The Reading / Listening - Solar Energy - Level 0

There is a climate crisis. We need to stop using oil and gas. The European Space Agency (ESA) is testing giant solar farms in space. It wants to send energy wirelessly from space into people's homes. One solar-farm satellite could make the same amount of power as a power station. The ESA wants many of these farms in space.

The ESA project is called Solaris. The ESA wants "a clean and secure energy future". This means becoming more carbon-neutral. The ESA said we needed to cut the use of fossil fuels. Solar farms could help us to do this. One farm is around 1.7 km long. This is bigger than the International Space Station, which is 110 m long.

Try the same news story at these levels:

    Solar Energy - Level 1 Solar Energy - Level 2   or  Solar Energy - Level 3

Sources
  • https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Space_Engineering_Technology/SOLARIS/SOLARIS2
  • https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-62982113
  • https://scitechdaily.com/esa-solaris-wireless-power-beamed-down-from-space/


Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice activities, drag and drop activities, sentence jumbles, which word activities, text reconstructions, spelling, gap fills and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Phrase Matching

Paragraph 1

  1. There is a climate
  2. We need to stop
  3. testing giant solar
  4. send energy wirelessly
  5. into people's
  6. make the same amount
  7. a power
  8. many of these farms in
  1. station
  2. farms in space
  3. homes
  4. using oil and gas
  5. space
  6. from space
  7. of power
  8. crisis

Paragraph 2

  1. The ESA project is
  2. a clean and secure
  3. becoming more carbon-
  4. The ESA said we
  5. cut the use of fossil
  6. Solar farms could help us
  7. One farm is around
  8. bigger than the International
  1. to do this
  2. neutral
  3. fuels
  4. called Solaris
  5. 1.7 km long
  6. energy future
  7. Space Station
  8. needed to

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

There is (1) ___________________. We need to stop using oil and gas. The European Space Agency (ESA) (2) __________________ solar farms in space. It wants (3) ___________________ wirelessly from space into people's homes. (4) ___________________ satellite could make the same amount of power (5) ___________________ station. The ESA wants many of these (6) ___________________.

The ESA (7) ___________________ Solaris. The ESA wants "a clean and (8) ___________________". This means becoming (9) ___________________. The ESA said we needed to cut the use of fossil fuels. Solar farms (10) ___________________ to do this. One (11) ___________________ 1.7 km long. This is bigger than the International Space Station, which is (12) ___________________.

Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

Thereisaclimatecrisis.Weneedtostopusingoilandgas.TheEuropeanS
paceAgency(ESA)istestinggiantsolarfarmsinspace.Itwantstosende
nergywirelesslyfromspaceintopeople'shomes.Onesolar-farmsate
llitecouldmakethesameamountofpowerasapowerstation.TheESAwa
ntsmanyofthesefarmsinspace.TheESAprojectiscalledSolaris.TheES
Awants"acleanandsecureenergyfuture".Thismeansbecomingmorecar
bon-neutral.TheESAsaidweneededtocuttheuseoffossilfue
ls.Solarfarmscouldhelpustodothis.Onefarmisaround1.7kmlong.This
isbiggerthantheInternationalSpaceStation,whichis110mlong.

Student survey

Write five GOOD questions about this topic in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper. When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

(Please look at page 12 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

Discussion — Write your own questions

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

(a) ________________

(b) ________________

(c) ________________

(d) ________________

(e) ________________

(f) ________________

(g) ________________

(h) ________________

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

(i) ________________

(j) ________________

(k) ________________

(l) ________________

(m) ________________

(n) ________________

(o) ________________

(p) ________________

Free writing

Write about this topic for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

Answers

(Please check your answers against the article above.

Help Support This Web Site

  • Please consider helping Breaking News English.com

Sean Banville's Book

Thank You