[Đề số 01] Đề thi thử tiếng Anh THPT Quốc gia 2024 - Tuyển tập 10 đề Dự án Giáo viên Tiếng Anh

A pandemic is a worldwide outbreak of disease. It happens when a bacterium or virus becomes capable of spreading across a large region, continent, or worldwide. It causes severe contagious illnesses which can spread quickly from one person to another. Throughout history, there have been many pandemics that have had significant effects on various populations.
Pandemics have the capability of killing large portions of people in a place. In 1347, the Black Death, a plague in Europe, spread and killed 75 million people, a whopping one-third of Europe's population. When European explorers began encountering other places in the world, they tended to spread diseases to the local population. One notable example is the complete destruction of the Guanches on the Canary Islands. The majority of tribe members were killed by disease brought by Spanish invaders in the 15th century.
In fact, many countries and cultures faced deadly pandemics after international exploration became possible. It is believed that Columbus and his crew brought a strain of syphilis back with them to Europe from the New World. In Europe, the virus was able to mutate because of the location's different conditions. Additionally, European people that were sent to work in Asia were killed by disease. Intercultural mixing, exposure to new viruses, and the transportation of diseases led to many pandemics across the world.
Today, the COVID-19 pandemic is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease. It is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome SARS-CoV-2. This epidemic first broke out in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. Many efforts to control its spread have failed, which allows the virus to reach almost every country. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on 30th January 2020 and a pandemic on 11th March 2020. By 10th April 2022, the pandemic had caused more than 498 million cases and 6.17 million deaths, making it one of the deadliest pandemics in human history.

If you are interested in having a trip of a lifetime, but also doing something useful at the same time, then why not try joining a Greenforce expedition as a volunteer. Greenforce, ___(41)___ was set up in 1997, is an international research agency that gathers information about wildlife and natural habitats in various parts of the world. There is a qualified biologist in charge of each team of volunteers and these carry out surveys all year round in some of the world remote and most beautiful places. Volunteers come from all walks of life. No previous experience is necessary as Greenforce provides full ___(42)___ in animal identification and survey methods. However, you will need to be a person who enjoys the outdoor life ___(43)___ working in remote locations can be challenging. You’ll also need to be passionate about wildlife and prepare to learn a lot about the place you visit. ___(44)___ expedition lasts for ten weeks, and training begins in the UK with a residential weekend where you can get a taste of expedition life and meet up with some of your teammates, as well as learning about first-aid and basic survival skills. Each volunteer ___(45)___ £2,550 to the total cost of the expedition, but past volunteers say it is worth every penny.

In the next decade, population growth will probably add to world hunger problems. As the population grows, according to the World Hunger Programme, so will the number of malnourished people. The world's population, estimated at 5.6 billion in 1994, may reach 11.5 billion by the year 2150, and most of that growth is occurring in the world's poorest countries. At least 95 percent of the global population growth over the next thirty-five years will take place in the hunger-belt regions of Africa, Asia, and Latin America. For countries that already have a hard time feeding their populations, growth on a scale of even 3 percent a year could add significantly to their food problems. This level of growth is already occurring in Namibia and in South Africa, and many other countries are not far behind.
In 1981, the United States recorded a population on the African continent of 481 million people. This number topped 800 million by the year 2000. Africa would have to increase its food production by 4 percent a year to meet the food needs of its increased population. But Africa's food production is growing by only 1 percent a year, which means that nations already struggling to meet their people's food needs will have an even greater struggle as populations grow. “When food supply grows slower than population,” says Professor De- Gregori, “a country is in trouble.”
(Source: Basic IELTS Reading)