Nâng cấp từ vựng – IELTS Vocab Booster 2.CAM9 – Test4- READING PASSAGE 1

The life and work of Marie Curie

Marie Curie is probably the most famous woman scientist who has ever lived. Born Maria Sklodowska in Poland in 1867, she is famous for her work on  radioactivity, and was twice a winner of the Nobel A Prize. With her husband, Pierre Curie. and Henri  Raeqiierel, she was awarded the 1903 Nobel Prize for Physics, and was then sole winner of the 1911 Nobel  Prize for Chemistry. She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize.The Life & Work of Marie Curie: Reading sample 57

From childhood, Marie was remarkable for her prodigious memory, and at the age of 16 won a gold medal on completion of her secondary education. Because her father lost his savings through bad investment, she then had to take work as a teacher. From her earnings, she was able to finance her sister Bronia’s medical studies in Paris, on the understanding that Bronia would, in turn, later help her to get an education.

ln 1891 this promise was fulfilled and Marie went to Paris and began to study at the Sorbonne (the University of Paris). She often worked far into the night and lived on little more than bread and butter and tea. She came first in the examination in the physical sciences in 1893, and in 1894 was placed second in the examination in mathematical sciences It was not until the spring of that year that she was introduced to Pierre Curie.

Their marriage in 1895 marked the start of a partnership that was soon to achieve results of world significance. Following Henri BecquereI‘s discovery in 1896 of a new phenomenon, which Marie later called ‘radioactivity’, Marie Curie decided to rind out if the radioactivity discovered in uranium was to be found in other elements. She discovered that this was true for thorium.

Tuming her attention to minerals, she found her interest drawn to pitchblende, a mineral whose radioactivity, superior to that of pure uranium, could be explained only by the presence in thc orc of small quantities of an unknown substance of very high activity. Pierre Curie joined her in the work that she had undertaken to resolve this problem. and that led to the discovery of the new elements, polonium and radium. While Pierre Curie devoted himself chiefly to the physical study of the new radiations, Marie Curie struggled to obtain pure radium in the metallic state. This was achieved with the help of the chemist André-Louis Debierne, one of Pierre Curie’s pupils. Based on the results of this research. Marie Curie received her Doctorate of Science, and in 1903 Marie and Pierre shared with Becquerel the Nobel Prize for Physics for the discovery of radioactivity.

The births of Marie’s two daughters, Irene and Eve, in 1897 and 1904 failed to internrpt her scientific work. She was appointed lecturer in physics at the Ecole Nor-male Supérieure for girls in Sevres, France (1900), and introduced a method of teaching based on experimental demonstrations. In December 1904 she was appointed chief assistant in the laboratory directed by Pierre Curie.

The sudden death of her husband in 1906 was a bitter blow to Marie Curie. but was also a turning point in her career: henceforth she was to devote all her energy to completing alone the scientific work that they had undertaken. On May 19, 1906, she was appointed to the professorship that had been left vacant on her husband’s death, becoming the first woman to teach at the Sorbonne. In 1911 she was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for the isolation of a pure form of radium.

During World War I, Marie Curie, with the help of her daughter Irene, devoted herself to the development of the use of X—radiography, including the mobile units which came to be known as ‘little Curies’, used for the treatment of wounded soldiers. ln 1918 the Radium Institute, whose staff Irene had joined, began to operate in earnest, and became a centre for nuclear physics and chemistry. Marie Curie, now at the highest point of her fame and, from 1922, a member of the Academy of Medicine, researched the chemistry of radioactive substances and their medical applications

ln 1921, accompanied by her two daughters, Marie Curie made a triumphant journey to the United States to raise funds for research on radium. Women there presented her with a gram of radium for her campaign. Marie also gave lectures in Belgium. Brazil, Spain and Czechoslovakia and, in addition, had the satisfaction of seeing the development of the Curie Foundation in Paris. and the inauguration in 1932 in Warsaw of the Radium Institute, where her sister Bronia became the director.

One of Marie Curie’s outstanding achievements was to have understood the need to accumulate intense radioactive sources. not only to treat illness but also to maintain an abundant supply for research. The existence in Paris at the Radium Institute of o stock of grams of radium made a decisive contribution to the success of the experiments undertaken in the years around 1930. This work prepared the way for the discovery of the neutron by Sir James Chadwick and, above all, for the discovery in 1934 by Irene and Frédéric Joliot- Curie of artificial radioactivity. A few months after this discovery, Marie Curie died as a result of leukaemia caused by exposure to radiation. She had often carried test tubes containing radioactive isotopes in her pocket, remarking on the pretty blue-green light they gave off.

Her contribution to physics had been immense, not only in her own work. the importance of which had been demonstrated by her two Nobel Prizes, but because of her influence on subsequent generations of nuclear physicists and chemists.

THE MEGAFIRES OF CALIFORNIA

1. Giải thích từ vựng

• Wildfire (n)  /ˈwaɪld.faɪər/ cháy rừng (đám cháy lớn, lan nhanh)

Eg: major wildfires have destroyed thousands of acres in idaho. 

• Menace (n)  /ˈmen.ɪs/ mối đe doạ

Eg: drunk drivers are a menace to everyone.

Dogs running loose are a public menace.

• Blaze (v) /bleɪz/  cháy dữ dội

Eg: the sun was blazing down that afternoon.

Bush fires blazed across the county.

Một số từ đồng nghĩa:

• Burn she burned his diaries to stop the information from becoming public.
• Smoulder the fire smouldered and soon went out.
• Scorch the sun had scorched the grass and turned it brown.

• Erratically (adv)  /ɪˈræt.ɪ.kəl.i/ thất thường, không ổn định, không biết trước

Eg: fish affected by the bacteria usually swim erratically and die rapidly.

• Siege (n) /siːdʒ/  sự bao vây, sự vây hãm

Eg: the castle was under siege for months.

• Precipitation (n)  /prɪˌsɪp.ɪˈteɪ.ʃən/ (khí tượng) mưa/lượng giáng thủy, lượng mưa

Eg: hail and sleet are types of precipitation.

The forecast is for dry, cloudy weather with no precipitation expected.

There is heavy precipitation in some parts of the country.

• Unintentional (a) /ˌʌn.ɪnˈten.ʃən.əl/ không cố ý, không chủ tâm

Eg: it is unclear why expansions should raise arrests and unintentional injuries.

Unintentionally (adv)

• Eradication (n) /ɪˌræd.ɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/ sự nhổ rễ, sự trừ tiệt

Eg: the organization’s goal is the eradication of poverty.

The department faces either a budget cut or eradication.

• Fire-prone (a) dễ cháy

Eg: suburban and exurban development has pushed into many fire-prone wild areas. 

“this is really the most fire-prone ecosystem globally” he said.

• Adjunct professor (n) /ˈædʒ.ʌŋkt prə’fesə/ trợ giáo, giáo sư phụ tá

Eg: he has been associated with the university of oslo as an adjunct professor of international history.

• Average (v) /ˈæv.ər.ɪdʒ/   tính trung bình; đạt trung bình là, trung bình là

Eg: enquiries to our office average 1,000 calls a month.

He averaged 14 strikeouts per game last season.

Ticket prices for the concert average at $45.

• Residential (a) /ˌrez.ɪˈden.ʃəl/ (thuộc) nhà ở, (thuộc) nhà riêng 

Eg: it was not safe to locate the chemicals factory in a residential area.

The agency deals with residential and commercial property.

Rents in residential areas are lower than in the business district.

• Catch fire: bắt lửa, bốc cháy

Eg: when the grass in the yard caught fire, i thought the whole house was going to burn down.

The trick is to keep a moderate combustion so that milan does not catch fire and go up in smoke.

• Incredible (a) /ɪnˈkred.ə.bəl/ không thể tin được, lạ thường, phi thường

Eg: the latest missiles can be fired with incredible accuracy.

It seems incredible that no one foresaw the crisis.

• Progress (n) /ˈprəʊ.ɡres/ sự tiến tới, sự tiến bộ; sự tiến triển, sự phát triển

Eg: technological progress has been so rapid over the last few years.

I’m not making much progress with my spanish.

The doctor said that she was making good progress.

Collocation 

• Make progress

• Scorch (v) /skɔːtʃ/ thiêu, đốt, làm cháy sém

Eg: the iron was too hot and he scorched the shirt.

• Bungle (v) /ˈbʌŋ.ɡəl/ làm vụng, làm dối, làm cẩu thả, làm ẩu

Eg: don’t let him mend your bike. He’s sure to bungle the job.

The police bungled the investigation.

• Personnel (n)  /ˌpɜː.sənˈel/ toàn thể cán bộ công nhân viên (cơ quan, nhà máy…)

Eg: the new director is likely to make major changes in personnel.

• Peculiar (a) /pɪˈkjuː.li.ər/ đặc biệt, kỳ dị, khác thường

Eg: she has the most peculiar ideas.

Một số từ đồng nghĩa: 

• Strange she’s a strange girl.
• Odd i always thought there was something a bit odd about her.
• Bizarre i had a really bizarre dream last night.
• Weird his films are so weird that i can barely get through them.

• Up-to-date (a) /ˌʌp.tə ˈdeɪt/ hiện đại, tiên tiến

Eg: we work hard to keep our database up-to-date.

Một số từ đồng nghĩa:

• Modern the building was made using modern construction techniques.
• Latest she always wears the latest fashions.
• Cutting-edge computers have brought cutting-edge technology into the classroom.
• High-tech divers with high-tech equipment discovered the wreck of the ship.

• Dilapidated (a) /dɪˈlæp.ɪ.deɪ.tɪd/ đổ nát, xiêu vẹo, ọp ẹp (cũ kỹ và kém chất lượng)

Eg: the hotel we stayed in was really dilapidated.

• Blueprint (n) /ˈbluː.prɪnt/ bản đồ kế hoạch chi tiết, bản thiết kế/ kế hoạch chi tiết

Eg: the report provided a blueprint for relieving the county’s crowded jail facilities.

Collocation 

• Blueprint for sth
• Establish/draw up/draft a blueprint
• Provide a blueprint

• Proactive (a) /ˌprəʊˈæk.tɪv/ chủ động

Eg: companies are going to have to be more proactive about environmental management.

The agency decided to take a proactive approach to better serve its clients.

Collocation 

• A proactive approach/role/stance
• Proactive measures/policies/proposals
• Proactive in doing sth
• Proactive about sth

• Come through (phrasal verb) đưa ra kết quả (đã hứa) 

Eg: they promised they’d do it, but they haven’t come through yet.

Collocation 

• Come through with sth he’s still hoping the bank will come through with a loan. He’s still hoping the bank will come through with a loan.

• Budgetary (a) /ˈbʌdʒ·ɪˌter·i/ (thuộc) ngân sách

Eg: in this day and age of budgetary constraints who is going to pay for all of this?

• Upgrade (v) /ʌpˈɡreɪd/ nâng cấp

Eg: it’s very simple to upgrade the indexing software.

Consider upgrading your buildings insurance policy every five to 10 years.

They have not yet upgraded to fully digitial technology.

Collocation 

• Upgrade sth (from sth) to sth our plane tickets were upgraded to business class.

• Traverse (v) /trəˈvɜːs/  đi qua, đi ngang qua, vượt qua

Eg: stanley traversed the continent from west to east.

• Mammoth (a) /ˈmæm.əθ/ to lớn, khổng lồ

Eg: cleaning up the city-wide mess is going to be a mammoth task.

Một số từ đồng nghĩa:

• Big they live in a big house in the country.
• Large a large number of people were crowded into the room.
• Great the party was a great success.
• Enormous they bought an enormous house in the suburbs.

• Serpentine (a)  /ˈsɜː.pən.taɪn/  quanh co, uốn khúc, ngoằn ngoèo

Eg: we followed the serpentine course of the river.

• Jurisdiction (n)  /ˌdʒʊə.rɪsˈdɪk.ʃən/ quyền hạn/khu vực nằm trong phạm vi quyền hạn

Eg: the supreme court ruled that the us government had no jurisdiction over crimes committed on indian lands.

The financial community would like to see conformity of rules and regulations between different jurisdictions.

• Mutual (a) /ˈmjuː.tʃu.əl/ lẫn nhau, qua lại/ chung

Eg: theirs was a partnership based on mutual respect, trust and understanding.

Both countries are acting to their mutual advantage.

The agreement was terminated by mutual consent.

Collocation 

• • By mutual agreement/consent he has now left the company by mutual agreement.
  • Mutual benefit/advantage firms often do business together for purposes of mutual benefit.
  • Mutual respect/understanding/interest ours will be a partnership based on fairness and mutual respect.

• A mutual decision

• Revamp (v) /ˌriːˈvæmp/ sửa chữa

Eg: we revamped the management system, but the business is doing no better than it was before.

The walled garden was completely revamped last year.

• Endure (v)  /ɪnˈdʒʊər/ kéo dài, tồn tại

Eg: the political system established in 1400 endured until about 1650.

The torn flag has endured as a symbol of freedom.

• Mishandle (v) /ˌmɪsˈhæn.dəl/ quản lý tồi; giải quyết hỏng

Eg: the police were accused of mishandling the investigation.

1. Luyện tập

Bài 1: Chọn từ trong khung để hoàn thành các câu bên dưới

erratically	upgraded	enduring	scorched	eradication
precipitation	peculiar	came	revamped	personnel

1. That’s a rather …………………….. outfit she’s wearing!
2. The bank finally …………………. through with the money
3. The brakes, tires and suspension have all been .……………….
4. Other manufacturers have recently ………………….. their manufacturing processes to eliminate lead.
5. Everyone situated in a community of interests has an interest in that community existing and ………………….
6. The sun had ……………………. the grass and turned it brown.
7. Saturday was the most convenient day for students, parents, and school ………………………
8. These species of weeds are stubbornly resistant to …………………  
9. Acid …………………. may cause a reduction in forest productivity.
10. The machine is working …………………. – there must be a loose connection.

Bài 2: Chọn đáp án đúng để điền vào chỗ trống

1. That boy is a ………………. to himself and his friends.                       A. precipitation       B. menace
2. A huge fire was ………………… in the fireplace.                                  A. blazing           B. averaging
3. Professor Arce is an ……………………… Professor for the PA Program and will be teaching Medical Spanish.             A. progress       B. Adjunct 
4. I was afraid you would …………… this assignment but I had no one else to send.               A. bungle              B. scorch
5. The yacht’s crew said that they were making relatively slow ………………….                      A. personnel          B. progress
6. The hospital has some of the most …………………. equipment in the country.                   A. peculiar              B. up-to-date
7. The old house was in a somewhat ……………………. condition.                                        A. peculiar               B. dilapidated
8. The rules provide a vital …………………. for what the state may look like for years to come.      A. blueprint            B. jurisdiction
9. Birbhum is known not only for its red soil and the shallow ………………. rivers ridden with sand islands, but also for the notable poets.                                              A. mutual     B. serpentine
10. The equipment could be dangerous if ……………………             A. mishandled            B. endured
11. The peace talks broke down and ended in bitter ………………… recriminations.            A. unintentional         B. mutual
12. Firefighters are battling devastating …………………….. in northern California.               A. menace               B. wildfires
13. The ………………….. of Mafeking lasted for eight months.                                              A. siege                  B. menace
14. Perhaps I misled you, but it was quite …………………..                                                  A. residential            B. unintentional
15. The show ………………… a weekly audience of eight million.                                       A. averages               B. blazes
16. ………………… areas shall incorporate the appropriate landscaping for fire safety.      A. Fire prone              B. Residential
17. Ensure that the dishcloth is made of pure cotton and does not catch ……………… during the cleaning process.       A. fire        B. eradication
18. The business was disturbing people in the usually quiet …………………. area.               A. proactive         B. residential
19. Moving sidewalks ………………….. the airport.                            A. traverse                    B. upgrade
20. Industrial expansion could solve the regime’s chronic ………………… problems.             A. dilapidated           B. budgetary
21. The insurance industry should be more ………………….. in dealing with the increasing problem of insurance fraud.         A. proactive        B. budgetary
22. Building the dam was a ……………………. construction project.                    A. serpentine              B. mammoth
23. Practice varies between different European …………………….                     A. jurisdictions           B. blueprints
24.   The story is about theft, fraud and deceit on an ………………. scale.              A. incredible           B. residential

Bài 1: 

1.devoted 2. chiefly 3. triumphant 4. abundant 5. stock 

6. took 7. subsequent 8. interrupt 9. struggle 10. sole 

Bài 2: 

1.B 2. A 3. A 4. A 5. B

6. A 7. B 8. A 9. A 10. B
7. B 12. A 13. A 14. A 15. B
8. B 17. B 18. B 19. A 20. A
9. B 22. B