Unlocking Word Meanings
Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.
1. outage (n.) [ou-tij] – power failure or a lack of electricity
Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.
1. outage (n.) [ou-tij] – power failure or a lack of electricity
Example: The storm caused power
outages in several cities.
2. keep up (v.) [keep uhp] – to meet the expectations or demands
Example: The company increased production
to keep up with the public’s demand
for the product.
3. outmoded (adj.) [out-moh-did] – old, outdated or no longer very useful
Example: The hospital will soon
replace its outmoded equipment.
4. normalize (v.) [nawr-muh-lahyz] – to return something to normal or to the usual working order
Example: The country may take
some years to normalize after war ended.
5. hamper (v.) [ham-per] – to block or delay the progress or activity of something or someone
Example: The lack of budget hampered the project from getting finished
on time.
Article
Read the text below.
India experienced some of the world’s worst power outages last July 30 and 31. The country had two major power outages in only two days, affecting 50% of the population or over 600 million people.
Sushilkumar Shinde, the power minister, said
that electricity service failed because the electric grids could not keep up with the demand. On the other
hand, some government officials blamed outmoded
electricity wires.
In West Bengal, 200
miners were trapped deep in mines because their electric elevators did not work.
In Kolkata, government offices were forced to close early and train stations became
crowded. There was no power in some hospitals. Farmers could not use their
electric water systems. The outages also affected investment and small
businesses that did not have backup energy supplies.
Electricity
services in India are mostly run by the government and only less than 25% are
private. On July 30, India bought energy from neighboring country Bhutan, to
try to bring back power. The grids in southern and western India also
assisted in normalizing the
electricity services.
The outages have also
embarrassed Indian citizens who hope to show a good business image to the
international community. Factories,
production and businesses are hampered
because of electricity shortage and poor transportation.
Economist N.
Bhanumurthy of the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy believes the
events will have further negative economic impacts.
To address the
problems, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has promised to focus more on
power, infrastructure and economy plans, but some believe action to solve
these problems are coming too slowly.
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Viewpoint Discussion
Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.
Discussion A
·
Do you think
energy supply is a very important issue in your country? What makes you say so?
·
What ways has
the government in your country done to help save energy?
Discussion B
·
In your own
personal way, how can you save electricity?
·
Why is it
important to not overuse our resources?