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1. LIFE IN THE CITY Life in the city is full of activity. Early in the morning hundreds of people rush out of their homes in the manner ants do when their nest is broken. Soon the streets are full of traffic. Shops and offices open, students flock' to their schools and the day's work begins. The city now throb2 with activity, and it is full of noise. Hundreds of si hg tseers3, tourists and others visit many places of interest in the city while businessmen from various parts of the world arrive to transact business4. Then towards evening, the offices and day schools begin to close. Many of the shops too close. There is now a rush for buses and other means of tran sports. Everyone seems to be in a hurry to reach. home. As a result of this rush, many accidents occur. One who has not been to the city before finds it hard to move about at this time. Soon, however, there is almost no activity in several parts of the city. These parts are usually the business centres. With the coming of night, another kind of activity begins. The streets are now full of colourful lights. The air is cooler and life becomes more leisurely. People now seek entertainment. Many visit the cinemas, parks and clubs, while others remain indoors to watch television or listen to the radio. Some visit friends and relatives and some spend their time reading books and magazines. Those who are interested in politics discuss the latest political developments. At the same time, hundreds of crimes are committed6. Thieves and robbers who wait for the coming of night become active, and misfortune' descends upons many. For the rg_eed9 of a few, many are killed, and some live in constant fear. To bring criminals to justice10, the officers of the law are always on the mover. Workers and others who seek advancement in their careers attend educational institutions which are open till late in the night. Hundreds of them sit for various examinations every year. The facilities 12 and opportunities that the people in the city have to further their studies and increase their knowledge of human affairs are indeed many. As a result, the people of the city are usually better informed than those of the village, where even a newspaper is sometimes difficult to get. The city could, therefore, be described as a place of ceaseless activity. Here, the drama of life is enacted every day. NEW WORDS: 1. flock [fbk] (v) /u /u'dt keo den; to tap, quay qua"n 2. throb [bob] (v) r n rang, ri /en; rung dong o 3. sight-seer ['sait,si:a] (n) ngu'di d/ tham quan 4. transact [traen'zaekt] (v) thu'c hien, ties hanh; glai quyet 5. means of transport [mi:nz av 'traensp:):t] phu'dng tien van chuyen 6. commit [ka'mit] (v) pham phai 7. misfortune [mis'h:tjn] (n) su'rui ro, su'bat hanh; die"u khong may 8. descend upon [di'send a'pon] (v) Op xuong bat ngd, den bat ngd 9. greed [gri:d] (n) tinh tham lam 10. to bring s.o. to justice [brig to 'd3nstis] dem ai ra toa, truy to ai tai toa 11. on the move [Dn da mu:v] di chuye"n 12. facility [fa'siliti] (n) die"u kin thuan /di, phu'dng tien de dang Cuoc song n' thank th j Cuoc song a thanh thi rat nhon nhip. Tu to ma sang hang tram nguot iua ra khoi nha nhu da, kien vo to. Chang bao lau sau duong pho dong nghet xe co. Ckc cua hang va van phang ma cua. Hoc sinh hoi ha cap sach den truong va mot ngay lam viec bat ddu. Gia day thanh pho hoot dong nhon nhip va day ap tieng huyen nao. Hang tram nguai ngoan canh, du khach va nhieu nguai khac vieng tham nhirng thang canh cua thanh pho trong khi cac doanh nhan tir nhieu no'i tren the giai den trao doi tong viec lam an. Trai ve chieu, nhung van phong va truong hoc bat ddu dong cua. Nhieu cua hang cung dong cua. Luc nay dien ra mot cuoc do xo don xe but va cac phuong tin van chuyen khac. Dtr ng nhu moi nguo'i deu voi va ve nha. Ket qua cua sir voi va nay la nhieu tai nan xay ra. Nhung ai chua tong den thanh pho cam shay kho ma di lai vao gia nay. Tuy vay, khong bao lau sau mot so khu vuc cua hhanh pho nhu ngung hoot dong. Nhinig ncri nay thuong la cac trung tam kinh doanh. l fem xuong, rnot hinh that hoar dong khac lai bat ddu. fluong pho tran ngap anh den mau. Bdu khong khi diu xuong va cuoc .song tro nen 24 thu tha how. Gio' day nguai to tim den nhirng thu vui giai tri. Nhieu nguai den rap chieu bong, cong vien va cau lac bo, trong khi nhu'ng ngirai khac o' nha xem ti vi va nghe dai phat thanh. Co nguai di Aim ban be va ba con. Co nguai danh thi gi& doc sach va tap chi. Nhieng nguai Yuan tarn den chinh tri ban loan ve nhirng su' kien chinh tri Hong hoi. Cung trong tho'i gian nay, hang train vu trorn cu-6p dien ra. Trorn cuop cha dem xuong de hoat dong, va van rui se ap xuong nhieu ngu'o'i. Chi vi long than cua mot so it nguai ma nhieu nguai dd bi giet, va nhieu nguai khac phai song trong canh so' hdi trien mien. De dira tai pham ra truac cling ly, cac vien chirc luat phap lunn luon .sun sang hinh dong. Nguai lao dong va nhiTtng nguai moon tien trin tren con dtrang cong danh sir nghiep cua minh thi tham gia cac lop hoc ban dem. Moi nam co hang tram nguai trong so ho tham dir vao nhieu ky thi khac nhau. Ckc phuong tien va co, hoi danh cho nguai dan thanh thi de m& rang hoc hoi va gia tang kien tht'rc nhan sinh thuc sir rat phong phu. Do do nguai dan o' thanh pho luon nam bat thong tin nhanh hon nguai dan vOng nong than, no'i rna cd khi ngay den mot t& bao cong kho kiern. Tom lai thamh thi co the not la no'i cua nhung hoot dong khong ngung nghi. Chinh tai day, vo' kich cuoc dai tai dien moi ngay. 2. LIVING IN A MULTIRACIAL COMMUNITY Living in a community where there are people of various races' could be a rewarding and an exciting experience. Such a community is like a small world with many types and races of people in it. Everyone, young or old, enjoys listening to stories about people in other lands. We read books and newspapers to learn about the habits, customs and beliefs2 of people who do not belong to our race, but when we live in a community composed3 of many races, we have the opportunity to meet and talk with people or various races. We can learn about their customs and beliefs directly from them. In this way, we have a better understanding of their ways of life. For example, in Singapore and Malaysia, which are known as multi-racial4 countries, Malays, Chinese, Indians and others have lived together for several decades5. They have learnt a lot about the cultures of one another, more than what they could have learnt by reading books or newspapers. By living together, they have also absorbed6 many of the habits of one another to their common benefit. 25 Further, living in a multi-racial community teaches us how to respect the views and beliefs of people of other races. We learn to be tolerant and to understand and appreciate the peculiarities? of those who are not of our race. In this way, we learn to live in peace and harmony with8 foreigners whose ways of life are different from ours in several respects. We become less suspicious of strangers and foreigners. The relationship that develops among the people from common understanding in a multi-racial community makes life in such a community very exciting. Any celebration of any race becomes a celebration of all the other races. Thus, there is a lot of fun and excitement during every celebration. In this way, better understanding is promoted9 among the peoples of the world. Through each of the races of the people in a multi-racial community, we come to know about their respective countries. For example, through the Chinese and the Indians in Malaysia or Singapore we have come to know much about China and India. As a result, we have a better understanding of the peoples of China and India as a whole10 It could therefore be said that life in a multi-racial community teaches us many useful lessons in human relations. NEW WORDS: 1. race [reis] (n) chung toc, giong ngu'di 2. belief [bi'li:f] (n) tin ngu'dng 3. composed [kam'pauzd] (adj) go"m co, bao go"m 4. multi-racial [mAlti'rei fl] (adj) da chcing toc, nhie"u chung toc 5. decade ['dekeid] (n) thdi k,> mu'di nam, thop ky 6. absorb [ab's:):b] (v) hap thu 7. peculiarity [pi,kju:li'a_rati] (n) tinh chat rift, net rieng biet, net dac biet 8. in peace and harmony with [in piss and 'ha:mani wid] trong hoa binh va hoa thuan 9. promote [pra'maut] (v) nang cao; xuc tien, da"y mash 10. as a whole [az a haul] ndi chung, town bq 26 Song trong m& cong gong da chung toc Song trong mot cong dong ma cac cu dan thu6c nhieu chung tic We nhau co the la mot trai nghiem thii vi vai bo ich. Mot cong dong nhu the cung giong nhu mot the gi6i thu nho gom nhieu sac tic vai kieu tinh cach. Tat ca moi nguai, du gia hay tre, d du thich nghe chuyen ke ve nhung nguai don xt khac. Chung to doe sach, bao de bier ve nhung thoi quen, phong tuc vai tin ngtr&ng cua cac dan tic khac, nhung khi chung to song trong mot cong dong da sac tic, chung to co ca hoi gap gd vai tro chuyen voz ngzr&i dan thuoc nhieu chung toc khac nhau. Chung to c6 the true tiep hoc hoi ve nhung phong tuc vai tin nguo`ng cua ho. Bang cach nay, chung to co the hieu nhieu how ve loi song cua ho. Chang han nhw tai Singapore vai Malaysia, nh u ng nu6c duac xem la da sac tic, nguai Ma Lai, Trung Quoc, An flo vai cac sac dan khac da chung song vai nhau qua vai thap ky. Ho di hoc hoi rat nhieu ve van hoa cua nhau ma viec doc sach bao khong the sanh bang. Qua viec chung song vai nhau, ho ding da tiep thu nhieu tap quan cua nhau de rtjang lai lcri ich chung cho cong ding. Them vao do, cult song trong mot cong dong da sac tic day cho to biet On trong quan diem vai tin nguang cua d&n tic khdc. Chung to biet khoan dung, hieu biet vai dcinh gia cao net dac thu cua nhung nguai khong thuoc chung tic minh. Bang cach nay, chung to hoc chung song trong hoa binh vai hoa thuan vai nhung ngcr&i ngoai quoc ma loi song cua ho khac chung to tren vai phuong dien. Chung to trd nen it nghi nggi nhung nguai la vi) nguai nuoc ngoai. Moi quan he nay Binh giara cac dan tic tir su• hieu biet chung trong mot Ong dong da sac tot lam cho cuoc song trong cong ding nhu- the tr6 nen het szrc thu vi. Bat ky le ky niem cua mot dan tic nao cung tro' thanh le ky niem cua tit ca cdc dan tic khac. Nhd vay co rat nhieu niem vui thich vai the vi trong mni mot dip le hoi. Bang cdch nay, sit hieu biet l ai n nhau giaa cac dan tic tren the gidi duac day manh. Thong qua moi mot dan tic trong cong dong da chung tic, chung to din din hieu biet ve quoc gia ma ho la dai dien. Chang han, thong qua nguai Trung Quoc va An flo o- Malaysia hay Singapore, chung to biet nhieu ve Trung Hoa va An D. Vi vay chung to hieu nhieu han ve tong the dan tic va dat mr6c Trung Hoa vai An flo. Vi the co the not rang cuoc song a mot cong dong da chung tic day cho to nhieu bai hoc Ulu ich ve moi quan he cua con nguai. 27 3. A VISIT TO A FAMOUS CITY A few months ago my father and I visited Singapore, one of the most famous cities in Asia. Singapore, a small island, lies at the southern and of West Malaysia. A long and narrow piece of land joins Singapore with Johore Hahru, the southern-most town of West Malaysia. Singapore is now an independent state. The city of Singapore is extremely beautiful. It is well known for its centres of business and other activities. There are many places of interest' such as the Tiger Balm Garden, the Botanical Gardens and Raffles Museum. There are also many important centres of learning such as the University of Singapore, Science Centre, the Nanyang University and the Polytechnic. Being a famous city, hundreds of people come every day from various parts of the world to do business or to enjoy the sights of the city. Singapore therefore has large and beautiful airports and its harbours are full of ships. There are many night schools where people who cannot go to the day schools for some reason or other can continue their studies. And, the government of Singapore is still doing its best to make further improvements in the city for the benefit of the people. During my stay in Singapore, I went out every day with my father to see the beautiful and interesting places and things in the city. One day we went to the Tiger Balm Garden where I saw several statues of people, animals and other strange creature2 'beautifully made and kept. The sea near this garden makes this a pleasant place to visit. We spent almost half of the day at this place. Another day we visited the museum where I saw hundreds of curious3 things preserved for scholars4 and others. It was indeed an education to see all those things. There is so much to learn here that every visit by any person is sure to add to his knowledge. I also visited some of the harbours and saw the large ships anchored there. The sight of the ships aroused a desire' in me to cross the oceans and go round the world. I was indeed deeply impressed 7 by the activities at the harbour. Then every night, I went round the town and visited some of the parks and other places of interest. The numerous liohtsK and the constant 28 stream of traffic kept the city alive. I visited a few of the cinemas as well. In short, I enjoyed every moment of my stay in this famous city of Singapore. NEW WORDS: 1 places of interest [pleisiz av 'intrast] nhQng v►ang ding chzi y, nhrfng yang thu vi 2. strange creatures [streind3 'kri:tja] nhG,rng sinh vat la 3. curious ['kjuarias] (adj) ham hieu biet; to ma, hieu k> 4. anchor ['aeryka] (v) bo neo, tha neo 5. arouse a desire [a'rauz a di'zaia] gdi len svkhao khat 6. impress [im'pres] (v) gay an tu'dng 7. numerous lights ['nju:maras laits] nhie"u anh den 8. scholar ['skDle] (n) thanh phan tri thiYc Tham vieng mot thdnh pho no"I ding Catch dt y vii thkng, bo toi va toi di therm quan Singapore, mot trong nhung thanh pho not tieng nhat chau A. Singapore la mot han dao nho nam a phia nam vu thupc mien Trung Tay Malaysia. Mot dai dot nho va hep not lien Singapore v o 'i Johore Bahru, thanh pho cuc nam cua vung Tay Malayxia. Singapore hien nay la mot quoc gia dqc lap. Thanh pho Singapore ctrc ky diem le. No not tieng hai nhung trung tam buon ban va ckc hoot dong khac. Co nhieu thong canh nhzr Vu o-n Tiger Balm, Viran .sink hoc va Vien Bao tang Raffles. Ngoai ra con co nhieu trung tam nghien cuu quan trong nhu Doi hoc tong hop Singapore, Trung tam khoa hoc, flai hoc Nanyang va tai hoc Bach khoa. Vi la mot thanh pho not tieng nen hang ngay co hang tram nguai tix cdc nu-&c khac nhau tree the giai den de lam viec hay chiem ngu'"ng canh quan thanh pho. Vi the Singapore cO nhung son bay to va dep, con nhung hai cdng cua no luc new cung tap nap tau W. Co nhung lop hoc ban dem cho nhung ngu'ai khong the den truang vao ban ngay vi mot ly do nan do de ho tiep tuc hoc tip. Va hien nay chinh phu Singapore dung lam het suc minh de ngay cang phkt trien thanh pho vi lqi ich cho ngtrai dun Singapore. 30 Trong khi dung than 6� Singapore, heing nga_y toi ra pho dao cho'i vo'i bo va ngam nhin canh vat thi.i vi va dep de cua thank pho. Mat ngay no toi den vuon Tiger Balm not toi than co vai bare ttro'lig ngcrdi, nhieu loaf thu va nhung tao vat la ky du•oc tao tac va gin git7 rat cong phu. Chung t6i cr do gan nica ngay. Chung t6i cling thain quan vier bao tang, c do toi thav hang train thin. guy gia du•o'c gti gin cho cat hoc gia va nhung ngtroi khac. That la mot co, hoi hoc tap khi du'ac xem tat cd cat vat nay. 4' clay co rat nhieu dieu de hoc hoi den not bat cu' ngieo'i nao de n tham vien brio tang cling co them kien thiec cho minh. Toi cling di thain vai hki tang va thy nhirng con tau ion tha neo c do. Canh ttr ng tau be khuay dong trong t6i tr c muon vuo't dai ditong di vong quanh the gioi. Cac hoat dong 6 ben tang that s V gay cho t6i an thong sdu sac. Roi moi dem t6i deli di quanh thank pho vieng tham nhieng cong vien va thang canh khac. V6 so anh den va dong xe ca bat tan lam thanh pho rat sang dong. Toi cling den tham mot vai rap chieu bong. Tom lai t6i yeu thich moi khoknh khac t6i song tai thanh pho Singapore not tieng nay. 4. MODERN INVENTIONS Modern inventions have made life more comfortable` than what it was before. More and more new things are being made in all countries throughout the world to make life even more comfortable. In the past men had great difficulty in2 ploughing their lands to grow food. But, today, giant machines are used to plough 4 thousands of acres of land. As a result 5, more food can be grown in a shorter time than was possible before. Food grown in one country is sent to another country where it is needed badly. To carry the food motor-vehicles, steam-shius6 and various other means of transport have been invented. Shortage of food ? in one place no longer causes an xiety8 as it can be brought from another place within a very short time. The invention9 of the means of transport has also made it possible for people to work in places miles away, and children can attend schools in distant places. In the past, this was not possible. The children of today are therefore better educated than those of the past. Invention of the 31 means of transport has also increased human activity. A man can now go to several places, and do a variety of things in a day's time. Other inventions like the radio and the telephone have also contributed much to human progress1°. The radio keeps us informed about developments" in other parts of the world. We do not have to travel to know what is happening in places away from our homes. The telephone too is a convenient means of knowing about others, miles away. It helps in business transactions by reducing time and travel. A businessman in one town can talk to another in another town, several miles away, to do some important business. In all these ways, people are able to do many things without much loss of time12. In the same way, every invention has helped to increase our comforts. Television, for example, now makes it possible for people to stay at home and enjoy. At the same time, however, modern inventions have caused many deaths and much sorrow' 3 to many people. Motor vehicles and other machines have killed hundreds of people. Many have lost their hands or legs, and accidents continue to occur in every increasing numbers. Yet modern inventions have made the world what it is today. NEW WORDS: 1. comfo rt able ['knmfatabl] (adj) t/en /di, du tiers nghi; am cung; de ch/u, thoai mai 2. have great difficulty in [haev greit 'difikalti in] gap nhieu kho khan trong v/ec 3. giant ['d3aiant] (adj) khong 1 6, phi thu'dng 4. plough [plan] (v) cay, biYa, xdi 5. as a result [aez a ri'znlt] kit qua la 6. steam-ship ['sti:m f ip] (n) tau chat' bang hdi nrldc 7. sho rt age of food ['Jo:tid3 av fu:dJ su'thieu thin thrlc pham 8. anxiety [aerl'zaiati] (n) moi to au; moi ban khonn; su'lo tang 9. invention [in'venJn] (n) su'phat m/nh, sit sing chi 10. human progress ['hju:man 'praugres] su'phat triers cda nhin foal 11. development [di'velapmant] (n) su'phat triers 12. without much loss or time [wi'daut mntJ los av taim] khong mat nhie"u thd/ gian 13. sorrow (n) ['sD rau ] (n) su' dau kho, su' bu6n phie"n; not dau buon . creature2 'beautifully made and kept. The sea near this garden makes this a pleasant place to visit. We spent almost half of the day at this place. Another