The Reading / Listening - Nuclear Fusion - Level 6

There has been a relentless quest to find sustainable energy sources in the past decades. One source of energy that has thus far eluded scientists is nuclear fusion. This is the Holy Grail of clean energy. Generations of physicists have tried to replicate this reaction. Scientists in the USA say they recreated the power of the Sun for a minuscule fraction of a second. Powerful lasers blasted a tiny target to create a reaction. The burst lasted just 100 trillionths of a second, but it created 10 quadrillion watts of power. Ten quadrillion is equal to 1 followed by 16 zeros. The power the scientists created is the equivalent of 6 per cent of all the energy from the Sun hitting Earth's surface at any given moment.

Nuclear fusion powers the Sun and other stars. The website cnet.com said it is "a long-sought-after panacea for many energy and environmental challenges". Nuclear fusion power plants could solve our clean energy conundrum and provide infinite, safe, clean and green power. It could also reverse the damage we do to the environment. Physicist Dr Debbie Callahan, who worked on the experiment, spoke about the breakthrough. She said it is a "huge advance for fusion" and a big step toward generating "a net-positive amount of energy". Futurism.com said: "The promise is as lucrative as it has ever been – an infinite supply of carbon-neutral energy without ever running the risk of a nuclear meltdown."

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

    Nuclear Fusion - Level 4  or  Nuclear Fusion - Level 5

Sources
  • https://www.cnet.com/news/get-20-off-an-entire-year-of-nordvpn-and-protect-your-online-activity-for-only-47-20/
  • https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/nuclear-fusion-breakthrough-could-unlock-215644282.html
  • https://futurism.com/scientists-edge-fusion-power-breakthrough


Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice activities, drag and drop activities, sentence jumbles, which word activities, text reconstructions, spelling, gap fills and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Warm-ups

1. CLEAN ENERGY: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about clean energy. Change partners often and share your findings.
2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, talk about these topics or words from the article. What will the article say about them? What can you say about these words and your life?
       quest / sustainable / the past decades / Holy Grail / physicists / lasers / energy / Sun
       panacea / challenges / conundrum / green / environment / experiment / risk
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. CLEAN: Students A strongly believe all energy will be clean in the future; Students B strongly believe it won't. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. SCIENTISTS: What do these scientists do? How will they improve our world in the next century? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

 

What They Do

Improvements

Physicists

 

 

Chemists

 

 

Biologists

 

 

Computer Scientists

 

 

Meteorologists

 

 

Roboticists

 

 
MY e-BOOK
ESL resource book with copiable worksheets and handouts - 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers / English teachers
See a sample

5. NUCLEAR: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "nuclear". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.
6. ENERGY: Rank these with your partner. Put the best kind of energy at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

  • Nuclear fusion
  • Conventional nuclear
  • Oil
  • Coal
  • Wind
  • Biofuel
  • Tidal power
  • Geothermal

 

Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

      1. relentless a. Extremely small; tiny.
      2. quest b. A long search for something.
      3. sustainable c. Failed to attain an achievement, or something desired or pursued.
      4. eluded d. Non-stop.
      5. replicate e. Equal in value, amount, function, meaning, etc.
      6. minuscule f. Able to be maintained at a certain rate or level.
      7. equivalent g. Make an exact copy of; reproduce.

    Paragraph 2

      8. panacea h. A sudden, dramatic, and important discovery or development.
      9. conundrum i. Limitless or endless in space, extent, or size; impossible to measure or calculate.
      10. infinite j. Making no net release of CO2 to the atmosphere, especially through offsetting emissions by planting trees.
      11. breakthrough k. A solution or remedy for all difficulties or diseases.
      12. lucrative l. A confusing and difficult problem or question.
      13. carbon-neutral m. A disastrous event caused by the overheating or the reactor core in a nuclear reactor.
      14. nuclear meltdown n. Producing a great deal of profit.

 

Before reading / listening

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if 1-8 below are true (T) or false (F).

  1. The article calls nuclear fusion the Holy Grail of clean energy.     T / F
  2. Scientists recreated the power of the Sun for a split second.     T / F
  3. Scientists created a reaction that lasted a billionth of a second.     T / F
  4. One quadrillion is a zero followed by 15 zeros.     T / F
  5. A website said nuclear fusion would address many challenges.     T / F
  6. The article says nuclear fusion wouldn't reverse damage done to Earth.   T / F
  7. A scientist called the test a huge advance for nuclear fusion.     T / F
  8. Nuclear fusion would end the risk of nuclear meltdowns.     T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

  1. relentless
  2. eluded
  3. replicate
  4. minuscule
  5. equivalent
  6. panacea
  7. conundrum
  8. breakthrough
  9. lucrative
  10. risk
  1. cure-all
  2. tiny
  3. advance
  4. evaded
  5. problem
  6. possibility
  7. non-stop
  8. profitable
  9. copy
  10. parallel

3. PHRASE MATCH: (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)

  1. a relentless quest
  2. One source of energy that has thus
  3. This is the Holy Grail
  4. for a minuscule
  5. the equivalent of 6 per cent of
  6. a long-sought-after
  7. solve our
  8. reverse the damage we do
  9. a net-positive
  10. without ever running the risk of a
  1. panacea
  2. fraction of a second
  3. amount of energy
  4. far eluded scientists
  5. clean energy conundrum
  6. all the energy from the Sun
  7. nuclear meltdown
  8. to find sustainable energy
  9. to the environment
  10. of clean energy

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
replicate
surface
relentless
tiny
equivalent
minuscule
eluded
quadrillion

There has been a (1) _____________________ quest to find sustainable energy sources in the past decades. One source of energy that has thus far (2) _____________________ scientists is nuclear fusion. This is the Holy Grail of clean energy. Generations of physicists have tried to (3) _____________________ this reaction. Scientists in the USA say they recreated the power of the Sun for a (4) _____________________ fraction of a second. Powerful lasers blasted a (5) _____________________ target to create a reaction. The burst lasted just 100 trillionths of a second, but it created 10 (6) _____________________ watts of power. Ten quadrillion is equal to 1 followed by 16 zeros. The power the scientists created is the (7) _____________________ of 6 per cent of all the energy from the Sun hitting Earth's (8) _____________________ at any given moment.

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
meltdown
powers
net
reverse
infinite
infinite
sought
breakthrough

Nuclear fusion (9) _____________________ the Sun and other stars. The website cnet.com said it is "a long-(10) _____________________ -after panacea for many energy and environmental challenges". Nuclear fusion power plants could solve our clean energy conundrum and provide (11) _____________________, safe, clean and green power. It could also (12) _____________________ the damage we do to the environment. Physicist Dr Debbie Callahan, who worked on the experiment, spoke about the (13) _____________________. She said it is a "huge advance for fusion" and a big step toward generating "a (14) _____________________ -positive amount of energy". Futurism.com said: "The promise is as lucrative as it has ever been - an (15) _____________________ supply of carbon-neutral energy without ever running the risk of a nuclear (16) _____________________."

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1)  There has been ______
     a.  a relentless guest
     b.  a relentless quest
     c.  a relentless jest
     d.  a relentless gest
2)  One source of energy that has thus ______
     a.  far deluded scientists
     b.  far alluded scientists
     c.  far eluded scientists
     d.  far concluded scientists
3)  Generations of physicists have tried to ______
     a.  replicate this reaction
     b.  supplicate this reaction
     c.  triplicate this reaction
     d.  lubricate this reaction
4)  The burst lasted just 100 trillionths of a second, but it created 10 quadrillion ______
     a.  watts of power
     b.  litres of power
     c.  gigabytes of power
     d.  horsepower of power
5)  all the energy from the Sun hitting Earth's surface at ______
     a.  any taken moment
     b.  any being moment
     c.  any given moment
     d.  any pushed moment

6)  Nuclear fusion power plants could solve our ______
     a.  clean energy compendium
     b.  clean energy conundrum
     c.  clean energy consortium
     d.  clean energy contraption
7)  and provide infinite, safe, clean ______
     a.  and green powering
     b.  and green powered
     c.  and green powers
     d.  and green power
8) Dr Debbie Callahan, who worked on the experiment, spoke ______
     a.  about the thorough break
     b.  about the breaks through
     c.  about the breakthrough
     d.  about the break though
9)  The promise is as lucrative as it has ever been - ______
     a.  an infinity supply
     b.  an infinite supply
     c.  an infinitely supply
     d.  an infinites supply
10)  an infinite supply of carbon-neutral energy without ever running the risk of ______
     a.  an unclear meltdown
     b.  anew clear melt up
     c.  a new, clear meltdown
     d.  a nuclear meltdown

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

There has been a relentless (1) ____________________ sustainable energy sources in the past decades. One source of energy that has (2) ____________________ scientists is nuclear fusion. This is the Holy Grail of clean energy. Generations of physicists have tried to (3) ____________________. Scientists in the USA say they recreated the power of the Sun for a minuscule (4) ____________________ second. Powerful lasers blasted a tiny target to create a reaction. The burst lasted just 100 trillionths of a second, but it created 10 quadrillion (5) ____________________. Ten quadrillion is equal to 1 followed by 16 zeros. The power the scientists created is the equivalent of 6 per cent of all the energy from the Sun hitting Earth's surface at (6) ____________________.

Nuclear fusion (7) ____________________ and other stars. The website cnet.com said it is "a long-sought-(8) ____________________ many energy and environmental challenges". Nuclear fusion power plants could solve our (9) ____________________ and provide infinite, safe, clean and green power. It could also reverse the damage we do to the environment. Physicist Dr Debbie Callahan, who worked on the experiment, spoke about the breakthrough. She said it is a "(10) ____________________ fusion" and a big step toward generating "a net-(11) ____________________ energy". Futurism.com said: "The promise is as lucrative as it has ever been - an infinite supply of carbon-neutral energy without ever (12) ____________________ of a nuclear meltdown."

Comprehension questions

  1. What has there been a relentless quest to find?
  2. What does the article say is the Holy Grail of clean energy?
  3. What did lasers blast?
  4. How long did the laser burst last?
  5. What was the power generated the equivalent of?
  6. What did the website cnet.com call nuclear fusion?
  7. What could nuclear fusion do to our environmental damage?
  8. What conundrum could nuclear fusion solve?
  9. What did a scientist say the test was a big step toward generating?
  10. What does nuclear fusion mean there is no risk of?

Multiple choice quiz

1) What has there been a relentless quest to find?
a) the key to perpetual motion
b) the meaning of life
c) the elixir of life
d) sustainable energy sources
2) What does the article say is the Holy Grail of clean energy?
a) solar power
b) nuclear fusion
c) wind power
d) air power
3) What did lasers blast?
a) nuclear
b) a reactor
c) a tiny target
d) a conundrum
4) How long did the laser burst last?
a) just 100 trillionths of a second
b) 100 billionths of a second
c) 100 trillionths of a second
d) 10 quadrillionths of a second
5) What was the power generated the equivalent of?
a) six suns
b) 10 quadrillion volts
c) six per cent of the Sun's energy
d) 826 nuclear reactors

6) What did the website cnet.com call nuclear fusion?
a) a much-needed pick-me-up
b) a long-sought-after panacea
c) mind-blowing
d) mind-bending
7) What could nuclear fusion do to our environmental damage?
a) maintain a status quo
b) cancel it
c) exacerbate it
d) reverse it
8) What conundrum could nuclear fusion solve?
a) our clean energy conundrum
b) one of Einstein's theories
c) the overpopulation conundrum
d) the conundrum of all conundrums
9) What did a scientist say the test was a big step toward generating?
a) free energy
b) a non-polluted world
c) a net-positive amount of energy
d) huge profits for energy companies

10) What does nuclear fusion mean there is no risk of?
a) pollution
b) a nuclear meltdown
c) accidents
d) running out of power

Role play

Role  A – Nuclear Fusion
You think nuclear fusion is the best form of energy. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their forms. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): oil, biofuel or solar.

Role  B – Oil
You think oil is the best form of energy. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their forms. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): nuclear fusion, biofuel or solar.

Role  C – Biofuel
You think biofuel is the best form of energy. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their forms. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): oil, nuclear fusion or solar.

Role  D – Solar
You think solar is the best form of energy. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their forms. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): oil, biofuel or nuclear fusion.

After reading / listening

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionary / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words...

'energy'

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________

    • and 'revolution'.

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________

    • • Share your findings with your partners.

    • Make questions using the words you found.

    • Ask your partner / group your questions.

    2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.

    •Share your questions with other classmates / groups. •Ask your partner / group your questions.

    3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the activity. Were they new, interesting, worth learning…?

    4. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.

    5. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall how they were used in the text:

    • quest
    • far
    • tiny
    • 100
    • followed
    • moment
    • stars
    • solve
    • reverse
    • spoke
    • huge
    • risk

    Student survey

    Write five GOOD questions about this topic in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper. When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

    (Please look at page 12 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

    Discussion - Nuclear Fusion

    STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

    1. What did you think when you read the headline?
    2. What images are in your mind when you hear the word 'energy'?
    3. What do you know about nuclear fusion?
    4. Have you ever been in a relentless quest?
    5. Why is clean energy a Holy Grail?
    6. How might nuclear fusion change the world?
    7. Would you like to be a physicist?
    8. How can we harness the power of the Sun?
    9. What do you think of the numbers in the experiment?
    10. What three adjectives best describe this story?

    STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

    1. Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
    2. What do you think of when you hear the word 'revolution'?
    3. What do you think about what you read?
    4. What energy challenges does our planet face?
    5. What environmental challenges does Earth face?
    6. What conundrums do you face in life?
    7. What's the difference between nuclear fusion and nuclear fission?
    8. What energy sources will we be using in 50 years' time?
    9. What damage does a nuclear meltdown cause?
    10. What questions would you like to ask the physicists?

    Discussion — Write your own questions

    STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

    (a) ________________

    (b) ________________

    (c) ________________

    (d) ________________

    (e) ________________

    STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

    (f) ________________

    (g) ________________

    (h) ________________

    (i) ________________

    (j) ________________

    Language — Cloze (Gap-fill)

    There has been a relentless (1) ____ to find sustainable energy sources in the past decades. One source of energy that has thus (2) ____ eluded scientists is nuclear fusion. This is the Holy Grail of clean energy. Generations of physicists have tried to (3) ____ this reaction. Scientists in the USA say they recreated the power of the Sun for a (4) ____ fraction of a second. Powerful lasers blasted a tiny target to create a reaction. The burst lasted just 100 trillionths of a second, but it created 10 quadrillion watts of power. Ten quadrillion is (5) ____ to 1 followed by 16 zeros. The power the scientists created is the equivalent of 6 per cent of all the energy from the Sun hitting Earth's surface (6) ____ any given moment.

    Nuclear fusion powers the Sun and other stars. The website cnet.com said it is "a (7) ____ -sought-after panacea for many energy and environmental challenges". Nuclear fusion power plants could solve our clean energy (8) ____ and provide infinite, safe, clean and green power. It could also reverse the damage we do to the environment. Physicist Dr Debbie Callahan, who worked (9) ____ the experiment, spoke about the breakthrough. She said it is a "huge advance for fusion" and a big step toward generating "a (10) ____-positive amount of energy". Futurism.com said: "The promise is as (11) ____ as it has ever been - an infinite supply of carbon-neutral energy without ever (12) ____ the risk of a nuclear meltdown."

    Which of these words go in the above text?

    1. (a)     quell     (b)     quest     (c)     guest     (d)     jest    
    2. (a)     for     (b)     far     (c)     fir     (d)     from    
    3. (a)     applicant     (b)     supplicate     (c)     triplicate     (d)     replicate    
    4. (a)     macro     (b)     minuscule     (c)     microscope     (d)     millipede    
    5. (a)     equality     (b)     equal     (c)     equals     (d)     equalise    
    6. (a)     to     (b)     on     (c)     at     (d)     up    
    7. (a)     short     (b)     wide     (c)     long     (d)     deep    
    8. (a)     addendum     (b)     compendium     (c)     conundrum     (d)     regimen    
    9. (a)     by     (b)     of     (c)     at     (d)     on    
    10. (a)     net     (b)     gross     (c)     taxed     (d)     minus    
    11. (a)     lucrative     (b)     negatively     (c)     upend     (d)     authored    
    12. (a)     ruining     (b)     arraigning     (c)     running     (d)     arranging

    Spelling

    Paragraph 1

    1. There has been a tleslernse quest
    2. energy that has thus far dludee scientists
    3. tried to tpecariel this reaction
    4. 100 ihirstolltn of a second
    5. 10 dlourqinlai watts of power.
    6. the teniluqaev of 6 per cent

    Paragraph 2

    1. a long-sought-after aeapacn
    2. solve our clean energy nrdnumcou
    3. provide tninieif, safe, clean and green power
    4. ciyphists Dr Debbie Callahan
    5. as aicetlurv as it has ever been
    6. carbon-alrnuet energy

    Put the text back together

    (...)  generating "a net-positive amount of energy". Futurism.com said: "The promise is as lucrative as it has ever
    (...)  Nuclear fusion powers the Sun and other stars. The website cnet.com said it is "a long-sought-
    (...)  target to create a reaction. The burst lasted just 100 trillionths of a second, but it created 10
    (...)  been - an infinite supply of carbon-neutral energy without ever running the risk of a nuclear meltdown."
    (...)  quadrillion watts of power. Ten quadrillion is equal to 1 followed by 16 zeros. The power the scientists created is the
    (  1  ) There has been a relentless quest to find sustainable energy sources in the past decades. One source of
    (...)  about the breakthrough. She said it is a "huge advance for fusion" and a big step toward
    (...)  of physicists have tried to replicate this reaction. Scientists in the USA say they recreated the
    (...)  energy that has thus far eluded scientists is nuclear fusion. This is the Holy Grail of clean energy. Generations
    (...)  solve our clean energy conundrum and provide infinite, safe, clean and green power. It could also reverse the
    (...)  damage we do to the environment. Physicist Dr Debbie Callahan, who worked on the experiment, spoke
    (...)  after panacea for many energy and environmental challenges". Nuclear fusion power plants could
    (...)  equivalent of 6 per cent of all the energy from the Sun hitting Earth's surface at any given moment.
    (...)  power of the Sun for a minuscule fraction of a second. Powerful lasers blasted a tiny

    Put the words in the right order

    1. to   relentless   A   find   quest   sources   .   energy   sustainable
    2. thus   scientists   .   has   far   Energy   that   eluded
    3. replicate   physicists   reaction   .   tried   of   this   Generations   to
    4. minuscule   second   .   fraction   a   a   of   For
    5. is   followed   Ten   by   quadrillion   one   zeros   .   sixteen
    6. Nuclear   stars   .   Sun   the   powers   other   and   fusion
    7. clean   fusion   our   Nuclear   solve   could   conundrum   .   energy
    8. the   do   to   the   we   environment   .   Reverse   damage
    9. promise   as   lucrative   as   is   ever   .   The
    10. a   of   meltdown   .   nuclear   ever   running   the   Without   risk

    Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

    There has been a relentless quest / question to find sustainable energy sources in the past decades. One source of energy that has thus far deluded / eluded scientists is nuclear fusion. This is the Holy Grail of clean energy. Generations of physicists have tried to complicate / replicate this reaction. Scientists in the USA say they recreated the powerful / power of the Sun for a minuscule fraction / friction of a second. Powerful lasers blistered / blasted a tiny target to create a reaction. The bust / burst lasted just 100 trillionths of a second, but it created 10 quadrillion whys / watts of power. Ten quadrillion is equal to 1 followed / following by 16 zeros. The power the scientists created is the equivalent of 6 per cent of all the energy from the Sun hitting Earth's surface at any given momentum / moment.

    Nuclear fusion powers / strengthens the Sun and other stars. The website cnet.com said it is "a long-sought-after panacea for much / many energy and environmental challenges". Nuclear fusion power plants could absolve / solve our clean energy compendium / conundrum and provide infinite, safe, clean and green power. It could also reserve / reverse the damage we do to the environment. Physicist Dr Debbie Callahan, who worked on / in the experiment, spoke about the breakthrough / breakout. She said it is a "huge advance for fusion" and a big step forward / toward generating "a net-positive amount of energy". Futurism.com said: "The promise is was / as lucrative as it has ever been - an infinite supply of carbon-neutral energy without ever ruining / running the risk of a nuclear meltdown."

    Talk about the connection between each pair of words in italics, and why the correct word is correct.

    Insert the vowels (a, e, i, o, u)

    Th_r_  h_s  b__n  _  r_l_ntl_ss  q__st  t_  f_nd  s_st__n_bl_  _n_rgy  s__rc_s  _n  th_  p_st  d_c_d_s.  _n_  s__rc_  _f  _n_rgy  th_t  h_s  th_s  f_r  _l_d_d  sc__nt_sts  _s  n_cl__r  f_s__n.  Th_s  _s  th_  H_ly  Gr__l  _f  cl__n  _n_rgy.  G_n_r_t__ns  _f  phys_c_sts  h_v_  tr__d  t_  r_pl_c_t_  th_s  r__ct__n.  Sc__nt_sts  _n  th_  _S_  s_y  th_y  r_cr__t_d  th_  p_w_r  _f  th_  S_n  f_r  _  m_n_sc_l_  fr_ct__n  _f  _  s_c_nd.  P_w_rf_l  l_s_rs  bl_st_d  _  t_ny  t_rg_t  t_  cr__t_  _  r__ct__n.  Th_  b_rst  l_st_d  j_st  100  tr_ll__nths  _f  _  s_c_nd,  b_t  _t  cr__t_d  10  q__dr_ll__n  w_tts  _f  p_w_r.  T_n  q__dr_ll__n  _s  _q__l  t_  1  f_ll_w_d  by  16  z_r_s.  Th_  p_w_r  th_  sc__nt_sts  cr__t_d  _s  th_  _q__v_l_nt  _f  6  p_r  c_nt  _f  _ll  th_  _n_rgy  fr_m  th_  S_n  h_tt_ng  __rth's  s_rf_c_  _t  _ny  g_v_n  m_m_nt.

    N_cl__r  f_s__n  p_w_rs  th_  S_n  _nd  _th_r  st_rs.  Th_  w_bs_t_  cn_t.c_m  s__d  _t  _s  "_  l_ng-s__ght-_ft_r  p_n_c__  f_r  m_ny  _n_rgy  _nd  _nv_r_nm_nt_l  ch_ll_ng_s".  N_cl__r  f_s__n  p_w_r  pl_nts  c__ld  s_lv_  __r  cl__n  _n_rgy  c_n_ndr_m  _nd  pr_v_d_  _nf_n_t_,  s_f_,  cl__n  _nd  gr__n  p_w_r.  _t  c__ld  _ls_  r_v_rs_  th_  d_m_g_  w_  d_  t_  th_  _nv_r_nm_nt.  Phys_c_st  Dr  D_bb__  C_ll_h_n,  wh_  w_rk_d  _n  th_  _xp_r_m_nt,  sp_k_  _b__t  th_  br__kthr__gh.  Sh_  s__d  _t  _s  _  "h_g_  _dv_nc_  f_r  f_s__n"  _nd  _  b_g  st_p  t_w_rd  g_n_r_t_ng  "_  n_t-p_s_t_v_  _m__nt  _f  _n_rgy".  F_t_r_sm.c_m  s__d:  "Th_  pr_m_s_  _s  _s  l_cr_t_v_  _s  _t  h_s  _v_r  b__n  -  _n  _nf_n_t_  s_pply  _f  c_rb_n  n__tr_l  _n_rgy  w_th__t  _v_r  r_nn_ng  th_  r_sk  _f  _  n_cl__r  m_ltd_wn."

    Punctuate the text and add capitals

    there has been a relentless quest to find sustainable energy sources in the past decades one source of energy that has thus far eluded scientists is nuclear fusion this is the holy grail of clean energy generations of physicists have tried to replicate this reaction scientists in the usa say they recreated the power of the sun for a minuscule fraction of a second powerful lasers blasted a tiny target to create a reaction the burst lasted just 100 trillionths of a second but it created 10 quadrillion watts of power ten quadrillion is equal to 1 followed by 16 zeros the power the scientists created is the equivalent of 6 per cent of all the energy from the sun hitting earths surface at any given moment

    nuclear fusion powers the sun and other stars the website cnetcom said it is a longsoughtafter panacea for many energy and environmental challenges nuclear fusion power plants could solve our clean energy conundrum and provide infinite safe clean and green power it could also reverse the damage we do to the environment physicist dr debbie callahan who worked on the experiment spoke about the breakthrough she said it is a huge advance for fusion and a big step toward generating a netpositive amount of energy futurismcom said the promise is as lucrative as it has ever been  an infinite supply of carbon-neutral energy without ever running the risk of a nuclear meltdown

    Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

    Therehasbeenarelentlessquesttofindsustainableenergysourcesinth
    epastdecades.Onesourceofenergythathasthusfareludedscientistsis
    nuclearfusion.ThisistheHolyGrailofcleanenergy.Generationsofphysi
    cistshavetriedtoreplicatethisreaction.ScientistsintheUSAsaytheyrec
    reatedthepoweroftheSunforaminusculefractionofasecond.Powerfull
    asersblastedatinytargettocreateareaction.Theburstlastedjust100tri
    llionthsofasecond,butitcreated10quadrillionwattsofpower.Tenquad
    rillionisequalto1followedby16zeros.Thepowerthescientistscreatedis
    theequivalentof6percentofalltheenergyfromtheSunhittingEarth'ssu
    rfaceatanygivenmoment.NuclearfusionpowerstheSunandotherstar
    s.Thewebsitecnet.comsaiditis"along-sought-afterpanaceaforman
    yenergyandenvironmentalchallenges".Nuclearfusionpowerplantsco
    uldsolveourcleanenergyconundrumandprovideinfinite,safe,cleanan
    dgreenpower.Itcouldalsoreversethedamagewedototheenvironment
    .PhysicistDrDebbieCallahan,whoworkedontheexperiment,spokeab
    outthebreakthrough.Shesaiditisa"hugeadvanceforfusion"andabigst
    eptowardgenerating"anet-positiveamountofenergy".Futurism.com
    said:"Thepromiseisaslucrativeasithaseverbeen-aninfinitesupplyofc
    arbonneutralenergywithouteverrunningtheriskofanuclearmeltdown."

    Free writing

    Write about nuclear fusion for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

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    Academic writing

    Write about clean energy for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner's paper.

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

     

    Homework

    1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google's search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.
    2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find out more about this news story. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.
    3. CLEAN ENERGY: Make a poster about clean energy. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
    4. NUCLEAR FUSION: Write a magazine article about governments spending billions of dollars on trying to create nuclear fusion power. Include imaginary interviews with people who are for and against this.
    Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Write down any new words and expressions you hear from your partner(s).
    5. WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? Write a newspaper article about the next stage in this news story. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Give each other feedback on your articles.
    6. LETTER: Write a letter to an expert on nuclear fusion. Ask him/her three questions about it. Give him/her three of your opinions on it. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

    A Few Additional Activities for Students

    Ask your students what they have read, seen or heard about this news in their own language. Students are likely to / may have have encountered this news in their L1 and therefore bring a background knowledge to the classroom.

    Get students to role play different characters from this news story.

    Ask students to keep track of this news and revisit it to discuss in your next class.

    Ask students to male predictions of how this news might develop in the next few days or weeks, and then revisit and discuss in a future class.

    Ask students to write a follow-up story to this news.

    Students role play a journalist and someone who witnessed or was a part of this news. Perhaps they could make a video of the interview.

    Ask students to keep a news journal in English and add this story to their thoughts.

    Also...

    Buy my 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers eBook. It has hundreds of ideas, activity templates, reproducible activities for:

    • News
    • Warm ups
    • Pre-reading / Post-reading
    • Using headlines
    • Working with words
    • While-reading / While-listening
    • Moving from text to speech
    • Post-reading / Post-listening
    • Discussions
    • Using opinions
    • Plans
    • Language
    • Using lists
    • Using quotes
    • Task-based activities
    • Role plays
    • Using the central characters in the article
    • Using themes from the news
    • Homework

    Buy my book

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    Answers

    (Please look at page 26 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

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