Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks from 44 to 50.
“I have not paid a single electricity bill since the year 1970” says Richard Perez with noticable glee. He can afford to be smug. He lives “ off-grid” – unconnected to the power grid and the water, gas and sewerage supplies that most people in the world rely on. He ganerate his own electricity, sources his own water and deals with his own waste disposal – and he prefers in that way. “There are times when the grid blacks out” he says. “I really like the security of having my own electricity company.”
Perez is not alone. Once the preserve of mavericks, hippies and survivalists, there are now approximately 200,000 off-grid households in the United States of America, a figure that Perez says has been increasing by a third every year for the past decade. For all of the people who live off-grid, self-sufficency means guilt-free energy consumption and peace of mind. “It feels brilliant to make use of clean, free energy that is not from fossil fuels” says Suzanne Galant, a writer who lives off-grid in a rural area in Wales. “And if something goes wrong, we can fix it ourself”. Now even urbanites are seeing the appeal of generating some if not all of their own power needs. So is energy freedom an eco pipe-dream or the untimate good life?
Well, there is only one wy to find out: begin to explore the possibilities of solar, wind or hydro-power. But unless you live on a sunny, south-facing hillsidewith access to a nearby river or stream, that might prove prohibitively expensive!
There is no doubt that being off-grid has its problems, and it is not always the cheapest way to get the energy you need. Even so, pioneers like Perez have proved that it can be done, and without giving up a 21st century lifestyle: “I have got five personal computers, two laser scanners, two fridge-freezer, a microwave, a covection oven, vacuum cleaners –you name it” says Perez. There is an external beam antenna on the roof for the phone and a satellite dish for an Internet connection. I have got 70 kWh in batteries that could last me five days. I have too much electricity”. Too much electricity and no more bills. That has got to be worth aiming for.
Which is the best serves as the title for the passage?
