Academic English for International Exams

Course Book

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  • D
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  • F

Read the following passage. Then try to make notes of the key facts.

Biofuels are a type of energy source that is derived wholly from plant or animal sources. Supporters of biofuels claim that these alternative energy sources will help us meet our energy needs while overcoming the disadvantages associated with fossil fuels. However, biofuels cannot replace fossil fuels.

First of all, biofuels are not more environmentally friendly than fossil fuels. Many biofuels supporters would suggest that using biofuels is a cleaner way to power automobiles than gasoline. However, these biofuels are actually worse for the environment than gasoline. Some pollute the environment even more than fossil fuels.

Second, biofuels do not have an unlimited supply, Fossil fuels were created over millions of years, and today they are running out. Supporters of biofuels suggest that plant-based biofuels can be grown anywhere and therefore can provide us with an unlimited supply. The problem is, most of the world's agricultural land is already used. To grow biofuel crops means we would have to grow less food or cut down forests, both of which would have negative consequences.

Finally, biofuels cannot meet the energy demands of large nations like the United States or China. These large countries consume vast amounts of fossil fuels to power their economies. It is not possible to grow enough plant-based biofuel crops to meet such large-scale demand. The best that biofuels can do is supplement that demand.

derive – to make something out of something else

associated – connected to

power – to give something energy

agricultural – related to farming

crop – a plant grown for food

consume – to use something that goes away after you use it

vast – very large in size or scope

supplement – to add to something else

Reading:

Now look at the note diagram and fill in the missing information from your notes.

Main idea: cannot replace fossil fuels.
Key point 1: Biofuels are not more than fossil fuels because they also pollute the environment.
Key point 2: Biofuels do not have because most agricultural land is already being used.
Key point 3: Biofuels cannot meet the world's because we need too much fuel because we need too much fuel.
Answer may vary
  1. Main idea: Biofuels
  2. Key point 1: environmentally
  3. Key point 2: an unlimited supply
  4. Key point 3: demand for fuel

Improve your notes if necessary. Try to summarize the text using your notes.

Reading:

Predict how the listening passage may contrast with the reading.

substance – a particular type of liquid, solid, or gas

replace – to use one thing instead of another

efficient – working well without wasting time or resources

massive – very large

demand – the desire for a particular thing

stark – very clear and often unpleasant

production – the act of making something

hardly – used to say that something almost does not happen at all

Now listen to a lecture related to the topic in A. Make notes while listening.

Listening

Fill in the blanks of the note diagram below with keywords or key phrases used in the lecture.

Main idea: Ethanol is not a substance that we can use to .
Key point 1: Ethanol is not gasoline; in fact, it produces more pollution.
Key point 2: Ethanol requires more than we have available because there is not enough for both food and fuel crops.
Key point 3: Ethanol cannot meet the for fuel in the world because we do not have enough land.
Answer may vary
  1. Main idea: replace gasoline
  2. Key point 1: cleaner than
  3. Key point 2: land
  4. Key point 3: demand

Summarize the contents of the lecture expanding the diagram above and using your notes.

View the transcript

M: You hear a lot of talk about biofuels in the news today, but the promises of biofuels do not match the facts. Let's take a look at ethanol, one of the most widely used biofuels. It can be made from corn, sugar cane, or a few other crops. Ethanol can be used to fuel cars and other vehicles, but not without problems. Ethanol really just isn't a substance that we can use to replace fossil fuels. First of all, it is not cleaner than the gasoline that it replaces. Why? Well, at first it looks cleaner. Burning one gallon of ethanol in your oar produces less pollution than burning one gallon of gasoline. So it's cleaner, right? Wrong! It's actually dirtier because ethanol is a less efficient fuel. In other words, you get less energy out of a gallon of ethanol than you get out of a gallon of gasoline. So you have to burn more to travel the same distance. And that means more pollution. Now, ethanol requires a lot of land that we simply don't have. In recent years, there has been a massive push to produce more ethanol from corn grown in the US. At first, this sounds good, but the problem is people need that corn to eat. So what happens when more corn is used to produce ethanol, well, urn, the price of food goes up. You can't have both cheap food and cheap fuel. There is not enough land for both. One last point: ethanol won't be able to meet the demand for fuel. Let me give you a stark example. In order to replace the current demand for petroleum in the US; you would need to use seventy-five percent of all the agricultural land in the world to grow ethanol-producing crops. Seventy-five percent! That doesn't leave much land for food production; in fact, it hardly leaves any at all. The demands of drivers in large nations like the US, China, and India are simply just too large to be met by ethanol. Therefore, the world needs to keep looking for more ways to replace gasoline. Perhaps hydrogen power is the answer. But ethanol certainly is not.

Listening:

Review your notes from both the reading and the lecture. Pay attention to the main ideas and supporting details. Paraphrasing the information from your notes, complete the following outline:

Introduction:

Main topic:
Main idea of the reading passage:
Main idea of the lecture:

Body:

Key point 1:
Supporting information from the reading passage: Supporting information from the lecture:
Key point 2:
Supporting information from the reading passage: Supporting information from the lecture:
Key point 3:
Supporting information from the reading passage: Supporting information from the lecture:

Conclusion:

Summary:
Answer may vary

Introduction:

  1. Main topic: Can biofuels can be used as a substitute for fossil fuels?
  2. Main idea of the reading passage: Biofuels cannot be used as a substitute for fossil fuels.
  3. Main idea of the lecture: Ethanol is not something, we can use to replace gasoline.

Body:

  1. Key point 1: What is the environmental impact of biofuels?
    Supporting information from the reading passage: Biofuels are not better for the environment than fossil fuels because they also pollute the environment.
    Supporting information from the lecture: Ethanol actually pollutes the environment more than fossil fuels.
  2. Key point 2: Where does the supply come from?
    Supporting information from the reading passage: Biofuels do not have an unlimited supply because most agricultural land is already used.
    Supporting information from the lecture: Ethanol requires too much land to make because there is not enough land for both food and fuel crops.
  3. Key point 3: What is the demand for biofuels?
    Supporting information from the reading passage: Biofuels cannot meet the world's demand for fuel because we need too much fuel.
    Supporting information from the lecture: Ethanol cannot meet the demand for fuel in the world because we do not have enough land.

Conclusion:

  1. Summary: The reading says that biofuels cannot replace fossil fuels, and the lecture support it with the example of ethanol.

Use the main ideas and details from D to complete the passage. Include information from both the reading and the lecture.

Both the lecture and the passage discuss biofuels as a possible 1. to fossil fuels. The passage states that they cannot replace current fuel sources. The lecturer supports the 2.with a discussion about ethanol, a biofuel made from corn.

To begin, the passage says that biofuels are no better for the 3. than fossil fuels. The lecturer 4. the claim by showing that ethanol creates more pollution than 5.. Then the passage states that biofuels place 6. on land resources. The lecturer agrees, adding that the 7. of ethanol makes corn more expensive. Lastly, the passage says that biofuels cannot meet the world 8. for fuel. Again, the lecturer agrees. He says that there is no way that enough ethanol could be produced to 9. the needs of the world.

Both sources discuss biofuels. They give three reasons why biofuels cannot 10. fossil fuels.

Answer may vary
  1. 1. alternative
  2. 2. stance
  3. 3. environment
  4. 4. proves
  5. 5. gasoline
  6. 6. strain
  7. 7. production
  8. 8. demand
  9. 9. satisfy
  10. 10. replace