Text 5. Enercon e-66

1. A. Make sure you know the meaning of the following words. Match the words with theirs synonyms.

1. to supply 2. to harness 3. to meet targets 4. to reduce emissions 5. to aim 6. to exceed 7. to generate

a. to diminish, to lower emanation b. to produce, to evolve c. to transcend d. to utilize e. to achieve aims f. to provide g. to aspire, to intend

B. Put the words into the gaps using the correct form.

1. The company _____________ fish to local shops and restaurants.

2. Construction costs for the bridge could ___________ $230 million.

3. She was __________ for a promotion.

4. This power plant ___________ electricity for more than 50 regions.

5. The government believes that with the help of new programme the gas emissions will ___________ by 20% by 2010.

6. We can ___________ the power of the wind to generate electricity.

7. The good news was that chief executive Crispin Davis insisted the company was on track to _______________________ for 2002.

Taller even than the Angel of the North, the 100-metre high wind-powered electricity generator, Enercon E-66 is like a beautiful sculpture with a purpose.

Developed by architects Foster and Partners with Enercon, this wind generator can supply over a thousand homes with non-polluting, renewable energy. The first UK E-66 harnesses the wind of the North Sea at Swaffham in Norfolk, on the east coast of England.

The UK government is committed to meeting targets to reduce the country’s emissions of greenhouse gases. Indeed, it aims to exceed the UK’s commitment to reduce emissions of these gases by 12.5 per cent below 1990 levels by 2010. A growth in the amount of electricity generated from renewable sources, such as wind power, will play an important part in meeting this target.

The UK’s first off-store wind farm, off the coast of Northumberland in north-east England, began generating enough power to supply 3,000 homes in 2000. Meanwhile, the Elean power station in Cambridgeshire is the UK’s first straw-fed power plant, with the potential to generate electricity for 80,000 homes. The world’s first commercial wave power station has been commissioned on the coast of the Scottish island of Islay.

2. Answer the following questions:

1. What is Enercon E-66?

2. Who created the sculpture?

3. Why is Enercon E-66 very useful?

4. Where does it first harness the wind?

5. How do the Britain use wind energy?

Text 6. The windmill

Although they are not nearly so ancient as the Celtic crosses, the UK has some of the oldest and finest traditional buildings in the world – from manor houses and cottages, to farm barns and oast-houses, with their distinctive kilns for drying the hops used to make beer.

The windmill is perhaps one of the most fascinating. Many traditional windmills exist to this day, poised on hilltops to harness the power of the wind, or on the flat open land of East Anglia, in eastern England.

Windmills were first constructed in the UK from around the 11^th century and were mainly used for grinding corn. They were also used for draining and pumping water from marshes, and later, for driving machinery such as saw mills. By the 15^th century, there were over 10,000 windmills in the UK, particularly in East Anglia and the southern countries of Sussex and Kent. The skills of the miller were often passed down through generations of the same family, and ‘Miller’ is common surname in England today.

The two main types of windmill built in the UK were the post mill and the

tower mill, which was usually built of stone or brick. In a post mill the whole body of the mill revolves around a certain shaft to turn the sail into the wind, while in a tower mill only the top, or cap, moves, as in the windmill pictured here.

Although thousands of windmills have long since fallen into disuse, or disappeared altogether, fortunately many have been saved by conservationists and restored to working order. Some are in the hands of the National Trust, our foremost conservation organization.