PHAM CONG NGOC, M.A, HO THI XUAN HONG, M.A READING READING VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF FORESTRY - 2021 PHAM CONG NGOC, M.A, HO THI XUAN HONG, M.A READING VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF FORESTRY - 2021 INTRODUCTION This reading material is intended for students of intermediate level of the advanced curriculum and any English learners who have the same level of competency It consists of 20 units covering familiar topics about life, health, work, environment and other social issues The authors of this reading book tried to collect a lot of reading resources from which the authors made much effort to get the most suitable materials for the students’ level All the texts are thoroughly selected and adapted with a wide range of exercises to help consolidate and expand the students’ reading skills such as skimming, scanning, reading for details, etc and also broaden their knowledge about language and culture which is of great importance in learning a language The final aim of the course book is to improve students’ ability to evaluate not only the content of the reading passages but also the authors’ view points and their language styles In other words, this helps develop students’ critical reading It teaches them not only English language skills with a focus on reading ones but also reading techniques and background knowledge In order to achieve these objectives, the students are required to activate their schemata to comprehend the texts, to work out the meaning of new words by using particular contexts, to read between lines, to summarize the texts and in the end to express their own views about the passages and the authors in their pair and group discussions and through written comments It is hoped that the reading book can be of some help to the students in motivating their reading ability in integration with their other skills i ii CONTENTS Introduction i Contents iii Chapter STUDENT LIFE Unit 1.The cost of education Unit 2.The work- life balance 11 Unit 3.Are you looking after yourself? 17 Unit Insurance: A policy of fitness 23 Chapter SOCIETY AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT 27 Unit Boost your brainpower 28 Unit Organic food 35 Unit Life in 2060 42 Unit 8.The seven ancient wonders of the world 47 Chapter ECONOMICS 53 Unit 9.Supply and demand 54 Unit 10.Economic inflation 61 Unit 11.Poverty and hunger 68 Chapter TREES AND NATURAL RESOURCES 73 Unit 12 Identification of trees 74 Unit 13 Roles of trees 80 Unit 14 Trees and flooding 86 Unit 15 Population ecology 94 Unit 16 Natural resources 99 Chapter ENVIRONMENT 105 Unit 17.Rubbish 106 Unit 18.Environmental pollution 112 Unit 19.Clearing land for farms 118 Unit 20 The greenhouse effect 123 Keys 128 Glossary 144 References 168 iii iv Who is this book for? Reading is designed for not only the students of intermediate level of the advanced curriculum of the university but also for any English learners whose language competency level is somehow similar The book includes reading units which cover different fields of the students’ studying majors It consists of different kinds of reading exercises and tasks with the hope of improve the learners’ reading skills and examination techniques How to use this book? Each unit of the book contains three main parts naming Before reading, While reading and After reading Before Reading In this part, each reading unit usually contains two tasks designed to help students “warm-up” their knowledge about the topic of the reading passage These tasks may be for individual work or may be group discussion in order to lead in the topic and wake up their vocabulary of the field For this part, students should discuss and brainstorm to produce personal ideas related to the reading texts Students should not worry about whether their ideas are correct or incorrect They just should feel free to exchange ideas with their partners As a result, this part is helpful and necessary for them to comprehend the reading text more easily and the reading tasks and exercises more effectively While Reading In this part, students are required to read the reading passages silently and completed the related reading tasks of different types such as question answering, word meaning matching, paragraph heading matching, true or false, etc Each kind of exercise is instructed clearly to make sure that students cannot be confused while doing reading exercises In this part, students can individually or in pairs or in groups depending on the teacher or their desire For each type of tasks, students are required to base on the reading texts to produce answers applying techniques and skills which have been taught If it is pair or group discussion, they can discuss with their friends to have the best answers After Reading This part is produced so as to consolidate what students have been reading This usually consists of several popular types of post reading tasks such as summary gap- filling, word puzzle, discussion and jotting down ideas, problems solving, and so on This is much more useful if students work in pairs and groups so they can help each other and scaffold their partners to memorize what they have read and produce ideas better Also, this book comprises Answer keys and Glossary parts in order to help students to self-read outside classroom and check their answers Moreover, with the glossary, students can look up the meanings of the vocabulary which are struggling to them and memorize the vocabulary Chapter STUDENT LIFE Word Synonyms Profit (n) Meaning The money you get from your business Proprietary (a) Reserved Having right to own something Purchase (v) Buy Buy something Reference (n) A mention of something or someone Stock (n) Supply A supply of something for use or sale Supply (v/n) Provide A provision of something Surplus (n) Abundance An amount that is more than enough Vary (v) Change Change in amount or level Willingness (n) Eagerness Feeling happy to something 154 Unit 10 ECONOMIC INFLATION Word Synonyms Meaning Accelerating (a) Gradual Happen faster and sooner Aggregate (a) Gathering Be combined into a single group or total Complicated (a) Difficult Very difficult Consequence (n) Result Result of something Depression (n) Recession A period of bad economic growth Devalue (v) Degrade Make the value of something reduce Entrepreneur (n) Enterprise Enterprise or businessmen Filter (n) Purifier A machine used to make something cleaner or higher quality Fluctuation (n) Variation Going up and down or changing over time Gradual (a) Accelerating Changing slowly over a long period of time Index (n) Figure A collection of information Inflation (n) A general, continuous increase in prices Investment (n) Spending money into a business Moderate (a) Average Neither small nor large in size, amount, degree, or strength Paycheck (n) Salary The amount of money a person earns Permanently (adv) Prolong Always and for ever Raw (a) Uncooked Uncooked or not being processed Recession (n) Depression A period of bad economic growth Reparation (n) Compensation Payment for harm or damage Retail (n) Sale Selling goods in shops at a particularly Scarce (a) Easy Not easy to find or get Smooth (a) Figure Able to something without obstacles Statistic (n) Stable Information based on a study or survey Steady (a) Origin Happening in a smooth, gradual, and regular way Stem (n) Study Coming or generating from Survey (n) A way of collecting information 155 Unit 11 POVERTY AND HUNGER Word Synonyms Meaning Access (n) Contact Ability to use something good Aspect (n) Area A field or area of something Chronic (a) Prolong During a very long period Community (n) Group Living things co-exist in one particular area Concept (n) Idea An idea or a way of thinking Conflict (n) Opposition An active disagreement, as between opposing opinions Convey (v) Transfer To express a thought, feeling, or idea Crisis (n) Depression An extremely difficult or dangerous point in a situation Decent (a) Satisfactory Acceptable, satisfactory, or reasonable Deficient (a) Lack Not good enough or not enough Degenerative (a) Degrade Able to make a generation worse Deprivation (n) Shortage A situation you not have things or conditions for a good life Diabetes (n) Direction A kind of disease Dimension (n) Throw A part or feature or way of considering something Dispose (v) Make someone feel bad toward someone else Disproportionately (adv) Too large or too small in relation to something else Elevate (v) Increase Increase or rise, or go up Having and expressing strong feelings Emotional (a) Encompass (v) Include To include different types of things Enemy (n) Competitor A person who opposes or harms you Essence (n) Importance The basic or most important idea or quality of something Expenditure (n) Spending Spending money The use of something for profit or progress in society Exploitation (n) Incidence (n) Accident Accident 156 Word Inequality (n) Synonyms Unfairness Infrastructure (n) Meaning A situation in which it is unfair The basic systems and services a country uses to work effectively Unsafety Insecurity (n) Facility A large number or amount of Majority (n) unsafety A way or solution to deal with a problem Measure (n) Take part in something Participate (v) Solution A situation in which someone is poor Poverty (n) Join Having no power or no right Powerless (a) Unwealth Very popular or major Predominant (a) Telling something in the future Projection (n) Popular In a suitable or good way Properly (adv) Prediction Very far and hard to reach Remote (a) Suitably A person who speaks, acts officially for someone else Representation (n) Isolate A way of feeling Sensation (n) A place for living or housing Shelter (n) Feeling What a person needs in order to stay alive Subsistence (n) Habitat To keep or remain for long Sustain (v) Material The level or point at which you start something Threshold (n) Remain Able to be easily physically, emotionally, or mental Vulnerable (a) Point hurt, or attacked Welfare (n) Hurt Help given by the state or an organization 157 Unit 12 IDENTIFICATION OF TREES Word Bark (n) Synonyms Cover Botanical (a) Meaning The outermost part of a tree Belong to plants Crown (n) Shape The shape of a tree Distinct (a) Clear Clearly noticeable Elevation (n) Height The height of a place above the level of the sea Exposure (n) Contact Contact to something Gross (n) Total The total amount of something Identification (n) The act of recognizing and naming someone or something Intercept (v) To stop or catch the sunlight Lamina (n) Leaf blade Lobe (b) Leaf blade A rounded or pointed part on a leaf Manual (n) Instruction A book that gives you practical instructions Maturity (n) Grown Being completely grown Photosynthesis (n) A process by which a plant uses the energy from the light of the sun to produce its own food Scar (n) Wound Shrub (n) A mark left on part of the tree after a disaster Small plants with many small branches Stalk (n) Petiole A stem that joins leaves, flowers, or fruit to the main stem Stem (n) Trunk A trunk or a main part of a tree Tortuous (a) Twisted With many turns and changes of direction Vine (n) Tree The climbing plant that produces grapes 158 Unit 13 ROLES OF TREES Word Synonyms Meaning Absorb (v) Take into Aesthetically (adv) Perfect In a beautiful or artistic way Amelioration (n) Improvement The process of making a bad or unpleasant situation better Automobile (n) Vehicle Benefit (n) Canopy (n) A good thing you can get from something or someone Shape Community (n) Conserve (v) Means of transportation A shape of a tree A total living things that co-exist Protect (v) Protect something or someone Contribute (v) Give something or money to someone Deflect (v) Change direction, or to prevent something from being directed at you Ditch (n) Chanel A long, narrow open hole that is dug into the ground, at the side of a road or fieldfor supplying or removing water Drainage (n) Dirt A system of water or waste liquids flowing away Dust (n) Smoke (n) Dry dirt in the form of powder that covers the surfaces Emission (n) The release of smoke or exhaust from factories or vehicles Erosion (n) Soil or stone is gradually damaged and removed by the runoff water or wind Essential (a) Important Very important Evolve (v) Develop Grow up or develop Facility (n) Equipment Equipment or tools Faith (n) Trust Great trust or confidence in something or someone Filter (v) Purify Make something better or higher quality Fundamental (a) Basic Basic and necessary Habitat (n) Shelter Living environment Improve (v) Boost Make something better 159 Word Synonyms Meaning Landmark (n) Hotspot A famous and remarkable place Mammal (n) Animal A kind of animal that feeds her young on milk Mature (a) Grown Fully developed or being adult Necessity (n) Significance Importance to something Particle (n) Pavement (n) An extremely small piece of matter Sidewalk A sidewalk along a street or road Photosynthesis (n) A process by which a plant uses the energy from sunlight to make food Precipitation (n) Water that falls from the clouds as rain or snow Release (v) Emit Emit or discharge from something Renowned (a) Well-known Very famous Reproduction (n) Giving birth Satisfy (v) Feel happy with something Shelter (n) Habitat A living place for animals Slash (v) Reduce Cut down or reduce Species (n) Timber (n) Animals and plants Trunk Wood product 160 Unit 14 TREES AND FLOODING Word Synonyms Absorb (v) Afforestation (n) To take something in Reforestation Make forests recover Adverse (a) Associate (v) Meaning Having a negative or harmful effect on something Relate Basin (n) Connect someone or something in your mind with another The area of land from which streams run into a river, lake, or sea Biodiversity (n) Variety Variety of plants and animals that exist in a particular area Canopy (n) Shape The branches and leaves form a shape of a tree Channel (n) Waterflow Waterflow like stream Contradictory (a) Opposite Very different or opposite from each other Correlate (v) Relationship A relationship between two things Deposition (n) Formation The formation of a layer of a substance such as soil or rock Deterioration (n) Degradation Becoming worse Discharge (v) Throw Throw into waterflows Establish (v) Form Form or give out something Extravagant (a) Luxurious Spending too much money, or very luxurious Fertility (n) Richness Being able to produce young or fruit Moving slowly into ground Infiltration (n) Instance (n) Case A case of a particular situation Intercept (v) Prevent To stop things, people, etc as they go to a particular place Livestock (n) Animal Animals and birds that are kept on a farm Moderate (a) Average Neither small nor large in size, amount, degree, or strength A flat area of land Plain (n) Prolonged (a) Chronic Chronic or for a long time Prone (a) Vulnerable Likely to suffer from an illness Regulate (v) Control Control something by making it work in a particular way Saturate (v) Wet To make something or someone completely wet Sufficient (a) Enough Enough Torrential (a) Hard Very heavy rain Watershed (n) An area of high ground from which water flows down to a river 161 Unit 15 POPULATION ECOLOGY Word Synonyms Meaning Adequate (a) Enough Enough or sufficient of something Alter (v) Change Change something slightly Boundary (n) Border A line that marks the edge or limit of something Demographic (a) The study of populations and the different population groups Dispersion (n) Distribution The separation of something into different ones Dynamic (a) Active Having a lot of ideas and enthusiasm Ecology (n) Relationships between the air, land, water, animals, plants, etc Emigration (n) Leave a country permanently and go to live in another one Estimate (v) Calculate Excessive (a) Guess or calculate the cost, size, value, etc of something Too much or too many Fluctuation (n) Change Going up and down all the time Habitat (n) Shelter A place to live Humidity (n) Moist A measure of how wet the air is Immigration (n) Coming to live in a different country Indicate (v) Show Show or reveal something Insufficient (a) Lack Not enough Interaction (n) Communication Communication between two or more Juvenile (n) Young Measure (v) Young or not mature Discover the exact size or amount of something Occupy (v) Take/Cover Exist in, or use or take control a place for a period of time Patch (n) Area A local area within which someone works Pattern (n) Structure A way in which something is done, is organized, or happens Reproductive (a) Birth Relating to the process of giving birth Repulsion (n) Refusal or saying no to something Refusal Simultaneous (a) At exactly the same time Stage (n) Step A step or a period of time Tendency (n) Possibility A likelihood to happen Variable (n) A number, amount, or situation that can change 162 Unit 16 NATURAL RESOURCES Word Synonyms Meaning Consume (v) Use Use, eat or drink something Exist (v) Appear Appear Fossil (n) Something has been preserved in rock or earth for a very long period Inorganic (a) Non-living Not consisting of living material Melt (v) Change Change from solid into liquid Mineral (n) Substance A chemical substance that is formed naturally in the ground Offspring (n) Baby The young of an animal or a baby Renewable (a) Be able to reproduce Replace (v) Take the place of something Reproduce (v) Bear Produce a new living thing of the same type as itself Supply (v/n) Provide Provide something Survival (n) Life Continuing to live or exist 163 Unit 17 RUBBISH Word Synonyms Agency (n) Organization An official organization Approach (n) Method A measure or method to something Ban (v/ n) Prohibit Stop or not allow someone to something Barrel (n) Container A container or tank to contain liquid Brave (a) Encouraged Very encouraged or determined to something Concentration (n) Meaning A large number or amount of something in the same place Crew (n) Group A group of members working together Degrade (v) Break down Break down something Disgrace (n) The loss of other people's respect Disruptor (n) Preventer A person or thing that prevents something Dreadful (a) Awful Very terrible Dump (n) Landfill A place to put rubbish Eliminate (v) Erase Drive away or erase something Entire (a) Whole All or whole Floating (a) Moving in water Inhabitant (n) Dweller A local person Lobby (n) Persuader A group of people trying to persuade the government or an official group to something Manufacture (v) Produce Produce or make something Oceanographer (n) Scientist A scientist who studies oceans Particle (n) An extremely small piece of matter Pressure (n) Stress Stress or a tiring feeling from work or life Prophecy (n) Foretelling Saying what is going to happen in the future Profit (n) Money The amount of money you get from your business Purchase (v) Buy Buy something Rebel (v) Oppose Fight against or oppose something Trash (n) Rubbish Rubbish or litter or waste Unsustainable (a) Unable to continue at the same rate Vehicle (n) Automobile A means of transportation Wipe (v) Clear up Drive away or clear up 164 Unit 18 ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION Word Synonyms Meaning Accumulate (v) Gathering Collect a large number of things over a long period of time Associate (v) Relate Relate to something or someone Balance (n) A state where things are of equal Concentration (n) Accumulation A large number or amount of something in the same place Contaminate (v) Pollute Make something dirtier or more polluted Degrade (v) Go down in quality Denotation (n) Reference Referring to something or naming it using a word Deposition (n) Formation The formation of a layer of a substance such as soil or rock Detectable (a) Noticeable Able to notice something that is partly hidden or not clear Detriment (n) Damage Damage or harm Discharge (v) Spew Throw away rubbish or waste Disaster (n) Accident A kind of natural accident Dissipation (n) Disappearance Gradual disappearance or waste Exist (v) Appear Exponential (a) Appear or live in somewhere Mathematical term showing something become quicker or bigger very fast Explosion (n) Boom A very fast growth of something Indiscriminate (a) Careless Not showing careful thought or planning Invisible (a) Intangible Unable to see Manufacture (v) Produce Produce or make Nuisance (n) Annoyance A feeling of uncomfortable or terrible or angry Persistent (a) Constant Lasting for a long time or difficult to get rid of Perturbation (n) Change A small change in something Radiation (n) A kind of substance that is dangerous to our health Substance (n) Material A material with particular physical characteristics Supersonic (a) Loudly Very loudly noise Thermal (n) Heat Connected with heat Tremendous (a) Massive Very great in amount or level Vehicle (n) Car/van A kind of means of transportation 165 Unit 19 CLEARING LAND FOR FARMS Word Synonyms Abandon (v) Meaning Leave something (land) unused Access (v) Approach Get to or approach something Adapt (v) Suit Change and suit different situations Corporation (n) Company Big company Crisis (n) An extremely dangerous or difficult situation Depression Deforestation (n) Destruction Destruction to forests Destruction (n) Damage Cause damage to something Fertilize (v) Enrich Spread a substance on land or plants to make them grow well Filter (n) Purifier A thing used to make something cleaner or better Humid (a) Wet Very wet condition in the air Implication (n) Effect The effect that an action or decision Jungle (n) Forest A kind of dense tropical forest Livelihood (n) A way of working and earning for living Log (n/v) Cut Cut wood Merely (adv) Only Only or just Pigment (n) A natural substance that produces color in animals and plants Rainforest (n) A kind of forest in tropical climate Reliance (n) Dependence Dependence on something or someone Poverty (n) Unwealth A situation in which people are poor Slash (v) Cut Destroy forest trees Solution (n) Measure A way of dealing with a problem Statistic (n) Figure Information based on a study of the number of times Temporary (a) Short-term Not lasting or needed for very long Treasure (n) Very valuable things 166 Unit 20 THE GREEN HOUSE EFFECT Word Synonyms Meaning Absorb (v) Take inside Atmosphere (n) The air around the Earth Balance (n) A good natural status or situation Benefit (n) Profit A good thing you get from something Convert (v) Change into a different form or thing Creature (n) A living thing like animal or plant Destruction (n) Damage An action to destroy something Disturb (v) Interfere Interrupt or stop someone from doing something Escape (v) Run away Expect (v) Guess Hope guess something that will happen Expert (n) Scientist A person who has a great knowledge about a certain field Expose (v) Contact Contact with or to be close to something Fiction (n) Imagination Unreal or imaginable thing Formerly (adv) Before Before that Greenhouse (n) A kind of house made with glass Icecap (n) Ice cube A very large cube of ice Inhabitant (n) resident A local person Melt (v) Change form from solid into liquid Occur (v) Happen Happen Operate (v) Run Run or work something Predict (v) Guess Tell something that will happen in the future Proportion (n) Scale A scale or percentage of something Region (n) Area A large area of land Significant (a) Important Very important Tiny (a) Small Very small Trap (v) Catch Catch or keep someone or something Vapour (v) Change form from liquid into air 167 REFERENCES Beatrice S Milulecky and Linda Jeffries (2012) Reading Power Pearson Longman Danielle S McNamara (2007) Reading Comprehension Strategies: Theories, Interventions, and Technologies Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Els Van Geyte & Rhona Snelling (2011) Collins Reading For IELTS Emma Truelov, Charles Hulme, Margaret J Snowling (2013) Developing Reading Comprehension Wiley-Blackwell https://lingua.com/businessenglish/reading/supply-and-demand/ https://www.englishclub.com/reading/health/organic.htm https://www.englishclub.com/reading/environment/endangered-species.htm https://www.masterclass.com/articles/what-is-inflation-in-economics#whatis-inflation https://www.softschools.com/language_arts/reading_comprehension/sciene/ 64/the_brain/ 10 http://www.softschools.com/language_arts/reading_comprehension/science 11 https://thehappinessindex.com/employee-engagement/importance-of-worklife-balance/ 12 Judith Orasanu (1986) Reading Comprehension: From Research to Practice Lawrence Erlbaum Associates 13 McGraw Hill Reading Essential For Biology An Interactive Student Textbook United States of America 14 Stephen Slater, Donna Millen, Pat Tyrie (2003) IELTS on Track Copyright © Slater, Millen 15 Watson Irvine (2002) Reading Comprehension Skills and Strategies Level Saddleback Educational Publishing 168 ... reading, While reading and After reading Before Reading In this part, each reading unit usually contains two tasks designed to help students “warm-up” their knowledge about the topic of the reading. .. for them to comprehend the reading text more easily and the reading tasks and exercises more effectively While Reading In this part, students are required to read the reading passages silently... ………………………………………………………………………………………… 33 Solutions: ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… 34 Unit ORGANIC FOOD Before reading