Reading and comprehension

Work with your partner. Prepare a short presentation on one of these topics.

Certainty probability possibility

Complete the table with these phrases used to talk about the future.

SPEAKING

is expected to you may feel

I’m absolutely certain there’s no doubt that

there’s a good chance we are convinced

iit is quite likely iit’s highly probable

e.g.: without doubt

Now use the phrases to discuss these statements in small groups.

In the next five/ten/twenty years…

India will be a major market.

Cars will use only one liter of petrol per100 km/h.

Sports cars will have a top speed of more than 300 km/h.

Cars will be like offices with on-board computers and email facilities.

Cars will have an auto pilot.

Cars will be almost 100 % recyclable.

Environmentally-friendly cars will be more important.

– The future of my company

– Future developments in the global car market

– Fuels of the future

– The car of the future

– Give your presentations to your class. Do they agree with your predictions?

1 Go through the vocabulary below to avoid difficulties of understanding:

сell (n) – клетка, камера, ячейка

exhaust (v) – израсходовать, исчерпывать, изнурять

electric current (n) – ток

convert (v) – преобразовывать, превращать

hydrogen (n) – водород

oxygen (n) – кислород

methanol (n) – метанол, метиловый спирт

gasoline (n) – бензин

stack (n) – множество, стопка

efficiency (n) – эффективность, продуктивность

available (adj) – имеющийся в распоряжении, доступный

on-board (adj) – бортовой, встроенный

emission (n) – выделение, распространение

FUEL CELLS

The use of fuel cells promises a reduction in environmental pollution from car exhaust emissions, and the end of our dependence on oil for fuel.

A fuel cell produces an electric current and heat by converting hydrogen and oxygen into water. The output of a single cell is 0.6-0.8 V, but when many cells are combined into a stack, enough energy is produced to power a 50 kW engine.

The fuel cell has the highest efficiency in power generation, reaching over 60 %, compared to a gasoline-powered car which has 20 %.

The oxygen required comes from the air, but hydrogen is not so readily available. Pure hydrogen could be stored on-board the car, but this would use too much space. Alternatively, car makers could use reformer technology to convert gasoline or methanol into hydrogen, but this would reduce the efficiency of the cell.

For drivers there are many practical considerations. Fuel cell-powered cars are neither as fast nor as quiet as gasoline- or diesel-powered cars. At present there are very few hydrogen fuelling stations, so refueling could be a problem. Fuel cell cars have a shorter range, so drivers will have to refuel more often. If a tank of hydrogen is stored on board, there are problems of space and safety.

Fuel cell cars are very expensive to develop and produce, which means they will be also expensive for the customer. Many drivers will not pay extra for “green” car technology, especially if it is not as convenient as the current system. Nevertheless, the race is not to produce the first fuel cell-powered family car with CO2 emissions of 90 g/km (equivalent to gasoline consumption of 3.0 l/100 km).

2 Answer the following questions:

1) How does fuel cell technology work?

2) What are the advantages and disadvantages of fuel cell-powered cars?

3) How important do you think fuel cars are or will become?

4) Would you buy a fuel cell car? Why, or why not?

Дата добавления: 2015-04-30