▶ Your Answer : The reading passage contends that coal has various benefits, which will continue to be used in the future. On the other hand, the lecturer brings up several reasons to contradict this claim. First, according to the lecturer coal is not easy to be mined. As the amount of the coal buried in the earth is limited and nearly exhausted, miners have to dig a deep tunnel into ground. Therefore, this complicated process needs skillful workers. This casts doubt on the reading passage’s view that coal can be easily mined. Second, the speaker asserts that it is not cheap and easy to ship coal. In fact, it requires a lot of money and cares for coal to be moved, because it is heavy and bulky, compared to other fuels such as oil and natural gas. Also, it needs significant number of trips to move coal by trains and trucks. This refutes the reading passage’s view that the cost of transportation of coal is very low. Finally, the lecturer speaks that it is not true that the coal industry creates lots of job opportunities for workers. As coal mining companies try to cut the cost of mining, they develop various technologies, which reduces the need for human workforce in this field. In the long run, the job opportunities will decline in the future. This contradicts the reading passage’s claim that the coal industry benefits job openings for workers. |