Chào các thính giả yêu mến của chương trình Học Tiếng Anh qua các chủ đề của chương trình học tiếng anh cùng Radiome. Mình là Diệu Hoa.
Hôm nay chúng ta cùng theo dõi tiếp Phần 2 của bài nghe Growing Fruit in the Desert nhé!
Các bạn cùng chú ý lắng nghe với tiết tấu chậm rãi của chương trình Spotlight nhé. Note lại những từ bạn nghe chưa rõ và xem lại ở bản text để làm phong phú thêm vốn từ vựng của mình nhé!

Voice 2
The leaves may have disappeared for another reason too. All plants lose water. Water evaporates into the air from every part of a plant’s surface. So, a good way for a plant to survive in dry areas is to shrink its surface area. Then it loses less water. The cactus has a much better chance of surviving without the surface area of leaves.
Voice 1
For these reasons, the cactus plant also makes food in a different way than all other plants. Most plants use energy from the sun, carbon dioxide from the air, and water from the earth. Special holes, called pores, cover the plant. During the day, the plant opens these pores to let in the sun and carbon dioxide. Immediately, the chlorophyll uses the sun’s energy and the carbon dioxide to make food. But the heat of the desert sun presents danger to the cactus plant. The heat could easily evaporate the plant’s water.
Voice 2
So, the cactus performs a special trick. It does not open its pores during the day. Instead, the cactus opens up its pores at night. The temperature is cooler at night. So, the cactus loses less water. And, instead of using the carbon dioxide immediately, the cactus changes this gas into a liquid acid chemical. It stores the acid until morning. When the sun begins to rise, the cactus closes its pores again.
Voice 1
The next day the cactus uses the acid to create food. The chlorophyll gains energy from the sun through closed pores. This energy helps the chlorophyll use the acid to create food. As the day goes on, the cactus uses all of its stored acid. By the end of the day the cactus has lost most of its stored acid. So, it must repeat this process every night.
Voice 2
There are some animals that feed on desert cacti. But if an animal eats a cactus in the early morning, it will get a pain in its stomach! That is because they are eating the cactus when it is filled with acid!
Voice 1
Some desert plants send down long roots to get water from deep inside the ground. But cacti have a different root system. Their roots do not go deep down into the ground. Instead, cacti roots spread in all directions. The roots gather water from a very large area. Even a small cactus plant may send its roots a distance of nine to twelve metres from the area where it grows. There are scientists who study the roots of the desert cacti. They say something surprising. If we looked at the ground underneath a desert, it would look like a thick forest of roots!

Voice 2
Cacti are native to the Americas. Europeans first saw cactus plants when they discovered the New World. These travellers brought cacti home to Europe with them. Since then, people have planted cacti in many parts of the world. Now, you can find cacti growing in dry areas almost everywhere. They are a supply of food, water and beauty in many places.
Voice 1
Do cacti grow where you live? Do you eat any foods from cacti? Visit our website at www.radioenglish.net to tell us about your experiences.
Voice 2
The writer of this program was Rebekah Schipper. The producer was Michio Ozaki. The voices you heard were from the United States. All quotes were adapted for this program and voiced by Spotlight. You can listen to this program again, and read it, on the internet at www.radioenglish.net. This program is called, ‘Growing Fruit in the Desert’.
Voice 1
We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye
Bài nghe đến đây là hết rồi. Chúc các bạn học vui và đừng quên theo dõi những bài tiếp để ủng hộ chương trình nhé! Cảm ơn các bạn! See you later!