Tiếng anh chuyên ngành Thổ nhưỡngvà Môi trường đất
NXB Đại học quốc gia Hà Nội 2007.
Tr 83 – 91.Tài liệu trong Thư viện điện tử ĐH Khoa học Tự nhiên có thể được sử dụng cho mục
đích học tập và nghiên cứu cá nhân. Nghiêm cấm mọi hình thức sao chép, in ấn phục
vụ các mục đích khác nếu không được sự chấp thuận của nhà xuất bản và tác giả. Mục lục

Unit 9 SOIL 2
A. READING 2
I. Comprehension questions 3
II. True - False questions 4
III. Increasing your vocabulary 4
B. Writing 5
I. Sentence - transforming 5
II. Sentence-building 6
C. Further practice 7
D. Translation 8
I. Translate into Vietnamese 8
II. Translate into English 8
E. Vocabulary 10


by vegetation, soil stores water and releases it in a nourishing trickle instead of a devastating
flood.
The two top layers of most well-developed soils teem with bacteria, fungi, earthworms,
and small insects. These layers are also home for burrowing animals such as moles and
gophers. These soil-dwellers interact in complex food webs.
Bacteria and other decomposer microorganisms are found by the billions in every handful of
topsoil. They recycle the nutrients we and other land organisms need by breaking down some of
the complex organic compounds in the upper soil into simpler inorganic compounds soluble in soil
water. Soil moisture carrying these dissolved nutrients is drawn up by the roots of plants and
transported through stems and into leaves.
Some organic litter in the two top layers is broken down into a sticky, brown residue of
partially decomposed organic material called humus. Because humus is only slightly soluble
in water, most of it stays in the topsoil layer. A fertile soil, producing high crop yields, has a
thick topsoil layer with lots of humus. Humus also helps topsoil hold water and helps keep
nutrients taken up by plant roots from being carried away as rainwater percolates downward
through the topsoil.
(Taken from "Sustaining the Earth" by Tyler Miller, G)
I. Comprehension questions
Answer the following questions
1. How does soil form? 2. What does soil give us? When did people start to abuse soil? 3. Why haven't we succeeded in civilizing? 4. When are mature soils called soil horizons? How many possible horizons do they have?


7. Because of having a thick topsoil layer with lots of humus, a fertile soil
produces high crop yields.
8. The color of the deeper layer is not so dark as the topsoil layer.
9. Some living organisms are found in soil.
10. One of the characteristics of humus is to help topsoil hold water.
III. Increasing your vocabulary
Synonyms
Find words or phrases in the text that can be replaced by the following:
1. complicated
2. composition
3. mixture of two or more things
4. act on each other
5. use again and again
6. fully developed
7. full of pores
8. overwhelming
9. matter deposited on the land by water or wind
10. advanced stage of social development
Gap-filling
Complete the following statements with one of the appropriate words given bellow.
topsoil soil horizons living organisms
inorganic materials the surface-litter layer horizons
soil profile organic matter the topsoil layer
soil-dwellers food webs mature soils
1. Soil is a mixture of (1) , decaying (2) , water, air and billions of
(3)
2. Mature soils are arranged in a series of zones called (4)
3. Your life and the lives of other organisms depend on soil, especially (5)
4. A cross-sectional view of the horizons in a soil is called (6)
5. The top-layer, (7) ,consists mostly of freshly fallen and partially decomposed


6. If a soil is too dry, the seeds will not germinate.
Unless 7. When the young plant break the soil surface, food manufacture by photosynthesis can
begin.
When the soil surface II. Sentence-building
Make any changes and additions to complete the following sentences from the prompts
given bellow.
8. Too much / cultivation / destroy / soil structure. 9. The plant / produce / food / chemical substances / present / soil / air. 10. We / can / use a unit / called / soil profile / describe / soils. 11. When / we / want / compare / two soils, / we / examine / profiles. 12. The root hairs / be / part / a plant / which / absorb / water / mineral / soil. 13. The temperature / wet / soils / be / lower / than / well-drained soils.


there have been changes in the coal industry. It (7) that more people
(8) coal if oil and gas were not so readily available.
There is more than enough coal in the world for man's needs for the next two hundred
years if our use of coal (9) . Unfortunately, however, about half of the world's coal
(10) . Mining much of it (11) very expensive even if it was possible
to use new equipment.
(Taken from "Extra Practice" by George, D)
D. Translation
I. Translate into Vietnamese
Three materials in various compositions; water (including snow), rock and soil cover the
Earth surface. Soil results from the weathering of rock materials, which involves both the
physical breakdown of rock into small particles and chemical alteration of its composition.
There are, however, many other processes, which together produce the distinctive features of
the material we call soil and organize this material into soil on the surface of the land. Of
primary importance are the processes associated with plants, animals and microorganisms,
which colonize the soil.
(Taken from "Land Use" by O’Callaghan, J.R)
II. Translate into English
1. Do các cấp hạt của đất rất nhỏ nên nước không thể ngấm qua đất một cách dễ dàng. 2. Nếu có quá nhiều nước ở trong đất thì nó phải được tháo rút. 3. Thành phần đất ở những vùng khô cằn và thành phần của đá gốc rất giống nhau. 4. Trong nhiều thế kỷ qua người ta đã nhận ra rằng, mặc quần áo màu sáng trong khí hậu nóng thì mát
hơn là mặc quần áo màu tối vì màu tối hấp thụ nhiệt nhiều hơn. Tương tự như thế, đất sẫm màu hấp
thụ nhiệt nhiều hơn đất sáng màu. Mặc dù đất tối màu có lượng mùn cao, hấp thụ nhiệt nhiều hơn

5. compound (n) : hợp chất
6. crumble (v) : vỡ vụn
7. decay (v) : thối rữa, mục nát
8. decompose (v) : phân huỷ
9. earthworm (n) : con giun đất
10. fungus (n) : nấm
11. humus (n) : mùn cây
12. inorganic (adj) : (thuộc) vô cơ
13. interact (v) : tương tác
14. material (n) : vật chất
15. mature (adj) : trưởng thành
16. mineral (n) : khoáng chất
17. mixture (n) : h
ỗn hợp
18. mole (n) : số phân tử gam của vật chất
19. particle (n) : phân tử, hạt
20. pebble (n) : đá cuội
21. percolate (v) : ngấm
22. porous (adj) : lỗ rỗng, tính rỗng
23. purify (v) : lọc, làm cho tinh khiết
24. recycle (v) : tái chế
25. resource (n) : tài nguyên
26. root (n) : rễ cây
27. sand (n) : cát
28. sediment (n) : trầm tích
29. soil profile (n) : phẫu diện đất
30. soluble (adj) : có thể hoà tan
31. stem (n) : thân cây
32. topsoil (n) : (tầng) đất mặt
33. zone (n) : miền, vùng