Thẻ ghi nhớ: IEI-AD-Global Issues

plague (n)

Sub-topic: Natural disaster.

A disease that causes death and spreads quickly to a large number of people.

(The ................. decimated the working population of Europe, and this left large tracts of land vacant.)

epidemic (n)

Sub-topic: Natural disaster.

A large number of cases of a disease that happen at the same time.

(The school would have sat empty for the first four months of 1925 as an infantile paralysis ................. swept across the country.)

earthquake (n)

Sub-topic: Natural disaster.

A sudden shaking of the Earth's surface that often causes a lot of damage.

(There was a terrifying rumbling noise and the stairs shook as though a minor .................. had passed beneath the house.)

hurricane (n)

Sub-topic: Natural disaster.

A storm that has very strong fast winds and that moves over water.

(In 1842 six ships were at anchor in Funchal Bay when a ................. blew them all on to the shore.)

tornado (n)

Sub-topic: Natural disaster.

An extremely violent storm consisting of air that spins very quickly and causes a lot of damage.

(A storm of pain ripped through her like the indigo fingers of a ................. and carried her out on to a midnight sea.)

typhoon (n)

Sub-topic: Natural disaster.

A very violent tropical storm.

(He was, in fact, the very first person to text me after he heard of the devastating ................. that hit the Philippines.)

volcano (n)

Sub-topic: Natural disaster.

A mountain with a large hole at the top, through which lava (=very hot liquid rock) is sometimes forced out.

(The dawning sun was just starting to peek over the inactive ................. that laid among the many mountains bordering the valley town.)

drought (n)

Sub-topic: Natural disaster.

A long period of dry weather when there is not enough water for plants and animals to live.

(In severe ................. years some reaches of the riverbed dried up completely, resulting in lasting habitat damage.)

erupt (v)

Sub-topic: Natural disaster.

Start suddenly.

(Lava ................. underwater cools very rapidly with a plastic skin forming around lumps of still molten material.)

torrential rain (adj)

Sub-topic: Natural disaster.

Very heavy rain.

(There were ................., rivers burst their banks and flooded standing crops, churches were struck by lightning in heavy thunderstorms.)

survivor (n)

Sub-topic: Natural disaster.

Someone who continues to live after an accident, war, or illness.

(It begins with a train crash, from which there is one ................., miraculously unharmed.)

flood (n)

Sub-topic: Natural disaster.

A large amount of water covering an area that is usually dry.

(During the next 6 minutes, the tsunami wave changes from a ridge to a trough, causing .................... waters to drain and drawback to occur again.)

explosion (n)

Sub-topic: Social challenges.

A loud sound and the energy produced by something such as a bomb bursting into small pieces.

(Even modest-sized nuclear ................. can have effects detectable over intercontinental distances.)

civil war

Sub-topic: Social challenges.

A war fought between factions of the inhabitants of a single country, or a similar political entity.

(In Sweden, factors like famine and ................. have driven the Dinha tribes from their land in the South leading to many being sold into slavery.)

devastation (n)

Sub-topic: Social challenges.

Damage and destruction.

(For many of the passengers, the trail of ................... left behind by the monstrous tidal waves, is still fresh in their memory.)

instability (n)

Sub-topic: Social challenges.

Rapid, unmanaged change.

(Economic ................. causes many people to move abroad to seek reliable work.)

social unrest (n)

Sub-topic: Social challenges.

Riots, protests or fighting by the public against each other or the government.

(................. is spreading from the countryside to the cities, and the police are not responding.)

joblessness (n)

Sub-topic: Social challenges.

Unemployment.

(................. among older people is actually higher than among recent graduates.)

pressing

Sub-topic: Social challenges.

Urgent, important.

(I could not go to the college reunion because of more ................. matters at home with my family.)

prospect (n)

Sub-topic: Social challenges.

Future possibilities.

(The economic ................. for very small countries are quite positive these days.)

social mobility

Sub-topic: Social challenges.

The ability of people to progress in terms of salary, lifestyle and social status.

(Until recently, ......................... of members of the various religious denominations has hardly received any attention.)

private sector

Sub-topic: Social challenges.

Private businesses.

(I definitely want to work in the ................. after I graduate. It is a more stimulating environment than the public sector.)

demographic (n)

Sub-topic: Social challenges.

The changes in society in terms of age, income, numbers, origins and location in a country.

(................. changes in Scandinavia have been dramatic, with substantial immigration and an ageing indigenous population.)

longevity (n)

Sub-topic: Social challenges.

The amount of time that someone or something lives.

(Someone may counter by saying that traditionally Chinese people prefer to live a long life because .................... is equivalent to beatitude.)

migrate (v)

Sub-topic: Social challenges.

To move permanently between countries.

(How do birds know when to ................., and how do they find their way back home?)

brain drain

Sub-topic: Social challenges.

the tendency for intelligent or successful workers to migrate out of a country.

(Southern Europe is experiencing a high ................. these days, because of the lack of economic prospects.)

existential threat

Sub-topic: Social challenges.

A threat to existence or life.

(The economy of my country faces an ................. from collapsing oil revenues.)

livelihood (n)

Sub-topic: Social challenges.

The way a person makes a living.

(Many villagers sell handicrafts, as this is the only ................. they can find.)

hurdle (n)

Sub-topic: Problems, solutions.

A problem or difficulty that you must deal with before you can achieve something.

(Scientists are beginning to argue that psychological fitness could be the biggest ................. to a Mars mission.)

predicament (n)

Sub-topic: Problems, solutions.

A difficult or unpleasant situation in which you do not know what to do, or in which you have to make a difficult choice.

(It took more than 20 years of life experience for me to comprehend the horrible ....................... my molester had created for me.)

catastrophe (n)

Sub-topic: Problems, solutions.

Disaster.

(Because of our great dependence on science, we assume that humanity should have the means to deal with any .....................)

controversy (n)

Sub-topic: Problems, solutions.

A serious argument about something that involves many people and continues for a long time.

(There has been a huge ................. over where to put the city's new sports stadium and who should build it.)

setback (n)

Sub-topic: Problems, solutions.

A problem that delays or prevents progress, or makes things worse than they were.

(In fact, many men have experienced the crushing ................. of reverse discrimination when seeking jobs.)

dilemma (n)

Sub-topic: Problems, solutions.

A situation in which it is very difficult to decide what to do, because all the choices seem equally good or equally bad.

(The first ................. has been discussed: the managers gradually learned that their subordinates varied extensively in skill and motivation.)

exacerbate (v)

Sub-topic: Problems, solutions.

To make a bad situation worse.

(Ironically, the government's reassurances may have ................. fear about the disease.)

alleviate (v)

Sub-topic: Problems, solutions.

To make something less painful or difficult to deal with.

(Clinton also asked Glickman to report back within 30 days with recommendations to help ................. debt problems afflicting cattle producers. )

hinder (v)

Sub-topic: Problems, solutions.

To make it difficult for something to develop or succeed.

(Heavy rains had ................. the expedition's progress through the north-west of the country.)

mitigate (v)

Sub-topic: Problems, solutions.

To make a situation or the effects of something less unpleasant, harmful, or serious.

(To ................. risk to the tank, the infantry would move to the tank's flank to prevent the enemy from mounting from the rear.)

rectify (v)

Sub-topic: Problems, solutions.

To correct sth that is wrong.

(To partially ................. this system new diversionary cables were laid to circumvent the target conurbations.)

aggravate (v)

Sub-topic: Problems, solutions.

To make a bad situation, an illness, or an injury worse.

(Pointing accusing fingers at this moment would only ................. the pain of those mourning.)

alien (n)

Sub-topic: Social tensions.

Someone who is not a legal citizen of the country they are living or working in.

(In 1994, voters there approved Proposition 187, which restricts education, health and other state services to illegal ................. .)

squatter (n)

Sub-topic: Social tensions.

Someone who lives in an empty building or on a piece of land without permission and without paying rent.

(The living conditions of many of these migrants in illegal ................. settlements is often precarious.)

genocide (n)

Sub-topic: Social tensions.

The deliberate murder of a whole group or race of people

SYN. ethnic cleansing, racial purging.

(As well as mass ................., Stalin tore thousands of families apart by exiling men to the icy wastes of Siberia.)

displace (v)

Sub-topic: Social tensions.

To force something out of its usual place or position.

(Mr Rice said growing fuel crops to ................. fossil fuel would reduce CO2 emissions without cuts in farm output.)

extremist (n)

Sub-topic: Social tensions.

A person who holds extreme views, especially one who advocates such views; a radical or fanatic.

(An ex-Islamic ................. went to jail in his youth for rooting out idolatry by firebombing a video store.)

hatred (n)

Sub-topic: Social tensions.

Strong aversion, intense dislike.

(We have been led to believe that this was an unprovoked outburst of baseless ................. on the part of the German people.)

riot (n)

Sub-topic: Social tensions.

The disturbance of the public peace by an unlawful assembly of three or more people in the execution of some private object.

(Mounted police and dog handlers patrolled the streets and a large number of officers in ................... gear were deployed outside the station.)

anarchy (n)

Sub-topic: Social tensions.

The state of a society being without authorities or an authoritative governing body.

(When law and order break down in a country it must be the first step towards ................. and chaos.)

power struggle

Sub-topic: Social tensions.

A situation where two or more people or groups fight to gain dominance over each other.

(But clearly what was taking place was a bitter ................. between opposing ruling cliques with no holds barred on either side.)

dissident (n)

Sub-topic: Social tensions.

Someone who publicly criticizes the government in a country where this is punished.

(Democracy and human rights have been extended by women's groups, ethnic minorities, and ................. groups.)

asylum (n)

Sub-topic: Social tensions.

Protection given to someone by a government because they have escaped from fighting or political trouble in their own country.

(He was supportive generally of a so-called white list of countries from which people could not claim to need ................. .)

conformist (adj)

Sub-topic: Social tensions.

Thinking and behaving like everyone else, because you do not want to be different, or forcing people to do this.

(Our children's creativity is being beaten down by the ................. educational system.)

destitute (adj)

Sub-topic: Social tensions.

Lacking something; devoid; especially lacking money; poor, impoverished, poverty-stricken.

(Some only lost fathers but were put in orphanages by ................. mothers who had no means to support them after the Gulf War.)

intimidation (n)

Sub-topic: Social tensions.

The act of making timid or fearful or of deterring by threats; the state of being intimidated.

(A schoolboy was today behind bars for subjecting a family to a campaign of terror and ................. .)