As the New Year unfolds many students out there will be preparing to sit English tests or be preparing for speaking contests. For the last decade familiar themes like the Internet, globalization, career, study, the media and advertising have all emerged and still remain great topics for students to practice.

Regular reading of the news will help familiarize yourself with any new "jargon" or events that appear. So be aware of the themes of past test papers and speaking contests and try to use a few "native speaker" phrases to wake up that examiner or judge who may be half asleep. It's all about trying to sound natural while appearing educated.

Let's look now at the topic of the environment, which is always on people's lips these days.

Last week the Chinese Government passed a law prohibiting the free give away of disposable plastic bags beginning June of this year. At a similar time the Australian Government also expressed its desire to "phase out" plastic bags. These decisions reflect a growing "green" consensus among the public, for businesses to be more "eco- friendly".

It is all part of a larger movement towards creating a more sustainable economy that seeks to minimize its carbon footprint . As the ozone layer gets thinner and as carbon emissions increase, the greenhouse effect is becoming more of a concern.

Ok – learn at least half of these keywords and you have given yourself a good chance at answering any question related to the environment, or pollution, or the 21st Century economy. Good luck.

Notes:

on people's lips---This means people are talking about it, e.g. Britney Spear's new haircut was on everyone's lips

passed a law prohibiting---This means the Government has decided make a law to prevent something from happening, e.g. a law was passed prohibiting under 18's from buying tobacco.

disposable---If something is disposable it can be used once then thrown away, e.g. when the young man said he wanted to break up with his girlfriend, she replied, "I'm not disposable – I'm yours forever".

phase out---A phase out is a gradual change, e.g. Black and white TV's were phased out in the 1970's.

green---Green refers to environment friendly, e.g. the new green car runs on water not petrol, or the green building uses solar energy for lighting and heating

eco- friendly---Eco-friendly is very similar to green, eco comes from ecology and refers to the environment and how it relates to living organisms

sustainable---Sustainable is a word you will hear everywhere – basically if something is sustainable it can last, not just now but also tomorrow and into the future, it has the capacity to continue.

carbon footprint---Our carbon footprint refers to the idea that one's behavior can be measured in terms of how much carbon is emitted into the earth's atmosphere- in the same way as when I walk down the beach you can see where I have walked – when I drive or fly I can also be tracked by the carbon waste I leave behind.

greenhouse effect---When energy from the sun hits is trapped by certain gases in the earth's atmosphere and leads to an increase in temperature.

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Brendan John Worrell is currently a polisher for China Daily Website. He used to be a teacher and has taught at university and colleges in China, Australia and the UK and also at the high school and primary school level. In the field of writing Brendan has been published most recently in the Tiger Airways In-flight magazine 'Tiger Tales', writing about Hainan, Sanya, and in the upcoming issue the sister city relationship between Haikou and Darwin. He has also written travel articles for the Thai English Language Newspaper, The Bangkok Post and the Taiwanese English Language Newspaper, The Taipei Times. Brendan loves China, the Chinese spirit, his Chinese wife and the color red. He can be contacted at brendanjohnworrell@chinadaily.com.cn.