Light pollution
Light Pollution is a threat to Wildlife, Safety and the Starry Sky |
| A | After hours of driving south in the pitch-black darkness of the Nevada desert, a dome of hazy gold suddenly appears on the horizon. Soon, a road sign confirms the obvious: Las Vegas 30 miles. Looking skyward, you notice that the Big Dipper is harder to find than it was an hour ago. |
| B | Light pollution—the artificial light that illuminates more than its intended target area—has become a problem of increasing concern across the country over the past 15 years. In the suburbs, where over-lit shopping mall parking lots are the norm, only 200 of the Milky Way’s 2,500 stars are visible on a clear night. Even fewer can be seen from large cities. In almost every town, big and small, street lights beam just as much light up and out as they do down, illuminating much more than just the street. Almost 50 percent of the light emanating from street lamps misses its intended target, and billboards, shopping centers, private homes and skyscrapers are similarly over-illuminated. |
| C | America has become so bright that in a satellite image of the United States at night, the outline of the country is visible from its lights alone. The major cities are all there, in bright clusters: New York, Boston, Miami, Houston, Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago—and, of course, Las Vegas. Mark Adams, superintendent of the McDonald Observatory in west Texas, says that the very fact that city lights are visible from on high is proof of their wastefulness. “When you’re up in an airplane, all that light you see on the ground from the city is wasted. It’s going up into the night sky. That’s why you can see it.” |
| D | But don’t we need all those lights to ensure our safety? The answer from light engineers, light pollution control advocates and astronomers is an emphatic “no.” Elizabeth Alvarez of the International Dark Sky Association (IDA), a nonprofit organization in Tucson, Arizona, says that overly bright security lights can actually force neighbors to close the shutters, which means that if any criminal activity does occur on the street, no one will see it. And the old assumption that bright lights deter crime appears to have been a false one: A new Department of Justice report concludes that there is no documented correlation between the level of lighting and the level of crime in an area. And contrary to popular belief, more crimes occur in broad daylight than at night. |
| E | For drivers, light can actually create a safety hazard. Glaring lights can temporarily blind drivers, increasing the likelihood of an accident. To help prevent such accidents, some cities and states prohibit the use of lights that impair nighttime vision. For instance, New Hampshire law forbids the use of “any light along a highway so positioned as to blind or dazzle the vision of travelers on the adjacent highway.” |
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| F | Badly designed lighting can pose a threat to wildlife as well as people. Newly hatched turtles in Florida move toward beach lights instead of the more muted silver shimmer of the ocean. Migrating birds, confused by lights on skyscrapers, broadcast towers and lighthouses, are injured, sometimes fatally, after colliding with high, lighted structures. And light pollution harms air quality as well: Because most of the country’s power plants are still powered by fossil fuels, more light means more air pollution. |
| G | So what can be done? Tucson, Arizona is taking back the night. The city has one of the best lighting ordinances in the country, and, not coincidentally, the highest concentration of observatories in the world. Kitt Peak National Optical Astronomy Observatory has 24 telescopes aimed skyward around the city’s perimeter, and its cadre of astronomers needs a dark sky to work with. |
| H | For a while, that darkness was threatened. “We were totally losing the night sky,” Jim Singleton of Tucson’s Lighting Committee told Tulsa, Oklahoma’s KOTV last March. Now, after retrofitting inefficient mercury lighting with low-sodium lights that block light from “trespassing” into unwanted areas like bedroom windows, and by doing away with some unnecessary lights altogether, the city is softly glowing rather than brightly beaming. The same thing is happening in a handful of other states, including Texas, which just passed a light pollution bill last summer. “Astronomers can get what they need at the same time that citizens get what they need: safety, security and good visibility at night,” says McDonald Observatory’s Mark Adams, who provided testimony at the hearings for the bill. |
| I | And in the long run, everyone benefits from reduced energy costs. Wasted energy from inefficient lighting costs us between $1 and $2 billion a year, according to IDA. The city of San Diego, which installed new, high-efficiency street lights after passing a light pollution law in 1985, now saves about $3 million a year in energy costs. |
| J | Legislation isn’t the only answer to light pollution problems. Brian Greer, Central Ohio representative for the Ohio Light Pollution Advisory Council, says that education is just as important, if not more so. “There are some special situations where regulation is the only fix,” he says. “But the vast majority of bad lighting is simply the result of not knowing any better.” Simple actions like replacing old bulbs and fixtures with more efficient and better-designed ones can make a big difference in preserving the night sky. |
| *The Big Dipper: a group of seven bright stars visible in the Northern Hemisphere. |
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Question 1-5The first six paragraphs of Reading Passage 1 are lettered A-F.
Choose the most suitable headings for paragraphs A-F from the list of headings below.
NB There are more headings than paragraphs, so you will not use them all.
| List of Headings |
|---|
| i Why lights are needed | vii Seen from above |
| ii Lighting discourages law breakers | viii More light than is necessary |
| iii The environmental dangers | ix Approaching the city |
| iv People at risk from bright lights | |
| v Illuminating space | |
| vi A problem lights do not solve | |
| Example | Answer |
| Paragraph A | ix (Approaching the city) |
| 1 Paragraph B | .................... |
| 2 Paragraph C | .................... |
| 3 Paragraph D | .................... |
| 4 Paragraph E | .................... |
| 5 Paragraph F | .................... |
Question 6-9
Complete each of the following statements with words taken from the passage.
Write ONE or TWO WORDS for each answer.
6 According to a recent study, well-lit streets do not .................... or make neighbourhoods safer to live in.
7 Inefficient lighting increases .................... because most electricity is produced from coal, gas or oil.
8 Efficient lights .................... from going into areas where it is not needed.
9 In dealing with light pollution .................... is at least as important as passing new laws. |
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Questions 10-13Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?
In boxes 8-13 on your answer sheet, write
| TRUE | if the statement agrees with the information. |
| FALSE | if the statement contradicts the information. |
| NOT GIVEN | if there is no information on this |
10 One group of scientists find their observations are made more difficult by bright lights.
11 It is expensive to reduce light pollution.
12 Many countries are now making light pollution illegal.
13 Old types of light often cause more pollution than more modern ones.
Show Answers
Question 1-5The first six paragraphs of Reading Passage 1 are lettered A-F.
Choose the most suitable headings for paragraphs A-F from the list of headings below.
NB There are more headings than paragraphs, so you will not use them all.
| List of Headings |
|---|
| i Why lights are needed | vii Seen from above |
| ii Lighting discourages law breakers | viii More light than is necessary |
| iii The environmental dangers | ix Approaching the city |
| iv People at risk from bright lights | |
| v Illuminating space | |
| vi A problem lights do not solve | |
| Example | Answer |
| Paragraph A | ix (Approaching the city) |
| 1 Paragraph B | viii |
| 2 Paragraph C | vii |
| 3 Paragraph D | vi |
| 4 Paragraph E | iv |
| 5 Paragraph F | iii |
Question 6-9
Complete each of the following statements with words taken from the passage.
Write ONE or TWO WORDS for each answer.
6 According to a recent study, well-lit streets do not deter crime or make neighbourhoods safer to live in.
7 Inefficient lighting increases (air) pollution because most electricity is produced from coal, gas or oil.
8 Efficient lights block light from going into areas where it is not needed.
9 In dealing with light pollution education is at least as important as passing new laws. |
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Questions 10-13Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?
In boxes 8-13 on your answer sheet, write
| TRUE | if the statement agrees with the information. |
| FALSE | if the statement contradicts the information. |
| NOT GIVEN | if there is no information on this |
10 One group of scientists find their observations are made more difficult by bright lights. YES
11 It is expensive to reduce light pollution. NO
12 Many countries are now making light pollution illegal. NOT GIVEN
13 Old types of light often cause more pollution than more modern ones. YES
Television Addiction
Television addiction is no mere metaphor |
| A | The term "TV addiction" is imprecise, but it captures the essence of a very real phenomenon. Psychologists formally define addiction as a disorder characterized by criteria that include spending a great deal of time using the thing; using it more often than one intends; thinking about reducing use or making repeated unsuccessful efforts to reduce use; giving up important activities to use it; and reporting withdrawal symptoms when one stops using it. |
| B | All these criteria can apply to people who watch a lot of television. That does not mean that watching television, in itself, is problematic. Television can teach and amuse; it can be highly artistic; it can provide much needed distraction and escape. The difficulty arises when people strongly sense that they ought not to watch as much as they do and yet find they are unable to reduce their viewing. Some knowledge of how television becomes so addictive may help heavy viewers gain better control over their lives. |
| C | The amount of time people spend watching television is astonishing. On average, individuals in the industrialized world devote three hours a day to the activity – fully half of their leisure time, and more than on any single activity except work and sleep. At this rate, someone who lives to 75 would spend nine years in front of the television. Possibly, this devotion means simply that people enjoy TV and make a conscious decision to watch it. But if that is the whole story, why do so many people worry about how much they view? In surveys in 1992 and 1999, two out of five adults and seven out of ten teenagers said they spent too much time watching TV. Other surveys have consistently shown that roughly ten per cent of adults call themselves TV addicts. |
| D | To study people’s reactions to TV, researchers have undertaken laboratory experiments in which they have monitored the brain waves, skin resistance or heart rate of people watching television. To study behavior and emotion in the normal course of life, as opposed to the artificial conditions of the laboratory, we have used the Experience Sampling Method (ESM). Participants carried a beeper*, and we signaled them six to eight times a day, at random, over the period of a week; whenever they heard the beep, they wrote down what they were doing and how they were feeling. |
| E | As one might expect, people who were watching TV when we beeped them reported feeling relaxed and passive. The EEG studies similarly show less mental stimulation, as measured by alpha brain-wave production, during viewing than during reading. |
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| F | What is more surprising is that the sense of relaxation ends when the set is turned off, but the feelings of passivity and lowered alertness continue. Survey participants commonly reflect that television has somehow absorbed or sucked out their energy, leaving them depleted. They say they have more difficulty concentrating after viewing than before. In contrast, they rarely indicate such difficulty after reading. After playing sports or engaging in hobbies, people report improvements in mood. After watching TV, people's moods are about the same or worse than before. |
| G | Within moments of sitting or lying down and pushing the "power" button, viewers report feeling more relaxed. Because the relaxation occurs quickly, people are conditioned to associate viewing with rest and lack of tension. The association is positively reinforced because viewers remain relaxed throughout viewing. |
| H | Thus, the irony of TV: people watch a great deal longer than they plan to, even though prolonged viewing is less rewarding. In our ESM studies the longer people sat in front of the set, the less satisfaction they said they derived from it. When signaled, heavy viewers (those who consistently watch more than four hours a day) tended to report on their ESM sheets that they enjoy TV less than light viewers did (less than two hours a day). For some, a twinge of unease or guilt that they aren't doing something more productive may also accompany and depreciate the enjoyment of prolonged viewing. Researchers in Japan, the U.K. and the U.S. have found that this guilt occurs much more among middle-class viewers than among less affluent ones. |
| I | the orienting response is an instinctive reaction to any sudden or new, such as movement or possible attack by a predator. Typical orienting reactions include the following the arteries to the brain grow wider allowing more blood to reach it, the heart slows down and arteries to the large muscles become narrower so as to reduce blood supply to them. Brain waves are also interrupted for a few seconds. These changes allow the brain to focus its attention on gathering more information and becoming more alert while the rest of the body becomes quieter. |
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Questions 1-3
The list below gives some characteristics of addiction.Which THREE of the following are mentioned as characteristics of addiction to television?
| A harmful physical effects |
| B loss of control over time |
| C destruction of relationships |
| D reduced intellectual performance |
| E discomfort when attempting to give up |
| F dishonesty about the extent of the addiction |
Questions 4-8
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 2?
In boxes 8-13 on your answer sheet, write
| YES | if the statement agrees with the information. |
| NO | if the statement contradicts the information. |
| NOT GIVEN | if there is no information on this |
4 One purpose of the research is to help people to manage their lives better. 5 Watching television has reduced the amount of time people spend sleeping. 6 People's brains show less activity while watching television than when reading. 7 There is a relationship between the length of time spent watching TV and economic status. 8 Pleasure increases in proportion to the length of time spent watching TV.
Questions 9-13
Classify the following feelings or mental states as generally occurring:A before watching television.B while watching television.C after watching television.D both while and after watching television.
9 reduced anxiety and stress. 10 increased fatigue. 11 higher levels of concentration. 12 less mental activity. 13 worry about time wasted.
Questions 14-17
Complete the labels on the diagram.Choose your answers from the box beside the diagram.
NB There are more words / phrase than spaces, so you will not use them all.
A relaxed
|
E reduced
|
B accelerated
|
F stopped momentarily
|
C increased
|
G widened
|
D lengthened
|
H regulated
|
Show Answer
Questions 1-3The list below gives some characteristics of addiction.
Which THREE of the following are mentioned as characteristics of addiction to television?
| A harmful physical effects |
| x | B loss of control over time |
| C destruction of relationships |
| x | D reduced intellectual performance |
| x | E discomfort when attempting to give up |
| F dishonesty about the extent of the addiction |
Questions 4-8Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 2?
In boxes 8-13 on your answer sheet, write
| YES | if the statement agrees with the information. |
| NO | if the statement contradicts the information. |
| NOT GIVEN | if there is no information on this |
4 One purpose of the research is to help people to manage their lives better. YES
5 Watching television has reduced the amount of time people spend sleeping. NOT GIVEN
6 People's brains show less activity while watching television than when reading. YES
7 There is a relationship between the length of time spent watching TV and economic status. NOT GIVEN
8 Pleasure increases in proportion to the length of time spent watching TV. NO
Questions 9-13Classify the following feelings or mental states as generally occurring:
A before watching television.
B while watching television.
C after watching television.
D both while and after watching television.
9 reduced anxiety and stress. B
10 increased fatigue. C
11 higher levels of concentration. A
12 less mental activity. D
13 worry about time wasted. D
Questions 14-17Complete the labels on the diagram.
Choose your answers from the box beside the diagram.
NB There are more words / phrase than spaces, so you will not use them all.
| A relaxed | E reduced |
| B accelerated | F stopped momentarily |
| C increased | G widened |
| D lengthened | H regulated |
stopped momentarilyincreasedreducedrelaxed
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