Nâng cấp từ vựng – IELTS Vocab Booster 2 – Test 2- READING PASSAGE 2

Nâng cấp từ vựng – IELTS Vocab Booster 2 – Test 2- READING PASSAGE 1

The True Cost of Food

A For more than forty years the cost of food has been rising. It has now reached a point where a grbwing number of people believe that it is far too high, and that bringing it down will be one of the great challenges of the twenty first century. That cost, however, is not in immediate cash. In the West at least, most food is now far cheaper to buy in relative terms than it was in 1960.

The cost is in the collateral damage of the very methods of food production that have made the food cheaper: in the pollution of water, the enervation of soil, the destruction of wildlife, the harm to animal welfare and the threat to human health caused by modern industrial agriculture.

B First mechanisation, then mass use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides, then monocultures, then battery rearing of livestock, and now genetic engineering – the onward march of intensive farming has seemed unstoppable in the last half-century, as the yields of produce have soared. But the damage it has caused has been colossal. In Britain, for example, many of our best-loved farmland birds, such as the skylark, the grey partridge, the lapwing and the corn bunting, have vanished from huge stretches of countryside, as have even more wild flowers and insects. This is a direct result of the way we have produced our food in the last four decades. Thousands of miles of hedgerows, thousands of ponds, have disappeared from the landscape. The faecal filth of salmon farming has driven wild salmon from many of the sea lochs and rivers of Scotland. Natural soil fertility is dropping in many areas because of continuous industrial fertiliser and pesticide use, while the growth of algae is increasing in lakes because of the fertiliser run-off.

C Put it all together and it looks like a battlefield, but consumers rarely make the connection at the dinner table. That is mainly because the costs of all this damage are what economists refer to as externalities: they are outside the main transaction, which is for example producing and selling a field of wheat, and are borne directly by neither producers nor consumers. To many, the costs may not even appear to be financial at all, but merely aesthetic – a terrible shame, but nothing to do with money. And anyway they, as consumers of food, certainly aren’t paying for it, are they?

D But the costs to society can actually be quantified and, when added up, can amount to staggering sums. A remarkable exercise in doing this has been carried out by one of the world’s leading thinkers on the future of agriculture, Professor Jules Pretty, Director of the Centre for Environment and Society at the University of Essex. Professor Pretty and his colleagues calculated the externalities of British agriculture for one particular year. They added up the costs of repairing the damage it caused, and came up with a total figure of £2,343m. This is equivalent to £208 for every hectare of arable land and permanent pasture, almost as much again as the total government and EU spend on British farming in that year. And according to Professor Pretty, it was a conservative estimate.

E The costs included: £120m for removal of pesticides; £16m for removal of nitrates; £55m for removal of phosphates and soil; £23m for the removal of the bug Cryptosporidium from drinking water by water companies; £125m for damage to wildlife habitats, hedgerows and dry stone walls; £1,113m from emissions of gases likely to contribute to climate change; £106m from soil erosion and organic carbon losses; £169m from food poisoning; and £607m from cattle disease. Professor Pretty draws a simple but memorable conclusion from all this: our food bills are actually threefold. We are paying for our supposedly cheaper food in three separate ways: once over the counter, secondly through our taxes, which provide the enormous subsidies propping up modern intensive farming, and thirdly to clean up the mess that modern farming leaves behind.

F So can the true cost of food be brought down? Breaking away from industrial agriculture as the solution to hunger may be very hard for some countries, but in Britain, where the immediate need to supply food is less urgent, and the costs and the damage of intensive farming have been clearly seen, it may be more feasible. The government needs to create sustainable, competitive and diverse farming and food sectors, which will contribute to a thriving and sustainable rural economy, and advance environmental, economic, health, and animal welfare goals.

G But if industrial agriculture is to be replaced, what is a viable alternative? Professor Pretty feels that organic farming would be too big a jump in thinking and in practices for many farmers. Furthermore, the price premium would put the produce out of reach of many poorer consumers. He is recommending the immediate introduction of a’Greener Food Standard’, which would push the market towards more sustainable environmental practices than the current norm, while not requiring the full commitment to organic production. Such a standard would comprise agreed practices for different kinds of farming, covering agrochemical use, soil health, land management, water and energy use, food safety and animal health. It could go a long way, he says, to shifting consumers as well as farmers towards a more sustainable system of agriculture.

 

1. Giải thích từ vựng

• Collateral (a) /kəˈlæt.ər.əl/ ở bên cạnh, phụ thêm

Eg: There were two small major aortopulmonary collateral arteries providing dual supply to various individual segments.

• Welfare (n)  /ˈwel.feər/ phúc lợi/ sự bảo vệ, chăm sóc

Eg: The police are very concerned for the welfare of the missing child.

• Mass (a) /mæs/ hàng loạt

Eg: During times of mass unemployment, there’s a pool of cheap labour for employers to draw from.

There were mass deportations in the 1930s, when thousands of people were forced to leave the country.

• Livestock (n) /ˈlaɪv.stɒk/ vật nuôi, thú nuôi 

Eg: The organic livestock industry has grown substantially in the last few years.

The organic livestock industry has grown substantially in the last few years.

• Onward (a)  /ˈɒn.wəd/ về phía trước, tiến lên

Eg:  If you are continuing on an onward flight, your bags will be transferred automatically.

• Intensive farming (n)  /ɪnˌten.sɪv ˈfɑː.mɪŋ/ thâm canh nông nghiệp

Eg: The use of intensive farming can damage the environment.

• Yield (n)   /jiːld/ sản lượng, hoa lợi (thửa ruộng); hiệu suất

Eg: Crop yields have risen steadily.

Yields on gas and electricity shares are consistently high.

• Colossal (a)  /kəˈlɒs.əl/ khổng lồ, to lớn

Eg: In the centre of the hall stood a colossal wooden statue, decorated in ivory and gold.

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.

• Vanish (v) /ˈvæn.ɪʃ/ biến mất, biến dần, tiêu tan 

Eg: The child vanished while on her way home from school.

We ran out after the thief, but he had vanished into thin air.

Một số từ đồng nghĩa: 

• disappear The boat disappeared in the storm.
• go away It was weeks before the bruises went away.
• (go) missing He has been missing since November of last year.
• fade away As the years passed, the memories faded away.

•  Continuous (a) /kənˈtɪn.ju.əs/ liên tục, liên tiếp, không dứt, không ngừng

Eg: The tape ran in a continuous loop, repeating the same songs over and over.

Satellite technology offers the opportunity, as never before, for continuous television coverage of major international events.

continuously (adv) 

•  Battlefield (n) /ˈbæt.əl.fiːld/ chiến trường/ một chủ đề mà mọi người kịch liệt phản đối

Eg: They carried the wounded from the battlefield.

The issue has become a political battlefield in recent years.

•  Externality (n) /ˌekstɜːˈnæləti/ ngoại ứng, ảnh hưởng ngoại lai (những thiệt hại gây ra do hoạt động của một công ty, tổ chức mà không được chi trả)

Eg: Governments, through laws and regulations, attempt to transfer the costs of externalities such as pollution back to the responsible parties.

As industrial production has fallen so have associated negative externalities, leading to reductions in air, water, soil, and noise pollution.

•  Refer to sb/ sth: nói về ai/ cái gì

Eg: In her autobiography she occasionally refers to her unhappy schooldays.

He always refers to the house as his “refuge”.

Một số từ đồng nghĩa:

• be about What is the story about?
• have (got) to do with What’s that got to do with it?
• relate to That relates to what I was saying earlier about the need for reform.
• concern The film concerns the complicated nature of marriage.
• cover We will cover the passive voice later in the course.
• deal with We will deal with the use of antidepressants in chapter three.

•  Aesthetic  (a) /esˈθet.ɪk/ (thuộc) mỹ học, thẩm mỹ

Eg: The new building has little aesthetic value.

The vases are aesthetic as well as practical.

Một số từ đồng nghĩa:

• artistic Don’t laugh at my artistic endeavours!
• artisanal They only sell artisanal bread.
• arty-crafty She introduced me to all her arty-crafty friends.

•  Add up (phrasal verb) tính tổng số

Eg: We add up the bill to check it was correct. 

•  Staggering (a)  /ˈstæɡ.ər.ɪŋ/ làm lảo đảo; làm choáng người (đáng kinh ngạc, khó tin)

Eg: It costs a staggering $50,000 per week to keep the museum open to the public.

Nursing care costs a staggering $15,000 per week!

They paid a staggering £5 million for the house.

•   Arable (a)  /ˈær·ə·bəl/ (đất) có thể trồng trọt được, thích hợp để trồng trọt

Eg: The country is rich in arable land.

Possibly the area was used as arable land, but we have no evidence for that hypothesis.

•  Permanent (a) /ˈpɜː.mə.nənt/  lâu dài, lâu bền, vĩnh cửu

Eg: She is looking for a permanent place to stay.

Are you looking for a temporary or a permanent job?

•  Conservative (a)  /kənˈsɜː.və.tɪv/ thận trọng, dè dặt (ít hơn mức thực tế)

Eg: If I said there were three million unemployed, that would be a conservative estimate.

Even by conservative estimates, the company will lose $2,000,000 this year.

•  Over the counter (n) /ˈkaʊn.tər/ mua bán thẳng (không qua sổ chứng khoán)/ (thuốc) có thể bán không cần đơn bác sĩ 

Eg: You can buy most cold remedies over the counter.

•  Subsidy (n)  /ˈsʌb.sɪ.di/ tiền trợ cấp

Eg: The company received a substantial government subsidy.

The government is planning to abolish subsidies to farmers.

The steel industry was at the time coddled by trade protection and massive subsidies.

•  Prop up (phrasal verb) làm chỗ dựa cho, chống đỡ cho, đứng mũi chịu sào cho, làm cột trụ cho (một tổ chức, một gia đình…)

Eg: The US Federal Reserve adjusted interest rates in January in an attempt to prop up the economy.

•  Break away (phrasal verb) rời khỏi, thoát khỏi, không còn liên hệ gì với

Eg: The small radical faction broke away from the independence movement.

•  Urgent (a)  /ˈɜː.dʒənt/ gấp, cần kíp, khẩn cấp, cấp bách 

Eg: He’s got to sign that paper – will you tell him it’s urgent?

Một số từ đồng nghĩa:

• serious Her condition is not thought to be serious.
• big Online fraud is a big problem.
• major It’s not a major problem, but it does need to be taken care of.
• grave The public are in grave danger.

•  Feasible (a) /ˈfiː.zə.bəl/  khả thi, có thể thực hành được, có thể thực hiện được, có thể làm được

Eg: With the extra resources, the project now seems feasible.

Một số từ đồng nghĩa:

• achievable Make sure your weight-loss goals are achievable.
• attainable Employees benefit from having attainable goals.
• doable It’s a big ask, but it’s doable.

•  Viable (a) /ˈvaɪ.ə.bəl/ có thể thành tựu được (kế hoạch)/ có thể tồn tại, có thể đứng vững được (chính phủ)

Eg: In order to make the company viable, it will unfortunately be necessary to reduce staffing levels.

I am afraid your plan is not politically viable.

Một số từ đồng nghĩa: 

• achievable Make sure your weight-loss goals are achievable.
• attainable Employees benefit from having attainable goals.
• doable It’s a big ask, but it’s doable.
• feasible Given the lack of funding, is this plan really feasible?

•  Organic (a) /ɔːˈɡæn.ɪk/ hữu cơ (không sử dụng chất hóa học trong việc trồng trọt chăn nuôi lấy lương thực thực phẩm)

Eg: Cheap organic food is still difficult to come by.

These organic olives are packaged in recycled glass containers.

•  Jump (n)  /dʒʌmp/ bước nhảy vọt (sự tăng trưởng lớn đột ngột) 

Eg: The tech stocks in the index posted the biggest jumps.

Universities and colleges have reported a dramatic jump in the number of applications.

•  Norm (n)  /nɔːm/ quy tắc tiêu chuẩn/ chỉ tiêu (trong sản xuất)

Eg: These standards generally exceed the accepted industry norms.

•  Purify (v) /ˈpjʊə.rɪ.faɪ/  làm sạch, lọc trong, tinh chế

Eg: Plants cut down on pollution and help purify the air.

Một số từ đồng nghĩa: 

• clean You’ll need to clean the wound before you bandage it.
• cleanse The herb is supposed to cleanse the body of toxins.
• disinfect We disinfected the doorknobs with antibac wipes.
• sanitize Test tubes must be washed and sanitized before use.
• sterilize The lab equipment was thoroughly sterilized before use.

•  Deteriorate(v)   /dɪˈtɪə.ri.ə.reɪt/ làm giảm giá trị, làm cho xấu hơn

Eg: She was taken into hospital last week when her condition suddenly deteriorated.

The political situation in the region has deteriorated rapidly.

We could see his health deteriorating week by week.

•  Initiate (v)  /ɪˈnɪʃ.i.eɪt/ bắt đầu, khởi đầu, đề xướng

Eg: Hague initiated a series of reforms of the ConservativeRepublican Party.

Some of the orders are initiated directly on the trading floor.

1. Luyện tập

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

arable	continuous	welfare	staggering	onward
colossal	collateral	livestock	yield	vanished

1. We were concerned for our parents’ ……………………………….. when we heard about the storm in Florida.
2. Czerno has no restraint when it comes to ………………………………… damage.
3. …………………………………. auction markets are an important link in the marketing chain.
4. Scientists have greatly increased the ………………………………… of crops such as wheat, rice and corn.
5. The lighting makes a ……………………………………. whining sound.
6. The whole business has been a ………………………………… failure.
7. Dinosaurs ……………….…………….. from the Earth 65 million years ago.
8. From the 1940s …………………………………., states responded to pressure from national administrators by making changes in their benefit levels.
9. The area is dominated by ………………………………. land, grazed and abandoned pastures, spruce plantations and deciduous woods.
10. The attention to detail is ………………………………………………..

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

1. He quickly ………………………………………. the figures in his head                                                                           A. propped up             B. added up
2. There has been a ……………………………………….. exodus of workers from the villages to the towns.                     A. mass                      B. staggering
3. We are going to lead our youth not to ……………………………………………. but to those higher fields of peace and contented happiness.                        A. battlefields       B. externalities
4. It’s something of a misnomer to …………………………………….. these inexperienced boys as soldiers.                    A. add up                     B. refer to
5. A semi-……………………………. hair dye will wash out after about three months.                                                        A. conservative           B. permanent
6. Companies who recruit through the scheme will receive a …………………………. of £50 a week.                                A.externality                B. subsidy
7. One or two of the tourists ………………………………….. from the tour group.                                                              A. broke away              B. propped up
8. More intensive ………………………………….. will increase the stock of soil fertility being available for future crop seasons that again have future risk implications.        A. livestock       B. farming
9. Many people are in …………………………………. need of food and water.                                                                  A. urgent                        B. feasible
10. The benefits of conservation are both financial and …………………………………….                                                   A. continuous                B. aesthetic
11. The pact was scrapped last October after Thailand and Malaysia quit, saying that it had failed to …………………………………. prices.                           A. prop up             B. add up
12. We hope to provide a ………………………………… alternative to car travel.                                                                A. viable                          B. organic
13. Guns can be bought over the ……………………………. in some states.                                                                       A. subsidy                        B. counter
14. At a …………………………………………… estimate, he’ll be earning £50 000.                                                             A. conservative               B. staggering
15. The impact ranges of environmental stock ………………………can be either local or global and the dissipation rates of these stock externalities vary dramatically.          A. yields       B. externalities
16. Given the lack of funding, is this plan really ………………………………….?                                                                A. feasible                        B. urgent
17. Heavyweight stock helped to drag the FTSE 100 higher with a 27.5p …………………………….. to 742p.                A. subsidy                         B. jump
18. She considered people to be products of the values and ……………………………. of the society they lived in.          A. norms                           B. battlefields
19. He is credited with …………………………………………. several new literary forms.                                                A. initiating                         B. vanishing
20. The restaurant only uses ……………………………………. ingredients.                                                                     A. viable                             B. organic
21. As the company’s financial outlook ……………………………………, several directors resigned.                               A. deteriorated             B. initiated
22. One of the main teachings of Buddhism is that you should try to …………………. your mind.                                 A. vanish                        B. purify 

Bài 1: 

1.welfare 2. collateral 3. livestock 4. yield 5. continuous

6. colossal 7. vanished 8. onward 9. arable 10. staggering

Bài 2: 

1. B 2. A 3. A 4. B 5.B 
2. B 7. A 8. B 9. A 10.B 
3. A 12. A 13. B 14. A 15.B
4. A 17. B 18. A 19. A 20.B 
5. A 22. B

Test 1- READING PASSAGE 1 https://zorba.edu.vn/nang-cap-tu-vung-dc-chat-loc-tu-bo-cambridge-cam7-test1-reading-passage1/

Test 1- READING PASSAGE 2  https://zorba.edu.vn/nang-cap-tu-vung-ielts-vocab-booster-2/ 

Test 1- READING PASSAGE 3 https://zorba.edu.vn/nang-cap-tu-vung-ielts-vocab-booster-2-test-1-reading-passage-3/