Reading a. Which of the words below can yousee in the picture on p. 532 «foals» generate ppv ind power » wind f ‘nuclear power stations * alternative form of energy sind turbines «slim towers trove des « nce te + monitSt Wind rection 125 b. Read the article and fill in the sentences (A-H) which best fit each paragraph (1-6). There is lone extra sentence which you do not need to use. |] A At the moment there are only ound sity wind fats in Britain both on land and offshore. ‘More irpertanty, though, these methods of electricity generation are harmful to the ervironenent. Infact, the stronger winds generated at sea make offshore ind farms a practical alternative. 1D infact, today itis the words fastest-growing source of energy. This new alternative source of energy rnust also be practical, cheap to set up and maintain, highly productive and above all kind to our planet. Well, as people are increasingly coming to realise, the answer is allaround us. Wind power has been used for many years to pump water This pole is connected to a generator, where the electricity Ismade. {© Explain the words in bold, then give synonyms for the highighted words. Where ‘ould you read such an article? 4. Find words similar in your language. Follow-up fed the article again and underline the advantages of wind power. Can you think of ‘any others? Is wind power used inyour country? The Answer is Blowing in the Wind Britain is in the middle of a serious energy crisis! We are desperately in need of a new form of energy which will be capable of generating enough power to sce the country’s homes, businesses and industries into the twenty-first century. But, that’s not all! O [E |This is certainly a tall order! At the moment, more than 90% of Britain's energy needs are met by burning fossil fuels or generated in nuclear power stations. Unfortunately, these are sources of energy, and once they have that’s it [1 xarmful greenhouse gases, which ‘global ite change. How then ean we produce enough energy to power an entire country withor the: ent? What can we use as an alternative, reliable form of energy, which will generate as much power as fossil fuels and nuclear energy, but have none of the drawbacks?[2 | ]Wind power! ‘Wind power is an alternative energy source which has been used for many years in countries like Holland and Denmark. [3] ] Strangely ‘enough, even though it is one of the windiest countries in Europe, Britain has been slow to take advantage of wind power. The strong winds which blow around Britain's: could easily be used to provide us with all cour energy needs. All we need to do now is set up some wind farms. Wind farms are actualy arrays of electricity-generating wind turbines, ‘which are tall, slim towers with two or three rotor blades at the top. The wind turns the blades, which spin a pole-[4] _}There can be as few as one and as many as thousands of wind turbines ina single array. Computers ‘monitor the wind direction and speed, and can shut down the turbines if the wind becomes too strong. ‘What is more, wind turbines make hardly any noise and they are not Unpleasant to look at, certainly not as ugly as nuclear power stations! Although wind farms do “take up a lot of space, they are often located on mnoccupied sites or in areas that can also be used for farming. Building wind farms at sea is also pessble[S[JOtshore wind farms lo mean thal much larger turbines can be built, without objections from the public. A single wind turbine can produce enough electricity to power 375 homes and these Wi farms are already making a small but ifference.[6] _JAs this number increases, We ‘may well see wind power supplying as much as 1096 of world’s electricity demands and up to 20% of Britain's total So, why delay? Wind power offers a solution 16 all our energy problems by being a renewable, clean and safe source of energy which is easy to live and work with. Isn't it about time we started building mote wind farms in Britain and protecting our ‘environment for future generations? KEE a