Solar panels will be installed on the White House roof a quarter of a century after they were removed by President Ronald Reagan.
The move will come as a surprise to many green campaigners after the White House apparently rejected a recent request by environmentalists to install the technology.
It will be the first time since 1986 that solar panels have sat on the White House, since Reagan removed a system installed by his predecessor Jimmy Carter. In 1979 Carter held a conference on the roof, showing off the 32 panels and his desire to reduce the US’s dependence on oil.
The return of solar at the White House follows other symbolic green efforts since Obama took power, including Michelle Obama’s creation of an organic vegetable garden in the White House grounds last year.
Green campaigners have been pressing the president to reinstate solar at the White House. They have been driving around the US in a biodiesel-powered van with one of the original panels installed by Carter.
The campaigners visited the White House in September and made a symbolic demand for the old panel to be reinstalled on the roof. But the request was rejected and no plans for future solar panels were given.
Bill McKibben, who led the campaign, welcomed Obama’s decision to fit new panels: “Solar panels on one house, even this house, won’t save the climate, of course. But they’re a powerful symbol to the whole nation about where the future lies.”
To mark last month’s 10/10/10 day of mass participation climate events around the world, the president of the Maldives also decided to use solar energy. Mohamed Nasheed, whose low-lying island country is at risk from rising sea levels caused by global warming, has installed 50 panels on his presidential home.
Original article by Adam Vaughan, rewritten by Janet Hardy-Gould. guardian.co.uk/weekly/
I. COMPRENSIÓN DE UN TEXTO:
1. Contesta las preguntas con la información del texto. (2 puntos)
A. Why are some people surprised by this decision?
B. What have green campaigners done to make the White House greener?
2. De acuerdo con el texto, di si las siguientes afirmaciones son verdaderas (V) o falsas (F). (2 puntos).
- Obama is the only president who is going to install solar panels on his official home F
- There has never been solar panel at the White House. F
- The green activists are happy with Obama decision. T
- Ronald Regan didn't want this kind of energy at the White House. T
II. GRAMÁTICA Y VOCABULARIO
3. Responde a las siguientes cuestiones: (3 puntos)
A. Find in the text a word opposite for: abhorrence, aversion, disgust:
B. Write the superlative of GREEN:
C. Write the interrogative for the underlined words.
“A mix of different panels will be fitted in spring 2011”
D. Write the negative of the following sentence.
“They have been driving around the US in a biodiesel-powered van”
E. Link the two sentences to form a relative clause.
Solar panels will be installed on the White House roof. They were removed by Pr. Ronald Reagan
F. Complete the following sentence to make a conditional
- If I had solar panels installed on my roof, I would save a lot of energy.
III. REDACCIÓN DE UN TEXTO
4. Escribe un texto de entre 60 y 80 palabras sobre uno de los siguientes temas: (3 puntos)
- A. Advantages and disadvantages of the alternative sources of energy.
- B. Write a letter to the King and suggest the installation of solar panels on the Zarzuela Palace.
+EXÁMENES RESUELTOS
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