Every year, during the rainy season, many provinces in Central and Northern Vietnam face tropical storms and flash floods. In coastal districts, fishermen listen to weather bulletins and secure their boats before a storm makes landfall. For inland communities, the greatest danger is often the sudden rise of rivers after hours of heavy rain. Thanks to community experience, people have learned to be resilient (kiên cường) and resourceful (linh hoạt, biết xoay xở), but the challenges remain severe.

When a typhoon approaches, local authorities issue evacuation (sơ tán) orders for households in low-lying areas. Volunteers help the elderly and children move to schools and cultural houses that have been prepared as shelters (nơi trú ẩn). In recent years, more villages have installed early-warning systems (hệ thống cảnh báo sớm) and built reinforced (gia cố) riverbanks to reduce erosion (xói mòn). However, unpredictable rainfall can overwhelm these defenses, leading to widespread (trên diện rộng) disruption (gián đoạn) of transport and electricity.

After the water recedes, families return to assess (đánh giá) the damage. Farmers often find their fields covered with sand and debris, while shop owners count the cost of inventory (hàng tồn kho) lost to moisture. Health workers warn of waterborne diseases (bệnh lây qua nước) and distribute sanitation (vệ sinh) kits. Many communities now organize drills (diễn tập) each spring so that residents know evacuation routes and how to prioritize (ưu tiên) essential items like documents, medicine, and clean water.

Long-term solutions require both local action and national policy. Engineers propose flood-resilient infrastructure (hạ tầng chống chịu lũ) such as elevated roads and retention basins (hồ chứa tạm thời) to hold excess water. Schools integrate disaster education into lessons so students can raise awareness (nâng cao nhận thức) at home. Meanwhile, meteorologists improve forecast accuracy (độ chính xác dự báo) using satellite data. Although storms will continue to hit Vietnam, coordinated planning and community spirit can mitigate (giảm thiểu) their impact and protect livelihoods.

Vocabulary recap (trích trong bài)

resilient (kiên cường); resourceful (linh hoạt); evacuation (sơ tán); shelters (nơi trú ẩn); early-warning systems (hệ thống cảnh báo sớm); reinforced (gia cố); erosion (xói mòn); widespread (trên diện rộng); disruption (gián đoạn); assess (đánh giá); inventory (hàng tồn kho); waterborne diseases (bệnh lây qua nước); sanitation (vệ sinh); drills (diễn tập); prioritize (ưu tiên); flood-resilient infrastructure (hạ tầng chống chịu lũ); retention basins (hồ chứa tạm thời); raise awareness (nâng cao nhận thức); forecast accuracy (độ chính xác dự báo); mitigate (giảm thiểu).

A. Multiple Choice (ONE answer)

1. For communities far from the coast, what poses the primary hazard during storm periods?
   A. Gale-force gusts
   B. Rivers surging after prolonged downpours
   C. Permanent sea encroachment
   D. Isolated rockfalls

2. Why have some villages fortified their river edges?
   A. To reclaim fertile plots
   B. To curb bank wear and loss of soil
   C. To channel water for turbines
   D. To create extra drinking supply

3. Which initiative best institutionalises readiness before disasters strike?
   A. Liquidating shop stock early
   B. Scheduled evacuation drills
   C. Turning schools into depots year-round
   D. Seasonal fishing bans

4. What consequence often follows when rainfall patterns defy prediction?
   A. Tourism boom
   B. System-wide disruption of roads and power
   C. Lower river levels
   D. Higher fish yields

B. True / False / Not Given

5. Prior to landfall, coastal workers pay little attention to meteorological updates.

6. Public buildings, such as schools, are repurposed to house evacuees.

7. Health campaigns have completely eradicated post-flood illnesses transmitted by water.

C. Short Answer (1–5 words)

8. After waters drop, what do returning households first do to understand their losses?

9. Name one group that receives priority assistance during evacuation.

10. Which data source is used to sharpen forecast accuracy?

D. Sentence Completion (NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS)

11. Shop owners calculate losses mainly from inventory lost to ____.

12. To reduce flood peaks, engineers suggest constructing retention ____.

E. Matching: Measure → Purpose

Measures:
13) Early-warning systems
14) Elevated roads
15) Disaster education (in schools)

Purposes:
A. Keep movement functioning above flood levels
B. Prompt alerts so people can evacuate in time
C. Spread know-how to households via students

Speaking Task

Part 2 – Cue Card

Describe a flood or storm event you know about in Vietnam. You should say:

• when and where it happened,

• what damage it caused,

• how people responded,
  and explain what could be done to reduce similar impacts in the future.

Gợi ý ý tưởng: nhắc đến lũ quét ở miền Trung/Nghệ An/Quảng Bình; sơ tán, cứu trợ; cộng đồng đoàn kết; giải pháp: kè sông, trồng rừng, hồ điều hòa, giáo dục phòng chống thiên tai.

Part 3 – Follow-up Questions (with prompts)

• What responsibilities should local authorities have during disasters? (coordination, transparent information, resource allocation)

• How can schools help build long-term resilience? (curriculum, drills, student projects)

• Should investment focus on infrastructure or community education? (compare cost-benefit, sustainability)

• How can technology make forecasting more reliable? (sensors, satellite, mobile alerts)

Writing Task

Task 2 (250 words)

Topic: “Some people say Vietnam should invest mainly in hard infrastructure to control floods, while others believe community education and early-warning systems are more effective. Discuss both views and give your opinion.”

Gợi ý dàn ý ngắn:

• Introduction: nêu vấn đề + lập trường cân bằng.

• Body 1 (Hard infrastructure): đê điều, kè sông, đường nâng cao, retention basins; ưu điểm: giảm thiệt hại trực tiếp; nhược: tốn kém, có thể gây xói mòn hạ lưu.

• Body 2 (Education & warnings): chi phí thấp hơn, kích hoạt phản ứng nhanh, giảm thương vong; hạn chế: không xử lý nước lũ cực đoan nếu thiếu hạ tầng.

• Conclusion: kết hợp: hạ tầng trọng điểm + giáo dục, cảnh báo sớm; ưu tiên vùng rủi ro cao; nhấn mạnh phối hợp liên ngành.

Cụm từ hữu ích:

• build long-term resilience (khả năng chống chịu lâu dài)

• a cost-effective (hiệu quả về chi phí) approach

• mitigate (giảm thiểu) human and economic losses

• data-driven (dựa trên dữ liệu) planning

• community-led (do cộng đồng dẫn dắt) initiatives

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ANSWER KEY & GIẢI THÍCH

A. Multiple Choice

1. B — Bài nói “sudden rise of rivers after hours of heavy rain”.

2. B — Reinforced riverbanks để giảm erosion (xói mòn).

3. B — Community drills được nêu là biện pháp chuẩn bị chủ chốt.

4. B — “widespread disruption of transport and electricity”.

B. True / False / Not Given

5. False — Ngư dân listen to weather bulletins.

6. True — Trường học/nhà văn hóa dùng làm shelters.

7. Not Given — Có cảnh báo bệnh & phát sanitation kits, không nói diệt hẳn.

C. Short Answer

8. Assess the damage — Trở về để assess (đánh giá) thiệt hại.

9. The elderly / children — Tình nguyện viên hỗ trợ hai nhóm này.

10. Satellite data — Dùng để nâng cao forecast accuracy.

D. Sentence Completion

11. moisture — “inventory lost to moisture”.

12. basins — “retention basins” chứa nước tạm thời.

E. Matching

13. B — Early-warning → cảnh báo kịp thời để sơ tán.

14. A — Elevated roads → giao thông trên mực nước lũ.

15. C — Disaster education → học sinh lan tỏa kiến thức về nhà.