Unlocking Word Meanings
Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.
1. commission (v.) [kuh-mish-uhn] – to give an assignment or task to someone
Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.
1. commission (v.) [kuh-mish-uhn] – to give an assignment or task to someone
Example: The government will commission the organization to do a report
on the country’s food crisis.
2. residential (adj.) [rez-i-den-shuhl] – domestic; referring to a place for living
Example: The residential area was full of apartments
and houses.
3. expenditure (n.) [ik-spen-di-cher] – consumption or usage of something
Example: People should monitor
their energy expenditure to save
money.
4. standby (adj.) [stand-bahy] – ready for action or use when needed
Example: Putting a computer in standby mode while not in use consumes a
lot of electricity.
5. tag (n.) [tag] – a label that contains information of a product (model number, size, etc.)
Example: The appliance’s tag shows how much energy the appliance needs
to work.
Article
Read the text below.
A detailed report commissioned by the UK government and the Energy Saving Trust (EST) shows that households in the UK consume more energy than expected.
The report collected
data from 250 homes, which were studied for a year to assess how people use energy.
The report suggests
that residential use of
electricity is responsible for more than one-fourth (1/4) of the amount of
carbon dioxide (CO2) released in the UK. The study also estimates that 16% of
electricity expenditure comes from
standby power on devices.
Paula Owen, the
report’s main author, says the study revealed the different ways people use
their appliances. For example, people normally use their washing machines 300
times yearly, but the study showed that some people use their washing
machines as often as three times daily.
Philip Sellwood, chief
executive of EST, believes such detailed data can help agencies and companies
provide consumers with better advice on how to use energy, better products, and
more correct information for tags on
energy-saving machines. He says saving on energy would also save people
money.
Environment minister
Lord Taylor adds that homes can save up to £85 just by turning off appliances
in standby mode.
EST energy adviser Rosalyn
Foreman, on the other hand, advises people to not just turn off devices, but
also to purchase less energy-consuming devices.
UK homes today have
around 41 electronic devices—a big difference from the homes in 1970s, which
only had around 12.
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Viewpoint Discussion
Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.
Discussion A
·
Do you think that people in your country
consume too much electricity? What makes you say so?
·
How would your daily life be affected if you
start using electronic devices less?
Discussion B
·
Can you suggest ways on how to save
electricity?
·
Why is saving electricity important nowadays?
