Nivel de Ingls

Prueba de Suficiencia en Comprensin Lectora

en Ingls Tcnico
Nombre: .....................................................................................................................
Carrera: ......................................................................................................................
Fecha y Hora del Examen: ...........................................Profesora: Alina V. Stiefel
IMPORTANT: Answers to exercises must be provided in Spanish without exception. No dictionaries or
translation devices allowed. You have 2 hours sharp to complete this exam.

Pre-reading activities
Look at the text and pay attention to the pictures that accompany the text.
Read the title, name of the author and section headings.
Observe the organization of the information into sections (do not pay attention to blank spaces).
Scan the text for names, dates, acronyms, numbers, or any other element that stands out.
Advance a reading hypothesis. What is the topic of the text?
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Reading activities
A- Answer the following questions fully in Spanish with information provided in the text. (54 pts)
1- What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of energy obtained using solar panels? (6 marks)
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2- What is the difference between polycrystaline and monocrystaline cells? Which one is better? Explain
in detail. (7 marks)
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4- What is a solar panel? Explain how it works. (8 marks)
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5- What is the aim or purpose of paragraph 10 in the article? Explain. (6 marks)
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6- What is the function of solar concentrators? How do they work? Explain in detail. (7 marks)
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7- What is an entire PV system made of? Explain the relationship among the different elements that
constitute the system. (8 marks)
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8- Explain the use of PV Power in connection to homes and motor homes (Paragraph 16)? Focus on
advantages. (6 marks)
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9- Why is solar power used in industries, call boxes, roadside signs, and telecommunications
installations? (6 marks)
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B- What do the following words and list of elements in bold refer to in the text? (2 x 8 = 16 pts)
1. the sun, is a source of practically unlimited energy, most of which is wasted(Paragraph 1)

2. Compared to nonrenewable sources such as coal, gas, oil, and nuclear, the advantages are
clear(Paragraph 2)

3. It is the high purchase price and installation cost that effectively limits their use. (Paragraph 4)

4. They are much cheaper to produce, but only around 5% efficient and heavy. (Paragraph 5)

5. Solar concentrators put one of these lenses over every solar cell. (Paragraph 12)

6. In a surprising number of cases, PV power is the cheapest form of electricity for performing
these tasks. (Paragraph 13)

7. We also need structures to point them toward the sun,(Paragraph 14)

8. Similarly, boats can use solar power for many of their power needs, rather than a generator or
engine. (Paragraph 16)

Post-reading activities
C- Complete the blanks in the last section Solar Panels in Space (paragraphs 23-24) by choosing one
of the options below. Circle the correct option on the table. (1.5 x 10 = 15 pts)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

metals
consumption
exposes
effectiveness
far from
construction
to determining
because
reduce
deployable

materials
consume
exposure
efficient
into
constructing
to determine
although
reduces
deploy

gases
consumerism
exposed
efficiency
outside
constructed
for determine
however
reduction
deploying

D- Read the following sentences extracted from the text and choose the correct or best option to the
activities below.

(3 x 3 = 9 pts)

1- In the sentence The beauty of solar cells is that provided the sun shines, they keep on producing free
electricity (paragraph 4), there is a relationship of
a) condition
b) reason or cause and effect
c) contrast
d) addition of information
2- In the sentence Sliced from blocks of cast silicon, polycrystaline cells are both less expensive to manufacture
and less efficient than monocrystaline cell (paragraph 5), there is
a)
b)
c)
d)

an argument against polycrystaline cells

an enumeration of disadvantages
a comparison
an example of what cells are

3- In the sentence Although each solar cell provides a relatively small amount of power, many solar cells
spread over a large area can provide enough power to be useful. (paragraph 8), there is a relationship of
a) addition of information
b) consequence
c) cause and effect
d) contrast

E- What do the following modal verbs imply? Match the sentence with the correct option below. Some
options can be used more than once. (1.5 x 4 = 6)
1. Several cells have to be connected in a series of cells to produce a useable voltage.
(paragraph 6)
2. Homes could incorporate solar power at the time that they are built,. (paragraph 22)
3. The cement and the substrate must be thermally conductive, (paragraph 24)
4. a 6-centimeter diameter silicon cell can produce a current of about 0.5 ampere at 0.5 volt.
(paragraph 24)
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)

prohibition
suggestion
strong obligation
compulsion or necessity
possibility, probability
impossibility

SOLAR PANELS
ME | BIOLOGY | FILMS | GEOGRAPHY | HISTORY | INDEX | INVESTORS | MUSIC | SOLAR BOATS | SPORT

What a marvelous idea. Catch the sun's radiant light energy and convert it into electrical energy.
It's nothing new of course. Nature has been capturing the energy in light for millions of years.
Each leaf is a form of solar cell, producing energy for plants and trees to grow in a chemical
process known as Photosynthesis. The model for the fusion power plant, the sun, is a source of
practically unlimited energy, most of which is wasted but nevertheless provides us with millions of
kilowatts of power, keeps us warm, and grows all our food. To top it off, solar energy is safe and
pollution-free.
Photovoltaic solar power is one of the most promising renewable energy sources in the world.
Compared to nonrenewable sources such as coal, gas, oil, and nuclear, the advantages are clear:
it's totally non-polluting, has no moving parts to break down, and does not require much
maintenance. A very important characteristic of photovoltaic power generation is that it does not
require a large scale installation to operate, as different from conventional power generation
stations. Power generators can be installed in a DISTRIBUTED fashion, on each house or business
or school, using area that is already developed, and allowing individual users to generate their
own power, quietly and safely.
Rooftop power can be added as more homes or businesses are added to a community, thereby
allowing power generation to keep in step with growing needs without having to overbuild
generation capacity as is often the case with conventional large scale power systems But even
when photovoltaic power is compared to other renewable energy sources such as wind power,
water power, and even solar thermal power, there are some obvious advantages. First, wind and
water power rely on turbines to turn generators to produce electricity. Turbines and generators
have moving parts that can break down, that require maintenance, and are noisy. Even solar
thermal energy needs a turbine or other mechanical device to change the heat energy of the sun
into mechanical energy for a generator to produce electric power. Photovoltaic power, by contrast,
is generated directly from the sun. PV systems have no moving parts, require virtually no
maintenance, and have cells that last for decades.
Solar cells are sometimes called photovoltaics which means "light-electricity". Solar cells or PV
cells rely on the photovoltaic effect to absorb the energy of the sun and cause current to flow
between two oppositely charge layers. The beauty of solar cells is that provided the sun shines,
they keep on producing free electricity. Well, sort of free. Solar panels are still expensive to
manufacture. It is the high purchase price and installation cost that effectively limits their use.
There are many types of solar cells. Polycrystaline (more than one crystal), monocrystaline
and thin film. Sliced from blocks of cast silicon, polycrystaline cells are both less expensive to
manufacture and less efficient than monocrystaline cells.
Research cells approach 18-percent efficiency, and commercial
modules approach 14-percent efficiency. On the other hand,
monocrystaline solar cells are made from a thin slice cut from a
single crystal of silicon; these wafers/cells are now cut as thin as
200 microns. A grid of metal is then embedded over the wafer
ending in the contacts and other layers added. Monocrystaline is
presently the most efficient at converting light energy into
electricity, sometimes as high as 20% but more usually 15%.
Research cells have reached nearly 24-percent efficiency, with
commercial modules of single-crystal cells exceeding 15-percent.
Thin film cells are plated onto a plate of glass. They are much
cheaper to produce, but only around 5% efficient and heavy.
Vehicle designers will normally want to capture as much energy
as possible for a given area and weight.
High quality mono-crystaline solar panels

A single cell is not of much practical use, producing less than a volt. Several cells have to be
connected in a series of cells to produce a useable voltage. The voltage increases proportionally.
10 cells connected in series will produce about 7.5 volts. 20 cells 15 volts and so on. A number of
cells (a battery) linked and mounted together is known as a solar panel.
Solar Panels

10

Essentially, solar panels or batteries are devices that convert light into electricity. They are called
solar after the sun or "Sol" because the sun is the most powerful source of the light to use. A solar
panel is a collection of solar cells. Although each solar cell provides a relatively small amount of
power, many solar cells spread over a large area can provide enough power to be useful. To get
the most power, solar panels have to be pointed directly at the Sun. Spacecraft are built so that
the solar panels can be pivoted as the spacecraft moves. Thus, they can always stay in the direct
path of the light rays no matter how the spacecraft is pointed. Spacecraft are usually designed
with solar panels that can always be pointed at the Sun, even as the rest of the body of the
spacecraft moves around, much as a tank turret can be aimed independently of where the tank is
going. A tracking mechanism is often incorporated into the solar arrays to keep the array pointed
towards the sun.
Solar panels need to have a lot of surface area that can be pointed towards the Sun as the
spacecraft moves. More exposed surface area means more electricity can be converted from light
energy from the Sun. Sometimes, satellite scientists purposefully orient the solar panels to "off
point," or out of direct alignment from the Sun. This happens if the batteries are completely
charged and the amount of electricity needed is lower than the amount of electricity made. The
extra power will just be vented by a shunt into space as heat.
Solar panels are very strong. Compared to alternative power sources, they wear out very slowly.
The principal factor affecting the loss in power with time is the space radiation environment. For
low radiation environments, such as low Earth orbiting, their effectiveness decreases around 1 to 2
percent a year. This means after a five year mission the solar panels will still be making more than
90% of what they made at the beginning of the mission (as long as they haven't gotten farther
away from the Sun). In contrast, for missions in higher radiation environments, such as mid
altitude Earth orbit (2000 to 10000 kilometers), arrays can lose half their power within 1 year.
That is one reason few missions fly in this orbital range.

Cells are interconnected to form modules, modules to form arrays

11

12

Photovoltaic concentrator solar arrays for primary spacecraft power are devices which
intensify the sunlight on the photovoltaics. This design uses lenses, called Fresnel lenses, which
take a large area of sunlight and direct it towards a specific spot by bending the rays of light and
focusing them. Some people use the same principle when they use a magnifying lens to focus the
Sun's rays on a pile of kindling or paper to start fires.
Solar concentrators put one of these lenses over every solar cell. This focuses light from the large
concentrator area down to the smaller cell area. This allows the quantity of expensive solar cells
to be reduced by the amount of concentration. Concentrators work best when there is a single
source of light and the concentrator can be pointed right at it. This is ideal in space, where the
Sun is a single light source. Solar cells are the most expensive part of solar arrays, and arrays are
often a very expensive part of the spacecraft. This technology allows costs to be cut significantly
due to the utilization of less material.

Photovoltaic
13

14

15

A photovoltaic (PV) or solar cell is the basic building block of a PV (or solar electric) system.
Photovoltaic cells convert light energy into electricity at the atomic level. An individual PV cell is
usually quite small, typically producing about 1 or 2 watts of power. To boost the power output of
PV cells, we connect them together to form larger units called modules. Modules, in turn, can be
connected to form even larger units called arrays, which can be interconnected to produce more
power, and so on. In this way, we can build PV systems able to meet almost any electric power
need, whether small or large. The simplest systems power many of the small calculators and wrist
watches we use every day. More complicated systems provide electricity for pumping water,
powering communications equipment, and even lighting our homes and running our appliances. In
a surprising number of cases, PV power is the cheapest form of electricity for performing these
tasks.
By themselves, modules or arrays do not represent an entire PV system. We also need structures
to point them toward the sun, and components that take the direct-current electricity produced by
modules and "condition" that electricity, usually by converting it to alternate-current electricity.
We might also want to store some electricity, usually in batteries, for later use. All these items are
referred to as the "balance of system" (BOS) components.
Combining modules with the BOS components creates an entire PV system. This system is usually
everything we need to meet a particular energy demand, such as powering a water pump, or the
appliances and lights in a home, or, if the PV system is large enough, all the electrical
requirements of a whole community.

Uses of PV Power
16

How practical is solar for home and mobile home/marine use? These days, it is very practical,
especially for remote homes. Until solar power came along, people who wanted to live in remote
areas frequently had to pay large fees to have a power cable run to their house. Now, a remote
home can be virtually self-sufficient with solar power. Even in areas where power lines are nearby,
solar may be a viable alternative to being connected to a power company. An average home has
more than enough roof area to produce enough solar electricity to supply all of its power needs.
With an inverter, which converts direct current (DC) power from the solar cells to alternating
current (AC), which is what most home appliances run on, a solar home can look and operate very
much like a home that is connected to a power line. For recreational vehicles (RVs or motor
homes), solar power provides the freedom to go to more remote locations, without relying on a
plug-in power source or a noisy electric generator. Systems for RVs can be small for charging
batteries only or large enough to power the entire vehicle for a period of time. Similarly, boats can
use solar power for many of their power needs, rather than a generator or engine.
Solar PV Power in Industry

17

18

19

Some of the most important applications of solar energy are nearly invisible. Telecommunications,
oil companies, and highway safety equipment all rely on solar power for dependable, constant
power, far from any power lines.
Call Boxes: look at any California roadside call box, and you'll see a solar panel. California
standardized on the use of solar power and cellular phones to eliminate the need for any buried
cable connections to these phones. Given the sometimes literally life-saving nature of these call
boxes, dependability is a must.
Roadside signs: solar power is used for many lighted highway signs, eliminating the need for
diesel generators.

20

21

22

Telecommunications installations: when you need a microwave repeater on a remote

mountaintop, the last thing you want to do is run a power line up to it. For reliable power, many
communications repeaters in remote areas use solar.
Siemens Solar alone has shipped over 130 megawatts of modules since its origin, and the use of
solar power is projected to grow at 10-15% per year from now until the year 2010. This is over
three to five times the rate of growth of the Gross National Product of the United States!
Given this growth, solar power will be a much larger part of our lives in 2010 than it is today.
Homes could incorporate solar power at the time that they are built, dramatically reducing both
the cost of buying solar power and the cost of utility bills. New communications technology may
make living in remote areas a practical reality given the availability of solar power. Mobile uses will
undoubtedly increase. And industrial applications will continue to enjoy the versatility of solar
power.

Solar Panels in Space

23

24

Extract: Nasa Jet Propulsion Laboratory Report. Crystalline silicon and gallium arsenide
are typical choices of __________ (1) for solar panels for deep-space missions. Gallium
arsenide crystals are grown especially for photovoltaic use, but silicon crystals are
available in less-expensive standard ingots, which are produced mainly for _________
(2) in the microelectronics industry.
When ___________ (3) to direct sunlight at 1 AU, a 6-centimeter
diameter silicon cell can produce a current of about 0.5 ampere
at 0.5 volt. Gallium arsenide is more________(4). Crystalline
ingots are sliced into wafer-thin disks, polished to remove slicing
damage, dopants are introduced ________(5) the wafers, and
metallic conductors are deposited onto each surface: a thin grid
on the sun-facing side and usually a flat sheet on the other.
Spacecraft solar panels are _________(6) of these cells cut into
appropriate shapes, protected from radiation and handling
damage on the front surface by bonding on a cover glass, and
cemented onto a substrate (either a rigid panel or a flexible
blanket), and electrical connections are made in series-parallel
___________ (7) total output voltage. The cement and the
substrate must be thermally conductive, __________(8) in flight
Solar panels power satellites in space
the cells tend to heat up from absorbing infrared energy that is
not converted to electricity. Since cell heating _________(9) the
operating efficiency it is desirable to minimize the heating. The substrate is supported on
a __________(10) structural framework. The resulting assemblies are called solar panels
or solar arrays.

Key
A- Answer the following questions fully in Spanish with information provided in the text. (54 pts)
1- What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of energy obtained using solar panels? (6 marks)
2- What is the difference between polycrystaline and monocrystaline cells? Which one is better? Explain
in detail. (7 marks)
4- What is a solar panel? Explain how it works. (8 marks)
5- What is the aim or purpose of paragraph 10 in the article? Explain. (6 marks)
6- What is the function of solar concentrators? How do they work? Explain in detail. (7 marks)
7- What is an entire PV system made of? Explain the relationship among the different elements that
constitute the system. (8 marks)
8- Explain the use of PV Power in connection to homes and motor homes (Paragraph 16)? Focus on
advantages. (6 marks)
9- Why is solar power used in industries, call boxes, roadside signs, and telecommunications
installations? (6 marks)

B- What do the following words and list of elements in bold refer to in the text? (2 x 8 = 16 pts)
9. the sun, is a source of practically unlimited energy, most of which is wasted(Paragraph 1)

la energa solar
10. Compared to nonrenewable sources such as coal, gas, oil, and nuclear, the advantages are
clear(Paragraph 2)

fuentes de energa no renovable.

11. It is the high purchase price and installation cost that effectively limits their use. (Paragraph 4)

(al uso de) los paneles solares

12. They are much cheaper to produce, but only around 5% efficient and heavy. (Paragraph 5)

celdas de lminas delgadas

13. Solar concentrators put one of these lenses over every solar cell. (Paragraph 12)

lentes de Fresnel
14. In a surprising number of cases, PV power is the cheapest form of electricity for performing
these tasks. (Paragraph 13)

15. We also need structures to point them toward the sun,(Paragraph 14)

16. Similarly, boats can use solar power for many of their power needs, rather than a generator or
engine. (Paragraph 16)

(las necesidades de energa de) los botes

Post-reading activities
C- Complete the blanks in the last section Solar Panels in Space (paragraphs 23-24) by choosing
one of the options below. Circle the correct option on the table. (1.5 x 10 = 15 pts)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

metals
consumption
exposes
effectiveness
far from
construction
to determining
because
reduce
deployable

materials
consume
exposure
efficient
into
constructing
to determine
although
reduces
deploy

gases
consumerism
exposed
efficiency
outside
constructed
for determine
however
reduction
deploying

D- Read the following sentences extracted from the text and choose the correct or best option to
the activities below.

(3 x 3 = 9 pts)

1- In the sentence The beauty of solar cells is that provided the sun shines, they keep on producing free
electricity (paragraph 4), there is a relationship of
a) condition
b) reason or cause and effect
c) contrast
d) addition of information
2- In the sentence Sliced from blocks of cast silicon, polycrystaline cells are both less expensive to manufacture
and less efficient than monocrystaline cell (paragraph 5), there is
a) an argument against polycrystaline cells
b) an enumeration of disadvantages
c) a comparison
d) an example of what cells are
3- In the sentence Although each solar cell provides a relatively small amount of power, many solar cells
spread over a large area can provide enough power to be useful. (paragraph 8), there is a relationship of
a) addition of information
b) consequence
c) cause and effect
d) contrast

E- What do the following modal verbs imply? Match the sentence with the correct option below.
Some options can be used more than once. (1.5 x 4 = 6)
1. Several cells have to be connected in a series of cells to produce a useable voltage.
(paragraph 6)
2. Homes could incorporate solar power at the time that they are built,. (paragraph 22)
3. The cement and the substrate must be thermally conductive, (paragraph 24)
4. a 6-centimeter diameter silicon cell can produce a current of about 0.5 ampere at 0.5 volt.
(paragraph 24)
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)

prohibition
suggestion
strong obligation - 3
compulsion or necessity - 1
possibility, probability - 2- 4
impossibility