Listen to the talk again. Choose the correct answers A, B, or C.

1. The world’s biggest source of soot is ____________.

A. burning forests 

B. burning crop waste

C. killing living things in the soil 

2. Black carbon only stays in the atmosphere for a few ____________.

 A. hours                B. days or weeks          C. months (tháng)

3. Black carbon speeds up _______________.

A. the release of sunlight into the air

B. burning of crop waste 

C. ice melting

4. The next part of the talk will probably be about ______________.

A. ways to reduce black carbon emissions

B. heat-trapping gases 

C. other heat-trapping pollutants 

Work in pairs. Match the ways to reduce black carbon emissions (1-3) with the reasons (a-i) for doing so.

Read the passage, and then tick the correct answer true (T), or false (F).

Did you know that energy use is the biggest contributor to fine average Canadian home's carbon footprint? That's why the David Suzuki Foundation and Bullfrog Power are partnering to offer you a quick and easy way to switch your home to clan energy and be part of the solution to climate change. When you choose green energy, Bullfrog's generators put clean, renewable electricity and/or green natural gas (produced from organic waste, not fracking) into the grid or pipeline to match the amount of power or natural gas your home uses. Bullfrog ensures the energy going into our energy systems - on your behalf -is from clean, green sources. Bullfrog’s green electricity comes from a blend of wind and low-impact hydro power from new Canadian renewable energy facilities, with at least 50 per cent directly from your region.

Energy use is the main reason that causes carbon footprint in Canada.

A. True

B. False

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

  The air above our head is becoming cleaner. A breath of fresh air has been running right round the planet for the past five years. The planet is apparently purging itself of pollution. Paul Novell of the University of Colorado, the co-author of a report on this phenomenon says, “It seems as if the planet’s own cleaning service has suddenly got a new lease of life. Suddenly, there are a lot of changes going on up there”.

  Estimates of the death toll from urban smog have been steadily rising, so the new cleaner trend could have significant consequences for life expectancy in cities as well as for the planet itself. The sudden and unexpected reversal of several decades of worsening pollution extends from the air in city streets to the remotest mid-Pacific Ocean and Antarctica.

   Among the pollutants which have begun to disappear from the atmosphere are carbon monoxide, from car exhaust and burning rain forests, and methane from the guts of cattle, paddy fields, and gas fields. Even carbon dioxide, the main gas behind global warning, has fallen slightly.

   There are two theories about why pollution is disappearing. First that there is less pollution to start with due to laws to cut down urban smogs and acid rain starting to have a global impact. Second, that the planet may be becoming more efficient at cleaning up.

   The main planetary clean-up agent is a chemical called hydroxyl. It is present throughout the atmosphere in tiny quantities and removes most pollutants from the air by oxidizing them. The amount of hydroxyl in the air has fallen by a quarter in 1980s. Now it may be reviving for two reasons: ironically, because the ozone hole has expanded, letting in more ultraviolet radiation into the lower atmosphere, where it manufactures hydroxyl. Then the stricter controls on vehicle exhausts in America and Europe may have cut global carbon monoxide emissions, thereby allowing more hydroxyl to clean up other pollutants.

Question: Based on information in the passage, all of the following information referring to hydroxyl is true EXCEPT __________.

A. oxidization of pollutants is carried out by hydroxyl.

B. ultraviolet radiation increases production of hydroxyl.

C. there is difficulty in destroying carbon dioxide by hydroxyl.

D. the reduction in the ozone layer is beneficial to hydroxyl.

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

  The air above our head is becoming cleaner. A breath of fresh air has been running right round the planet for the past five years. The planet is apparently purging itself of pollution. Paul Novell of the University of Colorado, the co-author of a report on this phenomenon says, “It seems as if the planet’s own cleaning service has suddenly got a new lease of life. Suddenly, there are a lot of changes going on up there”.

  Estimates of the death toll from urban smog have been steadily rising, so the new cleaner trend could have significant consequences for life expectancy in cities as well as for the planet itself. The sudden and unexpected reversal of several decades of worsening pollution extends from the air in city streets to the remotest mid-Pacific Ocean and Antarctica.

   Among the pollutants which have begun to disappear from the atmosphere are carbon monoxide, from car exhaust and burning rain forests, and methane from the guts of cattle, paddy fields, and gas fields. Even carbon dioxide, the main gas behind global warning, has fallen slightly.

   There are two theories about why pollution is disappearing. First that there is less pollution to start with due to laws to cut down urban smogs and acid rain starting to have a global impact. Second, that the planet may be becoming more efficient at cleaning up.

   The main planetary clean-up agent is a chemical called hydroxyl. It is present throughout the atmosphere in tiny quantities and removes most pollutants from the air by oxidizing them. The amount of hydroxyl in the air has fallen by a quarter in 1980s. Now it may be reviving for two reasons: ironically, because the ozone hole has expanded, letting in more ultraviolet radiation into the lower atmosphere, where it manufactures hydroxyl. Then the stricter controls on vehicle exhausts in America and Europe may have cut global carbon monoxide emissions, thereby allowing more hydroxyl to clean up other pollutants.

Question: The word “it” in paragraph 5 refers to ______.

A. the ozone hole

B. clean-up agent

C. acid rain

D. urban smog

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

  The air above our head is becoming cleaner. A breath of fresh air has been running right round the planet for the past five years. The planet is apparently purging itself of pollution. Paul Novell of the University of Colorado, the co-author of a report on this phenomenon says, “It seems as if the planet’s own cleaning service has suddenly got a new lease of life. Suddenly, there are a lot of changes going on up there”.

  Estimates of the death toll from urban smog have been steadily rising, so the new cleaner trend could have significant consequences for life expectancy in cities as well as for the planet itself. The sudden and unexpected reversal of several decades of worsening pollution extends from the air in city streets to the remotest mid-Pacific Ocean and Antarctica.

   Among the pollutants which have begun to disappear from the atmosphere are carbon monoxide, from car exhaust and burning rain forests, and methane from the guts of cattle, paddy fields, and gas fields. Even carbon dioxide, the main gas behind global warning, has fallen slightly.

   There are two theories about why pollution is disappearing. First that there is less pollution to start with due to laws to cut down urban smogs and acid rain starting to have a global impact. Second, that the planet may be becoming more efficient at cleaning up.

   The main planetary clean-up agent is a chemical called hydroxyl. It is present throughout the atmosphere in tiny quantities and removes most pollutants from the air by oxidizing them. The amount of hydroxyl in the air has fallen by a quarter in 1980s. Now it may be reviving for two reasons: ironically, because the ozone hole has expanded, letting in more ultraviolet radiation into the lower atmosphere, where it manufactures hydroxyl. Then the stricter controls on vehicle exhausts in America and Europe may have cut global carbon monoxide emissions, thereby allowing more hydroxyl to clean up other pollutants.

Question: The word “purging” in line 2 is closest in meaning to __________.

A. refining

B. ridding

C. destroying

D. rising

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

  The air above our head is becoming cleaner. A breath of fresh air has been running right round the planet for the past five years. The planet is apparently purging itself of pollution. Paul Novell of the University of Colorado, the co-author of a report on this phenomenon says, “It seems as if the planet’s own cleaning service has suddenly got a new lease of life. Suddenly, there are a lot of changes going on up there”.

  Estimates of the death toll from urban smog have been steadily rising, so the new cleaner trend could have significant consequences for life expectancy in cities as well as for the planet itself. The sudden and unexpected reversal of several decades of worsening pollution extends from the air in city streets to the remotest mid-Pacific Ocean and Antarctica.

   Among the pollutants which have begun to disappear from the atmosphere are carbon monoxide, from car exhaust and burning rain forests, and methane from the guts of cattle, paddy fields, and gas fields. Even carbon dioxide, the main gas behind global warning, has fallen slightly.

   There are two theories about why pollution is disappearing. First that there is less pollution to start with due to laws to cut down urban smogs and acid rain starting to have a global impact. Second, that the planet may be becoming more efficient at cleaning up.

   The main planetary clean-up agent is a chemical called hydroxyl. It is present throughout the atmosphere in tiny quantities and removes most pollutants from the air by oxidizing them. The amount of hydroxyl in the air has fallen by a quarter in 1980s. Now it may be reviving for two reasons: ironically, because the ozone hole has expanded, letting in more ultraviolet radiation into the lower atmosphere, where it manufactures hydroxyl. Then the stricter controls on vehicle exhausts in America and Europe may have cut global carbon monoxide emissions, thereby allowing more hydroxyl to clean up other pollutants.

Question: The passage supports which of the following conclusion?

A. An expansion in hydroxyl has enlarged the ozone hole.

B. The decrease of methane has enabled ultraviolet radiation to enter the atmosphere.

C. The reduction in carbon dioxide has produced a cleaner atmosphere.

D. The beneficial effect of hydroxyl has aided the cleaning process.

XV. Read the passage and answer the question.

A carbon footprint is the amount of carbon dioxide (CO₂) released into the air by your own energy needs. You need transportation, electricity, food, clothing, and other goods. CO₂ is produced by the burning of fossil fuels which is used to provide energy for your homes, by the cars you travel in and by the manufacture and transport of goods you buy.

Carbon dioxide is also called greenhouse gas, which causes global warming. That is the reason why the carbon footprint is a very poweful tool to understand the impact of personal behaviours on global warming. If you want to contribute to stop global warming, the reduction of your personal carbon footprint is essential. Fist, you can reduce your carbon footprint by driving less. When possible, walk or ride a bike to avoid carbon emissions completely or use public transport in order to decrease CO emissions. Second, support using clean energy sources such as wind, solar, geothermal energy and biogas. Finally, reusing or recycling items you no longer use is also a good way to reduce your carbon footprint.

1. What is a carbon footprint?

..............................................................................

2. How is CO₂ produced?

..............................................................................

3. What can carbon footprint cause?

.................................................................................

4. What should you do to stop global warming?

..................................................................................

XVI. Read the passage and choose the best answer A, B, C or D to complete the passage.

In many countries in process of industrialization, overcrowded citis present a major problem. The (1) ............ of town is mainly caused by the drift of large numbers of people from the rural areas. The only long-tẻm solution is to make (2)............. in the rural areas more attractive, which would (3)............ people to stay there. This could be achieved by providing incentives for people to go and work in the villages. Moreover, facilities in the rural areas, such as transportation, health and education services should be (4)...........

1. A. population B. popularity C. populous D. overpopulation

2. A. life B. surroundings C. atmosphere D. sights

3. A. insist B. suggest C. encourage D. persuade

4. A. invested B. improved C. impressed D. increased

I. Choose the correct answers to complete the passage 

CARBON FOOTPRINTS

Everybody has a carbon footprint - it's the (1)__________of carbon dioxide we produce with any action or activity.(2)____________carbon dioxide contributes to 'greenhouse gases', our carbon footprints have a direct impact( 3)____________the environment. You can estimate your carbon footprint on any number of popular websites: if it's (4) _________, then you're probably leading a relatively green lifestyle. But (5)__________happens if it's big?

Well, the answer is that you can (6)_________it. This modern answer to the problem is for people to contribute to balancing the negative effects of their actions by using (7) ____________ fuels, recycling, reforestation and a number of other activities which are said to contribute to a lowering of (8)_________carbon dioxide.

1. a. number b. quality c. amount d. period

2. a. As b. Although c. However d. Due to

3. a. for b. to c. on d. in

4. a. small b. large c. free d. fine

5. a. when b. what c. why d. how

6. a. replace b. reuse c. increase d. balance

7. a. fossil b. leaded c. smoky d. green

8. a. moving b. lowering c. rising d. falling