English XII

Page 78 – Part A (Reading)

                Nuclear power is energy which is produced with the use of a controlled nuclear reaction. Many nations use nuclear power plants to generate electricity for both civilian and military use, and some nations also utilize nuclear power to run parts of their naval fleets, especially submarines. Some people favor an expansion of nuclear power plants because this form of energy is considered cleaner than fossil fuels such as coal. However, nuclear power comes with a number of problems which must be addressed, including the safe disposal of radioactive waste products.

                The process of generation nuclear power starts with the mining and processing of uranium and other radioactive elements. These elements are used to feed the reactor of a nuclear power plant, generating a reaction known as fission which creates intense heat, turning water in the plant into steam. The steam powers steam turbines, which generate electricity and feed the electricity into the electrical grid.

                When nuclear power is used to power something like a submarine, the reactor runs the engines, with the steam directly powering the engines. In both cases, the reactor requires careful supervision because runaway nuclear reactions must be stopped as quickly as possible to prevent serious problems. Many nuclear power plants have extensive automated systems which help to identify potential  trouble spots, and these systems can also re-route power, turn off parts of the plant, and perform other tasks which make the plant safer and cleaner.

                One of the advantages of nuclear power is that it does not produce greenhouses gases. It does, however, produce hazardous waste. Spent nuclear fuel is radioactive and extremely dangerous, requiring a substantial infrastructure to secure the power plant and to handle the fuel. Unfortunately, some nations do not have adequate measures for handling their spent fuel in place,, and it is not uncommon to see “temporary” solutions for the storage of nuclear material which last for decades.

                The process of mining and refining the necessary radioactive elements used in a nuclear power plant is also not very clean, and these elements require secure transport, which can add to the cost of nuclear power significantly. Several nations have instituted a moratorium on the development of nuclear power until these problems have been addressed.

Page 72 – Part A (Speaking)

Tony      : do you think the concert was interesting?

Roy        : yeah. I’m really satisfied with the concert.

Tony      : the audience never stopped giving their applause. They also sang together with the vocalist.

Roy        : no wonder. The music group showed their excellent performance.

Tony      : however, I was rather disappointed with the committee.

Roy        : what do you mean?

Tony      : I think they didn’t pay attention the capacity of the hall.

Roy        : why?

Tony      : I think the number of the audience was overloaded. It made the hall very crowded.

Roy        : yes. There were some people who fainted.

Tony      : fortunately, there was no something bad happened.

Page 57 – Part A (Reading)

                We should think twice before deciding to use a credit card. This is so for the following reasons.

                First of all, the biggest disadvantage of credit cards is that they encourage pole to spend money that they don’t have. Most of credit card do not require you to pay off your balance each month, so even if you only have $100, you may be able to spend up to $500 or $1.000 on your credit card. While this may seem like ‘free money’ at the time, you will have to pay it off – and the longer you wait, the more money you will pay off since credit card companies charge you interest each month on the money you have borrowed.

                In addition, there are high Interest Rates and increased Debt – Credit card companies charge you an enormous amount of interest on each balance that you don’t purchases at the end of each month. This is how they make their money and this is how most people in the United States get into owe (and even bankruptcy). Most credit cards charge you up to 10 times that amount of interest on balances. This means that if you have $100 balance that you don’t pay off, you will be charged 20-25% interest on that $100. This means that you owe almost $300 interest (plus the original $100) at the end of the year.

                Credit Card Fraud – Like cash, sometimes credit cards can be stolen. They may be physically stolen (if you lose your wallet) or someone may steal your credit card number (from a receipt, over the phone, of from a Web site) and use your card to rack up debts. The good news is that, unlike cash, if you realize your credit card or number has been stolen and you report it to your credit card company immediately, you will not be charged for any debt that someone else has made.

                These are the reasons why I think we should think twice before owning a credit card.