The world faces an energy crisis in the not-too-distant future. For the time being there are plentiful supplies of oil, but this situation will not last. Oil supplies are finite, and what happens when the world's reserves are exhausted? In Britain we are comparatively fortunate. We have North Sea oil and gas, and they will give us self-sufficiency for another couple of decades. We also have substantial reserves of coal. According to some estimates our coal reserves could last for another sixty years. That should give us a breathing-space at least until alternative forms of energy are developed. There is a world wide search for new sources of energy.
The government of Saudi Arabia has been making encouraging progress in the development of solar energy. Plants they have built in the desert are turning the rays of the sun into a permanent sources of energy. The experiments have been so successful that when they eventually run out of oil, they will be switching to an even more durable form of energy.
Not only the government of Saudi Arabia has been working hard to develop solar energy. They have also been working hard to convert the desert to rich agricultural land. Impossible? By no means! Beneath the Arabian Desert lies an enormous water basin. The problem is to bring up those water supplies from the bowels () of the earth. How to do it? They sink wells deep into the earth, seeking water this time instead of oil. As the water is drawn from the earth it is sprayed over the crops of wheat and vegetables and of course they flourish in such an environment. Perhaps it is unrealistic to expect all governments to play such a positive role in the development of their economy and the long term wellbeing of their people, but they do set the standards by which other governments can be judged.
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THE UNITED KINGDOM ECONOMY
Ex. 1. Read the text. Find ten words that you dont know, check them in the dictionary
