Tài liệu Học tiếng Anh qua tin tức

Học Tiếng Anh quaT I n tứ c LEí SH 'tffslews HỌC TIẾNG ANH QUA TIN TỨC THANH HÀ _ Học TiếngAnh ouaT IN TỨ C ĐẠI HỘC THÁI s kluA v "ẤT BẢN DÂN TRÍ Mồi nói đầu Trong quá trình hội nhập và phát triển kinh tế, tiếng Anh đã và đang ngày càng trở nên phổ biến và trở thành ngôn ngữ quốc tế được sử dụng tại nhiều quốc gia trên thế giói. Tiếng Anh là cầu nối giữa chúng ta với các thông tin và tin tức trên toàn thế giới. Xuất phát từ nhu cầu học tiếng Anh thông qua các tin tức quốc tế, chúng tôi xin trân trọng giới thiệu tói bạn đọc cuốn sách "Học tiếng Anh qua tin tức". Với những bản tin hàng ngày về tình hình kinh tế, chính trị, văn hóa - xã hội của Việt Nam và thế giới, tương ứng v&i từng đom vị bài học, cuốn sách sẽ giúp bạn làm quen v&i từ vựng và cách hành văn của tiếng Anh trong ngôn ngữ báo chí, đồng thòi giúp bạn phần nào cập nhật được những thông tin cơ bản về tình hình kinh tế chính trị, văn hóa - xã hội của thê giới. Mỗi đơn vị bài học được chia thành 4 phần cơ bản. Phần từ vựng cung cấp cho người học vốn từ cơ bản khi nói về các sự kiện, tin tức; Phần đọc hiểu giúp người đọc rèn luyện kĩ năng nắm bắt thông tin; Phần ngữ pháp giới thiệu tới người học những cấu trúc ngữ pháp cô đọng, hàm súc, và thường được sử dụng trong các bản tin. Phần cuối là mục luyện dịch, giúp người học tự rèn luyện kĩ năng viết và Q L i> diễn đạt các nội dung thông tin bằng tiếng Anh và tiếng Việt. Có thể nói, "Học tiếng Anh qua tin tức" là một tài liệu học tiếng Anh rất bổ ích cho nhữtĩg ai mong muốn nâng cao và phát triển toàn diện khả năng tiếng Anh của mình thông qua một phương thức tiếp cận mói. Trong quá trình biên soạn chắc chắn không tránh khỏi thiếu sót, rất mong nhận được sự đóng góp quý báu của bạn đọc để lần tái bản cuốn sách được hoàn thiện hom. Xin chân thành cảm ơn. ECONOMIC NEWS TIN TỨC KINH TÊ English Part of speech Vietnamese example n mẫu, ví dụ standard n chuẩn chuẩn create V thiết lập economics n kinh tế học term n thuật ngữ describe V miêu tả currency n tiền tệ exchange rate n tỉ giá hối đoái country n quốc gia politician n chính khách, trị gia disconnect V tách biệt, tách rời mực, tiêu chính official adj transaction unevenly ounce probably n chính thức giao dịch adv không ổn định, thay đổi n ao-xơ, đom vị đo khối lượng, 1 aoxơ=28,3495231 gram adv có thể, có lẽ devalue V mất giá brow n đỉnh crown n vuơng miện, thưởng thorn n cái gai, sự khó khăn crucify V hành hạ, gãy đau đón phần B. Bản tin GOLD STANDARD - UP AND DOWN The best instance of something is often called the "gold standard." It creates die standard against which other things are measured. In economics, the term describes how major trading nations once used gold to set currency values and exchange rates. Many countries continued to use the gold standard until the last century. In the United States, people could exchange paper m oney for gold from the eighteen seventies until nineteen thirty-three. President Richard Nixon finally & L j> disconnected the dollar from the value of gold in nineteen seventy-one. Some politicians from time to time call for a return to the gold standard. But in nineteen seventy eight the I n te r n a tio n a l Monetary Fund ended an official gold price. The IMF also ended the required use of gold in transactions with its m em ber countries. Since that time, gold prices go up, but unevenly. Prices -- uncorrected for inflation — are now at record highs. The current price is above fourteen hundred dollars an ounce. But people keep buying. Neang Chan N uon is a gold shop ow ner in the Cam bodian capital, Phnom Penh. He says that some of his custom ers have even bought more as they believe the price will likely go higher. He sells more gold at these higher prices. Some people are "gold bugs." These are investors who say people should buy gold to protect against inflation. People have valued gold for thousands of years. The soft, dense metal polishes to a bright yellow shine and resists most chemical reactions. It makes a good material for money, political pow er - and, more recently, electrical power. If you ow n a device like a mobile phone or a com puter, you might own a little gold in the wiring. The gold standard was the subject of one of the best-known speeches in American political history. It took place at the eighteen ninety-six Democratic National Convention in Chicago. William Jennings Bryan w anted the country to use both gold and silver as money. The idea was to devalue the dollar and make it easier for farmers to pay their debts. H ere is Bryan reading his speech much later, in nineteen twenty-one. William Jennings Bryan did say that "You shall not press dow n upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns. You shall not crucify m ankind upon a cross of gold." The speech m ade William Jennings Bryan famous. He w as a presidential candidate three times. But he never won. £Q Hãy dựa vào bản tin trên để trả lời các câu hỏi sau 1. W hat does the "gold standard" mean in economics? 2. Which president disconnected the dollar from the value of gold in nineteen seventy-one? 3. At what time could people in America people exchange paper money for gold? 4. Who are "gold bugs"? 5. W hat was the idea of using both gold and silver as money? c. Ngừ pháp - disconnect sth from sth: cắt đứt mối liên hệ giữa cái gì với cái gì President Richard Nixon finally disconnected the dollar from the value of gold in nineteen seventy-one. - keep doing (sth): tiếp tục làm gì đó People keep buying gold. - take place in / a t xảy ra ở đâu đó It took place at the eighteen ninety-six Democratic National Convention in Chicago. D. Bài dịch Hãy dịch đoạn văn "...But in nineteen seventy eight....protect against inflation..." sang tiếng Việt. f/ ~ ' A 2. HOW HIGH WILL THE PRICE OF OIL GO THIS TIME? ) A. Từ vựng English Part of speech Vietnamese instability n sự bất ổn định exporter n nhà xuất khẩu influence V ảnh hưởng, động global adj toàn cầu strategic adj chiến lược reserve n dự trữ intervene V can thiệp inflation n lạm phát em ergency n sự khẩn cấp recover V phục hồi vigilance n sự thận trọng tác reorganization n sự tái cấu tníc carm aker n hãng sản xuât ô tô B. Bản tin HOW HIGH WILL THE PRICE OF OIL G O THIS TIME? Instability in N orth Africa and the Middle East has pushed oil prices back into the news. Prices have been rising at their fastest level since two thousand eight. Libya is not among the ten largest oil exporters. But the rebellion against Libyan leader M oammar Gadhafi has reduced production, influencing the global market. D uring the last week of February, Americans paid the second biggest weekly increase in gasoline prices in tw enty years. A young w om an has to drive a long way to school, so high gas prices mean less m oney for other things. She says that she's a college student and she has to drive forty-five m inutes to college, so it sucks. The United States has a Strategic Petroleum Reserve that contains more than seven hundred million barrels of oil. President Obama could use some of this emergency supply to help ease fuel prices. But intervening in the m arket could h u rt oil production in the United States. Oil prices have been rising at a bad time, just as many economies have been recovering from the global recession. Also, several countries in the euro area are still struggling with debt crisis. European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said last week that "strong vigilance" is needed to contain inflation. That could mean raising interest rates which could h u rt European countries heavily in debt. In the United States, higher fuel prices come just as General Motors and Chrysler show signs of recovery after their reorganizations. American car sales last m onth w ere tw enty-seven percent higher than last February. GM led all carmakers with a forty-seven percent increase. High fuel prices reduce dem and for big cars and trucks. But econom ist George Magliano says this time, high prices may be good for carmakers. He says that w ith gasoline prices higher, certain people m ight w ant to get a much m ore fuel-efficient vehicle and he doesn't m ean even a hybrid or an electric vehicle which they could do, but the gasoline vehicles get twenty-five, thirty percent better mileage today than they did three or four years ago. É3 Hãy dựa vào bản tin trên để trả lời các câu hỏi sau 1. Who is the leader of Libya according to the news? 2. How much does American strategic petroleum reserve contain? 3. Why don’t they use the emergency supply to help ease fuel prices in the Ư.S? 4. What’s the impact of high fuel prices on demand for big cars and trucks? 5. How are oil prices since two thousand eight? c. Ngữ pháp - push sth back into the news: khiến cái gi đó trờ nên xấu hơn, tồi tệ hơn Instability in North Africa and the Middle East has pushed oil prices back into the news. - recover from sth: thoát khỏi cái gi đó Many economies have been recovering from the global recession. - struggle with sth: đối mặt với cái gì đó Several countries in the euro area are still struggling with debt crisis. D. Bài dịch Hãy dịch đoạn từ "Lybia is not among...oil production in the United States" sang tiếng Việt. 3. LOOKING FOR ANSWERS TO RISING COFFEE PRICES J A. Từ Vựng English Part of speech Vietnamese United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization n Tổ chức nông lương thế giói V, n yêu cãu crop n vụ mùa result n kết quả supply v,n demand nguồn cung, cung cấp jelly n thạch doughnut n bánh rán adj trung bình average preference n khuynh hưcnig, ưu tiên store n dự trữ B. Bản tin LOOKING FOR ANSWERS TO RISING COFFEE PRICES Food prices are at their highest level since the United Nations Food and Agriculture O rganization began keeping records in nineteen ninety. The causes include bad w eather and growing dem and. Some experts also blame the use of food crops to make fuel. But higher food prices are not always the result of limited supplies. Coffee prices have risen alm ost fifty percent in six months. Prices have reached a thirteen-year high. Yet growers expect their current crop to be alm ost ten percent bigger than the last one. JM Smucker is an American company know n for its jellies and fruit spreads. But Smucker also ow ns Folgers, America's top-selling packaged coffee. And it owns Dunkin' Donuts, which sells coffee to w ash dow n the doughnuts at its stores. On Tuesday, Smucker said it w ould raise the prices of its coffee products by an average of ten percent. It said the increase is driven by the higher prices for coffee beans. Experts say coffee prices are rising mainly because people are w illing to pay more. Coffee sellers like Mark W arm uth say tastes are changing and more people w ant a good cup of coffee. He says that there’s no right or w rong answ er w ith regard to ‘W hat’s a good cup of coffee?’ A lot of it has to do with personal preference or taste. Mark W arm uth owns the M.E. Swing Coffee C om pany in Alexandria, Virginia, near W ashington. He says big coffee sellers like Starbucks help his business by building a base of customers who w ant something better. He says th ey ’re seeking something that would be better than w hat they can buy at Starbucks. They’re seeking out smaller, boutique, artisan, craft coffce roasters, which I consider us to be, a boutique coffee roasting com pany. W hat we can do is source better quality beans and supply them at a fresher level because w e re sm aller and we can cater to the smaller m etro area. That helps us compete with bigger com panies.” Yet Mr. W arm uth can thank those bigger com panies like Starbucks for spreading the idea of coffee as an affordable luxury. The thinking goes that during hard times, people m ight not go on a trip but they m ight be w illing to pay extra for good coffee. The com pany supplies restaurants and other businesses, b ut also has a store in W ashington near the White House. C ustom ers pay thirteen dollars for less than half a kilogram of beans - about double the price of other brands. £□ Hãy dựa vào bản tin trên để trả lời các câu hỏi sau 1. What time did the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization begin keeping records of food prices? 2. Who is JM Smucker? 3. How are coffee prices in six months? 4. According to Mark Warmuth, what do big coffee sellers like Starbucks help his business? 5. Is there a right or wrong answer to the question "What’s a good cup of coffee?" c. Ngừ pháp - be willing to do something: sẵn lòng làm việc gi Experts say coffee prices are rising mainly because people are willing to pay more. - with regard to sth: xét đến cái gì đó T here’s no right or wrong answer with regard to ‘W hat’s a good cup of coffee? - help sb do sth: giúp ai làm gì đó That helps us compete with bigger companies.”