Look at the article again. Work in pairs and discuss these questions. 1 What are the advantages and disadvantages of hydrogen as a fuel? 2 What does the last sentence tell us about the author’s attitude? 3 Go online and check the latest news about hydrogen cells. What future do you see for this technology based on the current situation? Linking expressions like adverbs and adverbial clauses help readers find their way through a text. Look at the highlighted expressions in the article and think about their functions in the text. Look at functions 1–5 and add the highlighted expressions from the article in 13 to the lists. 1 Adding ideas 2 Contrasting ideas 3 Sequencing 4 Making concessions 5 Summing up and clarifying furthermore, and yet next although, even though summing up, to be (more) precise, in other words These longer phrases can link ideas and structure a text. Match the expressions below with their functions (A–E). A Introducing a topic C Listing arguments E Drawing conclusions B Stating an opinion D Making suggestions In my opinion … B To start with … What is needed is … We/The government should … Taking all these points into consideration, … The main reason for this is … With reference to (your article of …), Personally, I think that … The first/second/main point I would like to make is … I read the article about … with great interest and … From my point of view it seems that … To sum up, … I am writing to … It is obvious that … As a result/consequence … In conclusion, then, it is clear that … In my view … It would be good to… According to … In short, … Besides, … I think it’s (un)fair to say that … Use one linking expression from each category and write sentences about ‘Is hydrogen technology hope or hype?’. Compare your sentences in class. 14 Vocabulary Linking expressions 2 15 a b a Writing 16 b Past fears of hydrogen tanks exploding have been addressed by tanks lined with Kevlar, a heatresistant and strong synthetic fibre. Moreover, modern tanks are also fitted with a hydrogen release mechanism in case they are hit. Airports could also store hydrogen. In fact, in 2020, the first test flight of an electric plane in the UK was powered by a hydrogen fuel cell. Many countries have been developing a hydrogen strategy. Germany has not only invested a lot to dominate the hydrogen market, but also developed one of the first hydrogen trains. So, it looks like the hype about hydrogen can finally be justified. But not so fast … despite its great potential, most of the hydrogen is produced by splitting it from natural gas, which is costly. Moreover, this process emits lots of planet-heating carbon dioxide. The problem can be solved by capturing the CO2 at hydrogen production, then burying it with carbon capture and storage. The alternative is clean – but very expensive. To start with, it involves unused renewable electricity, like when the wind blows at night, to split hydrogen from water using a fuel cell. This can incur huge costs. In addition, the process is wasteful because electricity is turned into a gas, then back into electricity. However, hydrogen-lovers believe the future electricity grid will produce so much cheap power that we will need to find other uses for it. They hope to see the cost of fuel cells go down rapidly. Be it as it may, only the future will show if this technology is a real hope for a cleaner planet. 84 Language skills Extras Explore 7 Your environment Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv
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