3. Reading

H. Read the following text and then answer the questions.

_{F IGHTING GLOBAL WARMING}

The Earth’s temperature has increased by about one degree Fahrenheit over the past 100 years. This is referred to as global warming and it causes changes in the world’s climate. For example, an increase in temperature will result in more rainfall, and flooding; this will have serious effects on humans, wildlife and plants. Global warming is a serious threat to our planet and scientists around the world are frantically working to develop new ways to deal with this problem.

Scientists at the University of Edinburgh have come up with their own innovative idea; they plan to build a fleet of unmanned ships that will travel through the ocean creating waves that will help reduce global warming. The ships will patrol specific areas of ocean, and spray tiny drops of sea water into clouds. These drops will brighten and whiten the clouds; the result of this is that the heat of the sun will be better reflected into space thus reducing global warming. The system will run on wind and sea water so there is no harm to the environment. The ships can be sent to the Arctic to reduce the temperature or they could be sent to seas around coral reefs which are threatened by increasing temperatures. It is planned that they will be sent to areas that have a lot of sunlight, and reliable winds but not violent or stormy winds. Also, places with large amounts of air pollution and dust would reduce the ships’ efficiency. Scientists have already identified the seas off the coast of Namibia, California and Peru as potential locations to operate the ships.

The effects on the climate caused by the ships can be adjusted, increased or decreased according to our needs and they will be controlled by computers and staff in a special traffic room. The ‘cloud ships’ as they are called are going to be powered by rotors and the wind. The technology used to propel the ships was used over eighty years ago but has not been used since then; however, last month a German company launched a rotor powered cargo vessel. The availability of more modern materials, the increasing price of oil and the fact the ships are computer friendly has caused a return to this technology.

The main questions we must ask is: will this actually work? Will the ships succeed in controlling global warming? Scientists have published a paper showing that when clouds over the oceans of a planet are made brighter or whiter, this cools the planet. They believe that the technology will help stabilise global warming until 2050.

The ships will have a number of other uses, for example, they can act as science labs while they are in the water, taking water and air samples which will be analysed. Also, it is planned that the boats will have emergency supplies onboard in order to also act as rescue boats. These ships may be the answer to the problem of global warming and it is hoped that they will eventually become a reality.

1. According to the writer, global warming is defined as

a. a gradual increase in the Earth’s temperature.

b. changes in the Earth’s weather.

c. rainfall and flooding.

d. a threat to humans, wildlife and plants.

2. The fleet of ships mentioned in the text will

a. patrol all the oceans.

b. operate on sea water and wind.

c. get heat from the sun.

d. spray drops of water into the sea.

3. The waves produced from the ships will

a. cause storms at sea.

b. cause the Earth to become hotter.

c. help decrease global warming.

d. cause the heat of the sun to be reflected back to Earth.

4. The scientists plan to send the ships to

a. the sea around a busy polluted port city.

b. rivers which are heavily polluted.

c. coastal areas in different parts of the world.

d. areas with stormy conditions.

5. What has sparked the interest in the recent use of rotor powered ships?

a. concerns over global warming

b. the decreasing availability of oil

c. advances in computer technology

d. the increasing price of oil and the availability of modern materials

6. In paragraph 4, what point is the writer trying to make?

a. that the idea proposed by the scientists will not be successful

b. that this system could be successful in controlling global warming

c. that the idea is innovative

d. that the side effects of this system could be dangerous to the planet

7. Why will the ships be equipped with emergency supplies?

a. in order to rescue people

b. so the staff on the ship can use them in case of an emergency

c. in case of dangerous weather conditions

d. in case they sink

8. The ships will also work as science labs by

a. collecting and analysing water and air samples.

b. stabilising global warming until 2050.

c. making clouds brighter.

d. helping to improve technology.