Section I. Power Engineering

PARTI

6-4661

France

Adam Zolciak

I've just read your essay on nuclear power. I work for the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) here in Ohio, USA. I agree that nuclear power is very clean compared to many sources of energy (much cleaner and safer than coal!). Supposedly, here in Toledo a company is working on a new type of solar panel. This new panel is supposed to be more cost-effective. Using their new panels they are claiming to be able to produce a Megawatt of power. Time will tell, but if this is true, solar power may be a viable alternative.

The names of the people	Pro	Against	Reason
Female Nerd
Danny Kirkeby
Stephen English
Christian Plesner
Adam Zolciak

• Discuss the future of nuclear power plants in our society. Use the following phrases and word combinations:

in my opinion the thing is

to my mind I agree that...

the fact is I don't agree that...

to start with I don't think...

I think... I don't suppose...

as far as I know... I'm sure (certain) that...

I believe... I totally disagree...

IT IS INTERESTING TO KNOW • Read and retell the following text.

Since the early 1980s one of the most significant changes in en­ergy supply has been the greatly increased role of nuclear power. Fuel oil and coal are used to an ever-decreasing extent to produce electricity, and even the production of hydroelectric power has sta­bilized as most suitable sites have already been exploited, particu­larly those of the Rhine and Rhone valleys, the Massif Central, and the Alps. In contrast, nuclear production has expanded' enormously following the French government's decision in the early 1970s to undertake a major investment program. Since then 20 sites have been developed at a variety of coastal and inland locations, notably the Rhone and Loire valleys, reflecting the need for large quanti­ties of cooling water. By 1990 nearly 75 percent of electricity in France was produced in nuclear plants, the highest proportion in the world. But, following a major period of construction in the 1980s, development has slowed substantially. France's nuclear industry also includes a large uranium-enrichment² factory at Pier-relatte in the lower Rhone valley and a waste-reprocessing plant at La Hague, near Cherbourg.

1 — расширилось; 2 — обогащение

Section I. Power Engineering

JUST FOR FUN • Read the following jokes and smile.

SCIENTISTS SMILE

You Might Be A Nuclear Engineer If:

If you are convinced you can build a phaser' out of your garage door opener and your camera's flash attachment.

If you have modified your can-opener² to be microprocessor driven.

If you are currently gathering the components to build your own nuclear reactor.

If you truly believe aliens³are living among us.

If you have a functioning home copier machine, but every toaster you own turns bread into charcoal⁴.

If you have a habit of destroying things in order to see how they work.

If your I. Q.⁵number is bigger than your weight.

If you have memorized the program schedule for the Discovery channel, and have seen most of the shows already.

If you have more friends on the Internet than in real life.

If the only jokes you receive are through e-mail.

1 - акустический лазер; 2 - консервный нож; 3 - инопланетяне; 4 - древес­ный уголь; 5 - коэффициент умственного развития (от intelligence quo­tient)

•

^Ш Unit 11 ^^ SOLAR POWER

• Read the text. Say whether it is about conventional or renewable energy.

Had it not been for deliberate, powerful obstruction, the solar sources of energy could have been shown long ago to be the best, immediately profitable energy option for most of the U. S., for most people on earth, by functioning installations.

The sun is our most important source of energy, by far. It warms the earth's atmosphere, vaporizes water from the oceans, drives the resulting clouds by means of winds to the continents, where they cause rains and rivers. These drench the thirst of people, animals and of plants, which draw their energy directly from the sun and pass it on to us when we eat them. That has been going on since prehistoric times. Now it can do a little more. It could provide all the energy needed by a modern industrial society worldwide for the indefinite future; which no "conventional" en­ergy source could do. It could do it easily, without the pollution and haz­ards associated with those exhaustible sources. Most people still would like that, especially if they knew that it can be done profitably.

They are not supposed to be aware of that, and a major effort is ex­pended to make them believe that it would require economic sacrifices rather than benefits.

In the 1970s, there was widespread enthusiasm, and a genuine grass­roots movement emerged in the U. S, in anticipation of an imminent transition to an economy based on the solar sources of energy that came in the wake of the first "oil shock" and boycott (-1973). There are some, who fear a transition to solar power, and they are very powerful and determined.

Instead of being confined to a few small "niche markets", new solar technologies could easily have supplied a double-digit percentage of energy used by now. All that we maintained at the time was that it could 6»

13) inexpensive	13) особенно
14) to induce	14) доисторические времена
15) to bypass the problems	15) опасный
16) dangerous	16) связанный с
17) to constitute a problem	17) недорогой
18) to have access to it	18) пересечение (мнений)
19) special hostility	19) широко распространенный
20) availability	20) немедленно

2. Find in the text the synonyms to the following words:

a) well-considered d) prevalent g) favour

b) obstacle e) true

c) to bring about f) to uphold

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