FCE Listening Test 6 Part 2 |
|
Part 2 You will hear an interview with a man called Daren Howarth, who works as a carbon coach. For questions 9-18, complete the sentences. |
|
|
The Carbon Coach |
|
Daren says that a carbon coach works full-time as a (9)____________ with various clients. Before becoming a carbon coach, Daren trained to be an (10)___________ . When assessing a family's carbon footprint, Daren looks first at their (11) __________ . Daren uses what's called a (12) ________ to see how much electricity things use. Daren points out that (13) _______ will help pay for roof insulation. Daren feels that using (14) __________ of the old type is the worst waste of energy he sees. Daren helped to reduce a band's carbon footprint at (15) ________ as well as on its CDs. Daren mentions a new type of green home called an (16) ________ . The new green home uses both the sun and (17) _______ to produce electricity. Daren suggests buying a (18) ________ which gives more information about the new green home.. |
Test 6 Part 2
9. consultant
10. ecologist
11. bills
12. carbon meter
13. the government
14. light bulbs
15. (its/their) concerts
16. Earthship
17. (the) wind (power)
18. handbook
You will hear an interview with a man called Daren Howarth, who works as a carbon coach. For questions 9-18, complete the sentences.
Interviewer: Tonight my guest is Daren Howarth who works as a carbon coach. What exactly does that mean Daren?
Daren Howarth: Well, most people know about global warming and would like to do something to reduce the amount of carbon they send out into the atmosphere, but they don't always know the best way of doing this. What I do as a carbon coach is give them advice about how to achieve environmentally friendly living. I'm now a full-time consultant, and my clients include both companies and private individuals.
Interviewer: What made you decide to become a carbon coach?
Daren Howarth: Well it all started about fifteen years ago. I'd always been interested in energy-saving and the environment and I trained as an ecologist. At that time, people were talking about very technical things like greenhouse gas emissions, then someone came up with the term 'carbon footprint', which is much easier for people to understand.
Interviewer: And you can tell ordinary families what their carbon footprint is, can't you?
Daren Howarth: That's right. I work out how much carbon dioxide the family's generated over a year; firstly by studying their bills, then finding out how much waste they produce, how much they use the car, and so on. Adding together all these figures, I calculate their total carbon footprint in tonnes of carbon dioxide. Then I take a look around their home and suggest ways of reducing their carbon footprint.
Interviewer: How do you work out how much carbon each machine around the house emits?
Daren Howarth: By switching off all the things that use electricity, then turning each one on one at a time, you can see the amount of energy each one uses. I use something known as a 'carbon meter' which measures the amount of electricity being used in the house at any one time. It also shows how much carbon dioxide this represents.
Interviewer: What's the least energy efficient thing you've seen in homes?
Daren Howarth: I go into so many places where I look in the roof and there's no insulation, so there's nothing stopping all the heat just going straight out into the outside air. Insulation massively reduces your carbon footprint; it's cheap and the government will help with the cost of it.
Interviewer: So is that the worst thing?
Daren Howarth: Well, central heating systems can be very inefficient and people use things like electric knives and mixers which are unnecessary, but the thing I really can't stand is when people are still using old-fashioned light bulbs. People can't resist them because they're so cheap, but up to ninety percent of the energy they produce is lost as heat. If you have one, put it in a box and smash it up, so no one else can use it.
Interviewer: What other type of clients do you have?
Daren Howarth: We work with both individuals and businesses - and even some celebrities, such as the band Supergrass. For one of their albums about three years ago, the band decided to minimise their carbon footprint at their concerts and then also cut the amount of carbon produced when making a CD. The carbon footprint for a disc is just a few grams, but a big band like Supergrass will produce thousands of copies, which means several tonnes of carbon.
Interviewer: And what are your plans for the future?
Daren Howarth: I'm working hard on introducing a really green type of home in this country known as an Earthship. It's a building that creates its own energy, heats and cools itself, collects its own water and deals with its own waste. It's also built from recycled materials. It doesn't need electricity or gas for heating, as it captures and stores energy by using wind power, and solar panels on the roof charge up batteries which provide power.
Interviewer: Any disadvantages?
Daren Howarth: You have to change your lifestyle and keep an eye on changes in the weather. There are thousands of examples around the world and there's a handbook on sale that explains everything about it - you'll find the details on my website - and it's something you can do for yourself - you don't have to employ someone to do the work for you.
Interviewer: Well Daren thanks for telling us about carbon footprints and how we can all ...