Classification - Polar Tourism Insights and Historical Context | Nhập môn Ngôn ngữ Anh | Đại học Hàng hải Việt Nam
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. Tài liệu được sưu tầm và soạn thảo dưới dạng file PDF để gửi tới các bạn cùng tham khảo, ôn tập đầy đủ kiến thức, chuẩn bị cho các buổi học thật tốt. Mời bạn đọc đón xem!
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“Fa F i a liilng n g a a fe f w e w ti t m i e m s s d o d es e n s ' n t t m e m an a n y ou' ou r ' e r a a fa f i a liu l r u e, e , bu b t u y o y u' u r ' e a a fa f i a liur u e e w hen e y o y u u a cc c ep e t t t o gi g v i e e u p.” V11. MATCHING FEATURES
Here today, gone tomorrow
A. 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.
B. 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.’
C. ‘ 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 media coverage could influence others to do the same.’
D. 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. Questions 8-1 2
Look at the following statements and the list of people below.
Match each statement with the correct person, A-D NB You ma .
y use any letters more than once
8. Some tourists believe they should not delay their trip to the poles.
9. There are some dangers to travelling in Antarctica.
10. Some famous people have travelled to polar regions to look at the impacts of global warming.
11. Some tourists make more than one trip to the poles.
12. There is no evidence that visitors are hurrying to the poles.
List of People A. Lousia Richardson B. Rod Downie C. Frigg Jorgensen D. Prisca Campbell
MS. Nguyen Ngoc Ba (0343419997) 1 “Fa F i a liilng n g a a fe f w e w ti t m i e m s s d o d es e n s ' n t t m e m an a n y ou' ou r ' e r a a fa f i a liu l r u e, e , bu b t u y o y u' u r ' e a a fa f i a liur u e e w hen e y o y u u a cc c ep e t t t o gi g v i e e u p.” PRACTICE
Exercise 1: Read the following passage and do the tasks given.
a/ TEXT 1: Read the text and classify the events based on when they occurred.
Herodotus had a profound effect on the way we write history. Born in 484 BC and eventually dying
approximately 60 years later, he was the first historian to apply something resembling a modern historical
technique of data collection, in contrast to the fanciful myths and legends of previous generations. His
work on the Greco-Persian wars, the first of which took place in 490 BC, involved extensive travelling,
although historians from Cicero (106-43 BC) onwards have cast doubt on a number of his claims. Another
historian with a claim to the same title is Thucydides, 25 years his junior. While Herodotus included a
vast range of information in his accounts, Thucydides attempted to be scientific and to focus on causes
and effects. His use of original documentation and accounts from eyewitnesses gives his history of the
first 20 years of the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta (431-404 BC) a distinctly modern feel. Event Time
1/ Greece and Persia went to war for the first time. _______ 2/ Historians
A/ before the birth of Herodotus
criticized Herodotus’ accounts. _______
3/ Thucydides was born. _______
B/ during the life of Herodotus
4/ Spartans-Athenians conflict ended. _______
C/ after the death of Herodotus
b/ TEXT 2: Read the text and classify the sites with their features.
The change from stone tools and weapons to bronze tools and weapons was undeniably an enormous
shift in human history. At what is unarguably the best-preserved Neolithic site, Catalhoyuk in Turkey,
there is evidence from 8,500 years ago of the deliberate casting of lead, which was a relatively
common metal but too soft to take a sharp edge. For that, you need an alloy of copper-bronze. Ban
Chiang in Thailand is an important site where bronze casting has been dated to 2000 BC, although
some experts argue for an earlier date. Human habitation of the site continued for around a millennium
into the Iron Age, at which time iron, a softer but cheaper metal than bronze, was being produced in
places such as Tell Hammeh in Jordan, where extensive evidence has been uncovered dating to approximately 1000 BC. Site Feature
A/ People lived here for at least a thousand years. 1/ Catalhoyuk _______
B/ People here were unable to defend themselves against attack. 2/ Ban Chiang _______
3/ Tell Hammeh _______ C/ Products from here were more affordable than bronze.
D/ People here produced metal that had no use in weapons.
c/ TEXT 3: Read the text and match the opinions with the one who said them.
A genius is a person who displays exceptional intellectual ability, creativity, or originality, typically to a
degree that is associated with the achievement of an unprecedented leap of insight. Various philosophers
have proposed definitions of what genius is.In the philosophy of David Hume, a genius is seen by others as a
person disconnected from society, who works remotely, away from the rest of the world. For Immanuel
Kant, genius is the ability to independently arrive at and understand concepts that would normally have to be
taught by another person. Arthur Schopenhauer defined a genius as someone in whom intellect predominates
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over "will". According to Bertrand Russell, a genius possesses unique qualities and talents that make him or
her especially valuable to society Statement Philosopher
1/ A genius is someone who does not require instruction. _______ A/ Hume
2/ We tend to regard geniuses as solitary figures. _______ B/ Kant
3/ A genius has the ability to make an exceptional contribution to C/ Schopenhauer society. _______ D/ Russell Example 2.
GIFTED CHILDREN AND LEARNING A.
High achievers have been found to use self-regulatory learning strategies more often and more
effectively than lower achievers, and are better able to transfer these strategies to deal with unfamiliar tasks.
This happens to such a high degree in some children that they appear to be demonstrating talent in particular
areas. Overviewing research on the thinking process of highly able children, ( Shore and Kanevsky , 1993)
put the instructor’s problem succinctly: ‘ If they [the gifted] merely think more quickly, then we need only
teach more quickly. If they merely make fewer errors, then we can shorten the practice ’. But of course, this
is not entirely the case; adjustments have to be made in methods of learning and teaching, to take account of
the many ways individuals think. B.
Yet in order to learn by themselves, the gifted do need some support from their teachers. Conversely,
teachers who have a tendency to ‘overdirect’ can diminish their gifted pupils’ learning autonomy . Although
‘ spoon-feeding ’ can produce extremely high examination results, these are not always followed by equally
impressive life successes. Too much dependence on the teachers risks loss of autonomy and motivation to
discover. However, when teachers o pupils to reflect on their own learning and thinking activities, they
increase their pupils’ self regulation. For a young child, it may be just the simple question ‘What have y - ou
learned today?’ which helps them to recognise what they are doing. Given that a fundamental goal of
education is to transfer the control of learning from teachers to pupils, improving pupils’ learning to learn
techniques should be a major outcome of the school experience, especially for the highly competent. There
are quite a number of new methods which can help, such as child- initiated learning, ability-peer tutoring,
etc. Such practices have been found to be particularly useful for bright children from deprived areas . C.
But scientific progress is not all theoretical, knowledge is a so vital to outstanding performance:
individuals who know a great deal about a specific domain will achieve at a higher level than those who do
not ( Elshout , 1995) . Research with creative scientists by Simonton (1988) brought him to the conclusion
that above a certain high level, characteristics such as independence seemed to contribute more to reaching
the highest levels of expertise than intellectual skills, due to the great demands of effort and time needed for
learning and practice. Creativity in all forms can be seen as expertise se mixed with a high level of
motivation ( Weisberg , 1993). D.
To sum up, learning is affected by emotions of both the individual and significant others. Positive
emotions facilitate the creative aspects of earning and negative emotions inhibit it. Fear, for example, can
limit the development of curiosity, which is a strong force in scientific advance, because it motivates
problem-solving behaviour . In Boekaerts ’ (1991) review of emotion the learning of very high IQ and highly
achieving children, she found emotional forces in harness. They were not only curious, but often had a strong
desire to control their environment, improve their learning efficiency and increase their own learning resources. Questions 18-22
MS. Nguyen Ngoc Ba (0343419997) 3 “Fa F i a liilng n g a a fe f w e w ti t m i e m s s d o d es e n s ' n t t m e m an a n y ou' ou r ' e r a a fa f i a liu l r u e, e , bu b t u y o y u' u r ' e a a fa f i a liur u e e w hen e y o y u u a cc c ep e t t t o gi g v i e e u p.”
Look at the following statements (Questions 18-22) and the list of people below. Match each statement
with the correct person or people, A-E.
Write the correct letter, A-E, in boxes 18-22 on your answer sheet. 18
Less time can be spent on exercises with gifted pupils who produce accurate work. 19
Self-reliance is a valuable tool that helps gifted students reach their goals. 20
Gifted children know how to channel their feelings to assist their learning. 21
Really successful students have learnt a considerable amount about their subject. List of People A Shore and Kanevsky B Elshout C Simonton D Boekaerts Example 3. SECOND NATURE
A. The evidence is good that most personality traits can be altered,' says Christopher Peterson , professor
of psychology at the University of Michigan, who cites himself as an example. Inherently introverted, he
realised early on that as an academic, his reticence would prove disastrous in the lecture hall. So he learned
to be more outgoing and to entertain his classes. 'Now my extroverted behaviour is spontaneous , ' he says.
B. David Fajgenbaum had to make a similar transition. He was preparing for university, when he had an
accident that put an end to his sports career. On campus, he quickly found that beyond ordinary counselling,
the university had no services for students who were undergoing physical rehabilitation and suffering from
depression like him. He therefore launched a support group to help others in similar situations. He took
action despite his own pain - a typical response of an optimist.
C. Suzanne Segerstrom , professor of psychology at the University of Kentucky, believes that the key to
increasing optimism is through cultivating optimistic behaviour, rather than positive thinking. She
recommends you train yourself to pay attention to good fortune by writing down three positive things that
come about each day. This will help you convince yourself that favourable outcomes actually happen all the
time, making it easier to begin taking action.
D. You can recognise a person who is passionate about a pursuit by the way they are so strongly involved
in it. Tanya Streeter's passion is freediving - the sport of plunging deep into the water without tanks or other
breathing equipment. Beginning in 1998, she set nine world records and can hold her breath for six minutes.
The physical stamina required for this sport is intense but the psychological demands are even more
overwhelming. Streeter learned to untangle her fears from her judgment of what her body and mind could
do. 'In my career as a competitive freediver, there was a limit to what I could do - but it wasn't anywhere
near what I thought it was/ she says. E.
Finding a pursuit that excites you can improve anyone's life. The secret about consuming passions,
though, according to psychologist Paul Silvia of the University of North Carolina, is that 'they require
discipline, hard work and ability, which is why they are so rewarding.' Psychologist Todd Kashdan has this
advice for those people taking up a new passion: ' As a newcomer, you also have to tolerate and laugh at
your own ignorance . You must be willing to accept the negative feelings that come your way,' he says.
MS. Nguyen Ngoc Ba (0343419997) 4 “Fa F i a liilng n g a a fe f w e w ti t m i e m s s d o d es e n s ' n t t m e m an a n y ou' ou r ' e r a a fa f i a liu l r u e, e , bu b t u y o y u' u r ' e a a fa f i a liur u e e w hen e y o y u u a cc c ep e t t t o gi g v i e e u p.” F.
Usually, we think of courage in physical terms but ordinary life demands s omething else. For
marketing executive Kenneth Pedeleose, it meant speaking out against something he thought was ethically
wrong. The new manager was intimidating staff so Pedeleose carefully recorded each instance of bullying
and eventually took the evidence to a senior director, knowing his own job security would be threatened .
Eventually the manager was the one to go. According to Cynthia Pury , a psychologist at Clemson
University, Pedeleose's story proves the point that courage is not motivated by fearlessness, but by moral
obligation. Pury also believes that people can acquire courage . Many of her students said that faced with a
risky situation, they first tried to calm themselves down, then looked for a way to mitigate the danger, just as
Pedeleose did by documenting his allegations. Questions 19-22
Match each statement with the correct person, A-G .
Write the correct letter, A-G, in boxes 19-22 on your answer sheet. 19
People must accept that they do not know much when first trying something new. 20
It is important for people to actively notice when good things happen. 21
Courage can be learned once its origins in a sense of responsibility are understood. 22
It is possible to overcome shyness when faced with the need to speak in public. List of People A Christopher Peterson B David Fajgenbaum C Suzanne Segerstrom D Tanya Streeter E Todd Kashdan F Kenneth Pedeleose G Cynthia Pury Example 4. A.
A new study conducted for the World Bank by Murdoch University's Institute for Science and
Technology Policy (ISTP) has demonstrated that public transport is more efficient than cars. The study
compared the proportion of wealth poured into transport by thirty-seven cities around the world . This
included both the public and private costs of building, maintaining and using a transport system. B.
The study found that the Western Australian city of Perth is a good example of a city with minimal
public transport. As a result, 17% of its wealth went into transport costs. Some European and Asian cities, on
the other hand, spent as little as 5% . Professor Peter Newman, ISTP Director, pointed out that these more
efficient cities were able to put the difference into attracting industry and jobs or creating a better place to live . C.
According to Professor Newman, the larger Australian city of Melbourne is a rather unusual city in
this sort of comparison. He describes it as two cities: 'A European city surrounded by a car-dependent one'.
Melbourne's large tram network has made car use in the inner city much lower, but the outer suburbs have
the same car-based structure as most other Australian cities. The explosion in demand for accommodation in
the inner suburbs of Melbourne suggests a recent change in many people's preferences as to where they live.
Newman says this is a new, broader way of considering public transport issues. In the past, the case for
public transport has been made on the basis of environmental and social justice considerations rather than
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economics. Newman, however, believes the study demonstrates that 'the auto-dependent city model is
inefficient and grossly inadequate in economic as well as environmental terms'. D.
Bicycle use was not included in the study but Newman noted that the two most 'bicycle friendly'
cities considered - Amsterdam and Copenhagen - were very efficient, even though their public transport
systems were 'reasonable but not special' . E.
It is common for supporters of road networks to reject the models of cities with good public transport
by arguing that such systems would not work in their particular city. One objection is climate. Some people
say their city could not make more use of public transport because it is either too hot or too cold. Newman
rejects this, pointing out that public transport has been successful in both Toronto and Singapore and, in fact,
he has checked the use of cars against climate and found 'zero correlation'. F.
When it comes to other physical features, road lobbies are on stronger ground. For example, Newman
accepts it would be hard for a city as hilly as Auckland to develop a really good rail network . However, he
points out that both Hong Kong and Zurich have managed to make a success of their rail systems, heavy and
light respectively, though there are few cities in the world as hilly. G.
In fact, Newman believes the main reason for adopting one sort of transport over another is politics:
'The more democratic the process, the more public transport is favored.' He considers Portland, Oregon, a
perfect example of this. Some years ago, federal money was granted to build a new road. However, local
pressure groups forced a referendum over whether to spend the money on light rail instead. The rail proposal
won and the railway worked spectacularly well . In the years that have followed, more and more rail systems
have been put in, dramatically changing the nature of the city. Newman notes that Portland has about the
same population as Perth and had a similar population density at the time. Questions 11-13
Look at the following cities ( Questions 11-13) and the list of descriptions below. Match each city with
the correct description, A-F.
Write the correct letter, A-F, in boxes 11-13 on your answer sheet
List of Descriptions
A successfully uses a light rail transport system in hilly environment 11 Perth
B successful public transport system despite cold winters 12 Auckland
C profitably moved from road to light rail transport system 13 Portland
D hilly and inappropriate for rail transport system
E heavily dependent on cars despite widespread poverty
F inefficient due to a limited public transport system
Exercise 5: Read the following texts and do the exercises that follow. a/ PASSAGE 1: The cells from hell
In the mid-1980s, fishermen in North Carolina, on the eastern coast of the United States, began complaining
about mysterious fish kills. They were convinced that pollution was responsible but nobody would listen.
That changed in 1988 after an accident at a research center. Tank after tank of fish suddenly died.
Researchers spotted an unknown micro-organism in the water. It was later named pfiesteria.
MS. Nguyen Ngoc Ba (0343419997) 6 “Fa F i a liilng n g a a fe f w e w ti t m i e m s s d o d es e n s ' n t t m e m an a n y ou' ou r ' e r a a fa f i a liu l r u e, e , bu b t u y o y u' u r ' e a a fa f i a liur u e e w hen e y o y u u a cc c ep e t t t o gi g v i e e u p.”
Pfiesteria belongs to a prehistoric group of algae that are part plant, part animal. They are called
dinoflagellates after the tiny whips or flagella that propel them through the water. Magnified a thousand
times, they are some of the strangest and most beautiful creatures in the sea. They are at the bottom of the
food chain but, to deter fish from swallowing them, some have evolved powerful toxins.
But pfiesteria is not the only concern. In the oceans all around the world, similar kinds of algae are now
materialising and turning toxic. In the last decade, these algal blooms have poisoned sea-lions in California,
caused catastrophic fish kills in the Pacific, the Mediterranean and the North Sea, and devastated the shellfish
industry in New Zealand. Researchers from forty seven nations met recently to share the latest information
about harmful algal blooms. They heard about new kinds of toxins and discussed possible links between
algae and whale strandings. But what dominated the proceedings was news that toxic algae are spreading to
new shores in ballast water carried by ships.
That may have already happened in Australian waters. A tuna kill in 1996 cost fish farmers an estimated $45
million: The official explanation was that a storm was to blame, but there were also reports of orangebrown
streaks in the water. When a water sample was examined, it was found to be teeming with an alga never
before seen in Australia, called chattonelta. The same chattonella killed half a billion dollars' worth of fish in
Japan in 1972. This toxin was also present in the livers of the dead tuna. Despite this powerful evidence, the
official explanation remains that a storm was the killer. However, in Japan, this was a prime example of an
algal bloom induced by the waste products of the aquaculture industry itself, and of course, that is not
something that the tuna industry wants to hear.
It is clear that chattonella is present in Australian waters. But there is little knowledge of what else may
surface or where it may have come from. What is of greater concern is that, in Australia and around the
world, there is a reluctance to acknowledge that it is human activity which is triggering the transformation of
normally benign organisms into increasingly dangerous forms. If we continue to mismanage the way
nutrients and pollutants are released into the environment, we will have to confront new versions of the cells from hell.
Look at the events 1-5, and the causes A-C .
Classify the events as caused by the reasons mentioned. You can use any letter more than once. A. caused by chattonella
1. death of sea-lions off the coast of California B. caused by dinoflagellates 2. fish kill in Japan
3. shellfish industry losses in New Zealand
C. caused by an unidentified micro-organism 4. tuna industry losses in Australia
5. fish kill in North Carolina b/ PASSAGE 2:
MATHS SHOWS WHY WORDS PERSIST OVER TIME
The question of why some words evolve rapidly through time while others are preserved often with the –
same meaning in multiple languages has long plagued linguists. Two independent teams of researchers –
have tackled this question from different angles, each arriving at a remarkably similar conclusion.
“The frequency with which specific words are used in everyday language exerts a general and law-like
influence on their rates of evolution," writes Mark Pagel, author of one of two studies published this week.
Anyone who has tried to learn English will have been struck by its excess of stubbornly irregular verbs,
which render grammatical rules unreliable. The past tense of regular verbs is formed by adding the suffix
‘ed’, but this luxury is not afforded to their irregular kin. Over time, however, some irregular verbs
‘regularise’. For instance, the past tense of ‘help’ used to be ‘holp’, but now it is ‘helped’.
MS. Nguyen Ngoc Ba (0343419997) 7 “Fa F i a liilng n g a a fe f w e w ti t m i e m s s d o d es e n s ' n t t m e m an a n y ou' ou r ' e r a a fa f i a liu l r u e, e , bu b t u y o y u' u r ' e a a fa f i a liur u e e w hen e y o y u u a cc c ep e t t t o gi g v i e e u p.”
Mathematician Erez Lieberman, from Harvard University in Massachusetts, US, performed a quantitative
study of the rate at which English verbs such as ‘help’ have become more regular with time. Of the list of
177 irregular verbs they took from Old English, only 98 are still irregular today. Amazingly, the changes
they observed obey a very precise mathematical description: the half-life of an irregular verb is proportional
to the square root of its frequency. ln other words, they found that the more an irregular verb is used, the
longer it will remain irregular.
A separate group of academics, led by evolutionary biologist Mark Pagel from the University of Reading, in
the UK, used a statistical modelling technique to study the evolution of words from 87 different IndoEuropean languages.
“Throughout its 8,000-year history, all Indo-European-language speakers have used a related sound to
communicate the idea of ‘two’ objects – duo, due, deux, dos, etc.” Pagel commented. “But,” he adds, “there
are many different and unrelated sounds for the idea of, for example, a bird uccello, oiseau, pouli, pajaro, – vogel, etc.”
Before now, however, nobody had proposed a mechanism for why some words should evolve more quickly
than others. According to Pagel, “our research helps us to understand why we can still understand bits of
Chaucer [a medieval poet]” and points out that this likely explains “why we can instinctively recognize words in other Indo-
European languages, just from their sounds”.
Psychologist and language expert Russell Gray, from the University of Auckland in New Zealand, was
impressed by both findings. “Despite all the vagaries and contingencies of human history, it seems that there
are remarkable regularities in the processes of language change,” he commented.
Match the statements 1-5 below with the person whose words imply them.
1/ We are able to recognize certain words used by people in other cultures. A) Pagel
2/ Regardless of what happens in the world, there appear to be fixed rules that govern the way words alter over time. B) Lieberman
3/ Words that don’t follow a standard pattern will remain that way if they are used often.
4/ Certain words have kept a similar sound across many years and many countries. C) Gray
5/ We focused on the historical changes that have occurred in one particular language.
Exercise 6: Read the following texts and do the exercises that follow. SUBWAY A.
People have been traveling by subway for well over a hundred years. The first subway systems
began operating in Europe in the second half of the nineteenth century. London's subway system, known as
"The Underground" or "The Tube," opened in early 1863. In 1896, subways began running in both Budapest,
Hungary and Glasgow, Scotland. The Budapest subway ran from the center of the city to City Park and was
just under four kilometers long. The city of Paris, France began operating its subway system in 1900. Its
famous name, Metro, is short for Chemin de Fer Metropolitan or Metropolitan Railway. Many other cities
have since adopted the name Metro for their own subways. B.
The city of Boston, Massachusetts boasts the oldest subway system in the United States, beginning
operations in 1897. It had only two stations when it first opened. The New York City Subway, now one of
the largest subway systems in the world, began running in 1904. The original line was 14.5 kilometers long
and ran from City Hall in downtown Manhattan to 145th Street. The city of Philadelphia opened its first
subway line in 1907. The oldest subway in Latin America began operations in Buenos Aires, Argentina in
1913. It is called the subte, short for subterraneo or underground.
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The second half of the twentieth century saw new subway systems constructed in cities around the
world. Many Korean cities have modern subway systems, the largest one in the capital city of Seoul, with
287 kilometers of track. The first subway in Brazil opened in the city of Sao Paulo in 1974. Since then,
subways have been built in a number of other Brazilian cities, including Rio de Janeiro and the capital,
Brasilia. Washington, DC began running the Washington Metro in 1976. Hong Kong opened its subway in
1979. This system includes four lines that run under Victoria Harbor. In 2000, a 17-mile long subway system
was completed in Los Angeles, a city infamous for its traffic problems and resulting smog. Construction of
this system took fourteen years to complete. D.
With a total of 468 stations and 656 miles of passenger service track, the New York City Subway is
among the largest subway systems in the world. If the tracks in train yards, shops, and storage areas are
added in, the total track length of the New York Subway comes to 842 miles. Measured by number of riders,
the Moscow Metro is the world's largest system, with 3.2 billion riders annually. Other cities with busy
subways include Tokyo, with 2.6 billion riders a year, and Seoul and Mexico City, both carrying 1.4 billion riders annually. E.
In some cities, the subway stations are famous for their architecture and artwork. The stations of the
Moscow Metro are well-known for their beautiful examples of socialist-realist art. The Baker Street station
in London honors the fictional detective, Sherlock Holmes, who supposedly lived on Baker Street.
Decorative tiles in the station's interior depict the character, and a Sherlock Holmes statue sits outside one of
the station exits. Each of the stations of the new Los Angeles subway system contains murals, sculptures, or
other examples of decorative artwork. F.
A new feature now often included in the construction of new subway stations is the Platform Screen
Door (PSD). The Singapore subway was the first to be built with the inclusion of PSDs. The original purpose
was to reduce high air-conditioning costs in underground stations. Since then, there has been more and more
focus on the safety aspects of this device, as it can prevent people from accidentally falling or being pushed
onto the track. PSDs also keep the station platforms quieter and cleaner and allow trains to enter stations at
higher rates of speed. The subway system in Hong Kong was the first to have PSDs added to an already
existing system. They are becoming more common in subway systems around the world. Tokyo, Seoul,
Bangkok, London, and Copenhagen are just some of the cities that have PSDs in at least some of their
subway stations. PSDs are also often used with other forms of transportation, such as monorails, light rail
systems, and airport transportation systems.
Match the cities (A-L) listed below with the descriptions of their subway systems A. Hong Kong B. Paris C. Washington D. Sao Paulo E. London F. Tokyo G. Seoul H. Buenos Aires I. Singapore J. Budapest K. Moscow L. New York
1. has a station celebrating a storybook character
2. is the busiest subway system in the world
3. has lent its name to subway systems around the world
4. has several lines running under water
5. was the first subway system constructed with PSDs
6. has a total length of 287 kilometers
7. was the first subway built in Latin America 8. opened in 1976
MS. Nguyen Ngoc Ba (0343419997) 9 “Fa F i a liilng n g a a fe f w e w ti t m i e m s s d o d es e n s ' n t t m e m an a n y ou' ou r ' e r a a fa f i a liu l r u e, e , bu b t u y o y u' u r ' e a a fa f i a liur u e e w hen e y o y u u a cc c ep e t t t o gi g v i e e u p.”
Exercise 7: Read the following text and do the exercises that follow.
WOLVES, DOGS AND HUMANS
There is no doubt that dogs are the oldest of all species tamed by humans and their domestication was based
on a mutually beneficial relationship with man. The conventional view is that the domestication of wolves
began between 10,000 and 20,000 years ago. However, a recent ground-breaking paper by a group of
international geneticists has pushed this date back by a factor of 10. Led by Dr. Robert Wayne, at the
University of California, Los Angeles, the team showed that all dog breeds had only one ancestor, the wolf.
They did this by analyzing the genetic history through the DNA of 162 wolves from around the world and
140 domestic dogs representing 67 breeds. The research also confirms, the first time, that dogs are descended
only from wolves and do not share DNA with coyotes or jackals. The fact that our companionship with dogs
only appears to go back at least 100,000 years means that this partnership may have played an important part
in the development of human hunting techniques that developed 70,000 to 90,000 years ago. It also may even
have affected the brain development in both species.
The Australian veterinarian David Paxton suggests that in that period of first contact, people did not so much
domesticate wolves as wolves domesticated people. Wolves may have started living at the edge of human
settlements as scavengers, eating scraps of food and waste. Some learned to live with human beings in a
mutually helpful way and gradually evolved into dogs. At the very least, they would have protected human
settlements, and given warnings by barking at anything approaching. The wolves that evolved into dogs have
been enormously successful in evolutionary terms. They are found everywhere in the inhabited world,
hundreds of millions of them. The descendants of the wolves that remained wolves are now sparsely
distributed, often in endangered populations.
In return for companionship and food, the early ancestor of the dog assisted humans in tracking, hunting,
guarding and a variety of other activities. Eventually, humans began to selectively breed these animals for
specific traits. Physical characteristics changed and individual breeds began to take shape. As humans
wandered across Asia and Europe, they took their dogs along, using them for additional tasks and further
breeding them for selected qualities that would better enable them to perform specific duties.
According to Dr. Colin Groves, of the Department of Archaeology and Anthropology at Australian National
University, early humans came to rely on dogs' keen ability to hear, smell and see allowing certain areas of –
the human brain to shrink in size relative to other areas. 'Dogs acted as human's alarm system, trackers and
hunting aids, garbage disposal facilities, hot-water bottles and children's guardians and playmates. Humans
provided dogs with food and security. This symbiotic relationship was stable for over 100,000 years and
intensified into mutual domestication,' said Dr Groves. In his opinion, humans domesticated dogs and dogs domesticated humans.
Dr Groves repeated an assertion made as early as 1914 that humans have some of the same physical –
characteristics as domesticated animals, the most notable being decreased brain size. The horse experienced a
16 percent reduction in brain size after domestication while pigs' brains shrank by as much as 34 percent. The
estimated brain-size reduction in domesticated dogs varies from 30 percent to 10 percent. Only in the last
decade have archaeologists uncovered enough fossil evidence to establish that brain capacity in humans
declined in Europe and Africa by at least 10 percent, beginning about 10,000 years ago. Dr. Groves believes
this reduction may have taken place as the relationship between humans and dogs intensified. The close
interaction between the two species allowed for the diminishing of certain human brain functions like smell and hearing.
Match one of the researchers (A-C) to each of the findings below. A/ Dr. Wayne B/ Dr. Paxton C/ Dr. Groves
1. studied the brain size of domesticated animals
MS. Nguyen Ngoc Ba (0343419997) 10 “Fa F i a liilng n g a a fe f w e w ti t m i e m s s d o d es e n s ' n t t m e m an a n y ou' ou r ' e r a a fa f i a liu l r u e, e , bu b t u y o y u' u r ' e a a fa f i a liur u e e w hen e y o y u u a cc c ep e t t t o gi g v i e e u p.”
2. claims that wolves chose to interact with humans
3. established a new time frame for domestication of wolves
4. believes that dogs and humans domesticated each other
5. studied the DNA of wolves and dogs
Exercise 8: Read the following text and do the exercises that follow. Crop Circles
The crop circle phenomenon has puzzled and mystified humanity for many years. The designs just appear,
placed carefully in fields of food grains. Some are larger than football fields and highly complex in design
and construction. Others are smaller and more primitive. We call them crop circles, but many of them are not
circular. Some are elongated abstract designs, a few resemble insects or other known forms, and some are
mixtures of lines, circles, and other shapes melded into intricate patterns. Most become visible overnight,
though it has been claimed that a few have appeared within a halfhour in broad daylight.
Crop circles have appeared all over the world. About 10,000 instances from various countries have been
reported in recent years. The first modern rash of crop circles appeared in Australia in December of 1973. A
strange circular imprint appeared in a wheat field near Wokurna, a community southeast of Adelaide. Soon,
seven swirled circles up to 14 feet in diameter appeared in an oatfield nearby. In December of 1989, an
amazing set of circles, ranging from a few inches to a few feet in diameter appeared in the wheat belt west of
Melbourne. As many as 90 crop circles were found. The best documented and largest modern spread of crop
circles began in southern England during the summer of 1980. By the end of 1988, 112 new circles had been
formed. At that time, circles were being reported worldwide, 305 by the end of 1999. The total grew to an
outstanding 1,000 newly-formed circles in 1990. In 1991, 200 to 300 circles were reported. Crop circles have
been documented in over 30 countries, including Canada, the former Soviet Union, Japan, and the United States.
Nine out of ten circles remained simple with broken stems flattened to the ground and swirled. The stalks
around the circles remained completely erect. But over the years, crop circles have become much more
geometrically intricate. Patterns involved multiple circles, bars, triangles, rings and spurs. Pictorial imagery
also appeared. Reliable eyewitnesses have reported seeing unusual lights and hearing unidentifiable sounds
while on an early morning walk in the countryside where a crop circle showed later that day. High-pitched,
warbling noises have been recorded at the site of some crop circles. On several occasions, a strange glow or a
darker coloring has been seen in the sky over a crop circle. And in more than one instance, the electrical
power of small planes flying overhead has been cut off abruptly. While the causal energies do not seem to
harm animals, or even insects as far as we can tell, wild creatures tend to avoid the circles. Flocks of birds
have been seen to split apart and fly around the perimeter rather than go directly over a crop circle formation.
Researchers have spent a great deal of time investigating different aspects of crop circles. They try to detect
traces of human involvement in the circle-making, test the area of the circle itself for geophysical anomalies,
and analyze the field's grain from both within and outside the circles, searching for differences.
Dr. W. C. Levengood of BLT Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has analyzed many grain samples and
confirmed, time after time, significant changes at the cellular level of crop circle plants. The plants from the
circles have elongated cells and blown-out growth nodes. Seeds from the circle plants often show accelerated
growth rates when they are sown, and in some instances, quite different-looking plants result. In many
instances, it appears that a vortex-like energy causes the plants to swirl down, flattening the design into the
land. Whatever this energy is, it does not generally inhibit the plants' growth. They continue to show normal
response to the sun, raising upward over several days following the appearance of the circle. Michael Chorost
of Duke University found occasions of short-lived radionuclides in the top layer of soil in some of the
MS. Nguyen Ngoc Ba (0343419997) 11 “Fa F i a liilng n g a a fe f w e w ti t m i e m s s d o d es e n s ' n t t m e m an a n y ou' ou r ' e r a a fa f i a liu l r u e, e , bu b t u y o y u' u r ' e a a fa f i a liur u e e w hen e y o y u u a cc c ep e t t t o gi g v i e e u p.”
formations. A British government laboratory found diminished nitrogen and decreased nematode populations
as well as decreased water content in the soil of a formation. Researchers have discovered other anomalies as
well, such as curious embedded magnetic particles and charred tissue. Some of the plant stalks within the
circles show evidence of being exposed to rapid microwave heating.
Scientists have attempted to explain crop circles as a result of natural processes. One popular theory,
accepted by many mainstream scientists and academics, is known as ‘Plasma Vortex Theory’. Developed by
Dr. Terence Mearden, it theorizes that electrified air (plasma), on the side of hills, becomes mini-tornadoes
and screws down onto the ground, creating the circles. The theory also holds that the electrified air would
cause a light to appear above the circle and therefore account for UFO sightings.
Although this theory still has considerable support, it has come under fire because of the highly intricate and
complex crop circle patterns that have appeared since 1991. Another theory is that the circles are all hoaxes
or practical jokes. Major support came to this theory when, on September 9, 1991, two Englishmen claimed
to have created approximately 250 crop circles. However, those circles were more ragged than others, and
many were already suspect. It is irrational to believe that all crop circles are faked for publicity or other
reasons. Many crop circles appeared long before the phenomenon gained large recognition from the public
and press. Too many circles and patterns are formed each year in too many countries for them to have been
hoaxes. Many crop circles show strange mathematical traits when analyzed.
The crop circle phenomenon is-an enigma. Many dollars have been spent by researchers and their
associations in an attempt to find a solution to this intriguing puzzle, which will continue to haunt humanity
until an explanation is found.
Use the information in the text to match one scientist (A-C) with each area of study listed below. A/ Dr. Mearden B/ Dr. Levengood C/ Michael Chorost
1. changes in the structure of soil within crop circles
2. accelerated growth of seeds from crop circles
3. electrical charges in the air around crop circles
4. changes in cell structure of plants found in crop circles
Exercise 9: Read the following text and do the exercises that follow.
Are these two reporters on the same planet?
An essay by scientist, educator and environmentalist, Dr. David Suzuki
A number of books, articles and television programs have disputed the reality of the claimed hazards of
global warming, overpopulation, deforestation and ozone depletion. Two newspaper commentaries show the
profound differences of opinion on critical issues affecting the planet.
The first, by Robert Kaplan, has generated both fear and denial. Entitled The Coming Anarchy, the report
paints a horrifying picture of the future for humanity. The author suggests that the terrible consequences of
the conjunction between exploding human population and surrounding environmental degradation are
already visible in Africa and parts of Southeast Asia. As society is destabilized by the AIDS epidemic,
government control evaporates, national borders crumble beneath the pressure of en vironmental refugees
and local populations revert to tribalism to settle old scores or defend against fleeing masses and bands of stateless nomads on the move.
Kaplan believes what he has seen in Africa and Southeast Asia is the beginning of a global pattern of
disintegration of social, political and economic infrastructure under the impact of ecological degradation,
population pressure and disease. As ecosystems collapse, this scenario could sweep the planet, first in
MS. Nguyen Ngoc Ba (0343419997) 12 “Fa F i a liilng n g a a fe f w e w ti t m i e m s s d o d es e n s ' n t t m e m an a n y ou' ou r ' e r a a fa f i a liu l r u e, e , bu b t u y o y u' u r ' e a a fa f i a liur u e e w hen e y o y u u a cc c ep e t t t o gi g v i e e u p.”
Eastern Europe and then the industrialized countries. It is a frightening scenario, built on a serious attempt to
project the aftermath of ecological destruction. It comes from a core recognition that the planet is finite and
consumption has vast social, political and economic ramifications. It has also generated a great deal of discussion and controversy.
Marcus Gee pronounces Kaplan's vision 'dead wrong' in a major article headlined Apocalypse Deferred.
Attacking the 'doomsayers', Gee counters with the statistics favored by believers in the limitless benefits and
potential of economic growth. Citing the spectacular improvements in human health, levels of education and
literacy, availability of food and length of life even in the developing world, Gee pronounces the fivefold
increase in the world economy since 1950 as the cause of this good news. He does concede that immense
problems remain, from ethnic nationalism to tropical deforestation to malnutrition to cropland losses but
concludes that Kaplan has exaggerated many of the crises and thus missed the broad pattern of progress.
Focusing on statistics of the decline in child mortality and the rise in longevity, food production and adult
literacy, Gee reaches the conclusion that things have never been better. Economic indicators, such as the rise
in gross world product and total exports show 'remarkable sustained and dramatic progress. Life for the
majority of the world's citizens is getting steadily better in almost every category.'
Gee's conclusions rest heavily on economic indicators. He points out the annual 3.9 percent rise in the global
economy and the more than doubling of the gross output per person that has occurred for the past thirty
years. World trade has done even better, growing by 6 percent annually between 1960 and 1990 as tariffs
have declined from 40 percent of a product's price in 1947 to 5 percent today.
Gee skips lightly over such facts as third world debt and the daily toll of 22,000 child deaths from easily
preventable disease. He also fails to mention that during this period, the gulf between rich and poor countries
has increased. He does acknowledge the threats of loss of topsoil and forests, pollution of the air and
contamination of water. However, he concludes that there is little evidence they are serious enough to halt or
even reverse human progress. Gee challenges the notion of a population crisis since there have never been as
many people so well off. Furthermore, he suggests there will never be a limit to population because more
people means more Einsteins to keep making life better.
Gee's outlook rests on a tiny minority of scientists who have faith in the bound potential of science and
technology to overcome the physical constraints of air, water and soil so that a much larger population can be
sustained. His final proof? the general rise in living standard along with population growth. But the —
relationship between changes in living standard and population is a correlation, not proof of causal
connection. Gee is ignoring basic economic as well as scientific reality.
If we inherit a bank account with a thousand dollars that earns 5% interest annually, we could withdraw fifty
dollars or less each year forever. However, suppose we start to increase our withdrawals, say up to sixty
dollars, then seventy dollars and more each year. For many years, the account would yield cash. But it would
be foolish to conclude that we could keep drawing more from the account indefinitely. Yet, that is what Gee
believes. As ocean fisheries around the world show, we are using up the ecological capital of the planet
(biodiversity, air, water, soil) rather than living off the interest. It is a dangerous deception to believe that the
human-created artifice called economics can keep the indicators rising as the life support systems of the planet continue to decline.
The value system that dominates most of the popular media promotes the delusion that resources and the
economy can continue to expand indefinitely. It also blinds the public to the urgency and credibility of
warnings that an environmental crisis confronts us.
MS. Nguyen Ngoc Ba (0343419997) 13 “Fa F i a liilng n g a a fe f w e w ti t m i e m s s d o d es e n s ' n t t m e m an a n y ou' ou r ' e r a a fa f i a liu l r u e, e , bu b t u y o y u' u r ' e a a fa f i a liur u e e w hen e y o y u u a cc c ep e t t t o gi g v i e e u p.”
Use the information in the passage to match the authors with the correct statement. A. R. Kaplan
1. Our patterns of consumption are using up the ecological capital of the planet.
2. Crises beginning in the Third World will spread to developed countries. B. M. Gee
3. Scientific progress will enable the planet to sustain increased population. C. D. Suzuki
4. Social and political infrastructure worldwide could collapse.
5. Earth's life support systems are at critical risk.
6. Environmental problems are not a threat to progress.
MS. Nguyen Ngoc Ba (0343419997) 14
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