Задания к тексту
1. Put the following sentences in the correct order according to the text.
1) ____ The large atmospheric winds that circle the earth are created because the land near the earth's equator is heated more by the sun than the land near the North and South Poles.
2) ___ There are horizontal– axis and vertical– axis wind machines.
3) ___Wind power plants are clusters of wind machines used to produce electricity.
4) ___Wind is caused by the uneven heating of the earth's face by the sun.
5) ___Like old fashioned windmills, today's wind machines use blades to collect the wind's kinetic energy.
6)____ A typical horizontal wind machine stands as tall as a 20-story building and has three blades that span 200 feet across.
7)____ Over 5,000 years ago, the ancient Egyptians used wind to sail ships on the Nile River.
8) ____ Government programs adopted in Europe and in the US support wind power development.
9) ___Vertical– axis wind machines have blades that go from top to bottom and usually look like a giant two– bladed egg beaters.
10) ___Wind plants may be owned by public utility companies or business people.
11) ___New technologies have decreased the cost of producing electricity from wind, and growth in wind power has been encouraged by tax breaks for renewable energy and green pricing programs.
12) ____ Potential changes to the global climate pushed the development of alternative energy sources in the 1990s.
- 1. Make the following statements true according to the text.
1) The blades are joined to a drive shaft that turns a windmill to produce electricity.
2) Small turbines may have a capacity of more than 100 kilowatts and some large turbines may have a capability of 5 megawatts.
3) The most popular wind machines are vertical axis.
4) Many wind plants as well as power plants are not owned by public utility companies.
5) Operating a wind power plant is easier than just building a windmill in a windy place.
6) The air above the water heats up more quickly than the air over land during the day.
7) Contrary the air cools more slowly over land than over water and the winds are reversed at night.
8) The earliest known windmills were in Holland.
9) American colonists created an interest in alternative energy sources.
10) Wind speed remains constant throughout the country but it varies from season to season.
11) The cost of producing electricity from wind has been increased by new technologies.
12) The negative effect on wild bird populations and the visual impact on the landscape are the most serious environmental advantages of wind machines.
- 2. Answer the following questions and give examples.
1) What changed the energy picture for the world in the 1970s?
2) How do windmills work?
3) Why does the earth's surface absorb the sun's heat at different rates?
4) What is the problem with the new wind machines? What is the solution?
5) What are wind machines based on?
6) What are wind farms?
7) How did the early windmills look like?
8) Who improved the basic design of the windmill later?
9) What is the difference between the horizontal– axis and vertical– axis wind machines?
10) The world's largest wind farm is located in Texas, isn't it?
11) Who owns wind plants?
12) What sites are suitable for wind plants?
13) What has helped wind power capacity grow substantially over the last 10 years?
14) What are the advantages of wind energy?
15) What are the disadvantages of wind machines?