Tes Membaca Akademik IELTS 2

Baca teks tentang 'Tenaga Angin di AS' dan jawab beberapa pertanyaan.

Baca teks dan jawab pertanyaan 1-5.

Tenaga Angin di AS

Didorong oleh krisis minyak pada tahun 1970-an, industri tenaga angin berkembang pesat di Amerika
Serikat. Tapi kemudian harga minyak dunia turun, dan pendanaan untuk penelitian energi terbarukan
terpotong. Pada pertengahan 1980-an, minat AS terhadap energi angin sebagai sumber energi berskala
besar hampir menghilang. Pengembangan tenaga angin pada saat ini menderita tidak hanya dari
peralatan yang dirancang dengan buruk, tetapi juga dari perencanaan jangka panjang yang buruk,
proyeksi ekonomi yang terlalu optimis dan sulitnya menemukan lokasi yang cocok untuk turbin angin.

Hanya sekarang kemajuan teknologi mulai menawarkan harapan bahwa tenaga angin akan diterima
sebagai sumber listrik yang andal dan penting. Ada keberhasilan yang signifikan di California, khususnya,
di mana ladang angin sekarang memiliki kapasitas 1500 megawatt, sebanding dengan pembangkit listrik
tenaga nuklir atau berbahan bakar fosil yang besar, dan menghasilkan 1,5 persen dari listrik negara.

Namun demikian, di AS, citra tenaga angin masih terdistorsi oleh kegagalan awal. Salah satu kritik paling
gigih adalah bahwa tenaga angin bukanlah sumber energi yang signifikan. Namun, para peneliti di
Laboratorium Northwest Battelle, memperkirakan bahwa saat ini teknologi turbin angin dapat memasok
20 persen daya listrik yang dibutuhkan negara. Sebagai sumber daya lokal, tenaga angin memiliki
potensi yang lebih besar. Komisi energi Minnesota menghitung bahwa ladang angin di salah satu
punggung barat daya negara bagian itu dapat memasok hampir semua listrik negara itu. North Dakota
sendiri memiliki cukup banyak situs yang cocok untuk ladang angin untuk memasok lebih dari sepertiga
dari seluruh listrik yang dikonsumsi di benua AS.

Gagasan yang berlaku bahwa tenaga angin terlalu mahal dihasilkan sebagian besar dari penelitian awal
yang berfokus pada turbin dengan bilah besar yang tingginya ratusan meter. Mesin-mesin ini tidak
dirancang untuk kemudahan produksi atau pemeliharaan, dan harganya sangat mahal. Karena faktor
utama yang mempengaruhi keseluruhan biaya tenaga angin adalah biaya turbin dan sistem
pendukungnya, termasuk tanah, serta biaya operasi dan pemeliharaan, maka tidak mengherankan jika
diperkirakan pada saat itu bahwa energi angin tidak mungkin dihasilkan. dipasok dengan harga yang
kompetitif secara komersial. Perkembangan yang lebih baru seperti yang terlihat di ladang angin
California telah secara dramatis mengubah gambaran ekonomi untuk energi angin. Sistem ini, seperti
instalasi di Hawaii dan beberapa negara Eropa, telah mendapat manfaat dari skala ekonomi yang datang
melalui manufaktur dan pembelian standar. Hasilnya adalah penurunan dramatis dalam biaya modal:
biaya pemasangan turbin angin baru mencapai $ 1000 per kilowatt pada tahun 1993, turun dari sekitar $
4000 per kilowatt pada tahun 1980, dan terus turun. Peningkatan desain dan program perawatan yang
lebih efisien untuk sejumlah besar turbin telah mengurangi biaya pengoperasian juga. Biaya listrik yang
disalurkan oleh turbin-turbin ladang angin telah berkurang dari sekitar 30 sen per kilowatt-jam menjadi
antara 7 dan 9 sen, yang umumnya lebih murah daripada biaya listrik dari pembangkit listrik
konvensional. Keandalan juga meningkat secara dramatis. Turbin terbaru beroperasi lebih dari 95
persen, dibandingkan dengan sekitar 60 persen pada awal 1980-an. Kesalahpahaman lain adalah bahwa
desain yang ditingkatkan diperlukan untuk membuat tenaga angin layak. Dari banyak desain turbin angin
yang diusulkan atau dibangun oleh penemu atau pengembang, tipe baling-baling, yang didasarkan pada
model analitik terperinci serta data eksperimental yang luas, telah muncul sebagai yang dominan di
antara lebih dari 20.000 alat berat yang sekarang ada di dunia operasi komersial -lebar. Seperti turbin
yang digerakkan oleh gas yang menggerakkan pesawat jet, ini adalah mesin berputar yang canggih.
Mereka sudah sangat efisien, dan tidak ada alasan untuk percaya bahwa konfigurasi lain akan
menghasilkan manfaat besar. Seperti cara-cara lain menghasilkan listrik, tenaga angin tidak membuat
lingkungan sama sekali tidak terluka. Ada banyak masalah potensial, mulai dari gangguan
telekomunikasi hingga berdampak pada satwa liar dan habitat alami. Tetapi efek-efek ini harus
seimbang dengan yang terkait dengan bentuk-bentuk pembangkit listrik lainnya. Pembangkit listrik
konvensional membebankan biaya tersembunyi pada masyarakat, seperti pengendalian polusi udara,
pengelolaan limbah nuklir dan pemanasan global. Karena tenaga angin telah diabaikan di AS selama
beberapa tahun terakhir, keahlian dan eksploitasi komersial di lapangan telah bergeser ke Eropa. Uni
Eropa menghabiskan 10 kali lebih banyak dari pemerintah AS untuk penelitian dan pengembangan
energi angin. Diperkirakan setidaknya 10 persen daya listrik Eropa dapat dipasok oleh turbin angin darat
menggunakan teknologi saat ini. Memang, menurut American Wind Energy Association, sebuah
organisasi independen yang berbasis di Washington, Denmark, Inggris,

1 Pernyataan mana yang benar?

Biaya adalah faktor besar dalam mencegah pengembangan tenaga angin

Tenaga angin dapat menyediakan listrik yang cukup untuk Amerika Serikat

Tenaga angin telah berkembang terus sejak tahun 1970-an.

Beberapa negara bagian AS hanya didukung oleh angin

2. Apa pandangan umum energi angin di Amerika Serikat?

sangat positif
itu hanya dapat menyediakan sejumlah kecil energi

sangat negatif

itu akan mengurangi pemanasan global

3 Manakah dari faktor-faktor ini yang tidak berkontribusi pada pengurangan biaya energi angin?

subsidi negara

standarisasi desain

skala ekonomi

perawatan yang lebih efisien

4 desain turbin angin ...

sudah sangat bagus

diharapkan membaik di masa depan

akan jauh lebih efisien di masa depan

baik untuk lingkungan

5 Energi angin lebih berkembang di Eropa daripada di Amerika Serikat

benar

Salah

Wind Power in the US

Prompted by the oil crises of the 1970s, a wind-power industry flourished briefly in the United States.
But then world oil prices dropped, and funding for research into renewable energy was cut. By the mid
1980s US interest in wind energy as a large-scale source of energy had almost disappeared. The
development of wind power at this time suffered not only from badly designed equipment, but also
from poor long-term planning, economic projections that were too optimistic and the difficulty of
finding suitable locations for the wind turbines.

Only now are technological advances beginning to offer hope that wind power will come to be accepted
as a reliable and important source of electricity. There have been significant successes in California, in
particular, where wind farms now have a capacity of 1500 megawatts, comparable to a large nuclear or
fossil-fuelled power station, and produce 1.5 per cent of the state’s electricity.

Nevertheless, in the US, the image of wind power is still distorted by early failures. One of the most
persistent criticisms is that wind power is not a significant energy resource. Researchers at the Battelle
Northwest Laboratory, however, estimate that today wind turbine technology could supply 20 per cent
of the electrical power the country needs. As a local resource, wind power has even greater potential.
Minnesota’s energy commission calculates that a wind farm on one of the state’s south western ridges
could supply almost all that state’s electricity. North Dakota alone has enough sites suitable for wind
farms to supply more than a third of all electricity consumed in the continental US.

The prevailing notion that wind power is too costly results largely from early research which focused on
turbines with huge blades that stood hundreds of metres tall. These machines were not designed for
ease of production or maintenance, and they were enormously expensive. Because the major factors
influencing the overall cost of wind power are the cost of the turbine and its supporting systems,
including land, as well as operating and maintenance costs, it is hardly surprising that it was thought at
the time that wind energy could not be supplied at a commercially competitive price. More recent
developments such as those seen on California wind farms have dramatically changed the economic
picture for wind energy. These systems, like installations in Hawaii and several European countries, have
benefited from the economies of scale that come through standardised manufacturing and purchasing.
The result has been a dramatic drop in capital costs: the installed cost of new wind turbines stood at
$1000 per kilowatt in 1993, down from about $4000 per kilowatt in 1980, and continues to fall. Design
improvements and more efficient maintenance programs for large numbers of turbines have reduced
operating costs as well. The cost of electricity delivered by wind farm turbines has decreased from about
30 cents per kilowatt-hour to between 7 and 9 cents, which is generally less than the cost of electricity
from conventional power stations. Reliability has also improved dramatically. The latest turbines run
more than 95 per cent of the time, compared with around 60 per cent in the early 1980s. Another
misconception is that improved designs are needed to make wind power feasible. Out of the numerous
wind turbine designs proposed or built by inventors or developers, the propeller-blade type, which is
based on detailed analytical models as well as extensive experimental data, has emerged as
predominant among the more than 20,000 machines now in commercial operation world-wide. Like the
gas-driven turbines that power jet aircraft, these are sophisticated pieces of rotating machinery. They
are already highly efficient, and there is no reason to believe that other configurations will produce
major benefits. Like other ways of generating electricity, wind power does not leave the environment
entirely unharmed. There are many potential problems, ranging from interference with
telecommunications to impact on wildlife and natural habitats. But these effects must be balanced
against those associated with other forms of electricity generation. Conventional power stations impose
hidden costs on society, such as the control of air pollution, the management of nuclear waste and
global warming. As wind power has been ignored in the US over the past few years, expertise and
commercial exploitation in the field have shifted to Europe. The European Union spends 10 times as
much as the US government on research and development of wind energy. It estimates that at least 10
per cent of Europe’s electrical power could be supplied by land-based wind-turbines using current
technology. Indeed, according to the American Wind Energy Association, an independent organisation
based in Washington, Denmark, Britain, Spain and the Netherlands will each surpass the US in the
generating capacity of wind turbines installed during the rest of the decade.

1 Which one of the statements is true?

A. Cost was a big factor in preventing the development of wind power✓

B. Wind power has developed steadily since the 1970s.

C. Wind power can provide enough electricty for the United States

D.Some US states are powered solely by wind

2 What is the general view of wind energy in the United States?

A. very positive

B. it can only provide small amounts of energy ✓

C. it will reduce global warming

D. very negative

3 Which of these factors has not contributed to the reduced cost of wind energy?

A. standardisation of design

B.state subsidies ✓

C.economies of scale

D.more efficient maintenance

4 Wind turbine designs ...

A. are already very good ✓

B. will be much more efficient in the future

C. are good for the environment

D. are expected to improve in the future

5 Wind energy is more developed in Europe than the USA

A. false

B. true ✓

Text 2

Most likely the Kraken is based on a real creature - the giant squid. The huge mollusc takes pride of
place as the personification of the terrors of the deep sea. Sailors would have encountered it at the
surface, dying, and probably thrashing about. It would have made a weird sight, "about the most alien
thing you can imagine," says Edith Widder, CEO at the Ocean Research and Conservation Association.

"It has eight lashing arms and two slashing tentacles growing straight out of its head and it's got
serrated suckers that can latch on to the slimiest of prey and it's got a parrot beak that can rip flesh. It's
got an eye the size of your head, it's got a jet propulsion system and three hearts that pump blue blood."

The giant squid continued to dominate stories of sea monsters with the famous 1870 novel, Twenty
Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, by Jules Verne. Verne's submarine fantasy is a classic story of puny
man against a gigantic squid.

The monster needed no embellishment - this creature was scary enough, and Verne incorporated as
much fact as possible into the story, says Emily Alder from Edinburgh Napier University. "Twenty
Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and another contemporaneous book, Victor Hugo's Toilers of the Sea,
both tried to represent the giant squid as they might have been actual zoological animals, much more
taking the squid as a biological creature than a mythical creature." It was a given that the squid was
vicious and would readily attack humans given the chance.

That myth wasn't busted until 2012, when Edith Widder and her colleagues were the first people to
successfully film giant squid under water and see first-hand the true character of the monster of the
deep. They realised previous attempts to film squid had failed because the bright lights and noisy
thrusters on submersibles had frightened them away.

By quietening down the engines and using bioluminescence to attract it, they managed to see this
most extraordinary animal in its natural habitat. It serenely glided into view, its body rippled with
metallic colours of bronze and silver. Its huge, intelligent eye watched the submarine warily as it
delicately picked at the bait with its beak. It was balletic and mesmeric. It could not have been further
from the gnashing, human-destroying creature of myth and literature. In reality this is a gentle giant that
is easily scared and pecks at its food.

Another giant squid lies peacefully in the Natural History Museum in London, in the Spirit Room,
where it is preserved in a huge glass case. In 2004 it was caught in a fishing net off the Falkland Islands
and died at the surface. The crew immediately froze its body and it was sent to be preserved in the
museum by the Curator of Molluscs, Jon Ablett. It is called Archie, an affectionate short version of its
Latin name Architeuthis dux. It is the longest preserved specimen of a giant squid in the world.

"It really has brought science to life for many people," says Ablett. "Sometimes I feel a bit
overshadowed by Archie, most of my work is on slugs and snails but unfortunately most people don't
want to talk about that!"

And so today we can watch Archie's graceful relative on film and stare Archie herself (she is a female)
eye-to-eye in a museum. But have we finally slain the monster of the deep? Now we know there is
nothing to be afraid of, can the Kraken finally be laid to rest? Probably not says Classen. "We humans
are afraid of the strangest things. They don't need to be realistic. There's no indication that
enlightenment and scientific progress has banished the monsters from the shadows of our imaginations.
We will continue to be afraid of very strange things, including probably sea monsters."

Indeed we are. The Kraken made a fearsome appearance in the blockbuster series Pirates of the
Caribbean. It forced Captain Jack Sparrow to face his demons in a terrifying face-to-face encounter.
Pirates needed the monstrous Kraken, nothing else would do. Or, as the German film director Werner
Herzog put it, "What would an ocean be without a monster lurking in the dark? It would be like sleep
without dreams."

1.Who wrote a novel about a giant squid?

A.Emily Alder

B.Stephen King

C.Alfred Lord Tennyson

D.Jules Verne ✓

2, of the featuring body parts, mollusc DOESN'T have?

A.two tentacles

B.serrated suckers

C.beak

D.smooth suckers ✓

3. Which of the following applies to the bookish Kraken?

A.notorious

B.scary✓

C.weird

D.harmless

4.Where can we see a giant squid?

A.at the museum✓

B.at a seaside

C.on TV

D. in supermarkets

5.The main purpose of the text is to:

A.help us to understand more about both mythical and biological creatures of the deep✓

B.illustrate the difference between Kraken and squid

C.shed the light on the mythical creatures of the ocean

D.compare Kraken to its real relative