Standby power - PAU Andalucía 2008

Electrical power has changed our lives and given us phenomenal advantages. But do we know just how much power we are using when we switch things off or put them into standby mode?
Electronic devices like TVs, videos or stereos—anything which has a remote control—have to have live components to allow you to switch them on remotely, so there’s a bit of what’s called standby power. Standby power can range between ten or fifteen watts and occasionally beyond, which on its own is not a lot, but, if you get half a dozen devices on standby, that is the equivalent of a 60 watt bulb.
All around the house we waste power; the modern home is full of equipment that sits ‘half on’ waiting to immediately spring to life when we ask it. In the 1970s a typical home contained 17 energy-using products; today the number has doubled. The rise in popularity of computers and other devices has created a huge need for power; and the large volume of sales has wiped out the effect of energy efficiency measures in new devices. Figures for standby power use in the home are astonishing: TVs alone cost €50 million, and produce a total of 3.1 million tonnes of CO2.
If you don’t turn your PC off completely, it’s always drawing some kind of power. If a million users unplugged their PCs, instead of ‘hibernating’ them, it would save the equivalent of 250 thousand litres of gasoline a day.

READING COMPREHENSION

ANSWER QUESTIONS 1-2 ACCORDING TO THE INFORMATION GIVEN IN THE TEXT. USE YOUR OWN WORDS.  

1)    Why do we waste so much power at home nowadays?

• BECAUSE WE USE A LOT OF ELECTRICAL DEVICES NOWADAYS, 100 PERCENT MORE THAN 17 YEARS AGO.

2)    Have energy efficiency measures cut power consumption significantly? Why?

• NO, BECAUSE MANY DEVICES HAVE BECOME SO POPULAR THAT MORE ENERGY IS CONSUMED.

ARE THESE STATEMENTS TRUE OR FALSE? JUSTIFY YOUR ANSWERS WITH THE PRECISE WORDS OR PHRASES FROM THE TEXT.

3)    The average power consumption of an electronic device in standby mode is 60 watts.

• FALSE: “STANDBY POWER CAN RANGE BETWEEN TEN OR FIFTEEN WATTS” (lines 4-5).

4)    Current homes have lots of electronic devices ready to be switched on at any time

• TRUE: “THE MODERN HOME IS FULL OF EQUIPMENT THAT SITS ‘HALF ON’ WAITING TO IMMEDIATELY SPRING TO LIFE WHEN WE ASK IT” (lines 7-8).

5)    The environmental effect of TVs in standby mode is not significant.

• FALSE: “TVS ALONE  PRODUCE A TOTAL OF 3.1 MILLION TONNES OF CO2” (line 11).

6)    A “hibernated” PC does not use electrical power

• FALSE: “IF YOU DON'T TURN YOUR PC OFF COMPLETELY, IT'S ALWAYS DRAWING SOME KIND OF POWER” (line 12).

USE OF ENGLISH

7)    Give one synonym  for RISE (noun) (line 9).

• lNCREASE. (0.25 points)

8)    Find in the text a word which has the following definition:

"Exchanges of goods or property for money" (noun)

• SALES (line 10)

9)    Give a noun with the same root as ASTONISH (verb) (line 11)

• ASTONISHMENT

10)    Find in the text one opposite for SPEND (verb).

• SAVE (line 13)

11)    Complete the following conditional sentence:

• “If oil prices continue to escalate, I WILL STOP DRIVING”

12)    Fill in the gap with a correct form of the verb in brackets.

• “Do you mind (switch) SWITCHlNG off the TV?”

13)    Turn the following sentence into the passive voice.

"My neighbour is growing roses in the back yard"

• ROSES ARE BEING GROWN (BY MY NEIGHBOUR) lN (HIS/HER) THE BACK YARD.

14)    Join the following sentences using an appropriate linker (do not use AND or BUT). Make changes if necessary.

“I have to watch that TV programme. I don’t like it.”

• I HAVE TO WATCH THAT TV PROGRAMME, ALTHOUGH/EVEN THOUGH I DON'T LIKE lT.I DON'T LIKE THAT TV PROGRAMME THAT I HAVE TO WATCH.

+EXÁMENES RESUELTOS