B1 – Video – Rising Electricity Costs & Energy – i 1 2 Speak English – Curso de Inglês Online

Rising Electricity
Costs & Energy

Instructions:

Listen to the video carefully and answer the following questions. Choose the best answer for each question. Click “Submit Answers” when you’re done to see your results.

Rising Electricity Costs & Energy-Saving Tips – Listening Comprehension Exercise

Instructions:

Listen carefully and choose the best answer for each question.

1. What percentage increase in electricity costs are Americans seeing compared to last year?

5%
8%
12%
15%

2. If your monthly electric bill was $200 last year, what would it roughly be this year?

$250
$220
$211
$230

3. What is one major reason cited for the increase in electricity use?

Milder summers
Increased use of electric vehicles
Decreased data center demand
Cheaper electricity prices

4. How much of U.S. electricity demand do A.I. data centers currently account for?

2%
4%
8%
12%

5. What is the projected percentage of electricity use by A.I. data centers by 2028?

8%
10%
12%
15%

6. What are "vampire devices"?

Devices that consume electricity only when in use
Devices that use electricity even when turned off
Devices with high battery capacity
Devices that store energy for later use

7. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a vampire device example?

Gaming consoles
Coffee makers
Microwaves
Televisions

8. How much money can unplugging unused coffee makers save annually?

Around $20
Around $40
Around $60
Around $80

9. What thermostat temperature does the Department of Energy recommend for savings?

68°F
72°F
78°F
82°F

10. What percentage savings can adjusting your thermostat provide?

5%
10%
15%
20%

11. What is one advantage of LED lightbulbs mentioned?

They are cheaper than regular bulbs
They stay cooler when changing them
They use no electricity at all
They change colors automatically

12. What device was recommended for controlling power remotely?

Smart plugs
Smart TVs
Smart chargers
Smart fans

Your Results

Electricity & Energy Vocabulary Quiz

Instructions:

Choose the best answer for each question. There is only one correct answer per question.

1️⃣ What does the expression "a closer look" mean in this context?
"A closer look at your electric bill."

to look quickly at something
to study or examine something carefully
to pay a bill faster
to make something smaller

2️⃣ What does the word "bill" mean in this situation?

a bird with a beak
a list showing how much you must pay
a plan or idea for the future
a part of a house

3️⃣ What does "climbing higher and higher" mean?

going down
staying the same
increasing or rising
moving to a mountain

4️⃣ What does "bring that bill back down" mean?

to make the bill smaller or cheaper
to lose your bill
to call the company
to throw the bill away

5️⃣ What does "open up these bills" mean?

to check or look at the bills
to tear them into pieces
to pay them immediately
to send them to someone else

6️⃣ What does the phrase "feeling this every time they open up these bills" mean?

people understand their bills
people notice the cost going up
people are angry at the bills
people are happy to pay

7️⃣ What are "vampire devices"?

electronic items that use electricity even when turned off
machines that bite you
apps for watching movies
new electric cars

8️⃣ What does the phrasal verb "cut back" mean?
"Tips and tricks to cut back."

to reduce or use less of something
to decorate your house
to return something
to stop working

9️⃣ What does "scan your house" mean?
"Scan your house and unplug devices you are not using."

to look around carefully
to take a photo of your house
to clean the floor
to call an electrician

🔟 What does "unplug" mean?

to remove the plug from the wall
to repair something
to buy a new device
to stop using electricity forever

11️⃣ What are "smart plugs"?

plugs that can be controlled by your phone
expensive computers
solar panels
lightbulbs that change color

12️⃣ What does the phrasal verb "go up" mean when they say "electricity costs can only go up"?

to increase
to disappear
to explode
to go outside

Your Results

>>> OH THE ELECTRIC SLIDE.

I GET IT.

A CLOSER LOOK AT YOUR ELECTRIC

BILL.

>> IF YOU NOTICED IT IS CLIMBING

HIGHER AND HIGHER, YOU ARE NOT

ALONE.

>> WHY THOSE COSTS ARE SURGING

AND WHAT WE COULD ALL DO TO

BRING THAT BILL BACK DOWN, BRIAN

CHEUN

CHEUNG.

HOW MUCH ARE WE TALKING IN TERMS

OF YEAR TO YEAR INCREASE, AND DO

WE KNOW WHAT’S BEHIND THE SURGE?

>> YEAH.

A LOT OF AMERICANS ARE ALREADY

FEELING THIS EVERY TIME THEY

OPEN UP THESE BILLS.

IT IS MORE EXPENSIVE.

5% MORE EXPENSIVE NOW THAN IT

WAS THIS TIME A YEAR AGO.

IF YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT A $200

MONTHLY BILL, THAT IS $211.

COMPOUNDED OVER THE YEAR, THAT’S

$230 IN ADDED COSTS JUST BECAUSE

OF THE RISING COSTS OF

ELECTRICITY.

REASONS FOR THAT, A, THERE IS A

LOT MORE ELECTRICITY USE BECAUSE

IT’S BEEN A HOTTER SUMMER.

ALSO, ELECTRIC VEHICLES.

AND ALSO, THERE ARE THESE A.I.

DATA CENTERS THAT HAVE BEEN

GOING UP AROUND THE COUNTRY.

IT IS CRAZY.

THE TEST MAISED USE 4% NOW FROM

THESE A.I. CENTERS.

THAT’S PROJECTED TO GO UP 12% BY

2028.

THAT JUST MEANS ELECTRICITY

COSTS CAN ONLY GO UP FROM HERE.

ALL ELECTRICITY WILL GO UP TO

12%.

>> AND 100% WHEN THE ROBOTS TAKE

OVER THE WORLD.

>> YEAH, EXACTLY.

>> LET’S TALK ABOUT TIPS AND

TRICKS TO CUT BACK.

YOU SAY VAMPIRE DEVICES, UNPLUG

THEM.

>> YEAH.

THESE ARE THINGS THAT ARE

PLUGGED IN.

EVEN IF YOU DON’T HAVE THEM

TURNED ON, IF THEY ARE PLUGGED

INTO YOUR WALLS, THEY COULD

STILL BE USING ELECTRICITY.

TV, GAMING CONSOLES.

THAT COULD SAVE YOU A FEW BUCKS

A YEAR.

COFFEE MAKERS.

SOME ESTIMATES $60 A YEAR EVEN

WHEN YOU ARE NOT USING IT JUST

BY KEEPING IT PLUGGED IN.

SCAN YOUR HOUSE.

MAKE SURE YOU TAKE ANYTHING YOU

ARE NOT ACTIVELY USING AND

UNPLUG THAT.

ALSO ADJUST THE THERMOSTAT.

78 DEGREES IS THE ADVICE.

>> SAYS WHO?

>> THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY SAYS

THAT.

BUT THEY SAY TO KEEP 10% SAVINGS

BY KEEPING YOUR HOUSE WARMER.

THAT’S ONE.

AND USE YOUR FANS.

IF YOU DON’T WANT TO USE THE AC,

A FAN CAN MAKE YOUR HOUSE

COOLER.

>> IF YOU INVEST IN ANY DEVICE

OR SITUATION TO SAI YOU MONEY

LONG-TERM.

>> YEAH.

THERE ARE THESE SMART PLUGS.

THERE IS SOMETHING YOU DON’T

WANT TO HAVE TO GO OVER TO THE

OUTLET AND UNPLUG EVERY TIME YOU

USE.

YOU CAN CONTROL IT FROM YOUR

PHONE.

HEY, I WANT THIS TURNED ON AND

OFF.

THERE IS ALSO THESE LED

LIGHTBULBS YOU CAN USE.

BY THE WAY, THEY’RE ALSO NOT AS

HOT WHEN YOU TRY TO CHANGE THEM.

YOU DON’T WANT TO BURN YOUR

FINGERS WHEN YOU USE THEM.

>> 78 DEGREES, THAT’S FUNNY.

>> FOR SOME PEOPLE.

>> 72 IS FINE.

>> 64 IS BETTER.

>> OKAY.

WE’LL SEND IT OVER TO AL FOR

ANOTHER CHECK OF THE WEATHER.

>> GET THOSE SMART THERMOSTATS,

TOO, BECAUSE YOU CAN PROGRAM

THEM.