IELTS READING 4.

5- LESSON 7
(IELTS COMPLETE: Test 6)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ac05heFFr5w&list=PLoJ-

gM4TbsLjwcevmtAcZQ_2ldZlMdjGn&t=1s&index=7

1.

How Do Many Hearing-

impaired People Talk?

(Link bài nghe https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSwE3rXa6x0 )

Hearing-impaired people cannot hear sounds well. How do they “hear” words?
Many hearing-impaired people use sign language. They talk with their hands.
Two hearing-impaired people can talk to each other. They both use sign
language. Sometimes a person who can hear and interprets for hearing-
impaired people. The person listens to someone talking, and then he or she
makes hand signs. There are two kinds of hand sign. Some signs are for whole
words. For example, there is one hand sign for the word love. There are hand
signs for different actions, things, and ideas. Some of the signs are very easy,
for example, the sign for eat, milk, and house. You can see what they mean.
Others are more difficult, for example, the sign for star, egg, and week.
The second kind of hand sign is fingerspelling. In fingerspelling, there is a sign
for every letter in the alphabet. For example, to fingerspell the word love, a
person makes four different signs. It is much slower to fingerspell, but is useful
for signing names and technical words. People can use both kinds of hand
signs together.
Each country has its own sign language. For example, American Sign Language
(ASL) is very different from British Sign Language. Using sign language is
almost like a dance. The whole body talks. Sign languages are beautiful.

Notes:
Hearing-impaired people (n) : người khiếm thính
sign language (n) : ngôn ngữ ký hiệu
interprets (v) : dịch
actions (n) : những hành động
fingerspelling (n) : cách đánh vần bằng tay
alphabet (n) : bảng chữ cái
technical (adj) : kỹ thuật

2.

The garbage problem

(Link bài nghe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dE...)
Garbage is a big problem all over the world. People buy and use a lot of things
nowadays. After a while, they throw them away in the garbage bin. All the
garbage is later thrown away or dumped outside the city. These places are
called landfill sites. In many cities, landfill sites are now full.

About one-third of all the garbage is made of paper. Another third of the
garbage is a mix of glass, metal, plastic, and wood. The final third comes from
food scraps. These are remains of food that are not eating any more. Food
scraps are not a big garbage problem for the environment. Our natural world
can get rid of food scraps. Insects and bacteria eat the food scraps and make
them go away.

But this does not happen with other materials. Plastic is very toxic to the
environment. It poisons the earth and the water. We use plastic for many
things, such as combs or pens. Also, when we buy something from the
supermarket, we get a plastic bag. As soon as we get home, we throw the bag
away. Plastic is also used to make Styrofoam. All take-out coffee cups and fast-
food boxes are made of Styrofoam. When we buy coffee and drink it on the
street, we throw that cup away too.

Other garbage we throw away is metal. The cans for soft drinks or beer are
made of aluminum. Aluminum is toxic too. The paper and wood we throw
away are not toxic. But we have to cut down many trees every year to make
paper and wood. Our environment suffers when there are no forests around.
The air is less fresh, and the earth dries up. With no water in the earth, plants
cannot grow.
Notes:

Garbage (n) : rác

all over the world : toàn thế giới
a lot of : nhiều
After a while : Sau một thời gian
throw away (v) : ném đi
bin (n) : thùng
dumped (v) : vứt bỏ
landfill sites (n) : bãi rác
made of (v) : làm bởi
glass (n) : kính
metal (n) : kim loại
plastic (n) : chất dẻo
wood (n) : gỗ
scraps (n) : đồ thừa
remains (n) : những phần còn lại
environment (n) : môi trường
get rid of : bỏ đi / xử lý
Insects (n) : côn trùng
bacteria (n) : vi khuẩn
go away (v): bỏ đi mất
materials (n) : những vật liệu
toxic (adj) : độc hại
poisons (n) : chất độc
combs (n) : những cái lược
supermarket (n) : siêu thị
boxes (n) : những cái hộp
take – out (v) : mang đi
soft (adj) : mềm
aluminum (n) : nhôm
cut down (n) : đốn
suffers (v) : chịu đựng
forests (n) : rừng
dries up (v) : khô hạn

Solutions to the garbage problem

We have to manage our waste and garbage better. If we throw away so many
things, soon we will have no place to dump them.

The best thing to do is to reduce the amount of garbage. If we use less, we

throw away less. For instance, we can buy food in big boxes and packages.
Then we throw away only one box i every month or so. Otherwise, we throw
away many small boxes or cans every day.
Similarly, we can reuse a lot of packaging. For example, we do not have to buy
take-out coffee in Styrofoam cups. We can bring our own cup from home and
fill it with fresh coffee. We also do not have to take the plastic bags from the
supermarket. We can bring our own cloth bag from home instead. When we
pack lunch, it is better to use a lunch box than a paper bag. Instead of paper
plates, we can use real plates. We can clean up with a dishtowel, not a paper
towel. We can use a compost bin for food scraps. In this way, the food gets
back into the earth. It does not get mixed up with the regular garbage.

Finally, all paper, glass and metal we do use, we can recycle. In many
countries, there are now recycling programs. In Germany, for example, people
separate all glass bottles by color. Then they put the bottles into special bins
that are on the street. The city collects the glass, cleans it, and reuses it. As
well, in most countries, people recycle newspapers and cardboard. It is easy
and efficient.

Notes:

Solutions (n) : các cách giải quyết

have to (v) : phải
manage (v) : xoay sở
waste (n) : rác
dump (v) : đổ
reduce (v) : giảm
the amount of : lương
For instance (adv) : ví dụ
Packages (n) : gói
Otherwise (adv) : mặt khác
Similarly (adv) : tương tự
reuse (v) : dùng lại
take-out (v) : mang đi
fill (v) : đổ đầy
fresh (adj) : mới
pack (v) : đóng gói
plates (n) : những cái đĩa
clean up (v) : làm sạch
compost (n) : phân hữu cơ
gets back (v) : quay trở lại
mixed up (v) : trộn
regular (adj) : thường lệ
Finally (adv) : cuối cùng
Recycle (n) : tái chế
separate (v) : phân chia
bottles (n) : những cái chai
put into (v) : đặt vào trong
collects (v) : thu lượm
cardboard (n) : thùng các tông
3. Link bài nghe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwd...
Bamboo
Bamboo is a common woody plant. It grows tall and thin. It looks almost like a
tree! It grows about twenty five metres tall. It is about fifteen centimetres wide.
Bamboo looks like it is made of many small pieces. Thick lines divide it into
small segments. And the inside of bamboo is empty. But it is hard and very
strong.

Many people think bamboo is a tree. But it is not - it is a kind of grass. It grows
mainly in East and South East Asia. It also grows in Latin America, India and
parts of Africa and Australia. Bamboo grows extremely fast and spreads very
quickly. There are 1500 different kinds of bamboo. People all over the world
use it. And people are planting more of it. Some people call bamboo ‘the crop
of the future.’ They have many good reasons to plant bamboo.

There are over 1,000 uses for bamboo! People in the past used bamboo for
many things. They made musical instruments and weapons with bamboo.
Artists used it for paint brushes and paper. Fishermen used it to make
equipment for catching fish. Some people even made boats from bamboo!
In China and India, doctors use bamboo in traditional medicine. Bamboo is
also very useful for cooking. People put food inside the empty bamboo plant.
This is a good container for cooking soup, rice or tea. But people also eat
bamboo as a healthy food. People eat the soft part, or shoot, of the bamboo in
many ways. Most Asian countries have special foods made from bamboo
shoots.

Bamboo has been used in traditional buildings. But builders also use it today!
The village of Noh Bo is just one example.
There are many modern uses for bamboo. In 1879 Thomas Edison created the
first light bulb. He made it with treated bamboo!

People also use bamboo to make cloth. Beauty products sometimes contain
bamboo. It is even in some water filters, to clean water! People have even
designed vehicles and airplanes out of bamboo. In Ghana, people even make
two wheeled bicycles from bamboo. In the Philippines, people make electricity
from bamboo! Buildings, bicycles, light bulbs and even electricity: bamboo is
an amazing plant.

These are just a few of the many ways people use bamboo. But bamboo is
useful for a much more important reason. It is useful while it grows! Growing
bamboo helps the environment in many ways. Bamboo provides oxygen, which
improves air quality. It also reduces harmful carbon dioxide in the air. It does
this more quickly than trees. Bamboo also provides shade and shelter from the
sun.

In many places, hardwood trees are cut down for fuel or for building. This
causes problems for the earth, animals, plants and air. To keep a good
environment, people must replace the trees. But it takes a very long time for
most trees to reach their full size. Many hardwood trees take 50 years to grow!
Bamboo is ready to use in only three years. Bamboo is the fastest growing
woody plant in the world. It can grow about 60 centimeters in only one day.
The bamboo plant grows to its full size in just three or four months. Some
kinds of bamboo then become dry and hard. In three years, it is strong enough
to harvest and use. And bamboo grows again when it is cut down. People can
harvest it year after year.

Some people are sure that bamboo is ‘the crop of the future’. For example,
Nicaragua has many hardwood forests. But people are cutting down three
percent of the forests every year. One organization, Eco-planet Bamboo, is
trying to replace these trees with bamboo.

Eco-Planet Bamboo planted a large bamboo farm. Through this farm, Eco-
Planet Bamboo hopes to improve the environment. They also hope to improve
life for local people. Bamboo is helping to reduce poverty in Nicaragua.
In Nicaragua, bamboo is providing jobs. Around the world, it is improving the
environment and the economy. It is easy to see why people call bamboo the
‘crop of the future.’

Notes:

woody (adj) : chất gỗ

wide (adj) : rộng
pieces (n) : các mảnh
segments (n) : các đoạn
bamboo (n) : cây tre
grass (n): cỏ
extremely (adv) : cực kỳ
spreads (v) : lan rộng
instruments (n): các công cụ
brushes (n) : những cái cọ
Artists (n) : những người nghệ sĩ
Fishermen (n) : người câu cá
equipment (n): thiết kế
medicine (n) : y học
useful (adj) : có lợi
empty (Adj) : trống rỗng
container (n): thùng hàng
shoots (n) : chồi
modern (adj) : hiện đại
created (v) : tạo
bulb (n) : bóng đèn
treated (v) : xử lý
contain (v) : chứa
filters (n) : máy lọc
designed (v): thiết kế
vehicles (n) : xe cộ
airplanes (n) :máy bay
wheeled (adj) : có bánh xe
electricity (n) : điện lực
provides (v) :cung cấp
oxygen (n) : Oxy
quality (n) : chất lượng
reduces (v) : giảm
shade (n) : bóng
shelter (n) : chỗ nấp
hardwood (n) : gỗ cứng
fuel (n) : chất đốt
cut down (v) : đốn
takes a very long time : mất rất nhiều thời gian
harvest (v) : thu hoạch
organization (n) : tổ chức
improve (v) : cải thiện
reduce (v) : giảm
poverty (n) : sự nghèo nàn
economy (n) : kinh tế

4.

Here today, gone tomorrow

The Arctic and Antarctica are now within reach of the modern tourist, with
many going to see these icy wildernesses before it's too late. Christian Amodeo
reports on the growth of polar tourism.

Travel at the North and South Poles has become an expensive leisure activity,
suitable for tourists of all ages. The poles may be inhospitable places, but they
are seeing increasing numbers of visitors.

Annual figures for the Arctic, where tourism has existed since the 19th century,
have increased from about a million in the early 1990s to more than 1.5 million
today. This is partly because of the lengthening summer season brought about
by climate change.

Most visitors arrive by ship. In 2007, 370,000 cruise passengers visited

Norway, twice the number that arrived in 2000. Iceland, a country where
tourism is the second-largest industry, has enjoyed an annual growth rate of
nine percent since 1990. Meanwhile, Alaska received some 1,029,800
passengers, a rise of 7.3 percent from 2006. Greenland has seen the most rapid
growth in marine tourism, with a sharp increase in cruise-ship arrivals of 250
percent since 2004.

The global economic downturn may have affected the annual 20.6 percent rate
of increase in visitors to the Antarctic - last season saw a drop of 17 percent to
38,200 - but there has been a 760 percent rise in land-based tourism there
since 1997. More people than ever are landing at fragile sites, with light
aircraft, helicopters and all-terrain vehicles increasingly used for greater
access, while in the past two seasons, ‘fly-sail’ operations have begun. These
deliver tourists by air to ships, so far more groups can enjoy a cruise in a
season; large cruise ships capable of carrying up to 800 passengers are not
uncommon.

In addition, it seems that a high number of visitors return to the poles.

‘Looking at six years’ worth of data, of the people who have been to the polar
regions, roughly 25 percent go for a second time,’ says Louisa Richardson, a
senior marketing executive at tour operator Exodus.

In the same period that tourism has exploded, the ‘health’ of the poles has
‘deteriorated’. ‘The biggest changes taking place in the Antarctic are related to
climate change,’ says Rod Downie, Environmental Manager with the British
Antarctic Survey (BAS). Large numbers of visitors increase these problems.
Although polar tourism is widely accepted, there have been few regulations up
until recently. At the meeting of the Antarctic Treaty in Baltimore, the 28
member nations adopted proposals for limits to tourist numbers. These
included safety codes for tourist vessels in Antarctic waters, and improved
environmental protection for the continent. They agreed to prevent ships with
more than 500 passengers from landing in Antarctica, as well as limit the
number of passengers going ashore to a maximum of 100 at any one time, with
a minimum of one guide for every 20 tourists. ‘Tourism in Antarctica is not
without its risks,’ says Downie. After all, Antarctica doesn’t have a coastguard
rescue service.’

‘So far, no surveys confirm that people are going quickly to see polar regions
before they change,’ says Frigg Jorgensen, General Secretary of the Association
of Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators (AECO). ‘However, Hillary Clinton and
many other big names have been to Svalbard in the northernmost part of
Norway to see the effects of climate change. The associated mediacoverage
could influence others to do the same.’

These days, rarely a week passes without a negative headline in the

newspapers. The suffering polar bear has become a symbol of a warming
world, its plight a warning that the clock is ticking. It would seem that this
ticking clock is a small but growing factor for some tourists. ‘There’s an
element of “do it now”,’ acknowledges Prisca Campbell, Marketing director of
Quark Expeditions, which takes 7,000 People to the poles annually. Leaving
the trip until later, it seems, may mean leaving it too late.
Notes:
Tourist (n) : du khách
wildernesses (n) : hoang dã
reports (n): những báo cáo
polar (n) : cực
tourism (n) : sự du lịch
expensive (adj) : đắt
activity (n) : hoạt động
leisure (n) : thời gian rảnh rỗi
inhospitable (adj) : không thân thiện
increase (v) : tăng
visitors (n) : các khách du lịch
figures (n) : những con số
existed (v) : tồn tại
lengthening (n) kéo dài ra
cruise (n) : cuộc đi chơi trên biển
passengers (n) : các hành khách
industry (n) : công nghiệp
annual (adj ) : hằng năm
growth (n) : tăng trưởng
percent (n) : phần trăm
received (v) : nhận
rapid (adj) : nhanh
marine (adj) : thuộc biển
cruise-ship (n) : thuyền đi biển
arrivals (n) : những sự đến
downturn (n) : sự suy sụp
land-based (n) : dựa trên đất liền
fragile (adj) : mỏng manh
aircraft (n) : máy bay
helicopters (n) : trực thăng
all-terrain (n) : địa hình
operations (n) : những sự hoạt động
deliver (v) : đưa
capable of (adj) : có khả năng
carrying up (v) : mang theo
senior (n) : người nhiều năm thâm niên
executive (n) : quản trị
operator (n) : mở rộng
period (n) : giai đoạn
poles (n) : những cực
taking place (v) : diễn ra
related to (v) : liên quan tới
climate (n) : khí hậu
regulations (n) : những quy định
adopted (v) : chấp nhận
proposals (n) : những đề xuất
vessels (n) : những thuyền
environmental (adj) : thuộc về môi trường
protection (n) : sự bảo vệ
continent (n) : lục địa
prevent (v) : ngăn
minimum (n) : mức tối thiểu
coastguard (n) : lính tuần phòng bờ biển
regions (n) : những vùng
northernmost (n) : cực bắc
associated (v) : liên kết
media coverage (n) : sự truyền phát của thông tin đại chúng
negative (n) : tiêu cực
headline (n) : tiêu đề
plight (n) : lời hứa hẹn
warning (n) : báo động
ticking (n) tiếng tíc tắc