Vocabulary: Thematic & Topical Vocabulary (B1) - Lesson 4: Environment (basic concepts)

Lesson 4: The Environment

Protecting Our Natural World

The world around us—the air, the water, the land, and the forests—is our environment¹. Keeping our environment clean and healthy is one of the most important topics in the world today. This lesson will teach you the basic vocabulary to understand and talk about environmental issues.

Environmental Problems

pollution2	ការបំពុល	Making air, water, or land dirty and unsafe. Example: "Smoke from factories causes air pollution."
trash / rubbish3	សំរាម	Things that you throw away. Example: "Please don't leave your trash in the park."
climate change4	ការប្រែប្រួលអាកាសធាតុ	The change in the world's weather patterns. Example: "Climate change is making the weather hotter."
deforestation5	ការកាប់បំផ្លាញព្រៃឈើ	The action of cutting down all the trees in an area. Example: "Deforestation destroys animal habitats."

Environmental Solutions (Verbs)

to protect6	ការពារ	To keep something safe from harm. Example: "We must protect our forests and rivers."
to reduce7	កាត់បន្ថយ	To make something smaller or less in amount. Example: "We should reduce the amount of plastic we use."
to reuse8	ប្រើឡើងវិញ	To use something again. Example: "I reuse my water bottle every day."
to recycle9	កែច្នៃ	To convert waste material into new objects. Example: "We can recycle plastic bottles and paper."

Usage Note: The Three R's

To help protect the environment, people often talk about the "Three R's". They are an easy way to remember the most important actions, in order of importance.

1. Reduce: Use less. This is the best solution.
2. Reuse: Use things again and again.
3. Recycle: Turn old materials into new things.

In Conversation

Srey and Bora are walking by the river in Siem Reap.

Srey: Look at all this trash on the side of the river. It makes me sad.

Bora: Me too. This kind of pollution is bad for our health and for the fish.

Srey: What can we do to protect our environment?

Bora: Well, we can start with the Three R's. First, we need to reduce the number of plastic bags we use from the market.

Srey: That's a good idea. And we can reuse our water bottles instead of buying new ones.

Bora: Exactly! And finally, we should try to recycle our plastic and paper at home.

Srey: These small actions can help with bigger problems like climate change.

quiz Check Your Understanding

1. What is the name for the problem of cutting down all the trees in an area?

• a) Pollution
• b) Deforestation
• c) Climate Change

Click to see the answer

Answer: b) Deforestation

2. Using your water bottle every day instead of buying a new one is an example of...

• a) reducing.
• b) reusing.
• c) recycling.

Click to see the answer

Answer: b) reusing.

3. Smoke from factories and motos causes air ______.

• a) trash
• b) protection
• c) pollution

Click to see the answer

Answer: c) pollution

edit Your Mission

1. My Actions: Think about the "Three R's". Write one sentence for each 'R' about something you can do. (e.g., "I can reduce electricity use. I can reuse shopping bags.")
2. Local Environment: Write one sentence about an environmental issue you see in your town or country. (e.g., "There is a lot of plastic trash on the street.")
3. Speak: Your mission is to talk to a friend about one way to help protect the environment. (e.g., "We should reduce the plastic we use.")

book Lesson Glossary

1. Environment (noun) - Khmer: បរិស្ថាន - The natural world of land, water, and air. ↩
2. pollution (noun) - Khmer: ការបំពុល - The process of making things like air and water dirty and harmful. ↩
3. trash / rubbish (noun) - Khmer: សំរាម - Things that you throw away. ↩
4. climate change (noun phrase) - Khmer: ការប្រែប្រួលអាកាសធាតុ - The change in the world's weather patterns over time. ↩
5. deforestation (noun) - Khmer: ការកាប់បំផ្លាញព្រៃឈើ - The cutting down of trees in a large area. ↩
6. to protect (verb) - Khmer: ការពារ - To keep someone or something safe from harm. ↩
7. to reduce (verb) - Khmer: កាត់បន្ថយ - To make something smaller or less in amount. ↩
8. to reuse (verb) - Khmer: ប្រើឡើងវិញ - To use something again instead of throwing it away. ↩
9. to recycle (verb) - Khmer: កែច្នៃ - To convert waste into reusable material. ↩