Sustainable Energy

A. Warming Up
Exercise I
Before we start the lesson, please have a look at the word cloud below. Which words do
you already know? Which words are new? Mark them, and discuss with your friends and
teacher.

B. Listening Comprehension
Exercise II
Listen to the lecture about Causes and Effects of Climate Change, and fill the blanks with
no more than three words. (You can ask your teacher to play the recording twice or even
three times)
1. The main cause is a phenomenon known as the ……………….. …………………
2. The more greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the ………… ……………. gets trapped
3. Human activities like the burning of ……….. ………….. have increased the amount of co2 in
the atmosphere.
4. Climate change ……. …………………………for our oceans, our weather, our food sources,
and our health.
5. This means not only more intense major storms floods, and heavy snowfall, but also
longer and more ……………….. ……………….
6. ……. ……………………. ……. creating new agricultural challenges, climate change can directly
affect people's physical health.
7. The warmer atmosphere creates an environment that traps and increases …….
………………. …… smog.
8. This is because smog contains ozone particles ………… …………………. ……………….. at
higher temperatures.
9. While ….. ………. ………. of climate change is caused by humans. Humans are also the
ones who can combat it.
10. We might still ……. …………. ……. prevent some of the worst effects of climate change.

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Exercise III
Listen to the recording about renewable energy, and answer the following questions. (You
can ask your teacher to play the recording twice or even three times)

1. Is renewable energy limited?

a. Yes.
b. No.
c. Not sure (maybe).
2. How is renewable energy generated?
a. From other sources of energy.
b. From sources that naturally replenish themselves.
c. From fossil fuels.
3. How many percent of total energy consumption from fossil fuels?
a. Less than 80%.
b. More than 18%.
c. More than 80%.
4. Why renewable energy can combat climate change?
a. Because it creates no direct greenhouse gas emissions.
b. Because it is cheaper than fossil fuels.
c. Because most of developed countries have already used it.
5. What are the disadvantages of building wind farms and dams for renewable energy?
a. They can generate much more expensive power than solar energy.
b. They can cost a lot of money in the building process.
c. They can disrupt wildlife and migration patterns and lead to ecological destruction.

C. Speaking Drills
Exercise IV
Work in pairs, and add more ideas to the following column. Then, discuss your ideas with
your friends.

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Exercise V
Ask and answer the questions bellow, then discuss the asnwers with a partner

D. Pronunciation

The fricative sounds /ʃ/ and /ʒ/

The /ʃ/ sound in English is most often represented by the letters 'sh'. The /ʒ/ sound occurs
less frequently in speech. It is pronounced almost the same as /ʃ/ except it is voiced.

Remember, consonants in any language are the result of the brief stoppage or restriction of
airflow in speech at different 'points of articulation'. While one is speaking, the vocal chords
are either vibrated (voiced), or not (voiceless).

Linguists call the /ʃ/ sound a 'voiceless post-alveolar fricative'. The 'post-alveolar' point of
articulation is just behind the 'alveolar', the point for /s/ and /z/. Try pronouncing the /s/
sound for an extended period and then move your tongue slightly backward away from your
alveolar ridge. You will notice that the sound drops slightly in pitch and has a more sonorous
or noisy quality to it.

Examples:

word initial:

she / ʃiː / shore / ʃɔː / shell / ʃɛl /

word internal:

fashion / fæʃən / crushing / krʌʃɪŋ /

word final:

crash / kræʃ / wish / wɪʃ /

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/ʒ/

The /ʒ/ sound is a 'voiced post-alveolar fricative'. This time, try pronouncing the /z/ sound
for an extended period and then move your tongue slightly backward away from your
alveolar ridge. You will notice that the sound drops slightly in pitch and has a more sonorous
or noisy quality to it.

The /ʒ/ sound occurs less frequently and, for the most part, is not critical to conveying the
meaning of a word (as the difference between, for example, /t/ vs. /d/ might be in the
words 'time' and 'dime'). Nevertheless it is a variation pronounced by most English speakers
in the middle of some words, like:

measure / mɛʒə / pleasure / plɛʒə / treasure / trɛʒə /

E. Reading Comprehension
Read the following passage, then write down the main takeaways from the passage.

Preservation and Conservation

The words “preservation” and “conservation” are often used interchangeably, but
the two concepts are quite different. Conservation protects the environment through the
responsible use of natural resources. Preservation protects the environment from harmful
human activities. For example, conserving a forest typically involves
sustainable logging practices to minimize deforestation. Preservation would involve setting
aside part or even all of the forest from human development.
Why is preservation necessary? In 1800, the world’s population was one billion
people. Today it is over seven billion—and it continues to rise. An increase in people means
a greater demand for water, food, lumber, and other resources that come from natural
environments. Increasing demand can drive people to exploit resources, even in regions
well-protected by preservation laws. Dzanga-Ndoki National Park is a protected region in
Central Africa. Yet in 2013, poachers entered the region and killed 26 elephants for their
tusks.
Successful preservation efforts often rely on shared responsibility between
communities, organizations, and governments. In China, preserving the giant panda’s
habitat over the last decade has increased the panda population. As a result, in 2016 the
panda was removed from the endangered species list and reclassified as “vulnerable,”
which is a step in the right direction.
Wetlands are also hotspots for preservation. Wetlands improve water quality and
minimize flooding and erosion. The Okavango Delta is the largest freshwater wetland in
Africa. In 2015, National Geographic Explorer Steve Boyes launched the Okavango
Wilderness Project to preserve a region that provides over 95 percent of the water to this
delta.

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VOCABULARY IN FOCUS
• preservation / prɛzə(ː)ˈveɪʃən /
Noun
protection from use.
• conservation / kɒnsə(ː)ˈveɪʃən /
Noun
management of a natural resource to prevent exploitation, destruction, or neglect.
• sustainable / səsˈteɪnəbl /
adjective
able to be maintained at a certain rate or level.
"sustainable fusion reactions"
able to be upheld or defended.
"sustainable definitions of good educational practice"
• logging / lɒgɪŋ /
Noun
industry engaged in cutting down trees and moving the wood to sawmills.
• minimize / mɪnɪmaɪz /
Verb
to make smaller.
• population / pɒpjʊˈleɪʃən /
Noun
total number of people or organisms in a particular area.
• lumber / ʌmbə /
Noun
precisely cut pieces of wood such as boards or planks.
• exploit / ɛksplɔɪt /
Verb
to use or take advantage of for profit.
• wetland / wɛtlənd /
Noun
area of land covered by shallow water or saturated by water.

Exercise VI
Match the vocabulary and the pictures bellow

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F. Grammar Points and Multi-word Sequences
The words so and too are commonly used as adverbs and as intensifiers. So is used
like very or extremely. It’s another way of saying to a great degree.

Hawaii is so beautiful!
The villa in the valey so peaceful, but it’s so far and so expensive.

Too has the opposite meaning. Too means more than needed, more than necessary, or more
than enough. Too is sometimes a negative expression.

“I love Hawaii, but it’s too far and too expensive.”

Too is not usually used with positive adjectives.

Remember those adverbs can also be used to describe other adverbs, too, not just
adjectives!

So is used BEFORE an adjective or adverb.

So + adjective/ adverb (no noun)
Don’t be so naïve!
Her new outfit is so lovely.
The cake she made for my birthday is so beautiful!
It was so good to talk to you today!

So CANNOT be used before an adjective + noun

You cannot say “she is so a clever student”

Instead, you need to use the word such, such + adjective + noun
She is such a clever student!
You live in such a nice neighbourhood.
We had such a great day today! The weather was so nice.
He tells such awful jokes.
I love listening to them sing. They have such beautiful voices!

Too

Like so, too is used BEFORE an adjective or adverb with NO noun.

Too + adjective / adverb (no noun)
We don’t see her very often. She lives too far away.
Turn the music down. It’s too loud!
She drives too fast.
Don’t work too hard!
Don’t stay out too late. You have to get up early tomorrow!
She tried memorizing the textbook the night before the exam, but it was too little, too late.

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However, in two situations, too can be used in a positive statement:
You are too funny!
This actually means “You are so funny!” or “You are very funny!”

You are too kind!

This means “You are so kind!” or “You are very kind!”

Sometimes the intensifiers way, far, or much can be added in front of too:
These pants are way too big on me.
She is way too skinny!
She is far too young to be wearing that kind of outfit!
It’s much too late to do anything about global warming.

Either/or and neither/nor

Either / or - used in a sentence in the affirmative sense when referring to a choice between
two possibilities
We can either eat now or after the show - it's up to you.
Neither / nor - used in a sentence in the negative sense when you want to say that two or
more things are not true
Neither my mother nor my father went to university.
I’m neither angry nor upset

The examples in the conversation

Person A: I didn't see Simone.
Person B: Neither did I.
Person C: I didn't either.
Person D: Nor did I.

Double-negatives are incorrect in English. So, use "either" when the negative is in the verb
(didn't) and neither or nor when the verb is affirmative (did).

Degrees of Comparison.

Like Adjectives, some Adverbs also have comparative and superlative forms.

(a) Adverbs of one syllable form comparatives by adding –er and superlatives
by adding –est.
Examples
Positive Comparative Superlative

hard harder hardest

high higher highest

low lower lowest

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 deep deeper deepest

near nearer nearest

fast faster fastest

late later latest

soon sooner soonest

early earlier earliest

Note: Early is a word of two syllables but it forms its degrees of
comparative by using –i instead of –y and adding in comparative degree
and –est in superlative degree.

(b) Adverbs of two or more syllables from comparatives by using more and
superlative by using most before the adverb.
Examples
Positive Comparative Superlative

foolishly more foolishly most foolishly

slowly more slowly most slowly

clearly more clearly most clearly

wisely more wisely most wisely

quickly more quickly most quickly

beautifully more beautifully most beautifully

harshly more harshly most harshly

gladly more gladly most gladly

sincerely more sincerely most sincerely

helpfully more helpfully most helpfully

faithfully more faithfully most faithfully

sorrowfully more sorrowfully most sorrowfully

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 (c) Some adverbs having irregular forms.
Examples
Positive Comparative Superlative

well, good better best

ill, badly worse worst

little less least

late later last

much more most

far farther(further) farthest(furthest )

(d) For negative meaning, less is used before comparatives and least before
superlatives.
Examples
Positive Comparative Superlative

clearly less clearly least clearly

wisely less wisely least wisely

forcefully less forcefully least forcefully

painfully less painfully least painfully

hopefully less hopefully least hopefully

G. Writing Practice

In order to improve your writing skill, you are required to practice writing a number of
paragraphs. Use all the vocabulary and material in the previous pages, then write two to
three paragraphs related to the following topic. Once you finish the exercise, discuss your
ideas with your friends.

The topic is The Source of Renewable Energy. Explain the advantages and disadvantages of
the renewable energy that you chose e.g., solar power, hydro-electricity, etc.

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Example of paragraphs.

Wind power is a renewable energy source which involves the conversion of wind
energy into a usable form of energy. Wind turbines are a low-carbon way of generating
electrical power from the kinetic energy of the wind; the amount of electricity generated
depends on the speed of the wind and number of wind turbines employed.
Wind power has a remarkably small impact upon the carbon footprint. There are zero
carbon emissions associated with the operation of wind turbines. The only emissions emitted
from wind turbines arise from their manufacture, construction and maintenance. Wind
energy has one of the lowest water consumption footprints, unlike fossil fuels and nuclear
power plants. Wind turbines reduce a nation’s demand for imported fuel sources.

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