a. Duy: Should we take the short path or the one through the mangrove swamp?

b. Duy: Good idea, but let's move quietly so we don't scare them away.

c. Sophie: Let's try the swamp! If we're lucky, we might see some rare birds.

a. An: Not really—they're actually "workers" because they eat the pests that hurt the rice.

b. Nick: That's genius! So the farmers don't have to use many chemicals then.

c. Nick: Look at those ducks splashing in the rice water! Are they just pets?

a. An: Oh, I see! They look like they are walking on the water.

b. Ben: Those are mangroves. They need to stay above the water to breathe.

c. An: Look at these trees! Why are their roots so high above the ground?

a. Duc: Look at all these cranes! They're building another shopping mall.

b. Duc: I know. It's good for business, but it's terrible for the air.

c. Sarah: Another one? They just cleared a huge area of trees for the last one.

a. Emma: Oh no, that's coral bleaching. It happens when the ocean gets too warm.

b. Duy: Look at this video I took while snorkeling. Why is the coral all white?

c. Duy: That's terrible! It looks like an underwater graveyard instead of a garden.

a. Hung: Exactly. Shrimp loves the salt, so it's the only way he can make a living.

b. Hung: My uncle actually gave up on rice. He's building a shrimp pond now.

c. Tom: No way! Is it because the water is too salty for crops?

a. Alex: It's the rain. It's washing all the good soil off the hills because there are no trees left.

b. Chi: Oh, I see. So all the best dirt is just flowing away into the sea.

c. Chi: Whoa, look at the river! Why is the water so brown and muddy?

a. Minh: Why is this field empty? Did the farmer give up?

b. Sarah: No, he's just letting the soil rest for a few months to get healthy again.

c. Minh: Oh, good. Anyway, it's better than using more chemicals, I think.

a. An: Have you heard? The local people in the mountains are protecting the grey monkeys now.

b. An: They did, but now they realize tourists will pay to see them alive!

c. Sammy: Really? I thought people used to hunt them there.

a. Nhi: Wait, where is the sand? This beach used to be so much wider!

b. Tom: I know, the waves are eating the land. It's called coastal erosion.

c. Nhi: That's so sad. This was my favorite place to relax.

d. Tom: Yeah, it's getting closer every year. It's a huge problem for the hotels.

e. Nhi: Oh no, is the water reaching those palm trees over there?

a. Chris: So, we should probably plant more trees instead of building more walls?

b. Chris: That makes sense. The tree roots usually hold the soil together, right?

c. Linh: Exactly. Without the trees, the sand just slides into the ocean.

d. Linh: I heard that cutting down mangroves makes the erosion even worse.

e. Linh: I think so! It's better for the birds and the fish too.

a. Nick: Exactly. Scientists haven't seen one in the wild for a long time.

b. Mai: Oh, the "Asian Unicorn"! It lives in the mountains between Vietnam and Laos.

c. Nick: I'm reading about the Saola. It's one of the rarest animals in the world.

d. Nick: I hope they're just hiding deep in the jungle where it's safe.

e. Mai: Do you think they are already extinct, or just hiding?

a. Tom: I'm glad they're safe, but it's a bit sad they aren't in the wild.

b. Phuong: Let's go to the animal rescue center at the national park this weekend!

c. Phuong: I'm with you. Hopefully, their babies can live in the forest one day.

d. Phuong: You mean the Douc Langurs? Yeah, they have a few that were saved from hunters.

e. Tom: Sounds good. Do they have those really colorful monkeys there?

a. Ninh: Again? They just had a big one last month, didn't they?

b. Jack: I know. All their crops get washed away before they can even harvest them.

c. Jack: Yeah, but the typhoons are coming one after another lately.

d. Jack: My friend in Da Nang says they are preparing for another flood.

e. Ninh: That's terrible. It's so hard for the farmers to grow anything with all that water.

a. Kim: Did you see that app? You can pay a small fee to plant a tree in Vietnam.

b. Alex: That's so cool. I might do that for my mom's birthday.

c. Alex: Wait, really? How do you know if they actually plant it?

d. Kim: They send you a photo and the GPS location of your tree!

e. Kim: Great idea! It's a way better gift than just more plastic stuff.

a. Leo: Oh no! Is it some kind of bug or a virus?

b. Nam: Probably not. If one plant gets it, the whole field usually goes down.

c. Leo: That's a nightmare. Can he save any of the fruit?

d. Nam: My uncle is super stressed. His whole dragon fruit farm is getting sick.

e. Nam: It's a fungus. It's spreading everywhere because the air is so humid.

a. An: I saw a sign at the forest park saying "Stay away from the monkeys."

b. An: Well, yeah, but it's also because they can catch "human" diseases.

c. Sophie: Is it because they steal food? They're pretty cheeky!

d. An: Totally. And if they bite someone, they can pass viruses back to us, too.

e. Sophie: Wait, what? You mean we can actually make them sick?

a. Long: But won't they, like, eat the whole tree if they don't stop?

b. Long: Whoa, why are there so many caterpillars on your mom's lime tree?

c. Vinh: Not really. The birds in the garden usually come and eat them first.

d. Vinh: They're just eating the leaves to grow, you know? Soon they'll be butterflies.

e. Long: Oh, I see! So the birds actually keep the tree safe. That's cool.