Level 1 · Reading series
Lesson 36 · A Hot Street and a Cool Park
Audio track 36
Listen first
Listen once before opening the English passage.
Open the English passage and hover for word help
At noon, Aya walks from a hot street into a park. The pavement feels much warmer than the ground under a tree.
Leaves make shade. Trees also take in water and release some through their leaves. This can cool nearby air. Dark roads absorb much of the sun’s energy, so their surface temperature can rise.
Cities with many hot buildings and roads can form a heat island. More trees help, but people also need water, rest, and cool places on very hot days.
Sentence practice
Play any sentence in Dicvo’s Jenny English voice. Before playing all, choose how many times each sentence plays. A practice pause about as long as the sentence follows each play, including before the next sentence. The complete reading remains above.
Choose a sentence to begin.
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At noon, Aya walks from a hot street into a park.
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The pavement feels much warmer than the ground under a tree.
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Leaves make shade.
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Trees also take in water and release some through their leaves.
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This can cool nearby air.
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Dark roads absorb much of the sun’s energy, so their surface temperature can rise.
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Cities with many hot buildings and roads can form a heat island.
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More trees help, but people also need water, rest, and cool places on very hot days.
Check your understanding
After reading, state the main idea in one sentence and find a line that supports it.
Chinese translation
中午，Aya 从炎热的街道走进公园。铺装路面摸起来比树下的土地热得多。
树叶形成阴影。树木吸收水分后，也会通过叶片散出一些水分，帮助周围空气降温。深色道路吸收大量太阳能，表面温度可能升高。
城市里如果有许多发热的建筑和道路，就可能形成热岛。增加树木有帮助；不过，极热的日子里，人们仍需要补水、休息和寻找阴凉的地方。
Key words and expressions
Key terms have Chinese explanations. Hover over dotted words in the English passage for word help and pronunciation when available.
- hot
- 热的；炎热的。
- park
- 公园。
- pavement
- 铺装路面；人行道的硬质表面。
- tree
- 树。
- shade
- 阴凉处；树荫。
- cool
- 凉爽的；使……冷却。
- absorb
- 吸收。
- surface temperature
- 表面温度。
- heat island
- 热岛效应；城市比周围地区更热的现象。
- cool place
- 凉快的地方。
Background notes (Chinese)
道路和建筑吸收太阳能，使热量聚集在城市。树木既提供树荫，也通过蒸腾作用帮助周围降温，还能截留一部分雨水。不过，只增加绿化不能完全消除酷暑风险，仍需要多种防暑措施。
资料来源：U.S. EPA, Benefits of Trees and Vegetation。