Directions: You have 20 minutes to plan and write your response. Your response will be judged on the basis of the quality of your writing and on how well your response presents the points in the lecture and their relationship to the reading passage. Typically, an effective response will be 150 to 225 words.
Summarize the points made in the lecture, being sure to explain how theychallengethe specific points made in the reading passage.
Palm oil, a liquid produced by palm trees and used for cooking and other purposes, has become very popular in recent years. As a result, the palm oil industry has had a dramatic impact on the economies and landscapes of countries in which it operates. When asked to make a recommendation about whether expanding palm oil production even more would be good or bad for the environment and the economy, many experts have stated that palm oil production has several positive effects and should be expanded.First, the experts point out that palm tree farming helps preserve the world's forests.Palm trees have a very high oil yield--far higher than that of other crops. For this reason, farming palm trees requires less land than farming other crops to produce the same economic value.Since palm tree farms require relatively little land (compared with many other crops), palm tree plantations require the clearing of smaller areas of forest than many other crops would. In other words, palm tree farms cause less deforestation and therefore have a lesser negative impact on the environment than other types of crops.Second, palm oil is sometimes used to produce biodiesel, a fuel for motor vehicles.Using biodiesel in vehicle engines creates fewer carbon emissions than using traditional fossil fuels does. Carbon emissions are known to contribute to climate change. Biodiesel from palm oil, when used as an alternative to fossil fuels, can help reduce this effect.Third, palm oil production helps reduce poverty among small-scale farmers.About 50 percent to 70 percent of land used for farming in palm-oil-producing countries is actually cleared by small-scale, low-income family farmers. Growing palm trees is usually more profitable for such farmers than growing other crops, and it has in many cases helped improve the farmers' standard of living.
范文：
In the passage, the author provides three reasons to support the claim that palm oil production is beneficial and should be extended. However, the lecture counters the passage.First, the professor indicates that it has negative effect on forest preservation to expand the manufacture of palm oil. The professor admits that planting palm trees itself reduces the land used and creates more output commercially, and she explains the increasing demand of palm oil contributes to deforestation. With the use of palm oil on cosmetic and food industry worldwide, palm oil has become more desirable. As a result, more and more forests are cleaned to plant palm trees. This is exemplified by the forests of 7000 square meters cut down each second in a country for planting palm trees.Second, according to the professor exploiting palm oil can increase the carbon emission. The growth of palm trees produces carbon dioxide, and, since land is required to plant palm trees, land needs to be cleared. Thereby, farmers have to burn the vegetation existing there before, which produces peat and more carbon emission. She agrees that bio-diesel used by vehicles produces fewer pollution, the process of production confines the possibility of using palm oil.Third, the professor explains why farmers are actually unable to benefit much from planting palm trees: the big companies seize the opportunities of palm oil business, so they usually obtain the control right of the palm forests from farmers to make profits. After that, these farmers can gain little return from the big companies, providing little chance for them to improve their life. Thus， the professor acknowledges that 50%-70% of palm forests are cleared by individual farmers and they can gain more profits, but human factors from big companies snatched their advantages.
听力原文：
Now listen to part of a lecture on the topic you just read about.
Professor: Producing palm oil may have some benefits but it also has some very serious negative effects and should not be expanded.
First, it's true that palm trees require relatively less land than some other crops. However, that doesn't mean that palm oil farming is helping us preserve the world's forests. You see, palm oil has become extremely desirable for use in food and cosmetics products, much more desirable than other vegetable oils. As a result, the worldwide demand for palm oil has grown very fast in recent years. To keep up with the growing demand, farmers have to clear more and more forest land. In just one country, an area of forest equivalent to about seven thousand square meters is cleared every minute to make room for the palm trees. In short, the growing demand for palm oil has led to an increased rate of deforestation worldwide.
Second, using palm oil to make bio-diesel. It's true that using bio-diesel in vehicle engines produces fewer emissions than using other fields. However, the process is involved and growing the palms generate a lot of additional carbon emissions. To prepare land for palm tree farming, farmers have to clear the land first that means that they burn the vegetation that existed on the land before, this includes burning plant material called peat.
Third, it's true that small-scale family farmers clear a lot of land to start palm tree farms, but the small-scale farmers often don't control the farms for very long. Large-scale farming companies often see a great commercial opportunity in palm growing. So, they obtain the land and the farms for themselves and start controlling the profits. The small-scale farmers lose control and often get very little in return.