Listen in English | TOEFL | Nuclear Energy

Directions 목표 Direcciones Instruções

READ the VOCABULARY
It is important to read the vocabulary before you watch the video. This will improve your ability to understand the video. It will also help you understand how the new vocabulary is used naturally.
WATCH the VIDEO
The first time you watch the video, just try to understand the overall situation.
ANSWER the QUESTIONS
First try to answer all the questions from memory. Then rewatch the video and try to answer the questions that you missed.
WATCH and READ the SCRIPT
Watch the video again while you read the script. Reading and listening at the same time will help you hear each individual word and improve your listening accuracy.
DO the ACTIVITIES
There are several different activities that focus on test preparation, vocabulary, grammar, and sentence structure.

LEA el VOCABULARIO
Es importante leer el vocabulario antes de ver el video. Esto mejorará su capacidad para comprender el video. También le ayudará a comprender cómo se usa el nuevo vocabulario de forma natural.
VER el VIDEO
La primera vez que vea el video, intente comprender la situación general.
RESPONDE a las PREGUNTAS
Primero intente responder todas las preguntas de memoria. Luego, vuelva a ver el video e intente responder las preguntas que se perdió.
MIRAR Y LEER
Mire el video nuevamente mientras lee el guión. Leer y escuchar al mismo tiempo lo ayudará a escuchar cada palabra individual y mejorará su precisión auditiva.
HACER LAS ACTIVIDADES
Hay una serie de actividades diferentes que se centran en la preparación de la examen, el vocabulario, la gramática y la estructura de las oraciones.

어휘 읽기
비디오를 보기 전에 어휘와 배경을 읽는 것이 중요합니다. 이렇게 하면 비디오를 이해하는 능력이 향상됩니다. 또한 새로운 어휘가 어떻게 자연스럽게 사용되는지 이해하는데 도움이됩니다.
비디오 보기
비디오를 처음 볼 때 전체 상황을 이해하려고 노력하세요.
문제에 답하기
먼저 모든 질문에 답을 해보세요. 그런 다음 비디오를 다시보고 놓친 질문에 답해보세요.
비디오 보면서 대본 읽기
대본을 읽는 동안 비디오를 다시 보세요. 읽기와 듣기를 동시에 하면 각각의 단어를 듣고, 듣기 정확도를 향상시킬 수 있습니다.
액티비티 하기
듣기 정확도, 발음, 어휘, 문법 및 문장 구조에 초점을 맞춘 다양한 액티비티가 있습니다.

LER o VOCABULÁRIO
É importante ler o vocabulário antes de assistir ao vídeo. Isso melhorará sua capacidade de entender o vídeo. Também ajudará você a entender como o novo vocabulário é usado naturalmente.
ASSISTA ao VÍDEO
Na primeira vez que assistir ao vídeo, tente entender a situação geral.
RESPONDA às PERGUNTAS
Primeiro, tente responder a todas as perguntas de memória. Em seguida, assista novamente ao vídeo e tente responder às perguntas que você errou.
ASSISTA e LEIA o SCRIPT
Assista ao vídeo novamente enquanto lê o roteiro. Ler e ouvir ao mesmo tempo ajudará você a ouvir cada palavra individualmente e a melhorar sua precisão auditiva.
FAÇA as ATIVIDADES
Existem várias atividades diferentes que se concentram na preparação para o teste, vocabulário, gramática e estrutura de frases.

Vocabulary 어휘 Vocabulário Vocabulario

Comprehension Questions 이해력 검사 문제 Perguntas de compreensão Preguntas de comprensión

Bill Gates thinks we need to use _____ nuclear energy.
more
less
Nuclear energy generates a lot of _____ energy around the world.
high carbon
low carbon
zero-carbon
Nuclear energy produces _____ of the zero-carbon electricity in the US.
very little
about half
almost all
The old nuclear plants in the US will most likely be replaced by _____ power plants.
natural gas
renewable energy
new nuclear
Nuclear energy uses _____ to generate heat.
turbines
gas
fuel rods
radiation
_____ are put into water to heat up the water.
Turbines
Gases
Fuel rods
Radiation
Steam is used to turn _____ to generate electricity.
turbines
gas
fuel rods
radiation
Nuclear power plants are always _____.
near bodies of water
far away from large cities
in remote locations
Every form of electricity production relies on turning a turbine except for _____.
natural gas
nuclear
solar
coal
wind
Politicians usually consider nuclear energy _____.
clean
unclean
Spent fuel rods emit radiations for _____ of years.
100s
1000s
10 000s
100 000s
In the US, spent fuel rods were supposed to be stored _____ in Nevada.
in nuclear plants
deep underground
in remote locations
In Europe, spent fuel rods are stored _____ in Finland.
in nuclear plants
deep underground
in remote locations
In the US, spent fuel rods are actually stored in containers _____.
in nuclear plants
deep underground
in remote locations
We can't launch spent fuel rods into the sun because it would be _____ and _____.
dangerous
expensive
difficult
illegal
Nuclear energy is _____ renewable energy.
more expensive than
as expensive as
less expensive than
Firm electricity is good because it is _____.
safe
cheap
clean
reliable
People are _____ to the deaths caused by fossil fuel energy production.
used to
not used to
Nuclear energy production causes _____ fossil fuel energy production.
more health problems than
about as many health problems as
fewer health problems than
The speaker would rather live next door to a _____.
coal power plant
nuclear power plant
The speaker says that living next door to a coal power plant would _____.
shorten your life expectancy
increase your life expectancy
have no effect on your life expectancy
The speaker says that living next door to a nuclear power plant would _____.
shorten your life expectancy
increase your life expectancy
have no effect on your life expectancy

TOEFL Questions TOEFL 문제 Perguntas do TOEFL Preguntas de TOEFL

What is the discussion mainly about?
(A) Different types of clean energy
(B) The dangers of nuclear energy
(C) The best types of renewable energy
(D) Why we should be investing in nuclear energy
According to the man, why will old nuclear reactors be replaced by natural gas power plants?
(B) Because natural gas is safer.
(A) Because natural gas is cleaner.
(C) Because natural gas is cheaper.
(D) Because natural gas is easier to produce.
What does the "1" correspond to on the diagram below?

(A) Radiation
(B) A solar panel
(C) A turbine
(D) A fuel rod
Why are nuclear reactors always near large bodies of water?
(A) Nuclear reactors need a lot of water to make steam.
(B) Nuclear reactors need water to cool the system.
(C) A lot of water is needed to store nuclear waste safely.
(D) Water is needed to turn a turbine.
Which of these types of energy production does NOT use a turbine to produce electricity?
(A) Solar
(B) Wind
(C) Nuclear
(D) Natural Gas
How is nuclear waste actually being disposed of these days?
[Click two answers.]
(A) It is stored underground.
(B) It is launched into space.
(C) It is stored in remote areas in Nevada.
(D) It is stored in containers in nuclear power plants.
Why does the man mean when he says this?

(A) Launching nuclear waste at the sun is too expensive.
(B) Launching nuclear waste at the sun could be dangerous.
(C) Launching nuclear waste at the sun is very difficult.
(D) Launching nuclear waste at the sun is not being considered.
How does the speaker feel overall about nuclear energy?
(A) It is a clean source of energy, but it is dangerous.
(B) It can produce energy cheaply, but it is not clean.
(C) It is a good source of clean, safe energy.
(D) It is cleanest type of energy production.

Sentence Building 문장 만들기 Construção de sentença Construcción de oraciones

Directions: Write sentences about the video clip using the words given. You can change the word form or add words, but you cannot change the word order.
( ) = optional [ ] = necessary

Instrucciones: Escriba oraciones sobre el videoclip usando las palabras dadas. Puede cambiar la forma de la palabra o agregar palabras, pero no puede cambiar el orden de las palabras.

Instrucciones: Escreva orações sobre o videoclipe usando as palavras-chave. Você pode alterar a forma da palavra ou adicionar palavras, mas não pode alterar a ordem das palavras.

지시 : 주어진 단어를 사용하여 비디오 클립에 대한 문장을 씁니다. 어형을 변경하거나 단어를 추가할 수 있지만 어순은 변경할 수 없습니다.

Sentence 1

Bill / Gates / argue / address / climate / crisis / require / embrace / nuclear / energy

Bill Gates [argues/has argued] (that) addressing the climate crisis requires embracing nuclear energy.

Sentence 2

nuclear / energy / provide / about / half / zero / carbon / electricity / U.S.

Nuclear energy provides about half of the zero-carbon electricity in the U.S.

Sentence 3

however / age / plant / may / soon / replace / by / natural / gas

However, aging plants may soon be replaced by natural gas.

Sentence 4

nuclear / energy / work / by / use / radiation / heat / water / which / create / steam / turn / turbine / and / generate / electricity

Nuclear energy works by using radiation to heat water, which creates steam to turn turbines and generate electricity.
Nuclear energy works by using radiation to heat water, which creates steam that turns turbines and generates electricity.

Sentence 5

one / problem / nuclear / energy / be / its / waste / emit / radiation / hundred / thousand / year

One problem with nuclear energy is (that) its waste emits radiation for hundreds of thousands of years.

Sentence 6

critic / argue / nuclear / energy / not / true / clean / due / radioactive / waste

Critics argue (that) nuclear energy isn't truly clean due to [this/its/the] radioactive waste.

Sentence 7

while / some / propose / launch / nuclear / waste / sun / concern / about / rocket / failure / and / cost / make / this / impractical

While some (people) have proposed launching nuclear waste into the sun, concerns about rocket failures and high costs make this impractical.

Sentence 8

despite / be / expensive / than / renewable / energy / source / nuclear / provide / more / reliable / firm / power

Despite being more expensive than renewable energy sources, nuclear provides more reliable firm power.

Sentence 9

nuclear / energy / face / safe / concern / as / accident / could / result / long / term / radioactive / contaminate

Nuclear energy faces safety concerns, as accidents could result in long-term radioactive contamination.

Sentence 10

however / it / still / consider / safe / than / coal / which / can / lead / significant / health / problem / like / heart / disease / asthma

However, it is still considered safer than coal, which can lead to significant health problems like heart disease and asthma.

Discussion 논의 Questões de discussão Discusión

How does nuclear energy work?
Did anything they said in this podcast surprise you? Why?
What's your opinion? Is nuclear energy a clean energy?
What nuclear energy programs exist in your country? (How many reactor? % of power?)
Would you encourage your government to invest in nuclear energy? Why or why not?
If there is another disaster like Chernobyl or Fukushima, do you think governments should stop their nuclear energy programs?
What are the best alternatives to nuclear energy? Consider cost, reliability, safety, and the environment.
Would you consider living near a nuclear power plant if it meant your power bills were cut in half?
If you were paid well, would you work at a nuclear power plant?

Script 대본 Roteiro Texto

Bill Gates says that if you want to be serious about our climate emergency, you've got to get serious about nuclear energy.

Because right now nuclear generates an absolute enormous amount of the zero-carbon electricity worldwide. And we know, you know, to decarbonize the energy system, to fight climate change right, we need to reduce carbon emissions to zero. And right now in the US, I believe nuclear actually generates about half of our zero-carbon electricity nationwide. And a big risk for us in the US is that there are a lot of old nuclear plants, and they are about to go offline soon. And just the way costs kind of come out, they are likely to be replaced by natural gas. They don't get replaced by renewables, which are also zero-carbon, they get replaced by natural gas.

Okay, well, before we get into all of the history and even all of the issues in the way of a nuclear future, let's just talk about how this works.

Generally, the way nuclear work is you use radiation to generate heat. You use that heat to heat up water. You have these fuel rods. They are submerged in water. They heat up the water by virtues by radiation. The water turns into steam. You use a steam to turn a turbine. And that turbine generates electricity the same way any other turbine generates electricity right. I mean it is just an electromagnetic effect.

And is this why nuclear power plants are always next to bodies of water?

Yes, because they have to cool the water somehow. Basically, every way we generate electricity just comes down to turning a turbine somehow. Usually with steam, right? With coal and gas eventually all you're doing is just turning a turbine. With wind, you're using the power of the wind to turn a turbine. With nuclear, you're turning a turbine. All of them actually except solar, which makes solar really interesting. What's so interesting about solar to me is it's the only form of electricity generation where you are not turning a turbine. You are exciting the electrons actually in the solar panel, and they're moving into the wire.

We didn't dig into the question of whether nuclear counts as clean.

If you hear a politician talking about clean energy, they are probably including nuclear in that because they need zero-carbon energy. I think critics of nuclear would tell you that because nuclear generates this waste material, it is not clean. You know, because you have nuclear waste at the end of the process, it is not clean in the same way that say solar or wind are clean.

Well, let's talk about the waste. What is the by-product of this zero-carbon form of energy?

Spent fuel rods that emit radiation for hundreds of thousands of years.

Wow! And what do we do with these spent fuel rods?

You know, we were supposed to store them in Nevada.

Why Nevada? What did they do?

Because it's really remote In the US, we put all this thought into it. In Europe, they just bury it really really deep underground in Finland. It's supposedly so deep that it doesn't intersect with the water supplies. I think, in the US, it remains a live issue. And I think what most nuclear plants do is they just have spent fuel rods on site under protection in containers where the radiation isn't escaping.

I've also always heard this idea about nuclear waste that we should just launched it at the sun. Is that a serious idea?

Okay. I have to be honest with you. I have also always wondered this about nuclear waste. I believe the reasons why not to do it are the first of all launches do fail. It is bad if suddenly we sprinkled a thin dusting of fuel rods across the Atlantic Coast of Florida. The other half of this is like costs matter there too. And nuclear is kind of expensive. It requires some level of subsidy, at least in the US. And it's expensive to launch things.

Okay. Let's talk more about cost. How expensive is nuclear energy compared to other sources?

Nuclear is more expensive than renewables. Where nuclear is different, and I think why climate people get very excited about nuclear, is because nuclear is a source of what's called firm power, or firm electricity. And this is arguably why even though it's expensive, it's worth paying for. Because nuclear, you know, generates electricity all the time. Like once you get a nuclear plant going, you're basically running it all the time.

A third impediment here is death.

People get very worried about the safety of nuclear plants. If you have a nuclear incident, there is potentially waste around for a long long time.

You know, here's the thing. Compared to coal or really any part of the fossil fuel system, which we know causes hundreds of thousands of cardiopulmonary injuries a year, heart attacks strokes, cardiac disease, early death, asthma attacks. Nuclear is almost certainly below the public health burden of the fossil fuel system. We just are used to living with the result of the fossil fuel system. We're used to people having heart attacks, right? We're used to people growing up with asthma. You know, while fossil fuel deaths are just something that happen in the background, they are hard to associate with the actual fossil fuel system. You know, someone dies in their late 50s or early 60s dies of a heart attack, and they lived downstream of a coal plant for 20 or 30 years. You know, we don't count that. That's not front-page news, but that is a death in the same way a plane crash death is a death. It's just a whole lot less dramatic.

If you want a generally lower risk system, I understand why people get scared of nuclear. However, that being said, would I live next door to a nuclear plant or a coal plant? Absolutely, no question, nuclear every day of the week because nuclear is basically fine. You know, if I lived next door to a coal plant, I'm taking years off my life, while if I live next door to a nuclear plant, the most likely thing is that nothing ever happens and I have very cheap electricity.

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