Then listen again. Circle the answer that best completes each statements. 

Barbara played cards with ________.

Mô tả câu hỏi

Match the terms on the left with their meanings on the right.

Mô tả câu hỏi

Read the text and do the activities that follow.

Biogas: a Solution to Many Problems

In almost all developing countries, the lack of adequate supplies of cheap, convenient and reliable fuel is a major problem. Rural communities depend largely on kerosene, wood and dung for their cooking and lighting needs. But kerosene is now priced out of reach of many people and wood, except in heavily forested areas, is in short supply. The search for firewood occupies a large part of the working day and has resulted in widespread deforestation.

Dung is in constant supply wherever there are farm animals and, when dried, it is convenient to store and use. But burning dung destroys its value as fertilizer, thus depriving the soil of a much needed source of humus and nitrogen.

Rural areas of developing countries are also plagues by a lack of adequate sanitation. Improper waste disposal spreads disease, contaminates water sources and provides breeding ground for disease-carrying insects.

The problem of improving environmental hygiene, conserving resources and finding alternative sources of fuel may be unrelated. Their solutions, however, are not, as many countries experimenting with biogas technology are discovering. Biogas, a mixture of methane and carbon dioxide, is produced by the fermentation of organic matter. The process of anaerobic fermentation is a natural one, occurring whenever living matter decomposes. By containing the matter – and the process – in a digester or biogas plant, the combustible gas can be trapped and used as fuel for household lighting and cooking. The digested slurry that remains can be used on the land as a soil conditioner and fertilizer.

Biogas plants have attracted much interest in recent years and they are in use in several Asian countries: 38,000 are reported in rural area of India, 27,000 in Korea and more than 80,000 in China. In most countries, the value of the gas has been the prime factor leading to their adoption: 70 percent of India’s plants, for instance, were built during the energy and fertilizer crisis of 1975-76 – although their use in that country dates back to 1951. similarly in Thailand and Korea, biogas is being investigated as an alternative to costly charcoal and to save compost materials form being burned.

In Japan and China, reducing pollution from animal wastes has been an important factor. Privies, hen houses and pigpens are built in proximity to the fermentation chamber in China. Examinations of the digested slurry have shown that the total number of parasite eggs was reduced by 93.6 per cent, hookworms by 99 per cent and no schistosome flukes were found.

The greatest benefits from biogas systems, however, are probably to be derived from the manorial value of the slurry, although it is not widely used outside of India and China. Vegetable farmers near Calcutta found that the digested slurry produced bigger and better tasting peas than did other fertilizers and the weight of root vegetables increased by nearly 300 per cent.

According to the reading passage, are the statements T (True) or F (False)?
1. ...... Biogas is the answer for the lack of cheap, convenient and reliable fuel.

2. ...... The production of biogas by fermentation of animals and vegetables wastes is a technology used in developed countries.

3. ...... Family –sized biogas plants first came into widespread used in India in the 1940s.

4. ...... There are less and less biogas plants in the world nowadays.

5. ...... Biogas is for domestic use.

6. ...... The system is economically sound, in addition to other benefits such as a cleaner, healthier environment.

Then circle the answer that best matches the meaning of each bold word or phrase.

Strawberries are in short supply at the moment.

During their vacation, they didn’t have phone service or Internet service

My brother loves to fix cars.

Listen to Gilles Philips, a journalist, talk about the effects of file-swapping technology on the music industry. Choose the best option for question 1-6. 

The speaker thinks the music industry should

Listen to Gilles Philips, a journalist, talk about the effects of file-swapping technology on the music industry. Choose the best option for question 1-6. 

What mistakes has the music industry made in the past?

Listen to Gilles Philips, a journalist, talk about the effects of file-swapping technology on the music industry. Choose the best option for question 1-6. 

Which of the following should the music industry do?

Mô tả câu hỏi

Read the text and decide if the following statements are  T (TRUE) or F (FALSE)

We’re Living Faster, But Are We Living Better?

Not long ago people believed that in the future we would work less, have more free time, and be more relaxed. But sadly this has not happened. Today we work harder, work longer hours, and are more stressed than ten years ago. We walk faster, talk faster, and sleep less than previous generations. And although we are obsessed with machines which save us time, we have less free time than our parents and grandparents had. But what is this doing to our health? An American journalist James Gleick in a new book, Faster: the acceleration of just about everything, says that people who live in cities are suffering from ‘hurry sickness’ – we are always trying to do more things in less time. As a result, our lives are more stressful. He says that if we don’t slow down, we won’t live as long as our parents. For most people, faster doesn’t mean better.

1. ...... The writer wrote the article to encourage us to work more and relax less.

2. ...... People today are having a less stressful life than they did in the past.

3. ...... People are too busy to read newspapers.

4. ...... Slow sports have become unpopular.

5. ...... More time is spent on stories.

Mô tả câu hỏi

 Put the verbs in the correct form of the Present Continuous.

Listen to the story. Choose the best title. 

 

Listen to the following talk and decide which its main idea is. 

Mô tả câu hỏi

Complete the dialogue. Use the present simple or present continuous form of the verbs in brackets. 

Mô tả câu hỏi

Complete each sentence with the correct one.

1. Amazingly, pink is considered a ...... in some parts of the world. Men wear it.

2. The ...... is very expensive.

3. I don’t like red. It is a ......

4. The kite is too ...... to fly safely.

5. Blue ...... peace.

6. In this country, people often wear black clothes in ......

7. Meanings of colors are different in different ......

8. The man in the grey suit is a ...... professor

Mô tả câu hỏi

Complete the conversation with words from the box. Use each word only once.

A   Did you read the article on Erik Weihenmayer? Isn’t he a fascinating person?

B   Yes, he really is! Imagine being blind and ...... a mountain!

A   Even for people who can see, climbing a mountain is very difficult.

B   You know, I was really surprised to learn that he is also a teacher and a ...... athlete.

A   People like Erik really ...... people all around the world. Did you know that he is not the only person with a disability who has done amazing things?

B   Yes! I read about Helen Keller in school. She was blind, deaf, and could not speak. Helen Keller became famous because of all the ...... she had in her lifetime.

A  Right! But people who have disabilities are not the only people who face ...... We all have difficulties in our lives. We face challenges at home, at work, at school, and in relationships.

B   I agree. Do you think challenges are good for us?

A   Yes, I do. I think if a person is not ...... and has ...... then he or she can overcome most of life’s challenges. I believe that challenges make us stronger.

B   You are right! I think that people like Erik Weihenmayer and Helen Keller really ...... others to be brave and face life’s challenges and never give up.

Mô tả câu hỏi

Fill in each blank with a conjunction given.

1. ...... pink was thought to be a stronger color, it was best suited for boys.

2. Blue was more delicate ...... dainty for girls.

3. Red ...... pink saris are the most popular colors for brides.

4. Most likely you feel good ...... you wear your favorite color.

5. ...... black symbolizes death in Western cultures, it is associated with powerful forces in many parts of the world.  

6. ...... you see a young lady in violet, it is her, my mistress.

7. People think pink is for girls, ...... it isn’t always this way.

8. She wants to look stylish, ...... she decided to dye her hair blonde.

Listen and chosse the main idea of the text.