Thẻ ghi nhớ: IEI-AD-Environment

ash (n)

Sub-topic: Phenomena.

The soft grey powder that remains after sth has been burned.

(The explosion spewed .................... and golf ball-sized fireballs into the air. )

tremor (n)

Sub-topic: Phenomena.

A small earthquake in which the ground shakes slightly.

(They were 2,1km below ground when a ...................., measuring 2,9 on the Richter scale, caused the rockfall.)

aftershock (n)

Sub-topic: Phenomena.

A small earthquake that happens after a larger one.

(The Central Weather Bureau said Wednesday's quake was an .................... from a deadly tremor in March.)

every cloud has a silver lining

Sub-topic: Phenomena.

Difficult situations can also have positive effects.

(...................., and having endured years of financial difficulties, Bangladesh will launch its first professional league on 21 December in the hope that it will herald the beginning of a new and exciting era.)

in the cold light of day

Sub-topic: Phenomena.

If you think about sth in the cold light of day, you think about it clearly and calmly, without the emotions you had at the time it happened, and you often feel sorry or ashamed about it.

(The next morning, ...................., Sarah realized what a complete idiot she had been.)

weather the storm

Sub-topic: Phenomena.

Endure a difficult period.

(Not only did the Corporation .................... and maintain its good financial performance, it came out of the recession stronger than before.)

know which way the wind is blowing

Sub-topic: Phenomena.

To be able to anticipate how a certain course/situation is likely to develop.

(These politicians .................... regarding public opinion on the issue, and you can bet they'll vote accordingly.)

calm before the storm

Sub-topic: Phenomena.

A period of peace followed by a period of chaos.

(The current trend might just be a .................... while new powers rise up to become strong enough to eventually challenge the existing world order.)

a storm in a teacup

Sub-topic: Phenomena.

A small problem that has been exaggerated.

(Climate sceptics believe that scientists are exaggerating the current situation and this is simply a .................... .)

not have the foggiest idea

Sub-topic: Phenomena.

To not know at all.

(None of us .................... about how to put the tent up.)

be snowed under

Sub-topic: Phenomena.

Have too much work.

(The city's cat shelter is .................... with new arrivals, as summer is their busiest period, being similar to the post-Christmas boom in unwanted dogs.)

fungus (n)

Sub-topic: Agriculture.

A simple type of plant that has no leaves or flowers and that grows on plants or other surfaces. e.g: mushroom, mould.

(Of course the cooler temperatures may also result in a greater incidence of .................... diseases such as powdery mildew.)

pest (n)

Sub-topic: Agriculture.

A small animal or insect that destroys crops or food supplies.

(Some pesticides are sold in formulations specifically for licensed .................... control operators.)

sediment (n)

Sub-topic: Agriculture.

A collection of small particles, particularly dirt, that precipitates from a river or other body of water.

(The earthquake triggered submarine landslides that dislodged hundreds of cubic kilometers of .................... on the continental slope.)

pasture (n)

Sub-topic: Agriculture.

Land or a field that is covered with grass and is used for cattle, sheep etc to feed on.

(In some areas woodland, waste or upland .................... was cleared and developed and new settlements established.)

horticulture (n)

Sub-topic: Agriculture.

The practice or science of growing flowers, fruit, and vegetables.

(It exhibits every aspect of Dutch ...................., from vegetables and fruit, to bulbs, flowers and plants to trees, bushes and shrubs.)

cultivate (v)

Sub-topic: Agriculture.

To prepare and use land for growing crops and plants.

(In early spring, gently .................... the soil around the base of the tree with a trowel.)

reservoir (n)

Sub-topic: Agriculture.

A lake, especially an artificial one, where water is stored before it is supplied to people's houses.

(Particles of pellets have polluted the tank, the gravel acting as a .................... of pollution, despite the water changes.)

canal (n)

Sub-topic: Agriculture.

A long passage dug into the ground and filled with water, either for boats to travel along, or to take water to a place.

(He said after the excessive rain, villagers were forced to make a breach in the .................... to allow flood waters to flow.)

dam (n)

Sub-topic: Agriculture.

A barrier built across a river or stream to stop the water from flowing, especially in order to make a lake or produce electricity.

(It was reasoned that the completed .................... would undeniably supply electricity and therefore be of economic benefit in the broadest sense.)

puddle (n)

Sub-topic: Agriculture.

A small pool of water, usually on a path or road.

(On October 30, just as the flood waters were creeping up in Ryedale, she drove her Peugeot car through a deep .................... and stalled the engine.)

vicious (adj)

Sub-topic: Agriculture.

Violent and cruel in a way that hurts someone physically.

(An American roller hockey player who was the victim of a .................... beating outside a Sheffield nightclub has been left blind in one eye.)

viable (adj)

Sub-topic: Agriculture.

A viable idea, plan, or method can work successfully.

(We had two months to come up with a .................... proposal for saving the factory.)

sewage (n)

Sub-topic: Agriculture.

The mixture of waste from the human body and used water, that is carried away from houses by pipes under the ground.

(The resort has been accused of dumping raw .................... in the lake at least four times in the last three years.)

organic (adj)

Sub-topic: Agriculture.

Relating to farming or gardening methods of growing food without using artificial chemicals, or produced or grown by these methods.

(In addition, the .................... components of adjacent threads, particularly wool, can act as a source of corrosive reagents.)

ecological (adj)

Sub-topic: Agriculture.

Connected with the way plants, animals, and people are related to each other and to their environment.

(We could conceivably escape disaster, but we seem destined, absent real change, for .................... impoverishment.)

animal rights (n)

Sub-topic: Agriculture.

The idea that people should treat animals well, and especially not use them in tests to develop medicines or other products.

(Separate .................... organisations now work together in co-ordinated campaigns to persuade teenagers that animals should not be used in research.)

herbicide (n)

Sub-topic: Agriculture.

A substance used to kill unwanted plants.

(In order to control crabgrass you must use a pre-emergent .................... that will prevent the crabgrass seeds from germinating.)

pesticide (n)

Sub-topic: Agriculture.

A chemical substance used to kill insects and small animals that destroy crops.

(Avoid spraying your plants with ...................., grow plants that encourage beneficial insects such as carrots, parsley, parsnips and nettles.)

quarry (n)

Sub-topic: Agriculture.

A place where large amounts of stone or sand are dug out of the ground.

(New stones were being collected from the same .................... that had been mined for the original construction.)

malleable (adj)

Sub-topic: Agriculture.

Sth that is malleable is easy to press or pull into a new shape.

(A .................... metal can be beaten into a sheet whereas a ductile metal can be drawn out into a wire.)

hydroelectric (adj)

Sub-topic: Energy.

Using water power to produce electricity.

(Reservoirs, rivers and snowpack are too low to power .................... dams without further imperiling endangered salmon runs.)

harness (v)

Sub-topic: Energy.

control and use the natural force or power of sth.

(We can .................... the power of the wind to generate electricity.)

curb (v)

Sub-topic: Energy.

To control or limit sth in order to prevent it from having a harmful effect.

(The only way to .................... the spread of the disease is by immunizing the entire population.)

smelt (v)

Sub-topic: Energy.

To melt a rock that contains metal in order to remove the metal.

(Once upon a time, long, long ago, the tribal craftsmen of India knew how to .................... iron of such purity that it never rusted.)

deforestation (n)

Sub-topic: Threat.

The act of clearing forests

SYN. forest clearance.

(In other words, simply by stopping .................... we would make a major contribution to slowing global warming.)

under threat

Sub-topic: Threat.

Likely to be harmed or damaged.

(Catterick race meeting on Saturday, the biggest of the National Hunt season at the course, is .................... from frost and flooding.)

in captivity

Sub-topic: Threat.

Kept in a zoo or a park, etc.

(His great work on the variation of the length of the wing case in beetles kept .................... had become a classic.)

wipe sth/sb out

Sub-topic: Threat.

Destroy or get rid of sth completely.

(Archaeologists think that massive floods could have .................... the dinosaurs.)

die out

Sub-topic: Threat.

Become less common and eventually disappear.

(Unless we do sth now, hundreds of plant and animal species will .................... .)

exert (v)

Sub-topic: Threat.

To use your power, influence etc in order to make sth happen.

(Other than her walks to various news-stands and marketplaces, which she tried to limit, Lydia did not .................... herself to physical exhaustion.)

finite (adj)

Sub-topic: Threat.

Having an end or a limit.

(I am one of those environmental activists who recognise we live on a planet of .................... resources.)

pristine (adj)

Sub-topic: Threat.

Beautiful, unspoiled.

(It was snowing heavily and within minutes the lawn was covered in a sheet of .................... white.)

worst case scenario

Sub-topic: Threat.

The worst possibilities for the future.

(One of the .................... is that there will be no tropical forests left by the year 2050.)

demographic projection

Sub-topic: Threat.

Forests about the population.

(.................... suggest the world population will grow before it begins to stabilise.)

credentials (n)

Sub-topic: Threat.

Someone's education, achievements, experience etc that prove they have the ability to do sth.

(He spent the first part of the interview trying to establish his .................... as a financial expert.)

prophet of doom (and gloom)

Sub-topic: Threat.

Someone who always makes the most pessimistic forecast for the future.

(We have proved all these .................... wrong, and our Republic has shown the resilience to march ahead.)

piecemeal (adj)

Sub-topic: Threat.

Happens slowly and in stages that are not regular or planned properly.

(She was struggling to save a patchwork system of segregated education by .................... projects.)

poach (v)

Sub-topic: Threat.

To illegally catch or shoot animals, birds, or fish, especially on private land without permission.

(Hunters have killed so many animals that in many countries .................... is considered more serious than drug smuggling.)

contaminate (v)

Sub-topic: Threat.

To make a place or substance dirty or harmful by putting sth such as chemicals or poison in it.

(Many types of viral and bacterial pathogens that grow in the gut of infected people may .................... water and food.)

battery farming

Sub-topic: Threat.

The practice of keeping animals on a farm with very small cages or crowded conditions.

(Some modern agricultural methods have been heavily criticised, with .................... in particular receiving a lot of condemnation.)

tainted (adj)

Sub-topic: Threat.

Polluted or contaminated.

(The Mediterranean is badly .................... in some areas by irresponsible sewage dumping, which detrimentally affects the residents' life.)

erosion (n)

Sub-topic: Threat.

The process by which rock or soil is gradually destroyed by wind, rain, or the sea.

(While he said there was not much vegetation damage, the road would cause dongas in the forest due to soil .................... along steep areas.)

logging (n)

Sub-topic: Threat.

Cutting down trees for timber and industrial use.

(Salvage .................... was proposed to allow loggers to remove diseased and fire-damaged trees from areas that are otherwise off-limits to the industry.)

famine (n)

Sub-topic: Threat.

A situation where there is a lack of food in an area for a long time.

(Activists feared attacks would only harm a population already devastated by two decades of war and .................... .)

irrigation (n)

Sub-topic: Threat.

Supplying water to land for agriculture.

(Farmers and miners are protesting that wads of money are being spent on technology when all they really want is some decent .................... .)

degradation (n)

Sub-topic: Threat.

The process by which sth changes to a worse condition.

(The report speaks of extensive environmental .................... caused by high population growth, rapid urbanization and fast industrialization.)

deterioration (n)

Sub-topic: Threat.

The process of making or growing worse, or the state of having grown worse.

(Residents view street cleaning as a fundamental job of their council, and will take a dim view of any further .................... of the service.)

greenhouse effect

Sub-topic: Threat.

The gradual warming of the air surrounding the Earth as a result of heat being trapped by pollution.

(Scientist say that owing haphazard growth of polluting industries have led to increase in global temperature, acid rain, ...................., ozone hole, and deforestation.)

extreme weather

Sub-topic: Threat.

Unexpected, unusual, severe, or unseasonal weather.

(World temperatures are continuing to rise and .................... conditions, such as droughts, floods and heatwaves, are becoming alarmingly common.)

power plant (n)

Sub-topic: Threat.

A building where electricity is produced to supply a large area.

(The immediate cause of last week's blackouts was a large .................... suddenly going offline in Northern California.)

barren (adj)

Sub-topic: Threat.

A barren land has no plants growing on it, a barren tree doesn't produce fruit or seeds.

(Although the trees were .................... of any flowers, there was something about the winter magic floating in the air that made the night so special.)

thermal (adj)

Sub-topic: Threat.

Relating to or caused by heat.

(I had forgotten to bring my wetsuit, but fortunately was well-equipped in my .................... underpants and a lifejacket.)

geyser (n)

Sub-topic: Threat.

Warm water than fountains out of the ground.

(This second album erupts like a .................... of molten lava from your speakers.)

respiratory (adj)

Sub-topic: Threat.

Relating to breathing or your lungs.

(It is wind-born pollen from plants that have inconspicuous flowers like wild grasses or ragweed that are the major causes of .................... allergy.)

combustion (n)

Sub-topic: Threat.

An explosion or detonation.

(The sparks generated by striking steel against a flint provide the activation energy to initiate .................... in this Bunsen burner.)

overuse (v)

Sub-topic: Threat.

To use something too much, especially so that it is not effective anymore or it is damaged.

(A great cause of ill health is .................... of sugar in concentrated form, candy, etc., especially by the sedentary.)

desertification (n)

Sub-topic: Threat.

The process by which useful land, especially farmland, changes into desert.

(The burgeoning populations of this area is contributing to its .................... by clearing forest for agriculture as well as for firewood.)

depletion (n)

Sub-topic: Threat.

When an amount of something is greatly reduced or nearly all used up.

(The decline in oil production of a well, oil field, or geographic area can lead to .................... of oil resources.)

searing (adj)

Sub-topic: Consequence.

(talk about heat or pain) Intense.

(The .................... heat and dense, acrid smoke inside a burning building make it almost impossible for firefighters to see what is around them.)

food mile

Sub-topic: Consequence.

The distance between the place where food is grown or made and the place where it is eaten.

(We can do a great deal to support local sourcing, not only through supporting our farmers in the rural economy but in reducing .................... .)

offset (v)

Sub-topic: Consequence.

If the cost or amount of something offsets another cost or amount, the two things have an opposite effect so that the situation remains the same.

(Cuts in prices for milk, butter, and cheese will be .................... by direct payments to farmers.)

hybrid (adj)

Sub-topic: Consequence.

An animal or plant produced from parents of different breeds or types.

(Both will begin to lease their .................... fuel cell vehicles for on-road use in Japan and California as early as the end of this year.)

offshore (n)

Sub-topic: Consequence.

In or under the sea and not far from the coast.

(Britain's North Sea oil supply is dwindling, forcing the oilmen into ever more expensive .................... exploration in ever deeper water.)

run dry

Sub-topic: Consequence.

Be completely used up.

(The department has contingency plans to ensure that no resident will go without water even when the taps begin to ...................., she added. )

green tax (n)

Sub-topic: Consequence.

Taxes on energy, transport, pollution and resources.

(Through our .................... switch and changes in general demand, environmentally friendly technology can become a booming market.)

take a toll on

Sub-topic: Consequence.

If something takes a toll, it causes suffering, deaths, or damage.

(Acute and chronic effects of pollution .................... the health of Canadians and incur costs for our health care system.)

repercussion (n)

Sub-topic: Consequence.

The effect that an action, event, or decision has on something, especially a bad effect.

(Losses or leaks of these gases have an important environmental impact given their .................... on the destruction of the ozone layer.)

unbridled (adj)

Sub-topic: Consequence.

Not controlled and too extreme or violent.

(Foreign firms, which came over to ride the wave of .................... consumerism and to make a quick buck, will go home.)

crisis (n)

Sub-topic: Consequence.

A situation in which there are a lot of problems that must be dealt with quickly so that the situation does not get worse or more dangerous.

(When a .................... or dilemma arises, such an organization will resort under duress to its customary self-defeating practices.)

weaponize (v)

Sub-topic: Consequence.

To turn bacteria, poisonous chemicals, etc. into weapons that could kill or injure many people.

(Do you believe that right now there are people in this world trying to .................... smallpox and other viruses, and succeeding?)

unequivocal (adj)

Sub-topic: Consequence.

Completely clear.

(Mr Grey gave an emphatic and .................... assurance that the names of all the donors would remain totally confidential.)

dire (adj)

Sub-topic: Consequence.

Extremely serious or terrible.

(Since the birth of the Internet, in particular, we have heard .................... assessments of the future of the book and the printed word.)

in light of

Sub-topic: Consequence.

Given, considering.

(He admitted that the trusts were reliant on the computer system and would reassess the situation .................... the problems.)

turn to sb/sth

Sub-topic: Consequence.

To try to get help, advice, or sympathy from sb.

(It would be safe and in conformity with legal and moral principles that you .................... a competent court of justice and file for a divorce.)

refuge (n)

Sub-topic: Consequence.

A place that provides shelter, or protection from danger.

(Tourists huddled in darkened hotels and hundreds of locals sought .................... in emergency shelters overnight.)

elicit (v)

Sub-topic: Consequence.

To succeed in getting information or a reaction from someone, especially when this is difficult.

(Prolonged question and answer sessions will eventually .................... the response the teacher is looking for.)

escalate (v)

Sub-topic: Consequence.

To make or become bigger in scale, or more intense or serious.

(When you've made your point and the other party has made his point, please do not .................... it to a never-ending heated discussion.)

gulf (n)

Sub-topic: Nature.

A large area of sea partly enclosed by land.

(The day before, I'd taken a tour boat for a ten-hour wildlife cruise into the .................... and fjords west of town.)

strait (n)

Sub-topic: Nature.

A narrow passage of water between two areas of land, usually connecting two seas.

(They glided over the narrow .................... of turbulent ocean water that made the island look like it had been cut in half with a steak knife.)

peninsula (n)

Sub-topic: Nature.

A piece of land almost completely surrounded by water but joined to a large area of land.

(The .................... contains different types of tropical vegetation such as tropical deciduous forest, thorn scrub, mangroves, grassland, marshlands and dunes.)

gorge (n)

Sub-topic: Nature.

A deep, narrow valley with steep sides, usually formed by a river or stream cutting through hard rock.

(There was the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, an almost sheer thousand-foot .................... with several sites for high dams.)

tributary (n)

Sub-topic: Nature.

A stream or river that flows into a larger river.

(Maybe someday, sticky and sweaty, I'll be tempted to skinny-dip in some meandering .................... of the Amazon River.)

estuary (n)

Sub-topic: Nature.

The wide part of a river where it goes into the sea.

(The castle's impressive battlements and tree-shaded gardens offer excellent views over the city and the .................... of the Tagus river.)

brook (n)

Sub-topic: Nature.

A small stream.

(Stone on to stone, I skipped across a ...................., dowsing one leg to the thigh in its bubbling water.)

biosphere (n)

Sub-topic: Nature.

The part of the world in which animals, plants etc can live.

(In fact, the current scientific environment often demands of interdisciplinary team work to develop and test hypotheses involving the .................... .)

run-off (n)

Sub-topic: Nature.

Water that runs from the ground into rivers and lakes.

(That .................... soaks through transpiration trenches, so it reduces the volume of water running off and also gives a filtration effect.)

aquifer (n)

Sub-topic: Nature.

Underground, natural water stores.

(Groundwater comes from an ...................., an underground zone of saturated sand, gravel, or rock that yields significant quantities of water.)

filtration (n)

Sub-topic: Nature.

The process of filtering and removing impurities.

(Aquarium .................... systems based on organic filters also have problems because toxins build up in the water, Fahs said.)

down-to-Earth

Sub-topic: Nature.

Practical and direct in a sensible honest way.

(What we want is .................... accountability, not lots of incomprehensible grand ideas.)