▶ Your Answer :
The reading passage and the speaker from the lecture reveal incompatible views over the issue of hydropower. Specifically, the reading passage contends that this power will be widely used in the coming years due to its several benefits, whereas the lecturer presents three cogent explanations to invalidate the reading passage’s argument.
The first point made by the lecturer is that hydropower has limitations. To elaborate in detail, global warming makes rivers unstable when it comes to the generation of hydropower, which is related to increased evaporation, changes in river size, and flow. This will negatively affect the productivity of its facilities. In the passage, however, the author clarifies that hydropower can supply an unlimited amount of energy.
Second, the lecturer maintains that hydroelectric facilities, in fact, require a lot of maintenance. To be specific, a lot of silt is built up at the bottom of the reservoir. Therefore, it must be removed on a regular basis because it reduces the amount of water and affects the generation of electricity. This view is in direct opposition to the reading passage’s claim that hydroelectric facilities do not require much maintenance for its operation.
Finally, the lecturer points out that hydroelectric dams sometimes can cause catastrophic disasters. Dams release a huge amount of water downstream when they break. It can cause disastrous floods, which is worse than natural ones. This casts doubt on the reading passage’s claim that hydroelectric dams reduce the possibility of flooding.
The lecturer, therefore, concludes that the assumptions of reading passage are all inconclusive. |