TIPS: Làm thế nào để đọc nhanh hơn?

Nếu bạn đã làm đề IELTS reading, bạn hẳn biết các câu văn được sử dụng trong bài rất học thuật, rất dài, rất nhiều từ khó, rất nhiều cụm từ mà bạn chẳng thấy ăn nhập với nhau gì cả. Ở bài lần trước mình đã chỉ bạn cách nhóm thành cụm từ và dịch ngược lại, thì hôm nay, chúng ta sẽ cùng xác định các mệnh đề trong câu, từ đó rút gọn các thông tin không quan trọng để cải thiện tốc độ đọc nhé.

Mời bạn nhìn vào câu văn sau:
Provo, the organisation that came up with the idea, was a group of Dutch activists who wanted to change society.
Theo bạn, chủ ngữ và động từ chính trong câu này là gì?
Đáp án là Prove was a group…
Vậy đoạn chữ trong hai dấu phẩy thì sao, nó chỉ để bổ sung thông tin cho Provo, và trong làm IELTS READING, bạn nên bỏ qua những phần như thế vì thường là chúng không chứa đáp án của câu hỏi. Hoặc nếu bạn là người cẩn thận thì đọc lướt qua một chút thôi và đừng sa đà vào đó nhé.

Thêm một ví dụ nữa. Mời bạn xác định chủ ngữ và động từ mà bạn cho là cần phải tập trung trong câu sau:
They believed the scheme, which was known as the Witte Fietsenplan, was an answer to the perceived threats of air pollution and consumerism.
Đáp án là the scheme was an answer… Toàn bộ đoạn which was known as the Witte Fietsenplan bổ sung nghĩa cho the scheme. They believed ý chỉ những nhà hoạt động Hà Lan ở câu trên.

Ngoài dùng dấu phẩy để ngăn cách mệnh đề phụ bổ nghĩa cho danh từ hoặc chủ ngữ, bạn còn có thể bắt gặp dấu ‘-‘. Ví dụ: He recalls how the scheme succeeded in attracting a great deal of attention — particularly when it came to publicising Provo’s aims — but struggled to get off the ground.

Vậy là từ một câu dài ngoằng, bạn đã biết mình phải đọc kĩ ở đâu rồi đúng không. Giờ cùng bắt đầu với bài đọc nhé.

The Growth of Bike – Sharing Schemes Around The World
Sự phát triển của mô hình chia sẻ xe đạp trên khắp thế giới

How Dutch engineer Luud Schimmelpennink helped to devise (invert, create) urban bike-sharing schemes.(scheme = plan, program, hệ thống chia sẻ xe đạp ở thành thị)

A The original idea for an urban bike-sharing scheme dates back to(đã có từ) a summer’s day in Amsterdam in 1965.  Provo, the organisation that came up with(think of, create) the idea, was a group of Dutch activists (một nhóm các nhà hoạt động Hà Lan) who wanted to change society.²³ They believed the scheme, which was known as the Witte Fietsenplan, was an answer to the perceived threats (perceived = understand, recognize; threat = risk, danger) of air pollution and consumerism^{24 18} (chủ nghĩa tiêu dùng). In the centre of Amsterdam, they painted a small number of used bikes white. They also distributed (rải) leaflets (tờ rơi) describing the dangers of cars ²⁵ and inviting people to use the white bikes. The bikes were then left unlocked at various locations around the city, to be used by anyone in need of transport.

B Luud Schimmelpennink, a Dutch industrial engineer who still lives and cycles in Amsterdam, was heavily involved in the original scheme. He recalls how the scheme succeeded in attracting a great deal of attention (một lượng lớn sự chú ý, a great deal = a large amount, enormous) — particularly when it came to publicising Provo’s aims — but struggled(vật lộn) to get off the ground(= start to be successful). The police were opposed to(disagree with, trái ngược với) Provo’s initiatives(idea, project, sáng kiến) and almost as soon as the white bikes were distributed (allocate, spread, phấn bố) around the city, they removed them.²⁶ However, for Schimmelpennink and for bike-sharing schemes in general, this was just the beginning. ‘The first Witte Fietsenplan was just a symbolic thing(một thứ mang tính biểu tượng),’ he says. ‘We painted a few bikes white, that was all. Things got more serious when I became a member of the Amsterdam city council two years later.’

C Schimmelpennink seized (grab, capture, nắm bắt, thường đi với opportunity) this opportunity to present a more elaborate(phức tạp) Witte Fietsen plan to the city council. ‘My idea was that the municipality (city, metropolis, khu vực thành thị) of Amsterdam would distribute 10,000 white bikes over the city, for everyone to use,’ he explains. ‘I made serious calculations. It turned out(hóa ra) that a white bicycle — per person, per kilometre — would cost(tiêu tốn) the municipality only 10% of what it contributed(những gì nó đóng góp) to public transport per person per kilometre.’ ¹⁷ Nevertheless, the council unanimously (totally, hoàn toàn) rejected(bác bỏ) the plan. ‘They said that the bicycle belongs to the past(thuộc về quá khứ). They saw a glorious future(một tương lai tuyệt vời) for the car,’ ¹⁵says Schimmelpennink. But he was not in the least discouraged(nhụt chí, mất tự tin).

D Schimmelpennink never stopped believing in bike-sharing, and in the mid-90s, two Danes(hai người Đan Mạch) asked for his help to set up a system in Copenhagen. The result was the world’s first large-scale bike-share programme(chương trình chia sẻ xe đạp quy mô lớn đầu tiên trên thế giới). It worked on a deposit(tiền đặt cọc): ‘You dropped a coin in the bike and when you returned it, you got your money back.’ After setting up the Danish system, Schimmelpennink decided to try his luck again in the Netherlands — and this time he succeeded in arousing (stimulate, awaken, khơi gợi) the interest of the Dutch Ministry of Transport. ‘Times had changed,’ he recalls. ‘People had become more environmentally conscious^19,20(aware, mindful, ý thức), and the Danish experiment had proved that bike-sharing was a real possibility.’ A new Witte Fietsen plan was launched(vận hành) in 1999 in Amsterdam. However, riding a white bike was no longer free; it cost one guilder (đồng tiền của Netherlands) per trip and payment was made with a chip card developed by the Dutch bank Postbank. Schimmelpennink designed conspicuous(clear, obvious, rõ ràng), sturdy (strong, well-made, chắc chắn) white bikes locked in special racks(khung) which could be opened with the chip card — the plan started with 250 bikes, distributed over five stations.

E Theo Molenaar, who was a system designer for the project, worked alongside Schimmelpennink. ‘I remember when we were testing the bike racks, he announced (tuyên bố) that he had already designed better ones. But of course, we had to go through with the ones we had.’ The system, however, was prone to(suffer from, bị tổn hại bởi…) vandalism (nạn phá hoại) and theft(trộm cắp).¹⁴ ‘After every weekend there would always be a couple of bikes missing,’ Molenaar says.‘I really have no idea what people did with them, because they could instantly be recognised as white bikes.’ But the biggest blow(thiệt hại lớn nhất, blow = negative impact) came when Postbank decided to abolish (stop, end, hủy bỏ) the chip card, because it wasn’t profitable^19,20(đem lại lợi nhuận). ‘That chip card was pivotal (quan trọng) to the system,’ Molenaar says. ‘To continue the project we would have needed to set up another system, but the business partner had lost interest.’

F Schimmelpennink was disappointed, but — characteristically (typically, normally, như thường lệ) — not for long. In 2002 he got a call from the French advertising corporation JC Decaux, who wanted to set up his bike-sharing scheme in Vienna. ‘That went really well. After Vienna, they set up a system in Lyon. Then in 2007, Paris followed. That was a decisive moment(giây phút quyết định) in the history of bike-sharing.’ The huge and unexpected success of the Parisian bike-sharing programme, which now boasts (sở hữu) more than 20,000 bicycles, inspired(truyền cảm hứng) cities all over the world to set up their own schemes, all modelled on Schimmelpennink’s. ‘It’s wonderful that this happened,’ he says. ‘But financially I didn’t really benefit from it, because I never filed for(put in order, yêu cầu công nhận) a patent¹⁶(bằng sáng chế).’

G In Amsterdam today, 38% of all trips are made by bike and, along with(together with) Copenhagen, it is regarded(nó được coi) as one of the two most cycle-friendly capitals in the world ^21,22— but the city never got another Witte Fietsen plan. Molenaar believes this may be because everybody in Amsterdam already has a bike. Schimmelpennink, however, cannot see that this changes Amsterdam’s need for a bike-sharing scheme. ‘People who travel on the underground (di chuyển bằng tàu điện ngầm) don’t carry their bikes around. But often they need additional transport to reach their final destination.’ ^21,22 Although he thinks it is strange that a city like Amsterdam does not have a successful bike-sharing scheme, he is optimistic (lạc quan) about the future. ‘In the 60s we didn’t stand a chance(have a chance of success) because people were prepared to give their lives to keep cars in the city. But that mentality (attitude, quan điểm, cách nghĩ) has totally changed. Today everybody longs for(wish, want) cities that are not. Maybe it’s time
we changed our outlook(viewpoint).

Chữa bài

Questions 14 – 18 (bài này nên làm cuối cùng)
The Reading Passage has seven paragraphs, A-G.  Which paragraph contains the following information?
Write the correct letter, A-G, in boxes 14-18 on your answer sheet.
NB You may use any letter more than once.

Sau khi đã làm câu 19-26, ta cũng đọc kỹ các đoạn A, B, D, E, G rồi nên ta sẽ scan ở đó trước.

14.  a description of how people misused a bike-sharing scheme (ở đoạn E, xe đáp đã bị phá hoặc hoặc ăn trộm = misued)
15.  an explanation of why a proposed bike-sharing scheme was turned down (hội động từ chối vì cho rằng cars mới là future, đoạn C)
16.  a reference to a person being unable to profit from their work (=he says. ‘But financially I didn’t really benefit from it, because I never filed for a patent >> F)
17.  an explanation of the potential savings a bike-sharing scheme would bring (đoạn C nhắc đến cost only 10% = savings))
18.  a reference to the problems a bike-sharing scheme was intended to solve (hai vấn đề được giải quyết nhờ chương trình là the perceived threats of air pollution and consumerism >> A)

Questions 19 and 20
Choose TWO letters, A-E.
Write the correct letters in boxes 19 and 20 on your answer sheet.

Which TWO of the following statements are made in the text about the Amsterdam bike-sharing scheme of 1999? (scan thông tin ở đoạn D, E)

A. It was initially opposed by a government department. (có thông tin hơi giống ở đoạn C: the council = government department, reject = opposed to, nhưng nó không nằm trong scheme 1999 >> sai)
B. It failed when a partner in the scheme withdrew support. (đoạn E a partner = postbank, withdrew support = abolish the chip card >> đúng)
C. It aimed to be more successful than the Copenhagen scheme. (không đề cập đến sự so sánh với Copenhagen >> sai)
D. It was made possible by a change in people’s attitudes. (= people had become more environmenttaly consious >> đúng)
E. It attracted interest from a range of bike designers. (có nhắc đến desinger nhưng không hề thu hút sự thích thú >> sai)

Questions 21 and 22
Choose TWO letters, A-E.
 Write the correct letters in boxes 21 and 22 on your answer sheet.

Which TWO of the following statements are made in the text about Amsterdam today? (scan được thông tin ở đoạn G)

A. The majority of residents would like to prevent all cars from entering the city. (có nhắc đến cars nhưng không nói sẽ cấm cars vào thành phố >> sai)
B. There is little likelihood of the city having another bike-sharing scheme. (không đề cập đến một chương trình bike-sharing nào khác)
C. More trips in the city are made by bike than by any other form of transport. (có đề cập đến sự so sánh nào >> sai)
D. A bike-sharing scheme would benefit residents who use public transport. (travel on underground = use public transport, need addition transport ý là họ cần xe đạp để đến điểm đến cuối cùng, vậy xe đạp sẽ đem lại lợi ích cho họ >> đúng)
E. The city has a reputation as a place that welcomes cyclists. (đoạn đầu, is regarded as = has a reputation, cycle-friendly = welcomes cyclists >> đúng)

Questions 23 – 26
Complete the summary below. Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 23-26 on your answer sheet.

The first urban bike-sharing scheme (scan đoạn A, B)

The first bike-sharing scheme was the idea of the Dutch group Provo(đầu đoạn A). The people who belonged to this group were (23)…….…………. (điền n/adj, câu sau nói về enviroment nên đáp án sẽ nằm trước đoạn percierved threats of air pollution… ta chọn được từ activitits). They were concerned about damage to the environment and about (24)…….……………, ( damage to the environment = threats of air pollutions suy ra đáp án nằm ngay sau >> consumerism) and believed that the bike-sharing scheme would draw attention to these issues. As well as painting some bikes white, (đáp án nằm sau đoạn paint a small number…) they handed out (25)………….………. (đáp án nằm trước đoạn cars, handed out = distributed, dangers of cars = condemned(lên án) the use of cars >> leaflets) that condemned the use of cars.
However, the scheme was not a great success:(đoạn B) almost as quickly as Provo left the bikes around the city, the (26)………..……….. took them away(= remove them >> police) . According to Schimmelpennink, the scheme was intended to be symbolic. (đáp án sẽ nằm trước câu có từ symbolic) The idea was to get people thinking about the issues.

Keyword table

Questions	Text
misused	vandalism and theft
turned down	rejected
unable to profit	didn’t really benefit
potential savings	cost only 10% of what it contributed
intended to solve	was an answer to
partner	postbank
withdrew support	abolish the chip card
a change in people’s attitudes	people had become more environmenttaly consious
use public transport	travel on underground
benefit	need addition transport to reach their final destination
has a reputation	is regarded as
welcomes cyclists	cycle-friendly
damage to the environment	threats of air pollutions
handed out	distributed
condemned the use of cars	dangers of cars
took them away	remove them
was not a great success	struggled to get off the ground