IELTS READING - Topic Words [ENVIRONMENT]

词汇/词组	英文释义	词汇变形或常见词组	例句
lung	either of the two organs in the chest with which people and some animals breathe		The smoke was beginning to choke her lungs.
photosynthesis	the process by which a plant uses the energy from the light of the sun to produce its own food		Plants have a system called photosynthesis which provides us with oxygen.
solar energy	energy that uses the power of the sun		Solar energy comes from the sun.
fulfil	to do something that is expected, hoped for or promised or to cause it to happen		Visiting Disneyland has fulfilled a boyhood dream.
power plant	a building where electricity is produced to supply a large area		The country is shutting down all of its nuclear power plants.
raw material	a basic material that is used to make a product		We have had problems with the supply of raw materials to the factory.
renewable resource	1. any natural resource (as wood or solar energy) that can be replenished naturally with the passage of time	"renewed adj. 再次兴起的 renew v. 更新 renewable adj. 可恢复的"	Water may be a renewable resource, but it is not boundless.
immense	extremely large in size or degree		This island country commands immense natural resources.
wood	a hard substance which forms the branches and trunks of trees and which can be used as a building material, for making things, or as a fuel		He gathered some wood to build a fire.
unrivalled	having no equal; better than any other of the same type		He had an unrivalled knowledge of English society, religion, law and customs.
ecosystem	all the living things in an area and the way they affect each other and the environment		We all have an interest in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem.
wetland	a large area of land covered with swamp or marsh		The wetlands are home to a large variety of wildlife.
plateau	a large flat area of land that is high above sea level		A terrible storm swept across the plateau.
valley	an area of low land between hills or mountains, often with a river running through it		The valley was hidden from view in the mist.
extinction	a situation in which something no longer exists	extinct adj. 灭绝的	Conservationists are trying to save the whale from extinction.
endangered	animals or plants which may soon not exist because there are very few now alive	"endangered birds 濒危鸟类 endangered plants 濒危植物 endangered species 濒危物种"	The report calls for an audit of endangered species.
sanctuary	protection or a safe place, especially for someone or something being chased or hunted	"bird sanctuary 鸟类保护区 wildlife sanctuary 野生动植物保护区" The park is the largest wildlife sanctuary in the US.
reserve	an area of land kept in its natural state, especially for wild animals to live in and be protected	"nature reserve 自然保护区 game reserve 禁猎区 wildlife reserve 野生动物保护区"	This island is maintained as a sanctuary for endangered species.
tundra	(part of) the very large area of land in Northern Asia, North America and Northern Europe where, because it is cold, trees do not grow and ground below the surface is permanently frozen		Few plants grow in tundra regions.
biodiversity	the number and types of plant and animal species that exist in a particular environmental area or in the world generally, or the problem of protecting this		The richness of the Earth's original biodiversity is being attacked.
oxygen	a chemical element that is a gas with no smell or colour. Oxygen forms a large part of the air on earth, and is needed by animals and plants to live.		Air is composed mainly of nitrogen and oxygen.
carbon dioxide	the gas formed when carbon is burned, or when people or animals breathe out		Plants absorb carbon dioxide during photosynthesis.
release	to give freedom or free movement to someone or something		Oil was released into the sea.
atmosphere	the mixture of gases around the Earth	the upper atmosphere n. 高层大气	These factories are releasing toxic gases into the atmosphere.
global warming	a gradual increase in world temperatures caused by polluting gases such ascarbon dioxide which are collecting in the air around the Earth and preventing heat escaping into space		The destruction of the rainforests is contributing to global warming.
fossil fuel	fuels such as gas, coal and oil, which were formed underground from plant and animal remains millions of years ago		Environmentalists would like to see fossil fuels replaced by renewable energy sources.
inevitable	certain to happen and unable to be avoided or prevented	"evitable adj. 可避免的 inevitability n. 不可避免 inevitably adv. 不可避免地"	The accident was the inevitable result of carelessness.
freeze	if a liquid or something wet freezes or is frozen, it becomes hard and solid because the temperature is very cold	refreeze v. 再结冰	The lake had frozen overnight.
melt	to turn from something solid into something soft or liquid, or to cause something to do this		The snow showed no sign of melting.
drip	If a liquid drips, it falls in drops, or you make it fall in drops		Water was dripping through the ceiling.
drain	If you drain something, you remove the liquid from it, usually by pouring it away or allowing it to flow away, and if something drains, liquid flows away or out of it		The river drains into a lake.
precipitation	water which falls from the clouds towards the ground, especially as rain or snow		Hail and sleet are types of precipitation.
insulate	To insulate something such as a building means to protect it from cold or noise by covering it or surrounding it in a thick layer.	"insulation n. 隔热；隔音；绝缘 insulating adj. 隔热的；绝缘的 insulated adj. 隔热保护的 insulating materials 绝缘材料"	Home owners are being encouraged to insulate their homes to save energy.
hunt	When people or animals hunt, they chase and kill wild animals for food or as a sport.	"hunter n. 猎人 hunted adj. 惴惴不安的 hunting n. 打猎（运动）"	Lions sometimes hunt alone.
igloo	a circular house made of blocks of hard snow, especially as built by the Inuit people of northern North America		Eskimoes form igloos out of blocks of ice.
crop	(the total amount collected of) a plant such as a grain, fruit or vegetable grown in large amounts		The main crops grown for export are coffee and rice.
soil	the material on the surface of the ground in which plants grow	"soil degradation 土壤退化 soil erosion 水土流失"	The soil here is very poor.
microorganism	a living thing which on its own is too small to be seen without a microscope	"organism n. 有机体 organ n. 器官 organic adj. 有机的 "	The report notes that microorganisms are the biggest threat to healthy drinking water.
bacterium(bacteria)	a type of very small organism that lives in air, earth, water, plants and animals, often one which causes a disease		Bacteria are invisible to the naked eye.
virus	an extremely small organism which causes disease in humans, animals and plants		All bacteria are larger than viruses.
fungus(fungi)	any of various types of organism which get their food from decaying material or other living things		Mushrooms and mould are funguses.
mineral	a valuable or useful chemical substance which is formed naturally in the ground		Fish is a rich source of vitamins and minerals.
carbon	a simple chemical substance, which exists in its pure form as diamond or graphite , and is an important part of other substances such as coal and oil, as well as being contained in all plants and animals	carbon dioxide 二氧化碳	The carbon that plants need to grow comes from this carbon dioxide.
contain	to have something inside or include something as a part		Try to avoid foods which contain a lot of fat.
decompose	to decay, or to cause something to decay	"compose v. 组成；构成 composition n. 组成；构成 decomposable adj. 可分解的"	Most animals decompose very quickly after death.
digest	to change food in your stomach into substances that your body can use	"digestion n. 消化 digestive adj. 消化的 indigestion n. 消化不良"	Humans cannot digest plants such as grass.
prevent	to stop something from happening or someone from doing something		Action must be swift in order to prevent further damage.
flood	to cause to fill or become covered with water, especially in a way that causes problems		The heavy rain has caused floods in many parts of the country.
degradation	when the beauty or quality of something is destroyed or spoilt	"environmental degradation 环境恶化 soil degradation 土壤退化"	There are serious problems of land degradation in some arid zones.
mechanisation	Mechanization or mechanisation (British English) is the process of changing from working largely or exclusively by hand or with animals to doing that work with machinery.	"mechanise v. 使机械化 mechanism n. 机械装置 mechanical adj. 机械的"	We are speeding up the mechanization of our agriculture.
intensive farming	a way of producing large amounts of crops, by using chemicals and machines		The use of intensive farming can damage the environment.
monoculture	the practice of growing only six type of crop on a certain area of land		The use of intensive farming can damage the environment.
infrastructure	the basic systems and services, such as transport and power supplies, that a country or organization uses in order to work effectively	infrastructure construction 基础设施建设	Some countries lack a suitable economic infrastructure.
famine	when there is not enough food for a great number of people, causing illness and death, or a particular period when this happens	"severe famine 严重的饥荒 widespread famine 大范围的饥荒"	Another crop failure could result in widespread famine.
yield	an amount of something positive, such as food or profit, that is produced or supplied		Crop yields have risen steadily.
fertiliser	a natural or chemical substance which is spread on the land or given to plants, to make plants grow well	"fertile adj. 肥沃的 fertility n. 肥力 fertilise v. 施肥"	Fertilizer enriches the soil.
pesticide	a chemical substance used to kill harmful insects, small animals, wild plants and other unwanted organisms		The pesticides that farmers spray on their crops kill pests but they can also damage people's health.
livestock	animals, such as cows and sheep, and birds, such as chickens, kept on a farm		The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.
smallholder farmer	someone who owns a smallholding		The government developed food security strategies, focusing on smallholder farmers.
adverse environment	the environment that has a negative or harmful effect on something		Plant need to survive an adverse environment.
extreme weather	very severe or bad weather		Extreme weather events can have devastating effects on farmers.
price volitility	price volatility is the trait of price being excitable and unpredictable.		Food price volatility remains a key risk.
produce	food or any other substance or material that is grown or obtained through farming, especially that which is produced in large amounts	farm produce 农产品	Winter produce will cost more for the next few weeks.
inhabitant	a person or animal that lives in a particular place		London has over seven million inhabitants.
industrialisation	the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial one, involving the extensive re-organisation of an economy for the purpose of manufacturing.		We cannot stop industrialisation to protect the environment.
temperature	the measured amount of heat in a place or in the body	"high temperatures 高温度 low temperatures 低温度"	There has been a sudden rise in temperature over the past few days.
irrigation	irrigation is the method in which water is supplied to plants at regular intervals for agriculture .		Villagers rely on irrigation to grow maize, potatoes and spinach.
reservoir	a place for storing liquid, especially a natural or artificial lake providing water for a city or other area		Reservoirs are areas where water is stored.