ết lại câu c ơ bản

1. It takes sb kho ảng thời gian to do sth= sb spend kho ảng thời gian doing sth
VD: It took her 3 hours to get to the city centre.

     = She spent 3 hours getting to the city centre.

2. Understand = tobe aware of

VD: Do you understand the grammar structure?

      = Are you aware of the grammar structure?

3. Like = tobe interested in = enjoy = keen on

VD: She likes politics

     = She is interested in politics

4. Because + clause = because of + N

VD: He can’t move because his leg was broken

      = He can’t move because of his broken leg

5. Although + clause = despite + N = in spite of + N

VD: Although she is old, she can compute very fast

     = Despite/ In spite of her old age, she can compute very fast

6. Succeed in doing sth = manage to do sth

VD: We succeeded in digging the Panama cannel

      = We managed to dig the Panama cannel

7. Cấu trúc: …..too + adj (for sb) to do sth: quá để làm gì

VD: My father is too old to drive.

     = It is such a/ an N that: quá đến nỗi mà

VD: She is so beautiful that everybody loves her.

     = It is such a beautiful girl that everybody loves her.

Adj/ Adv + enough (for sb) to do sth : đủ để làm gì

VD: This car is safe enough for him to drive

VD: The policeman ran quickly enough to catch the robber

8. Cấu trúc: prefer sb to do sth = would rather sb Vpast sth: thích, mu ốn ai làm gì

VD: I’prefer you (not) to smoke here

     = I’d rather you (not) smoked here

9. Prefer doing sth to doing sth: thích làm gì h ơn làm gì

Would rather do sth than do sth

VD: She prefers staying at home to going out

      = She’d rather stay at home than go out

10. Can = tobe able to = tobe possible

11. Harly + had +S + Vpp when S + Vpast: ngay sau khi... thì…

No sooner + had +S + Vpp than S + Vpast

VD: As soon as I left the house, he appeared

     = Harly had I left the house when he appeared

     = No sooner had I left the house than he appeared

12. Not………..any more: không còn n ữa

     No longer + d ạng đảo ngữ S no more V

VD: I don’t live in the courtryside anymore

      = No longer do I live in the coutryside

      = I no more live in the coutryside

13. At no time + d ạng đảo ngữ: không khi nào, ch ẳng khi nào
VD: I don’t think she loves me

     = At no time do I think she loves me

14. Tobe not worth = there is no point in doing sth: không đáng làm gì

15. Tobe not worth doing sth = there is no point in doing sth: không đáng, vô ích làm gì

VD: It’s not worth making him get up early

    = There is no point in making him getting early

16. It seems that = it appears that = it is likely that =it look as if/
as though: dường như rằng VD: It seems that he will come late

= It appears that/ it is likely he will come late

= He is likely to come late. 

= It look as if he will come late

17. Although + clause = Despite + Nound/ gerund

18. S + V + N = S + be + adj

19. S + be + adj = S + V + O

20. S + be accustomed to + Ving = S + be used to +Ving/ N

21. S + often + V = S + be used to +Ving/ N

VD: Nana often cried when she meets with difficulties. 

= Nana is used to crying when she meets with difficulties

22. This is the first time + S + have + PII = S+be + not used to + Ving/ N

VD: This is the first time I have seen so many people crying at the end of the movie. 

= I was not used to seeing so many people crying at the end of the movie. 

23. S + would prefer = S + would rather S + Past subjunctive (lối cầu khẩn)
24. S + like sth/ doing sth better than sth/ doing sth = S + would rather + V + than + V = S + prefer sth/ doing sth to sth/
doing sth... 

VD: I prefer going shoping to playing volleyball. 

= I would rather go shoping than play volleyball. 

26. S + V + O = S + find + it (unreal objective) + adj + to + V

27. It’s one’s duty to do sth = S + be + supposed to do sth

28. S + be + PII + to + V = S + be + supposed to do sth

29. Imperative verb (mệnh lệnh) = S + should (not) + be + PII

30. Imperative verb (mệnh lệnh) = S + should (not) + do sth

31. S + like sth = S + be + fond of + sth

VD: I like do collecting stamps. 

= I'm fond of collecting stamps. 

32. I + let + O + do sth = S + allow + S. O + to do Sth

VD: My boss let him be on leave for wedding. 

= My boss allow him to be on leave for wedding. 

33. S + once + past verb = S + would to + do sth. 

34. S + present verb (negative) any more = S + would to + do sth. 

35. S + V + because + S + V = S + V + to + infinitive

VD: She studies hard because she wants to pass the final examination. 

= She studies hard to pass the final examination. 

36. S + V + so that/ in order that+ S + V = S + V + to + infinitive

38. To infinitive or gerund + be + adj = It + be + adj + to + V
39. S + V + and + S + V = S + V + both... and

40. S + V + not only... + but also = S + V + both... and

41. S + V + both... and... = S + V + not only... but also... 

VD: He translated fast and correctly. 

= He translated not only fast but also correctly. 

44. S1+simple present+and+S2+simple futher =If+S1 + simple present + S2 + simple futher. 

45. S1+didn’t + V1 + Because + S2 + didn’t + V2 = If Clause

46. Various facts given = Mệnh đề if thể hiện điều trái ngược thực tế. 

47. S1 + V1 + if + S2 + V2(phủ định)= S1 + V1 + Unless + S2 + V2 (khẳng định)

48. S + V + O = S + be + noun + when + adj clause. 

49. S + V + O = S + be + noun + where + adj clause. 

50. S + V + O = S + be + noun + whom + adj clause. 

51. S + V + O = S + be + noun + which + adj clause. 

52. S + V + O = S + be + noun + that + adj clause. 

56. S + V + if + S + V (phu dinh) = S + V + unless + S + V (khẳng dinh)

57. S + be + scared of sth = S + be + afraid of + sth

58. Let’s + V = S + suggest + that + S + present subjunctive

59. In my opinion = S + suggest + that + S + present subjunctive (quan điểm của tôi)

60. S + advise = S + suggest + that + S + present subjunctive

61. Why don’t you do sth? = S + suggest + that + S + present subjunctive

62. S + get + sb + to do sth = S + have + sb + do sth

VD: She gets him to spend more time with her. 
= She have him spend more time with her. 

63. S + aks + sb + to do sth = S + have + sb + do sth

VD: Police asked him to identify the other man in the next room. 

= Police have him identify the other man in the next room. 

64. S + request + sb + to do sth= S + have + sb + do sth

VD: The teacher request students to learn by heart this poem. 

= The teacher have students learn by heart this poem. 

65. S + want + sb + to do sth = S + have + sb + do sth

VD: I want her to lend me

= I have her lend me. 

66. S + V + no + N = S + be + N-less

VD: She always speaks no care. 

= She is always careless about her words. 

67. S + be + adj + that + S + V = S + be + adj + to + V

VD: Study is necessary that you will get a good life in the future. 

= Study is necessary to get a good life in the future. 

68. S + be + adj + prep = S + V + adv

VD: My students are very good at Mathematics. 

= My students study Mathematics well. 

69. S + remember + to do Sth = S + don’t forget + to do Sth

VD: I remember to have a Maths test tomorrow = I don't forget to have a Maths test tomorrow. 

70. It + be + adj = What + a + adj + N!
VD: It was an interesting film. 

= What an interesting film!

71. S + V + adv = How + adj + S + be...

VD: She washes clothes quickly. 

= How quick she is to wash clothes. 

72. S + be + ing-adj = S + be +ed-adj

73. S + V = S + be + ed-adj

74. S + V + Khoảng thời gian = It + take + (sb) + Khoảng thời gian + to + V

VD: She have learned English for 5 years. 

= It takes her 5 year to learn English. 

75. S + be + too + adj + (for s. o) + to + V = S + be + so + adj + that + S + can’t + V

VD: The water is too hot for Peter to drink. 

= The water is so hot that Peter can't drink

76. S + V + too + adv + to + V = S + V + so + adv + that + S + can’t + V

77. S + be + so + adj + that + S + V = S + be + not + adj + enough + to + V

78. S + be + too + adj + to + V = S + be + not + adj + enough + to + V

79. S + V + so + adv + that + S + V = It + V + such + (a/ an) + N(s) + that + S +V

VD: He speaks so soft that we can’t hear anything. 

= He does not speak softly. 

80. Because + clause = Because of + noun/ gerund

VD: Because she is absent from school. 

= Because of her absence from school. 
81. to look at (v)= to have a look at (n): nhìn vào

82. to think about = to give thought to: nghĩ về

83.  to be determined to = to have a determination to: dự định

84. to know (about) = to have knowledge of: biết

85. to be not worth doing sth = there is no point in doing sth: không đáng, vô ích làm gì

86. to tend to = to have a tendency to: có khuynh hướng

87. to intend to +inf = to have intention of + V_ing: dự định

88. to desire to = have a desire to: khao khát, mong muốn

89 . to wish = to have a wish / to express a wish: ao ước

90. to visit Sb = to pay a visit to Sb / to pay Sb a visit: thăm viếng

91. to discuss Sth = to have a discussion about: thảo luận

92. to decide to = to make a decision to: quyết định

93.  to talk to = to have a talk with: nói chuyện

94. to explain Sth = to give an explanation for: giải thích

95. to call Sb = to give Sb a call : gọi điện cho…

96. to be interested in = to have interest in : thích

97. to drink = to have a drink : uống

98. to photograph = to have a photograph of : chụp hình

99. to cry = to give a cry : khóc kêu

100. to laugh at = to give a laugh at : cười nhạo

V. Bài tập Viết lại câu trong tiếng Anh có đáp án

Bài 1. Vi ết lại những câu dưới đây sao cho ngh ĩa không đổi:

1. My mother used to play volleyball when she was young.

=> My mother doesn’t…………………………………….

2. “Let’s go fishing”.

=> She suggests…………………………………… …

3. Mike gave me a dress on my birthday.

=> I was……………………………………….. ……………

4. “Would you like orange juice?”

=> He………………………………………… ……………

5. I last saw Jenny when I was in Ha Noi City.

=> I haven’t seen………………………………………. 

6. I got lost because I didn’t have a map.

=> If I had………………………………………..….

7. It is a four-hour drive from Nam Dinh to Ha Noi.

=> It takes……………………………………… ……

8. I think the owner of the car is abroad.

=> The owner………………………………………

9. It’s a pity him didn’t tell me about this.

=> I wish………………………………………. ……………

10. You couldn’t go swimming because of the rain heavily.

=> The rain was too………………………………………..

Bài 2. Bài t ập viết lại câu không thay đổi nghĩa

a/ I can’t go to work on time because it rains so heavily => ………………………………………

b/ I often played kite flying when I was a child => ………………………………………

c/ We discuss about environmental change issues => ………………………………………

d/ It appears that it is raining => ……………………………………..

e/ She has interest in practicing aerobics in her free time => ……………………………………..

f/ Police asked him to identify the other man in the next room =>
…………………………………………………………………………….

g/ She always speaks no care => ………………………………………………………….

h/ She have learned English for 5 years => …………………………………………………………….

i/ He speaks so soft that we can’t hear anything => …………………………………….

j/ Because she is absent from school => …………………………………………………

k/ It was an interesting film => …………………………………………………………….

l/ I don’t think she loves me => ……………………………………………………

Bài tập 3. vi ết lại câu ti ếng Anh nâng cao

1. In his recent article, Bob Lee pointed out all the faults in the government’s new transport policy.

In his recent artilce, Bob Lee was…………………

2. The company have been reviewing their recruitment policy for the last three months.

The company’s …………………

3. I’m absolutely sure he took the money on purpose.

He couldn’t possibly…………………

4. He delayed writing his book until he had done a lot of research.

Only after…………………
5. They declaired war on the pretext of defending their territorial rights.

The excuse…………………

6. I feel that I don’t fit with the people in the new office.

I feel like…………………

7. Skysrapers in the USA are on average taller than anywhere else in the world.

The average …………………

8. We were very impressed by the new cinema but found it rather expensive.

Impressed…………………

9. It’s more than a fortnight snice anyone saw Julian.

Julian…………………

10. The deadline for the receipt of complete application forms is 3.00p.m on Friday, 18th December.

Complete application …………………

Bài tập 4. Rewrite the following sentences by changing the indicated component.

1. The man was furious. (adjective)

____________________________________________

2. The council would not collect the rubbish. (verb)

____________________________________________

3. We watched a film on birds. (preposition)

____________________________________________

4. The bus was late because of the bad traffic. (clause order)

____________________________________________

5. The gate was opened by a guard. (active tense)

____________________________________________

6. When she got home, the door was unlocked (time clause position)

____________________________________________

7. She cooked a pie, some potatoes and green vegetables. (reorder list)

____________________________________________

8. The game was cancelled because it rained. (replace the dependent clause with a noun phrase)

____________________________________________

9 I can’t go to work on time because it rains so heavily

____________________________________________

10. I often played kite flying when I was a child 

____________________________________________

11. We discuss about environmental change issues 

____________________________________________

12. It appears that it is raining

____________________________________________

13 She has interest in practicing aerobics in her free time 

____________________________________________

Key: https://vndoc.com/download/mot-so-cau-truc-viet-lai-cau-trong-tieng-anh-84524?linkid=123209

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