asa

1. LIFE IN THE CITY
Life in the city is full of activity. Early in the morning hundreds of
people rush out of their homes in the manner ants do when their nest is
broken. Soon the streets are full of traffic. Shops and offices open,
students flock' to their schools and the day's work begins. The city now
throb2 with activity, and it is full of noise. Hundreds of si hg tseers3,
tourists and others visit many places of interest in the city while
businessmen from various parts of the world arrive to transact business4.
Then towards evening, the offices and day schools begin to close.
Many of the shops too close. There is now a rush for buses and
other
means of tran sports. Everyone seems to be in a hurry to reach.
home. As a
result of this rush, many accidents occur. One who has
not been to the
city before finds it hard to move about at this time. Soon,
however, there
is almost no activity in several parts of the city. These
parts are usually
the business centres.
With the coming of night, another kind of activity begins. The streets
are now full of colourful lights. The air is cooler and life becomes more
leisurely. People now seek entertainment. Many visit the cinemas, parks
and clubs, while others remain indoors to watch television or listen to the
radio. Some visit friends and relatives and some spend their time reading
books and magazines. Those who are interested in politics discuss the
latest political developments. At the same time, hundreds of crimes are
committed6. Thieves and robbers who wait for the coming of night
become active, and misfortune' descends upons many. For the rg_eed9 of a
few, many are killed, and some live in constant fear. To bring
criminals

to justice10, the officers of the law are always on the mover.
Workers and others who seek advancement in their careers attend
educational institutions which are open till late in the night. Hundreds of
them sit for various examinations every year. The facilities 12 and
opportunities that the people in the city have to further their studies and
increase their knowledge of human affairs are indeed many. As a result,
the
people of the city are usually better informed than those of the
village,
where even a newspaper is sometimes difficult to get.
The city could, therefore, be described as a place of ceaseless activity.
Here, the drama of life is enacted every day.
NEW WORDS:
1. flock [fbk] (v)
/u /u'dt keo den; to tap, quay qua"n
2. throb [bob] (v) r
n rang, ri
/en; rung dong
o
3. sight-seer ['sait,si:a]
(n) ngu'di d/ tham quan
4. transact [traen'zaekt] (v) thu'c hien, ties hanh; glai quyet
5. means of transport [mi:nz av 'traensp:):t] phu'dng tien van chuyen
6. commit [ka'mit] (v) pham phai
7. misfortune [mis'h:tjn] (n) su'rui ro, su'bat hanh; die"u khong may
8. descend upon [di'send a'pon] (v) Op xuong bat ngd, den bat ngd
9. greed [gri:d] (n) tinh tham lam
10. to bring s.o. to justice [brig to 'd3nstis] dem ai ra toa, truy to ai
tai toa
11. on the move [Dn da mu:v] di chuye"n

12. facility [fa'siliti]
(n) die"u kin thuan /di, phu'dng tien de dang
Cuoc song n' thank th j
Cuoc song a thanh thi rat nhon nhip. Tu to ma sang hang tram nguot iua
ra khoi nha nhu da, kien vo to. Chang bao lau sau duong pho dong
nghet xe co. Ckc cua hang va van phang ma cua. Hoc sinh hoi ha cap
sach den truong va mot ngay lam viec bat ddu. Gia day thanh pho hoot
dong nhon nhip va day ap tieng huyen nao. Hang tram nguai ngoan
canh, du khach va nhieu nguai khac vieng tham nhirng thang canh cua
thanh pho trong khi cac doanh nhan tir nhieu no'i tren the giai den trao
doi tong viec lam an.
Trai ve chieu, nhung van phong va truong hoc bat ddu dong cua.
Nhieu cua hang cung dong cua. Luc nay dien ra mot cuoc do xo don xe
but va cac phuong tin van chuyen khac. Dtr ng nhu moi nguo'i deu voi
va ve nha.
Ket qua cua sir voi va nay la nhieu tai nan xay ra. Nhung ai chua
tong
den
thanh pho cam shay kho ma di lai vao gia nay. Tuy vay, khong
bao lau sau mot so
khu vuc cua hhanh pho nhu ngung hoot dong. Nhinig ncri nay thuong la cac trung tam
kinh doanh.
l fem xuong, rnot hinh that hoar dong khac lai bat ddu. fluong pho
tran ngap anh den mau.
Bdu
khong khi diu xuong va cuoc .song tro nen
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thu tha how. Gio' day nguai to tim den nhirng thu vui giai tri. Nhieu
nguai den rap chieu bong, cong vien va cau lac bo, trong khi nhu'ng
ngirai khac o' nha xem ti vi va nghe dai phat thanh. Co nguai di Aim ban

be va ba con. Co nguai danh thi gi& doc sach va tap chi. Nhieng nguai
Yuan tarn den chinh tri ban loan ve nhirng su' kien chinh tri Hong hoi.
Cung trong tho'i gian nay, hang train vu trorn cu-6p dien ra. Trorn cuop
cha dem xuong de hoat dong, va van rui se ap xuong nhieu ngu'o'i. Chi vi
long than cua mot so it nguai ma nhieu nguai
dd
bi giet, va nhieu nguai
khac phai song trong canh so' hdi trien mien. De dira tai pham ra truac
cling ly, cac vien chirc luat phap lunn luon .sun sang hinh dong.
Nguai lao dong va nhiTtng nguai moon tien trin tren con dtrang cong
danh sir nghiep cua minh thi tham gia cac lop hoc ban dem. Moi nam co
hang tram nguai trong so ho tham dir vao nhieu ky thi khac nhau. Ckc
phuong tien va co, hoi danh cho nguai dan thanh thi de m& rang hoc hoi
va gia tang kien tht'rc nhan sinh thuc sir rat phong phu. Do do nguai dan
o' thanh pho luon nam bat thong tin nhanh hon nguai dan vOng nong
than, no'i rna cd khi ngay den mot t& bao cong kho kiern.
Tom lai thamh thi co the not la no'i cua nhung hoot dong khong ngung nghi. Chinh
tai day, vo' kich cuoc dai tai dien moi ngay.
2. LIVING IN A MULTIRACIAL COMMUNITY
Living in a community where there are people of various races' could be
a
rewarding and an exciting experience. Such a community is like a
small world with many types and races of people in it.
Everyone, young or old, enjoys listening to stories about people in
other lands. We read books and newspapers to learn about the habits,
customs and beliefs2 of people who do not belong to our race, but when
we live in a community composed3 of many races, we have the
opportunity to meet and talk with people or various races. We can learn
about their customs and beliefs directly from them. In this way, we have
a better understanding of their ways of life. For example, in Singapore

and Malaysia, which are known as multi-racial4
countries, Malays,
Chinese, Indians and others have lived together for several decades5.
They have learnt a lot about the cultures of one another, more than what
they could have learnt by reading books or newspapers. By living
together, they have also absorbed6 many of the habits of one another to
their common benefit.
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Further, living in a multi-racial community teaches us how to respect
the views and beliefs of people of other races. We learn to be tolerant and
to understand and appreciate the peculiarities? of those who are not of
our race. In this way, we learn to live in peace and harmony with8
foreigners whose ways of life are different from ours in several
respects.
We become less suspicious of strangers and foreigners.
The relationship that develops among the people from common
understanding in a multi-racial community makes life in such a
community very exciting. Any celebration of any race becomes a
celebration of all the other races. Thus, there is a lot of fun
and
excitement during every celebration. In this way, better
understanding is
promoted9 among the peoples of the world. Through
each of the races of
the people in a multi-racial community, we come to
know about their
respective countries. For example, through the Chinese
and the Indians in
Malaysia or Singapore we have come to know much
about China and

India. As a result, we have a better understanding of the
peoples of China and India as a whole10
It could therefore be said that life in a multi-racial community teaches us
many useful lessons in human relations.
NEW WORDS:
1. race [reis] (n) chung toc, giong ngu'di
2. belief [bi'li:f] (n) tin ngu'dng
3. composed [kam'pauzd] (adj) go"m co, bao go"m
4. multi-racial
[mAlti'rei fl]
(adj) da chcing toc, nhie"u chung toc
5. decade ['dekeid] (n) thdi k,> mu'di nam, thop ky
6. absorb [ab's:):b] (v) hap thu
7. peculiarity [pi,kju:li'a_rati] (n) tinh chat rift, net rieng biet, net
dac biet
8. in peace and harmony with [in piss and 'ha:mani wid] trong hoa
binh va hoa thuan
9. promote [pra'maut] (v) nang cao; xuc tien, da"y mash
10. as a whole [az a haul] ndi chung, town bq
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Song trong m& cong gong da chung toc
Song trong mot cong dong ma cac cu dan thu6c nhieu chung tic
We
nhau co the la mot trai nghiem thii vi vai bo ich. Mot cong dong nhu the
cung giong nhu mot the gi6i thu nho gom nhieu sac tic vai kieu tinh cach.
Tat ca moi nguai, du gia hay tre,
d
du thich nghe chuyen ke ve nhung
nguai don xt khac. Chung to doe sach, bao de bier ve nhung thoi quen,
phong tuc vai tin ngtr&ng cua cac dan tic khac, nhung khi chung to song

trong mot cong dong da sac tic, chung to co ca hoi gap gd vai tro chuyen
voz ngzr&i dan thuoc nhieu chung toc khac nhau. Chung to c6 the true
tiep hoc hoi ve nhung phong tuc vai tin nguo`ng cua ho. Bang cach nay,
chung to co the hieu nhieu
how
ve loi song cua ho. Chang han
nhw
tai
Singapore vai Malaysia, nh
u
ng nu6c duac xem la da sac tic, nguai Ma
Lai, Trung Quoc, An flo vai cac sac dan khac da chung song vai nhau
qua vai thap ky. Ho di hoc hoi rat nhieu ve van hoa cua nhau ma viec
doc sach bao khong the sanh bang. Qua viec chung song vai nhau, ho
ding da tiep thu nhieu tap quan cua nhau de rtjang lai lcri ich chung cho
cong ding.
Them vao do, cult song trong mot cong dong da sac tic day cho to
biet On
trong quan diem vai tin nguang cua d&n tic khdc. Chung to biet
khoan dung, hieu
biet vai dcinh gia cao net dac thu cua nhung nguai
khong thuoc chung tic minh.
Bang cach nay, chung to hoc chung song trong hoa binh vai hoa thuan vai nhung
ngcr&i ngoai quoc ma loi song
cua ho khac chung to tren vai phuong dien. Chung
to trd nen it nghi nggi nhung nguai la
vi)
nguai nuoc ngoai.
Moi quan he nay Binh giara cac dan tic tir su• hieu biet chung trong
mot

Ong
dong da sac tot lam cho cuoc song trong cong
ding nhu-
the
tr6
nen het szrc thu vi. Bat ky le ky niem cua mot dan tic nao cung tro'
thanh le ky niem cua tit ca
cdc
dan tic khac. Nhd vay co rat nhieu niem
vui thich vai the vi trong mni mot dip le hoi. Bang cdch nay, sit hieu biet
l
ai
n nhau giaa cac dan tic tren the gidi duac day manh. Thong qua moi
mot dan tic trong cong dong da chung tic, chung to
din din
hieu biet ve
quoc gia ma ho la dai dien. Chang han, thong qua nguai Trung Quoc va
An flo o- Malaysia hay Singapore, chung to biet nhieu ve Trung Hoa va
An D. Vi vay chung to hieu nhieu han ve tong the dan tic va dat mr6c
Trung Hoa vai An flo.
Vi the co the not rang cuoc song a mot cong dong da chung tic day
cho to
nhieu bai hoc Ulu ich ve moi quan he cua con nguai.
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