Practice · Reading Part 1a
Words in context: energy and climate research
Put each option into the sentence: only one keeps the meaning and the grammar.
Choose the word that could replace the highlighted word with no change in meaning.
1. Engineers argue that offshore wind farms could eventually supply most of the region's electricity, although considerable investment in the grid will be required first.
2. The study found that households fitted with smart meters curtailed their energy use during peak hours, mainly because they could see the cost in real time.
3. Climate models remain robust even when key assumptions are changed, which gives researchers greater confidence in their long-term projections of global temperature.
4. Critics contend that biofuels may do more harm than good, since clearing forests to grow the crops can release more carbon than the fuels later save.
5. Battery storage is pivotal to a reliable renewable grid, because solar and wind output rises and falls with the weather, whereas demand follows the daily routines of households.
6. The researchers conceded that their estimate of future emissions was optimistic, as it assumed that every country would meet its targets on time.