Speed Reading — Solar Energy - Level 3 — 300 wpm

Now do this put-the-text-back-together activity.


This is the text (if you need help).

The world is in a climate crisis. We need to change how we get our power. This means we need to end the use of fossil fuels, like oil and gas. The European Space Agency (ESA) has started on work that could provide millions of homes with clean energy. It has approved a three-year project to test huge solar farms in space. ESA engineers hope to send energy wirelessly from space into people's homes. Testing will take place over three years. An ESA spokesperson said one solar-farm satellite could create the same amount of electricity as a power station on Earth. She added that the aim is to have many of these giant satellites in orbit. They could cut our use of fossil fuels and reduce energy shortages.

The ESA project is called Solaris. The ESA states on its website that it wants to create "a clean and secure energy future for European citizens". Josef Aschbacher, the director-general of the ESA, told the BBC that solar power from space could be of "enormous" help. He said: "We need to convert into carbon-neutral economies and therefore change the way we produce energy. We especially need to reduce the fossil fuel part of our energy production." He added: "If you can do it from space, and I'm saying 'if we could,' because we are not there yet, this would be absolutely fantastic. It would solve a lot of problems." The satellites will be around 1.7 km long. The International Space Station is 110 m in length.

Comprehension questions
  1. What does the article say we need to change?
  2. How long will the space agency test the solar space farms?
  3. What will one solar farm produce the same amount of energy as?
  4. How many of the satellites does the agency want to have in space?
  5. What kind of shortages could the ESA project reduce?
  6. What's the name of the solar farm project?
  7. Who might the solar farms give a secure energy future to?
  8. What did an ESA spokesperson say we needed to convert into?
  9. What did an ESA spokesperson say the solar farms would solve?
  10. How long is a solar farm satellite?

Back to the solar energy from space lesson.

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