EAP Academic Reading

Student’s full name: ………………………………….. Class:…………… Date:…………………….......

WEEK 4: HAPPY PLANET

PART 1: Vocabulary practice

Match the word or phrase to the left with the underlined word on the right that has the most similar
meaning. The underlined words are each used in a sentence to help you learn the context and
collocation of the word.

1. very small and therefore
unimportant- c
2. numbers calculated now
but expected in the future-
b
3. large and therefore
important- o
4. the plants growing in a
specific region- l
5. to damage something by
gradually taking away
parts of it- e
6. regions or areas- f
7. a situation that has the
opposite result of what
was intended or expected-
m
8. to allow something to flow
out into the environment- g
9. to give things out to a
number of people- h
10. items that are intended to
prevent pregnancy- i
11. related to the ability of
living things to produce
offspring- a
12. to stop changing- d
13. the use of something in
order to make a profit- j
14. to use up something
completely- k
15. impossible to continue
doing-n
a) A large proportion of the population of developing countries consists of children
below the reproductive age.
b) According to United Nations’ projections, the total population will continue to
increase significantly and will reach 9.3 billion by 2050.
c) At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the human species had a negligible
influence on the ecology of the planet as a whole.
d) Birthrates fall and stabilize at a significantly lower level when a society offers the
majority of its people an acceptably high standard of living.
e) In a short time, the fertile topsoil will then be eroded by rain because it is now
without the protection offered by the natural vegetation.
f) In the world’s tropical zones, many nations have been cutting down their
hardwood forests faster than they can replace these valuable resources.
g) The burning of the forests releases large amounts of carbon dioxide into the
atmosphere.
h) The family-planning program established a large number of centers that distribute
free contraceptives and information about birth control.
i) The family-planning program established a large number of centers that distribute
free contraceptives and information about birth control.
j) The industrial world must now ask poorer nations to give up the exploitation of
natural resources with little thought for the future.
k) The policies now in operation will both exhaust these nations’ ecological
resources and cause serious damage to the world’s ecology.
l) The pressure of overpopulation and poverty forces farmers into the hills, where
they cut down the vegetation to provide wood for heating and construction, food
for their animals and land to raise crops.
m) The sad irony is that much of the cleared land proves unsuitable for traditional
farming after a few years because the destruction of vast areas has interrupted
the recycling of natural nutrients to the soil.
n) The unsustainable economic development policies pursued by the industrial
nations must be fundamentally modified.
o) Today, as a direct result of population growth, the impact of human activities on
the world’s ecology is already quite substantial.

Vocabulary Study: Words in Context

Complete the paragraph with words from the list below. One word is NOT used.

(a) climate (b) ecology (c) efficiency (d) fertile (e) harvests

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(g) mortality (h) negate (i) populations (j) production (k1) species (k2) measures

For many decades, environmental scientists have been warning us that enormous damage can be done
to the (16) __a_______ of a region by pressure for economic development. Many times the damage
results from apparently reasonable, but in reality short-sighted, responses to such pressure. The end
effect will not only (17) ____e_____ any economic progress but also has the potential to make the region
unlivable. The recent history of the Aral Sea is one such example. Formerly, the Aral Sea basin was a
semiarid land, producing small amounts of food for the surrounding (18) ___k1______. In an attempt to
make their land more (19) ____d_____ Aral Sea farmers used water from the two main rivers flowing into
the Aral Sea to irrigate the soil While this initially allowed for the (20) ___j______ of sufficient food, in the
long-run it dramatically reduced the size Aral Sea, altering the (21) ____b_____ in the whole region. As
(22) ____i_____ declined, farmers used chemicals. While this did increased crop (23) ____c_____ for a
time, it ultimately damaged the soil. Furthermore, the chemical pesticides contaminated the drinking
water, contributing to a high (24) ____g_____ rate in young children. The lesson of the Aral Sea is this:
Apparently reasonable (25) ___k2______ taken to develop an economy can have disastrous ecological
consequences

.PART 2: Vocabulary

Read the passage. Find 10 new words. Write the definition and example of each word.

1. civilization a place that has comfortable living conditions

Ex: We spent a week visiting the wonders of Ancient Greek civilization.

2. desolate A desolate place is empty and not attractive, with no people or nothing pleasant in it

Ex: The house stood in a bleak and desolate landscape.

3. promote to encourage people to like, buy, use, do, or support something

Ex: Advertising companies are always having to think up new ways to promote products

4. outcome a result or effect of an action, situation, etc.

Ex: It's too early to predict the outcome of the meeting.

5. fundamental forming the base, from which everything else develops

Ex: We need to make fundamental changes to the way in which we treat our environment

6. degradation the process in which the beauty or quality of something is destroyed or spoiled

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Ex: the misery and degradation of prison life

7. invest to put money, effort, time, etc. into something to make a profit or get an advantage

Ex: The institute will invest five million in the project.

8. deconstruction the act of breaking something down into its separate parts in order to understand its meaning

Ex: her complex deconstruction of the Asian stereotype

9. worthwhile useful, important, or good enough to be a suitable reward for the money

Ex: She considers teaching a worthwhile career.

10. aspiration something that you hope to achieve

Ex: I've never had any political aspirations.

PART 3: Write the summary of the main reading passage.

I. Summary of the main reading passage “The road to happiness”

Everything was entirely devastated in the film The Road, and the future seemed dismal.
Environmentalists have concentrated on the worst-case scenario, yet pessimistic future scenarios
do not help people change their behavior.
Economists have devised a concept of progress: living improves as GNP rises.
According to a new poll performed by Diener and Scollon, happiness for yourself, your family, your
children, and the community is the most valued. Happiness, love, and health are far more essential
than money. To be loved and healthy is to live a complete life.

II. Summary the Ted’s talk part 2: 5 things you should do everyday to be happier (page 175)

Foresight, a project for the Government Office of Science, highlighted 5 things that make you joyful
every day.
The first is Connect, which emphasizes the importance of social ties in one's life. The second is
Active,because activities help people feel positive. The next step is to pay attention to everything that
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is going on around you. Keep Learning, the fourth principle, is to continue to study and acquire
information throughout one's life. Give is the final one. When individuals accomplish excellent