II. Fill in the correct prepositions, translate the phrases, then choose any five items and make up sentences of your own:

1) the wind blow __ long __ the sun shines; 2) slow __ the speed of the wind; 3) to be connected __ smth.; 4) to be based __ the direction of the axis; 5) to scatter __ a large area; 6) to be owned __ public utility companies.

III. Put the following sentences in the correct order according to the text:

1. __ Government programs adopted in Europe and in the USA support wind power development.

2. __ There are horizontal-axis and vertical-axis wind machines.

3. __ Wind power plants are clusters of wind machines used to produce electricity.

4. __ Like old fashioned windmills, today’s wind machines use blades to collect the wind’s kinetic energy.

5. __ Wind plants may be owned by public utility companies or business people.

IV. 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 capacity of 5 megawatts.

3. Many wind plants as well as power plants are not owned by public utility companies.

4. The negative effect on wild bird populations and the visual impact on the landscape are the most serious environmental advantages of wind machines.

V. Answer the following questions and give examples:

1. What is wind energy mainly used to?

2. Why is wind called a renewable energy source?

3. How did the early windmills look like?

4. How do windmills work?

5. What are wind machines based on?

6. What are wind farms?

7. The world’s largest wind farm is located in Texas, isn’t it?

8. Who owns wind plants?

9. What sites are suitable for wind plants?

10. What are the advantages of wind energy?

11. What are the disadvantages of wind machines?

VI. Fill in the gaps with the words from the text.

1. Wind machines are considered to be … of wind machines used to produce … .

2. The types of wind machines are based on the direction of the rotating … .

3. Many power plants are … by business people who sell the electricity from the wind farms to … .

4. Good sites for wind plants are the tops of … hills and mountain … .

5. Many utilities around the U.S. offer … to the customer to support alternative … .

6. Germany … first in the world in wind power … .

7. The most serious environmental … to the wind machines are their negative effect on … .

VII. Write a summary of the Text 3.

VIII. Discuss with your groupmates or in pairs:

1) Is it possible to use wind energy for industrial purposes in our republic? Why? Why not?

2) What European countries actively utilize wind energy? Give examples (find out additional information).

IX. Fill in the words listed below.

a) production e) fraction

b) growing f) generated

c) electricity g) year

d) larger h) times

In 2006, wind machines use in the United States 1) ____ a total of 26,6 billion kWh per 2) ____ of electricity, enough to serve more than 2,4 million households. This is enough 3) ____ to power a city 4) ____ than Los Angeles, but it is only a small 5) ____ of the nation’s total electricity 6) ____, about 0,4 percent. The amount of electricity generated from wind has been 7) ____ fast in recent years. In 2006, electricity generated from wind was 21/2 8) ____ more than wind generation in 2002.