SUPER MOD: TRƯƠNG CHẤN SANG
For many people who live in cities, parks are an important part of the landscape. They provide a
place for people to relax and play sports, as well as a refuge from the often harsh environment of a
city. What people often overlook is that parks also provide considerable environmental benefits.
One benefit of parks is that plants absorb carbon dioxide—a key pollutant—and emit oxygen, which
humans need to breathe. According to one study, an acre of trees can absorb the same amount of
carbon dioxide that a typical car emits in 11,000 miles of driving. Parks also make cities cooler. Scientists have
long noted what is called the Urban Heat Island Effect: building materials such as metal, concrete, and asphalt
absorb much more of the sun’s heat and release it much more quickly than organic surfaces like trees and grass.
Because city landscapes contain so much of these building materials, cities are usually warmer than surrounding
rural areas. Parks and other green spaces help to mitigate the Urban Heat Island Effect.
Unfortunately, many cities cannot easily create more parks because most land is already being used for
buildings, roads, parking lots, and other essential parts of the urban environment. However, cities could benefit
from many of the positive effects of parks by encouraging citizens to create another type of green space:
rooftop gardens. While most people would not think of starting a garden on their roof, human beings have been
planting gardens on rooftops for thousands of years. Some rooftop gardens are very complex and require
complicated engineering, but others are simple container gardens that anyone can create with the
investment of a few hundred dollars and a few hours of work.
Rooftop gardens provide many of the same benefits as other urban park and garden spaces, but
without taking up the much-needed land. Like parks, rooftop gardens help to replace carbon dioxide in the air
with nourishing oxygen. They also help to lessen the Urban Heat Island Effect, which can save people money.
In the summer, rooftop gardens prevent buildings from absorbing heat from the sun, which can
significantly reduce cooling bills. In the winter, gardens help hold in the heat that materials like brick and
concrete radiate so quickly, leading to savings on heating bills. Rooftop vegetable and herb gardens can also
provide fresh food for city dwellers, saving them money and making their diets healthier. Rooftop gardens are
not only something everyone can enjoy, they are also a smart environmental investment.
Question 36: Based on its use in paragraph 2, it can be inferred that mitigate belongs to which of the
following word groups?
A. exacerbate, aggravate, intensify B. obliterate, destroy, annihilate
C. allay, alleviate, reduce D. absorb, intake, consume
Question 37: Using the information in paragraph 2 as a guide, it can be inferred that _______.
A. cities with rooftop gardens are cooler than those without rooftop gardens
B. some plants are not suitable for growth in rooftop gardens
C. most people prefer parks to rooftop gardens
D. most people prefer life in the country over life in the city