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RÈN KỸ NĂNG ĐỌC HIỂU CHỦ ĐỀ KHOA HỌC VÀ CÔNG NGHỆ (3)
Cô: Vũ Thị Mai Phương
Exercise 1. Read the passage and choose the correct answer for each question.
Botany, the study of plants, occupies a peculiar position in the history of human knowledge. For many
thousands of years it was the one field of awareness about which humans had anything more than the
vaguest of insights. It is impossible to know today just what our Stone Age ancestors knew about plants,
but from what we can observe of pre-industrial societies that still exist; a detailed learning of plants and
their properties must be extremely ancient. This is logical. Plants are the basis of the food pyramid for all
living things, even for other plants. They have always been enormously important to the welfare of
people, not only for food, but also for clothing, weapons, tools, dyes, medicines, shelter, and a great many
other purposes. Tribes living today in the jungles of the Amazon recognize literally hundreds of plants
and know many properties of each. To them botany, as such, has no name and is probably not even
recognized as a special branch of ‘knowledge’ at all.
Unfortunately, the more industrialized we become the farther away we move from direct contact with
plants, and the less distinct our knowledge of botany grows. Yet everyone comes unconsciously on an
amazing amount of botanical knowledge, and few people will fail to recognize a rose, an apple, or an
orchid. When our Neolithic ancestors, living in the Middle East about 10,000 years ago, discovered that
certain grasses could be harvested and their seeds planted for richer yields the next season, the first great
step in a new association of plants and humans was taken. Grains were discovered and from them flowed
the marvel of agriculture: cultivated crops. From then on, humans would increasingly take their living
from the controlled production of a few plants, rather than getting a little here and a little there from many
varieties that grew wild - and the accumulate knowledge of tens of thousands of years of experience and
intimacy with plants in the wild would begin to fade away.
Question 1. Which of the following assumptions about early humans is expressed in the passage?
A. They probably had extensive knowledge of plants.
B. They divided knowledge into well-defined fields.
C. They did not enjoy the study of botany.
D. They placed great importance on ownership of property.
Question 2. The word “peculiar” is closest in meaning to
A. clear B. large
C. unusual D. important
Question 3. What does the comment “This is logical” mean?
A. There is no clear way to determine the extent of our ancestors’ knowledge of plants.
B. It is not surprising that early humans had a detailed knowledge of plants.
C. It is reasonable to assume that our ancestors behaved very much like people in pre-industrial societies.
D. Human knowledge of plants is well-organized and very detailed.

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Question 4. The phrase “properties of each” refers to each

A. tribe B. hundred
C. plant D. purpose
Question 5. According to the passage, why has general knowledge of botany declined?
A. People no longer value plants as a useful resource.
B. Botany is not recognized as a special branch of science.
C. Research is unable to keep up with the increasing number of plants.
D. Direct contact with a variety of plants has decreased.
Question 6. What is the author’s purpose in mentioning “a rose, an apple, or an orchid”?
A. To make the passage more poetic
B. To cite examples of plants that are attractive
C. To give botanical examples that most readers will recognize
D. To illustrate the diversity of botanical life.
Question 7. According to the passage, what was the first great step toward the practice of agriculture?
A. The invention of agricultural implements and machinery.
B. The development of a system of names for plants.
C. The discovery of grasses that could be harvested and replanted.
D. The changing diets of early humans.
Question 8. The word “controlled” is closest in meaning to
A. abundant B. managed
C. required D. advanced
Question 9. The relationship between botany and agriculture is similar to the relationship between
zoology and
A. deer hunting
B. bird watching
C. sheep raising
D. horseback riding
Question 10. Where in the passage does the author describe the benefits people derive from plants?
A. Botany, the study of plants, … of human knowledge.
B. Plants are the basis … many other purposes.

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C. Unfortunately, the more … knowledge of botany grows.

D. From then on, … to fade away.
Exercise 2. Read the passage and choose the correct answer for each question.
Large animals that inhabit the desert have evolved a number of adaptations for reducing the effects of
extreme heat. One adaptation is to be light in color, and to reflect rather than absorb the Sun’s rays .Desert
mammals also depart from the normal mammalian practice of maintaining a constant body temperature.
Instead of trying to keep down the body temperatures deep inside the body, which would involve the
expenditure of water and energy, desert mammals allow their temperatures to rise to what would normally
be fever height, and temperatures as high as 46 degrees Celsius have been measured in Grant’s gazelles.
The overheated body then cools down during the cold desert night, and indeed the temperature may fall
unusually low by dawn, as low as 34 degrees Celsius in the camel. This is an advantage since the heat of
the first few hours of daylight is absorbed in warming up the body, and an excessive buildup of heat does
not begin until well into the day.
Another strategy of large desert animals is to tolerate the loss of body water to a point that would be
fatal for non-adapted animals. The camel can lose up to 30 percent of its body weight as water without
harm to itself, whereas human beings die after losing only 12 to 13 percent of their body weight.
An equally important adaptation is the ability to replenish this water loss at one drink. Desert animals can
drink prodigious volumes in a short time, and camels have been known to imbibe over 100 liters in a few
minutes. A very dehydrated person, on the other hand, cannot drink enough water to dehydrate at one
session, because the human stomach is not sufficiently big and because a too rapid dilution of the body
fluids causes death from water intoxication. The tolerance of water loss is of obvious advantage in the
desert, as animals do not have to remain near a water hole but can obtain food from grazing sparse and
far-flung pastures. Desert-adapted mammals have the further ability to feed normally when extremely
dehydrated; it is a common experience in people that appetite is lost even under conditions of moderate
thirst.
Question 11. What is the main topic of the passage?
A. Weather variations in the desert
B. Adaptations of desert animals
C. Diseases of desert animals
D. Human use of desert animals
Question 12. According to the passage, why is light coloring an advantage to large desert animals?
A. It helps them hide from predators.
B. It does not absorb sunlight as much as dark colors.
C. It helps them see their young at night.
D. It keeps them cool at night.
Question 13. The word “maintaining” in the first paragraph is closest in meaning to:
A. measuring

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B. inheriting
C. preserving
D. delaying
Question 14. The author uses of Grant’s gazelle as an example of
A. an animal with a low average temperature
B. an animal that is not as well adapted as the camel
C. a desert animal that can withstand high body temperatures
D. a desert animal with a constant body temperatures.
Question 15. When is the internal temperature of large desert mammal lower?
A. Just before sunrise
B. Just after sunset
C. In the middle of the day
D. Just after drinking
Question 16. The word “tolerate” in the second paragraph is closest in meaning to
A. endure
B. replace
C. compensate
D. reduce
Question 17. What causes water intoxication?
A. Drinking too much water very quickly
B. Bacteria in water
C. Drinking polluted water
D. Lack of water
Question 18. What does the author imply about desert-adapted mammals?
A. They do not need to eat much food.
B. They can eat large quantities quickly.
C. They easily lose their appetites.
D. They can travel long distances looking for food.
Question 19. Why does the author mention humans in the second paragraph?
A. To show how they use camels.

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B. To contrast them to desert mammals.

C. To give instructions about desert survival.
D. To show how they have adapted to desert life.
Question 20. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as an adaptation of large desert animals?
A. Variation in body temperatures.
B. Drinking water quickly.
C. Eating while dehydrated.
D. Being active at night.

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