Sustainability

👂️ Audio and questions

SUSTAINABILITY

Sustainability: Term first used in 1987 by writers of United Nations report.
Lecture aim: Analysis of the 
1.
            
﻿
 surrounding sustainability.
Sustainable development: Development that will meet the needs of both present and future.2.
            
﻿
.
Myth 1:
- No mention of the 
3.
            
﻿
 in original definition.
- Original focus: poorer nations should have the same 4.
            
﻿
 to natural resources as richer nations.
- This would help them achieve better 5.
            
﻿
 conditionsMyth 2: ‘Green’ vs ‘Sustainable’.
Myth 2: ‘Green’ vs ‘Sustainable’
- Key difference: unlike ‘green’, ‘sustainable’ is not always associated with things that are natural.
- For the sustainability lobby, the key problem is finding 
6.
            
﻿
 to develop technology.
- Sustainability lobby is prepared to 7.
            
﻿
 nuclear energy.
Myth 3: Role of technology
- Introduction of battery stations on 
8.
            
﻿
 is an example of new business thinking, not new technology.
- Agriculture: some farmers plant crops like sunflowers which don’t use much water, unlike 9.
            
﻿
.
- Greater use of water is a result of changes in our 10.
            
﻿
.

❓ Transcript

Sustainability

This week's lecture on a scientific topic of current general interest is on sustainability.

The term sustainability is not new.

It was first coined in 1987 in a report for the United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development.

Since then, however, the term has been applied to everything from cars to agriculture and even economics.

My specific focus, in fact, derives from this problem.

I want to analyze what seems to me to be the confusion that surrounds sustainability.

That UN document defines sustainable development as development that allows both the present and all future generations to meet their needs.

Here is the first myth.

Sustainability is not simply about the environment, which may come as a surprise to you.

In fact, the original definition says nothing about it at all.

Sustainability is not about protecting the world around us.

The original focus was on finding ways to help poor nations catch up with richer nations, which primarily meant giving them similar rights to natural resources, water, food, energy, the things that many of us take for granted.

The consequence and ultimate goal was improving living standards for all.

Another myth is that sustainability is a synonym for green, as in green movement, green products, etc., although there is some overlap between the terms.

Green suggests a preference for natural living, for example.

When you go shopping, products marketed as green imply the absence of high technology and mass manufacturing processes.

Those groups who campaign for sustainability, we can call them the lobby for sustainability, acknowledge that the situation is desperate.

The main problem, they state correctly, is time.

With 6 billion people on the planet now and a billion more expected in the next 30 years, only technology will be able to provide everyone with an acceptable and safe lifestyle.

Electric cars, wind turbines, and solar cells are key examples of this.

They make great use of renewable resources while emitting fewer noxious chemicals.

Nuclear power, too, is something the sustainability lobby has come to accept, unlike most greens.

And here's the third myth.

It concerns the role of technology.

Technology is not rejected as evil, but we should not overemphasize the role of technology either.

Take electric cars, for example.

Researchers are currently working on plans to electrify the world's car fleet.

New technology is currently being developed to make better batteries, giving longer performance.

But a better way of thinking is perhaps to have battery stations for drivers to use on roads.

When the battery is getting low, they simply swap the old one for a fully charged one.

In other words, new business thinking, not new technology, for a sustainable future.

There are similarities in agriculture, where knowledge can be more productive than new technology.

Agriculture uses up about three quarters of the world's water.

Some crops are very thirsty and require a lot of water, so many farmers who believe in sustainability are now planting crops like sunflowers and wheat instead of corn, which are happy with much less water.

In terms of water consumption, one of the biggest problems is that our diet is changing.

As countries develop and people become richer, they aspire to a diet with more meat.

Now, admittedly, most of the new births that will take our population to over six billion are going to be born in countries with largely vegetarian diets.

However, most of them will be born in the city, and this is where water consumption is highest.

That introduces the topic for next week's lecture.

🔥 Answer key (đáp án và giải thích)

confusion

Giải thích chi tiết

❓ Câu hỏi: Lecture aim: Analysis of the _____ surrounding sustainability

🎯 Xác định loại từ cần điền:

Sau cụm “the” và trước “surrounding sustainability” cần một danh từ số ít.
Cụm “surrounding sustainability” mô tả một thứ “bao quanh/đang tồn tại xung quanh” khái niệm sustainability ⇒ dự đoán là một vấn đề/trạng thái như sự mơ hồ, sự nhầm lẫn.

✅ Đáp án đúng: confusion

▶️ Bắt đầu nghe ở: đoạn người nói chuyển sang mục tiêu bài giảng, có câu “My specific focus … derives from this problem.”

☺️ Giải thích đáp án:

Đọc câu hỏi và khoanh vùng từ khóa: I want to analyze, the ___, that surrounds sustainability.
Nghe sau câu nói về việc thuật ngữ sustainability được dùng cho nhiều lĩnh vực khác nhau (cars, agriculture, economics) ⇒ gợi ý có một vấn đề xảy ra.
Trong bài nghe người nói nói rõ: “I want to analyze what seems to me to be the confusion that surrounds sustainability.”
Từ confusion khớp hoàn toàn cả ngữ pháp (danh từ sau “the”) và ý nghĩa (sự nhầm lẫn xung quanh thuật ngữ).

🧐 Lưu ý: ❌ cars/ agriculture/ economics => là các chủ đề dễ liên tưởng khi nghe “sustainability”, nhưng ở đoạn này người nói đang nói về sự nhầm lẫn quanh thuật ngữ, không phải các ví dụ liên quan.

Xem full giải thích

IELTS Listening Practice

Gồm làm đề, xem giải thích chi tiết, học từ vựng của những bài thi IELTS Listening phổ biến nhất trên thị trường

Notes For Holiday IELTS Listening Answers With Audio, Transcript, And Explanation

Luyện tập đề IELTS Listening Practice với Notes For Holiday được lấy từ cuốn sách IELTS Practice Test Plus 3 - Test 7 - Section 1 kèm Answer key, list từ vựng IELTS cần học trong bài đọc và Free PDF & Audio Transcript Download với trải nghiệm thi IELTS trên máy và giải thích đáp án chi tiết bằng Linearthinking

Holiday Rentals IELTS Listening Answers With Audio, Transcript, And Explanation

Luyện tập đề IELTS Listening Practice với Holiday Rentals được lấy từ cuốn sách IELTS Practice Test Plus 3 - Test 6 - Section 1 kèm Answer key, list từ vựng IELTS cần học trong bài đọc và Free PDF & Audio Transcript Download với trải nghiệm thi IELTS trên máy và giải thích đáp án chi tiết bằng Linearthinking

Researching The Origin Of Medieval Manuscripts IELTS Listening Answers With Audio, Transcript, And Explanation

Luyện tập đề IELTS Listening Practice với Researching The Origin Of Medieval Manuscripts được lấy từ cuốn sách IELTS Practice Test Plus 3 - Test 6 - Section 4 kèm Answer key, list từ vựng IELTS cần học trong bài đọc và Free PDF & Audio Transcript Download với trải nghiệm thi IELTS trên máy và giải thích đáp án chi tiết bằng Linearthinking

Engineering For Sustainable Development IELTS Listening Answers With Audio, Transcript, And Explanation

Luyện tập đề IELTS Listening Practice với Engineering For Sustainable Development được lấy từ cuốn sách IELTS Practice Test Plus 3 - Test 7 - Section 4 kèm Answer key, list từ vựng IELTS cần học trong bài đọc và Free PDF & Audio Transcript Download với trải nghiệm thi IELTS trên máy và giải thích đáp án chi tiết bằng Linearthinking

Tutor About An It Project IELTS Listening Answers With Audio, Transcript, And Explanation

Luyện tập đề IELTS Listening Practice với Tutor About An It Project được lấy từ cuốn sách IELTS Practice Test Plus 3 - Test 5 - Section 3 kèm Answer key, list từ vựng IELTS cần học trong bài đọc và Free PDF & Audio Transcript Download với trải nghiệm thi IELTS trên máy và giải thích đáp án chi tiết bằng Linearthinking