Saving Energy
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Tim
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Jeff
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Jeff: So, you are pretty in tune with global warming. You are pretty in tune with the environment - conscious, environmentally conscious. What do you do to do your part for help protecting the environment?
Tim: Yeah, well, I think I do quite a bit. I grew up in an area that's really environmentally conscious. Oregon is pretty environmentally conscious, so I recycle. It's pretty easy to recycle in Oregon. They just pick it right up at your house. You don't have to separate it. They separate it for you, so I recycle as much as I possibly can.
Jeff: But maybe those are traditional things. Do you do anything sort of more advanced or more modern than just recycling? Is there anything in your life that's more more modern?
Tim: Well, one thing: I recently bought a hybrid car.
Jeff: A hybrid car.
Tim: Yeah.
Jeff: What's a hybrid car?
Tim: So it is a car that basically gets better gas mileage cause what my car does is I have to put gas in it. I have to put gas in it but when I break it takes the energy created by the heat from the breaking and it charges the battery, and then the battery can help power the car, so it's half gasoline, half - just electric energy from the battery.
Jeff: Really. Electric and gas.
Tim: Yeah.
Jeff: Really interesting. So do you have to charge the car at night? Do you have to plug it in or anything like that?
Tim: No, my car just by breaking it charges the battery completely. Occasionally, I've heard of some people that if they leave their car for like a year or something they have to go back and they'll have to plug in the battery and it will charge up, but for the most part I don't have to do very much at all.
Jeff: So that is a fancy watch you're wearing as well. Is that environmentally friendly at all?
Tim: Oh, yeah. This watch actually doesn't take batteries. It's solar powered and so it just gets energy from the sun.
Jeff: Wow. So you pretty environmentally conscious dude.
Tim: I try.
in tune with
You are pretty in tune with the environment.
When you are 'in tune with' something, it means that you understand it, keep updated with it or have a connection with it.
Notice the following:
- I feel that I am tune with my dog, because I always seems to know what he wants.
- She wanted to be more in tune with her body, so she has started to practice yoga.
environmentally conscious
Oregon is pretty environmentally conscious, so I recycle.
When you are 'environmentally conscious,' it means that you care about nature and the environment and want to protect it.
Notice the following:
- I think people are a lot more environmentally conscious than they used to be.
- How environmentally conscious is the company that you work for?
hybrid car
A hybrid car is a car that gets better gas mileage.
A 'hybrid car' is a car that runs on both electricity and fuel.
Notice the following:
- I think hybrid cars are still quite expensive for what they are.
- He has just bought a hybrid car, and he uses it all the time.
plug in the battery and charge up
They have to plug in the battery and it will charge up.
When you 'plug in the battery and charge it up' it means that you connect the battery to a power source in order to give it energy.
Notice the following:
- My phone is not working, as I forgot to plug in the battery and charge it up.
- Don't forget to the plug in the car battery and charge up the car.
solar powered
This watch is solar powered and gets energy from the sun.
When something is 'solar powered,' it means that it gets the energy that it uses to work from the sun's rays.
Notice the following:
- All the lights in my garden are solar powered.
- A lot of the houses in my area are solar powered, as we have so many hours of daylight each year.
Vocabulary Quiz
remember • dumping
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