Unit 9:
DESERTS
READING
❖ Before
You Read
Work in pairs. Ask and answer the following questions. (Làm
việc từng đôi. Hỏi và trả lời các câu hỏi sau.)
1. What do you know about deserts?
2. What kinds of plants and animals live in a desert?
3. Name some of the countries which have deserts
Answer:
1. Deserts are the large areas of sand without tree and water,
but with severe climates, very hot during the day, and very cold at night.
There is very little rainfall there; very few people and animals live except
for in oases.
2. In a desert, only cacti and a kind of spinifex can grow. No
kind of animals can live in deserts.
3. Australia, Mongolia, the USA. and in north Africa have
deserts.
❖ While You Read
Read the passage and do the tasks that follow. (Đọc đoạn văn
làm bài tập kèm theo.)
Ba dải đât rộng lớn của sa mạc cát hầu như bao quanh phần
trung tâm của nước Úc. Về phía bắc của bình nguyên Nullabor trải dài Đại Sa mạc
Victoria. Về phía tây, sa mạc Gibbon, Great Sandy và sa mạc Tanami bao gồm một
khu vực cát mênh mông. Phía bắc cùa hồ Eyre trải dài sa mạc Simpson, phần cuối
cùng của nước Úc được khám phá.
Sa mạc Simpson nằm giữa Hồ Eyre ở phía nam, dãy Macdonnel ở
phía bắc, hai dòng sông Mulligan và Diamantina ở phía đông, hai sông Macumba và
Finke ở phía tây. Những người Âu châu vào sa mạc Simpson năm 1845, nhưng sa mạc
vẫn là nơi bí hiểm cho đến khi Madigan thực hiện cuộc khảo sát trên không vào
năm 1929. Ông đặt tên cho sa mạc là Simpson, tên của Chù tịch Chi nhánh phía
nam của Hội Địa lí Hoàng gia Úc.
Năm 1936, Colson và một thổ dân úc dùng lạc đà băng qua sa
mạc. Họ đi dọc theo ranh giới Nam úc và Northern Territory. Ba năm sau, Madigan
dẫn một đoàn thám hiểm băng qua những đồi cát theo đường tiến xa về phía bắc
hơn. Cả hai Colson và Madigan đi về phía đông băng qua sa mạc Simpson.
Ở sa mạc Simpson có nhiều loại hình đồi cát khác nhau. Ở phía
tây của sa mạc, có một mạng lưới đồi cát thấp, phần lớn cao không tới 10 mét.
Cỏ đồi cát mọc trên cát xốp trên đỉnh và cây lá nhọn mọc ở phần đất giữa những
đồi cát và trên những triền dốc ổn định hơn.
Về phía bắc của sa mạc, những đồi cát chạy song song và được
phân cách bởi những đường hành lang của những vùng đất có cây bụi trống và
thấp. Cây lá nhọn mọc trên triền dốc của đồi cát. Những đồi cát này màu nâu đỏ
sẫm, nhưng cát màu lợt ở những khu vực Queensland, Nam úc và Northern Territory
gíao nhau. Những hồ muối khô dài đến 70 cây số, rộng 15 cây số nằm giữa những
đồi cát dài với đỉnh cao 20 mét.
Task 1: Give the Vietnamese equivalents to the following words or phrases.
(Cho nghĩa tiếng Việt tương đương cho những từ hay cụm từ sau.)
stretch
(v) trdi dài ;(n): dải đất
sandy
(adj) có cát
aerial survey (n) cuộc khảo sát trên không
Royal Geograhical Society of Australia : Hội Địa lí Hoàng gia
Úc
Australian Aborigine (n): thổ dân Úc, dân bản xứ Úc
Dune
(n) đồi cát
Sloping
(n) dốc thoai
thoải
Steep
(n) dốc đứng
Hummock
(n) gò, đống
Crest
(n) đỉnh
Spinifex
(n) cỏ lá
nhọn ( ở sa mạc Úc)
Task 2: Decide whether the statements are
true (T) or false (F).)(Quyết định những câu nói đúng (T) hay sai (F).)
1. According to the passage, there are three great deserts in
Australia.
2. The Simpson Desert is the largest one in Australia.
3. The desert was named after Simpson in 1929.
4. Colson and Madigan travelled across the Simpson Desert in
1936.
5. There are more dunes in the western part of the desert.
6. Dry salt lakes are in the northern part of the desert.
1.
F
2.F
3.T
4.F
5.F 6.T
Task 3: Answer the following questions. (Trả lời các câu hỏi sau.)
1. What are the names of the three great stretches of sandy
desert which circle the centre of Australia?
2. Where is the Simpson Desert?
3. When did the first European enter the desert?
4. Who was Simpson?
5. How did E. A. Colson and an Australian Aborigine travel
across the desert?
6. What are the dunes like in the western and northern parts
of the desert?
7. How many kinds of grass grow in the Simpson Desert? What
are they?
Answer:
1. They are Great Victoria, Gibbon, Great Sandy, Tanami
Deserts and Simpson Desert
2. It lies between Late Eyre in the south, the Macdonnel
Ranges in the north, the Mulligan and the Diamantia Rivers in the east, and the
Macumba and Finke Rivers in the west.
3. In 1845.
4. He was the President of the South Australian Branch of the
Royal Geographical Society of Australia.
5. They took camels across the desert.
6. In the western part, they are short, mostly less than 10 meters
high, and in the northern part, they are paralell and up to 20 meters high.
7. Two. They are hummock grasses and spinifex.
❖ After You Read
Read this story and answer the questions that follow. (Đọc câu
chuyện này và trả lời câu hỏi kèm theo.)
1. Is the story funny?
2. Where is the fun?
Ở một nhà hàng, một thông dịch viên người Việt đang dùng cơm
tối với một thương gia Mĩ. Bữa ăn tối ngon và cả hai rất thích thú. Trước khi
bữa ăn kết thúc, người thông dịch hỏi thương gia Mĩ, "ông muốn gì cho sa
mạc của ông?” Sau khi suy nghĩ một tí, thương gia Mĩ trả lời. "Cây và
nước.”
1. Yes, it really is.
2. It’s the interpreter's pronunciation. He pronounced the word
“dessert" wrongly, which made the American businesman misunderstand him.
That's really a great pity or shame.
SPEAKING
Task 1: Work in pairs. Check the trees and animals that you think might exist
in a desert. Explain your choice. (Làm việc từng đôi. Chọn cây và thú em nghĩ
có thể tồn tại ở sa mạc. Giải thích sự chọn lựa của em.)
banana
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crocodile
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eucalyptus
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camel
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cactus
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fox
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date palm
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dog
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grass
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lizard
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frog
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rabbit
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horse
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goat
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buffalo
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sheep
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A. What trees and animals do you think may exist in a desert?
B. The trees I think may exist in a desert are : cacti and
(hummock) grasses because they can stand the severe climate there.
A. OK. What about animals?
B. No animal can live in such a extremely severe climate, I
think. Very hot during the day and very cold at night.
Task 2: Wort in pairs. Find out many natural features of a desert as
possible. Then compare your notes with Other pairs’. Use the cues below. (Làm
việc từng đôi. Tìm nhiều đặc điểm thiên nhiên của một sa mạc càng tốt. Sau đó
so sánh những ghi chú của hai em với ghi chú của các đôi khác. Dùng những từ
gợi ý dưới đây )
-
climate
-
plants/trees
- soil
-
rainfall
- animals
- seasons
A. Let’s talk about the natural features of a desert.
B. OK. The main thing we can find in a desert is sand, only
sand.
A. As for trees or plants, we can find few kinds of plants and
grass, no trees. They are cacti or hummock grasses
B. The frightening feature of a desert to man is its harsh
climate: hot and dry with very little rainfall, but too much hot sunshine.
A. As a result, very few people can be seen there except for
in oases.
B. In sum, no beings can exist in a desert for long because of
lack of water and food.
Task 3: Work in groups. You are going on an expedition across a desert with
some of your friends. Discuss and choose the five most important things you
should bring along with you. Explain your choice. (Làm việc từng nhóm. Em dự
định thực hiện chuyến thám hiểm băng qua sa mạc với một số bạn của em. Thảo
luận và chọn năm vật quan trọng các em sẽ mang theo. Giải thích sự chọn lựa của
em.)
- a
knife
- a gun
- a horse - food
- a box of match
- a car
- a camel
- a blanket
- water
- a mosquito net
- a cell phone - a
Walkman
A : What should we bring with us?
B : First of all, I think we should have camels. We can’t use
a car because there are no petrol stations in a desert and we can't store
enough petrol for a expedition.
C : Next we should bring enough food, maybe canned food, and
water as there are no shops and water in a desert.
D : The fourth thing is knives in case we run out of water, we
can use them to cut cacti for water.
A : And the last thing I think we should bring with is boxes
of matches, to make fires at night to warm or signals.
B : OK. In my opinion these things are necessary for us in the
expedition.
LISTENING
❖ Before You Listen
Work in pairs. Ask and answer the following questions, (Làm
việc từng đôi. Hỏi và trả lời những câu sau.)
1. What is a desert?
2. How is a desert formed?
3. Can human beings make a desert? Why/Why not?
Answer:
1. A desert is a large area of land where it is always very
hot and dry and there is a lot of sand.
2. A desert can be formed by various causes, the major of
which is global climatic change. The second cause is the misulilisation of land
by humans such as poor land management and poor water management, and at
present the deforestation.
3. Yes. They can make a desert by the misutilization of land, and by
the deforestation or overcultivation and incorrect irrigation methods.
❖ While You Listen
Task 1: You will hear an expert talking about deserts, what they are and how
they are formed. Listen to his talk and decide whether the statements are true
(T) or false (F). (Em sẽ nghe một chuyên viên nói về sa mạc, chúng là gì và
được tạo thành như thế nào. Nghe bài nói chuyện của ông và quyết định những câu
nói đúng (T) hay sai (F)
1. In a desert, everything is hard.
2. Only trees with hard needles can grow in deserts.
3. Space seems to have no limit in the desert.
4. Nature causes the change in the size and location of the
world’s deserts.
5. Rabbits are one of the agents that help make deserts in
Australia.
1.
F
2.T
3.T
4.
F
5. T
❖ Tapescript
Hello, everybody. In today’s talk, I’m going to tell you
something about deserts, what they are and how they are formed.
Desert is a hot, dry, sandy place. A desert is also a
beautiful land of silence and space. The sun shines, the wind blows, and time
and space seem endless. Nothing is soft. The sand and the rocks are hard, and
many of the plants, such as the cactus, have hard needles instead of leaves.
The size and location of the world’s deserts are always
changing. Over millions of years, as climates change and mountains rise, new
dry and wet areas develop. But within the last 100 years, deserts have been
growing at a frightening speed. This is partly because of the natural changes,
but the greatest desert makers are humans.
In the 19th century some people living in
English colonies in Australia got rabbits from England. Today there are
millions of rabbits in Australia, and they eat every plant they can find. The
great desert that covers the centre of Australia is growing.
Farming first began in the Tigris-Euphrates, but today the
land there is a desert. In dry areas, people can plant crops on dry and poor
land. When there are one or two very dry years, the plants die, and the land
becomes desert
In developing countries, 90 percent of the people use wood for
cooking and heat. They cut down trees for firewood. But trees are important.
They cool the land under them and keep the sun off smaller plants. When leaves
fall from a tree, they make the land richer. When the trees are gone, the
smaller plants die, and the land becomes desert.
Humans can make deserts, but humans can also prevent their
growth. Algeria planted a green wall of trees across the edge of the Sahara to
stop the desert sand from spreading. Mauritania planted a similar wall around
its capital. Iran puts a thin covering of petroleum on sandy areas and plant
trees. Other countries build long canals to bring water to the desert areas.
Task 2: Listen again and answer the following questions. (Nghe lại và trả lời
các câu hỏi sau.)
1. What central theme does the talk examine?
2. What is a desert?
3. What causes the growing of the world's deserts?
4. In what way do rabbits contribute to the growing of deserts
in Australia?
Answer
1. It examines deserts, what they are and how they are formed.
2. It is a hot, dry and sandy place. It is also a beautiful
land of silence and space. The sun shines, the wind blows and time and space
seem endless.
3. They are nature and humans.
4. They do it by eating every plant they find. This makes the
land become desert.
Task 3: Listen to part of the expert’s talk again and fill in the missing
word(s). (Nghe một phần của bài nói chuyện của chuyên viên một lần nữa và điền
(những) từ thiếu.)
In developing countries, (1)……………of the people use wood for
cooking and heat. They cut down trees for firewood. But trees are important.
They cool the land under them and keep the sun off (2)……………... When leaves fall
from a tree, they make the land richer. When the trees are gone, the smaller
plants die and the land becomes desert.
Humans can make deserts, but humans can also (3)…………..their
growth. Algeria planted a green wall of trees across the edge of the Sahara to
stop the desert sand from (4) …………... Mauritania planted a similar wall around
its (5) ……….. Iran puts a thin covering of petroleum on sandy areas and plant
trees. Other countries build long (6)…………to bring water to the desert areas.
1.
90%
2. smaller plants
3. prevent
4.
spreading
5.
capital
6. canals
❖ After You Listen
Work in groups. Summarize the main ideas of the expert's talk. Use
the following suggestions.
• What is a desert?
• What causes the growth of a desert?
• What should humans do to prevent the growth of deserts?
(Làm việc từng nhóm. Tóm tắt những ý chính của bài nói chuyện
của chuyên viên. Dùng những ý đề-nghị sau.
- Sa mạc là gì
- Điều gì gây ra sự bành trướng của sa mạc?
- Con người nên làm gì để ngăn chặn sự bành trướng của sa
mạc?)
A. We all know a desert is a hot, dry and sandy place as well
as a beautiful land of silence and space full of sunshine and wind.
B. The size and location of a desert is always changing.
C. Deserts in the world are countries growing due to humans’
destruction to his living environment: cutting down trees and destroying
forests.
D. Facing this event, peoples on the earth are trying to
prevent it. They plant green walls of trees across the edges of deserts.
A. Some governments have banned burning forests for farmland or
cutting trees for firewood.
B. In other parts, people use other techniques such as pouring a
covering of oil on sand areas, or building long canals or water-pipes to desert
areas.
WRTITING
THE SAHARA DESERT
Study the information in the table below and write a
composition about the Sahara Desert. (Nghiên cứu thông tin ở bản dưới đây và
viết nội bài luận về sa mạc Sahara.)
General information
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Location
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- largest desert in the world
- in northern Africa
- extends from the Atlantic Ocean eastward past the
Red Sea to Iraq
- lies largely in Morocco. Algeria. Tunisia, Libya,
Egypt, Mauritania, Mali. Niger and Sudan
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Area
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- total area: more than 9,065.000 sq km
- 1,610 km wide and about 5,150 km long from east to
west
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Natural
features
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- arid land, dry climate (moisture is almost totally
absent), very hot in summer and very cold in winter
- few oases exist
- sandy land and large dunes of sand
- tableland with an average elevation from 400 to
500 m
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Trees and animals
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- few forms of animal and vegetable life
- main trees: cactus, the date palm, and a form of
acacia
- main animals: gazelle, antelope, fox, jackal,
camel
|
The Sahara Desert, the largest desert in the world, is located
in the northern Africa and occupied approximately 10 percent of the African
continent
From the Atlantic Ocean in the west, the Sahara Desert
stretches across Africa to the Red Sea and down to the highlands of Ethiopia,
covering an area of 9,100 000 square kilometres, 1,610 kilometres wide and
about 5,150 kilometres long from east to west.
The Sahara is one of the hottest region in the world,
with arid land, and dry climate. In the hottest months, temperatures can rise
over 50°c, and temperatures can fall below freezing point in winter. A single
daily variation is from -0,5° c to 37,5°c. The Sahara is also extreme windy,
which creates dust devils which can make the temperatures even hotter.
The surface of the desert ranges from large areas of sand
dunes to stone plateaus, gravel plains, dry valleys and salt flats. People, can
find some tablelands with an average elevation from 400 to 500 metres. Very few
forms of animal and vegetable life can be seen in the Sahara. Plants and
animals of the Sahara are more threatened by desiccation than the fauna and
flora in other parts. The main trees can be seen are cactus, date palm and a
form of Acacia.
In the vast area of sand and wind, people can find some
species of mammals such as desert antelopes, gazelle, fox and jackal. Besides,
there are some species of birds and reptiles.
The Sahara Desert is not well-protected. Unless people take
appropriate measures to preserve, the flora and fauna of the Sahara is
critically threatened with extinction.
LANGUAGE FOCUS
- Pronuncỉaion : Full and contracted forms of
auxiliaries
- Grammar: So, but, however and therefore
❖ Grammar
Exercise 1: Add so or but and a comma where appropriate. (Thêm so hoặc but và dấu
phẩy nơi thích hợp.)
1. I didn’t have an umbrella…………….I got wet.
2. I didn’t have an umbrella………………I didn’t get wet because I
was wearing a raincoat.
3. The water was cold……………I didn’t so swimming.
4. The water was cold……………I went swimming anyway.
5. Luan’s directions to his house weren’t clear………………Binh got
lost.
6. The directions weren’t clear…………….Binh found Luan’s house
anyway.
7. Her friend lied to her ………………..she still likes and trusts
him.
8. Her friend lied to her………………..she doesn’t trust him
anymore.
1.so 2. but
3. so 4. but 5. so
6. but 7. But
8. so
Exercise 2: Underline the correct alternative in the following sentences. (Gạch
dưới từ thay thế đứng ở những câu sau.)
1. Dan didn’t study for the exam, however/but Lan did.
2. You could fly via Vienna; but/however it isn’t the only
way.
3. They have lived next door to us for years, yet/however we
hardly ever see them.
4. My friend and I were tired, so/however we went home early.
5. We had wanted to stay until the end of the game,
but/however it got too late for us.
6. I understand your point of view. However/Although I don’t
agree with it.
7. The normal pulse for an adult is between 60 and 80 beats
per minute, so/but/however excitement will make a pulse much faster.
8. The food didn’t look appetizing, but/however many people
started eating.
1.
but
2. however
3.
yet
4. so
5.
but
6.
However
7.
however
8. but
Exercise 3: Add so, therefore or however where appropriate. (Thêm so, therefore
hoặc however where appropriate nơi thích hợp.)
1. He worked hard,……………….he could earn much money.
2. The shrimp was only 2 dollars a kilo this week,……………….I
bought three kilos.
3. He’s been studying really hard, …………………….he can pass the
exams.
4. She is still not good at Maths,……………she cannot be the
best student in her class.
5. OK, you can take Chemistry as your major. ………………. you
should remember that it is not easy to learn Chemistry.
6. The boy has chosen to do an MBA programme in Australia.
…………..I think you should let him go.
7. It was already 6 p.m.,…………….we closed the office and went
home.
8. Advertisers often say that their products are the best.
……………….the real quality is not as good as it is advertised.
1. therefore
2. so
3.so 4. therefore
5. However
6. Therefore
7. so 8.
However