- Tham gia
- 28/9/2018
- Bài viết
- 1.288
1. BASIC LISTENING
MID-AUTUMN FESTIVAL
Mid-Autumn Festival is also named Moon Festival. Autumn is always the season of harvest. People are preparing to celebrate an important festival at this time of the year - Mid-Autumn Festival.
On the day of the festival, family members have dinner together. After dinner, they may go to the park or sit around a small table in the yard in the moonlight chatting and eating fruits and mooncakes.
Mooncakes are the most important food for Mid-Autumn Festival just as important as a turkey for Thanksgiving Day.
Outside the home, Chinese people have also held many activities to celebrate the festival such as hanging lanterns, watching “fire dragon dance” show, and traveling with family.
According to ancient traditional customs, Chinese people have worshiped the moon for millennia, putting chicken, ducks, mooncakes, and fruit on altars. Only after the moon had “enjoyed” the offerings would they eat them for dinner.
In Vietnam, customs are similar to those in the Chinese countryside, filled with good harvest prayers and wishes.
Nowadays, most Chinese people enjoy the 3-day Mid-Autumn Festival public holiday. They hang out with friends or enjoy happy family time.
2. ADVANCED LISTENING
RAINFOREST DESTRUCTION
Rainforests are critically important to our well-being. Because they absorb carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, and produce oxygen, they are sometimes called the lungs of the planet. Despite the fact that rainforests cover only 12 percent of the land-area of the Earth, they are home to between 50 and 90 percent of the world's plant and animal species, and for local populations they are a vital source for food, fiber, fuel and medicines. Tropical forests regulate global and regional climate-systems, and release moisture into the atmosphere, which then returns to earth in the form of rain.
ONE SEED - Laurie Berkner
My grandfather had a garden and showed my father
How to make it grow
Then my father, he had me
Now it’s my turn to plant a seed
One seed, two hands, dig a hole, start to plant
Watch it grow, pass it down, one Earth spins around
Our planet's diverse thriving ecosystems may seem like permanent fixtures, but they're actually vulnerable to collapse.
Jungles can become deserts, and reefs can become lifeless rocks, even without cataclysmic (biến cố địa chất) events, like volcanoes and asteroids.
What makes one ecosystem strong and another weak in the face of change?
The answer, to a large extent, is biodiversity. Biodiversity is built out of three intertwined features: ecosystem diversity, species diversity, and genetic diversity.
The more intertwining there is between these features, the denser and more resilient the weave becomes.
ONE SEED - Laurie Berkner
My grandmother lived by the ocean
And showed my mother how to keep it clean
Then my mother, she had me
Now it’s my turn to plant a seed
One seed, two hands, dig a hole, start to plant
Watch it grow, pass it down, one Earth spins around
But where the land has been logged, there are no longer trees to produce the rain cycle which cools down the atmosphere, or to reduce carbon dioxide levels, contributing to climate change. Because of tropical deforestation, animal and plant habitat is disappearing, and at least one species dies out every day.
ERNA SOLBERG - Prime Minister of Norway
“Our forest and climate partnerships are broadening and deepening. This reflects the fact that forests play a key role in mitigating climate change.”
“Tropical forests can provide one third of the climate change mitigation needed to stay on a two-degree pathway or below over the next decades.”
“By protecting our forests, we are thus making a crucial contribution to climate change mitigation and global sustainability, and – ultimately – to the future of humanity.”
ONE SEED - Laurie Berkner
One seed, two hands, dig a hole, start to plant
Watch it grow, pass it down, one Earth spins around
Please protect me, and what I need
A place to play that’s green, clean air to breathe
Don’t forget me, teach me what you know
Remember what you leave you leave for me
In some environments, taking away just one important component can undermine the entire system.
Take coral reefs, for instance. Many organisms in a reef are dependent on the coral. It provides key microhabitats, shelter and breeding grounds for thousand of species of fish,
crustaceans and mollusks. Corals also form interdependent relationships with fungi and bacteria.
The coral itself is a loom (khung cửi) that allows the tangled net of biodiversity to be woven. That makes coral a keystone organism, one that many others depend on for their suvival.
So what happens when destructive fishing practices, pollution and ocean acidification weaken coral or even kill it altogether? Exactly what you might think! The loss of this keystone species leaves its dependents at a loss, too, threatening the entire fabric of the reef.
Thus, the United States has partnered with the private sector, other governments and civil society organizations to form the Tropical Forest Alliance 2020, or TFA 2020. The alliance aims to mobilize and coordinate actions by all partners to reduce tropical deforestation related to key agricultural commodities such as palm oil, soy, beef, and paper and pulp.
ONE SEED - Laurie Berkner
One seed, two hands, dig a hole, start to plant
Watch it grow, pass it down, one Earth spins around
When I grow up I might have a daughter
Or a son of my very own
And as they’re learning what they need, I’ll show them
How to plant a seed
One seed (one seed), two hands (two hands)
Dig a hole (dig a hole), start to plant (start to plant)
ERNA SOLBERG - Prime Minister of Norway
If it is to have a happy conclusion, we need to end deforestation. And this will only be possible if governments are involved.
Indonesia is emerging as a case in point.
• not to issue any new mining or palm oil permits,
• to protect all remaining peatlands and restore those already damaged, and
• to review existing permits for forest- and peatland areas.
There is no time to lose.
Over a period of ten years, Brazil reduced deforestation in the Amazon by more than 70 per cent. At the same time the economy grew, agricultural production in the same region increased, and poverty was reduced.
Three factors were key to this success:
• law enforcement,
• the extension of indigenous territories and conservation areas in the Amazon, and
• the recently renewed Amazon soy moratorium, which prevents companies from selling soybeans that were produced on deforested land.
State governors, forward-looking companies, indigenous peoples and activists from all parts of Brazil played a part.
ONE SEED - Laurie Berkner
One seed, two hands, dig a hole, start to plant
Watch it grow, pass it down, one Earth spins around
When I grow up I might have a daughter
Or a son of my very own
And as they’re learning what they need, I’ll show them
How to plant a seed
One seed (one seed), two hands (two hands)
Dig a hole (dig a hole), start to plant (start to plant)
Watch it grow (watch it grow)
Pass it down (pass it down)
One Earth (one Earth) spins around (spins around)
Watch it grow, pass it down, one Earth spins around
One Earth spins around
Composed & Edited by Lê Quốc An
MID-AUTUMN FESTIVAL
Mid-Autumn Festival is also named Moon Festival. Autumn is always the season of harvest. People are preparing to celebrate an important festival at this time of the year - Mid-Autumn Festival.
On the day of the festival, family members have dinner together. After dinner, they may go to the park or sit around a small table in the yard in the moonlight chatting and eating fruits and mooncakes.
Mooncakes are the most important food for Mid-Autumn Festival just as important as a turkey for Thanksgiving Day.
Outside the home, Chinese people have also held many activities to celebrate the festival such as hanging lanterns, watching “fire dragon dance” show, and traveling with family.
According to ancient traditional customs, Chinese people have worshiped the moon for millennia, putting chicken, ducks, mooncakes, and fruit on altars. Only after the moon had “enjoyed” the offerings would they eat them for dinner.
In Vietnam, customs are similar to those in the Chinese countryside, filled with good harvest prayers and wishes.
Nowadays, most Chinese people enjoy the 3-day Mid-Autumn Festival public holiday. They hang out with friends or enjoy happy family time.
2. ADVANCED LISTENING
RAINFOREST DESTRUCTION
Rainforests are critically important to our well-being. Because they absorb carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, and produce oxygen, they are sometimes called the lungs of the planet. Despite the fact that rainforests cover only 12 percent of the land-area of the Earth, they are home to between 50 and 90 percent of the world's plant and animal species, and for local populations they are a vital source for food, fiber, fuel and medicines. Tropical forests regulate global and regional climate-systems, and release moisture into the atmosphere, which then returns to earth in the form of rain.
ONE SEED - Laurie Berkner
My grandfather had a garden and showed my father
How to make it grow
Then my father, he had me
Now it’s my turn to plant a seed
One seed, two hands, dig a hole, start to plant
Watch it grow, pass it down, one Earth spins around
Our planet's diverse thriving ecosystems may seem like permanent fixtures, but they're actually vulnerable to collapse.
Jungles can become deserts, and reefs can become lifeless rocks, even without cataclysmic (biến cố địa chất) events, like volcanoes and asteroids.
What makes one ecosystem strong and another weak in the face of change?
The answer, to a large extent, is biodiversity. Biodiversity is built out of three intertwined features: ecosystem diversity, species diversity, and genetic diversity.
The more intertwining there is between these features, the denser and more resilient the weave becomes.
ONE SEED - Laurie Berkner
My grandmother lived by the ocean
And showed my mother how to keep it clean
Then my mother, she had me
Now it’s my turn to plant a seed
One seed, two hands, dig a hole, start to plant
Watch it grow, pass it down, one Earth spins around
But where the land has been logged, there are no longer trees to produce the rain cycle which cools down the atmosphere, or to reduce carbon dioxide levels, contributing to climate change. Because of tropical deforestation, animal and plant habitat is disappearing, and at least one species dies out every day.
ERNA SOLBERG - Prime Minister of Norway
“Our forest and climate partnerships are broadening and deepening. This reflects the fact that forests play a key role in mitigating climate change.”
“Tropical forests can provide one third of the climate change mitigation needed to stay on a two-degree pathway or below over the next decades.”
“By protecting our forests, we are thus making a crucial contribution to climate change mitigation and global sustainability, and – ultimately – to the future of humanity.”
ONE SEED - Laurie Berkner
One seed, two hands, dig a hole, start to plant
Watch it grow, pass it down, one Earth spins around
Please protect me, and what I need
A place to play that’s green, clean air to breathe
Don’t forget me, teach me what you know
Remember what you leave you leave for me
In some environments, taking away just one important component can undermine the entire system.
Take coral reefs, for instance. Many organisms in a reef are dependent on the coral. It provides key microhabitats, shelter and breeding grounds for thousand of species of fish,
crustaceans and mollusks. Corals also form interdependent relationships with fungi and bacteria.
The coral itself is a loom (khung cửi) that allows the tangled net of biodiversity to be woven. That makes coral a keystone organism, one that many others depend on for their suvival.
So what happens when destructive fishing practices, pollution and ocean acidification weaken coral or even kill it altogether? Exactly what you might think! The loss of this keystone species leaves its dependents at a loss, too, threatening the entire fabric of the reef.
Thus, the United States has partnered with the private sector, other governments and civil society organizations to form the Tropical Forest Alliance 2020, or TFA 2020. The alliance aims to mobilize and coordinate actions by all partners to reduce tropical deforestation related to key agricultural commodities such as palm oil, soy, beef, and paper and pulp.
ONE SEED - Laurie Berkner
One seed, two hands, dig a hole, start to plant
Watch it grow, pass it down, one Earth spins around
When I grow up I might have a daughter
Or a son of my very own
And as they’re learning what they need, I’ll show them
How to plant a seed
One seed (one seed), two hands (two hands)
Dig a hole (dig a hole), start to plant (start to plant)
ERNA SOLBERG - Prime Minister of Norway
If it is to have a happy conclusion, we need to end deforestation. And this will only be possible if governments are involved.
Indonesia is emerging as a case in point.
• not to issue any new mining or palm oil permits,
• to protect all remaining peatlands and restore those already damaged, and
• to review existing permits for forest- and peatland areas.
There is no time to lose.
Over a period of ten years, Brazil reduced deforestation in the Amazon by more than 70 per cent. At the same time the economy grew, agricultural production in the same region increased, and poverty was reduced.
Three factors were key to this success:
• law enforcement,
• the extension of indigenous territories and conservation areas in the Amazon, and
• the recently renewed Amazon soy moratorium, which prevents companies from selling soybeans that were produced on deforested land.
State governors, forward-looking companies, indigenous peoples and activists from all parts of Brazil played a part.
ONE SEED - Laurie Berkner
One seed, two hands, dig a hole, start to plant
Watch it grow, pass it down, one Earth spins around
When I grow up I might have a daughter
Or a son of my very own
And as they’re learning what they need, I’ll show them
How to plant a seed
One seed (one seed), two hands (two hands)
Dig a hole (dig a hole), start to plant (start to plant)
Watch it grow (watch it grow)
Pass it down (pass it down)
One Earth (one Earth) spins around (spins around)
Watch it grow, pass it down, one Earth spins around
One Earth spins around
Composed & Edited by Lê Quốc An
