PAKISTAN SCHOOL MUSCAT
WORKSHEET
FIRST TERM - ACADEMIC SESSION (2024-25)
Subject: English Class: VIII Section:
Topic: Summary Writing Revision Test # 1 Marks: 05
Name: Date:
Read the following article about using wind turbines to produce electricity.
Write a summary about the advantages and disadvantages of using wind turbines to produce electricity.
Your summary should be about 100 words long (and no more than 120 words long). You should use your own
words as far as possible.
Wind power
Wind is a result of the sun unevenly heating the earth’s surface; air heated by the sun rises and cooler air moves into
the space left by the warm air. This movement becomes wind, and we can use this energy for our own purposes.
Using wind power is not a new idea, of course. For thousands of years, sailors and fishermen have used sails to
capture the energy of the wind, and farmers have used windmills to grind their grains and pump water. But in the last
20 years, a large number of wind turbines have been built in many parts of the world for the purpose of generating
electricity.
Although producing energy from wind power is becoming increasingly popular, wind turbines still only provide a
small amount of the world’s energy. The advantages and disadvantages of using wind power in comparison with other
energy sources – nuclear power; fossil fuels like oil, gas and coal; and renewable sources such as solar and wave
power – have been the subject of much debate.
Wind power is a relatively clean source of energy. In fact, the impact on the environment is insignificant when
compared with the greenhouse gases and other pollutants caused by burning fossil fuels. Wind is also renewable; we
cannot use up the wind in the way that we can use up oil or gas. However, wind is not constant, which means that
turbines do not produce the same amount of energy all the time.
Once turbines have been manufactured and installed, wind energy is cheap because the wind itself is free. Turbines
also take up less space than the power plants associated with nuclear power and fossil fuels. Although they can be tall,
each turbine only occupies a small area of land.
In more remote locations where it may be difficult to connect to main power grids, wind turbines are a very useful
resource. They can also be designed to supply energy to communities of different sizes, although huge wind farms are
necessary to produce sufficient energy for larger communities.
There are mixed opinions about the visual impact of wind turbines on the landscape. Many people think that wind
farms on the land and at sea are ugly structures, which spoil areas of natural beauty. They can be noisy as well, and
people living near them sometimes find the noise level disturbing. There has also been research showing that the
rotating blades of turbines kill birds and bats which fly into them by accident. There is no doubt, however, that
pollution from fossil fuel energy use has a much more harmful effect on wildlife and natural habitats – thousands of
birds have been killed asa result of oil spills.
No single source of energy is entirely problem-free, and it is likely that our future energy requirements will have to be
met by a combination of different energy sources. However, energy experts predict that if the wind industry continues
to grow at the same rate, by 2050 the answer to 30% of the world’s electricity needs could be found blowing in the
wind.
Summary:
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Sample answer:
Wind is caused by the sun heating the Earth unevenly, making warm air rise and cooler air move in. People have
used wind power for centuries, and today, wind turbines create electricity in many places. Wind energy is clean,
renewable, and better for the environment than fossil fuels, but it doesn’t work all the time because wind isn’t
constant. Turbines are cheap to run after being built and don’t need much space. However, some people dislike
their noise and appearance, and they can harm birds and bats. Still, experts believe wind power could meet 30%
of the world’s electricity needs by 2050.
