RANET means Rural Communications using Radio and the Internet. 3. What does RANET aim at?
RANET aims at working with national weather services to improve their reach. 4. Who owns and supports networks of satellite receiver systems?
The local communities own and support the systems. 5. Besides networks of satellite receiver systems, what else does the project help to develop?
The project also helps to develop community radio stations and other technologies. News Item 2
A government report says climate change is already affecting American agriculture.
The news report is from the Climate Change Science Program, which brings together the research efforts of thirteen federal agencies.
Much of the East and South now gets more rain than a century ago. But the report says there is some evidence of increased
drought conditions in the West and Southwest. Western states have less snow and ice on the mountains and earlier melting in the spring.
Grain and oilseed crops are likely to develop faster with increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. But higher temperatures will increase the risk of crop failures.
Also, horticultural crops such as tomatoes, onions and fruit are more easily affected by climate change than grain and oilseed crops.
The Department of Agriculture was the lead agency for the new report.
Exercise A:
This news item is about the effect of climate change on American agriculture.
Exercise B: Listen to the news item again and answer the following questions.
1. Where is the news report from?
The new report is from the Climate Change Science Program. 2. How many federal agencies conducted the research?
Thirteen federal agencies conducted the research. 3. Which is the lead agency for the report?
The Department of Agriculture was the lead agency for the new report. 4. On what condition are grain and oilseed crops likely to develop faster?
Grain and oilseed crops are likely to develop faster if carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is increasing. 5. What is more easily affected by climate change than grain and oilseed crops?
Horticultural crops such as tomatoes, onions and fruit are more easily affected by climate change. C: Complete the following form.
Parts of the United States Much of the East and South The West and Southwest
Climate change
Gets more rain than a century ago.
Have evidence of increased drought conditions. For example, there are less snow and ice on the mountains in western states and the snow melts earlier in the spring.
News Item 3
Science has made it possible to harvest energy from the wind, sun and water. All these renewable resources are used today to power an energy-hungry world. But imagine harvesting energy from crowds of people moving to and from work every day. That is one of the possibilities of piezoelectricity, the science of gaining power from motion.
James Graham and Thaddeus Jusczyk are two graduate students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge. They designed a way to capture the energy of people' footsteps.
They created a design for a special floor covering that moves a little when people step on it. The movement would create an electrical current that could be captured to provide electrical power.
Gathering power from the movements of large groups of people is called \to grow.
Exercise A:
This news item is about gathering electrical power from the movements of people.
Exercise B: Listen to the news item and give the definition of the following expressions.
Piezoelectricity: the science of gaining power from motion Crowd farming: gathering power from the movements of large groups of people
C: Complete the following passage.
James Graham and Thaddeus Jusczyk are two graduate students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge. They designed a way to capture the energy of people’s footsteps. They created a design for a special floor covering that moves a little when people step on it. The movement would create an electrical current that could be captured to provide electrical power.
Section Three Oral Work Part 1 Questions and Answers Radio: Good afternoon. This is Radio Brighton. It’s two o’clock and time for “On the Town” and this is Judy Nash introducing the program.