D Snow-makers | hiing is big business nowadays. But what can ski resort owners do if the snow doesn't come? In the early to mid twentieth century, with the growing popularity of skiing, ski slopes became extremely profitable businesses, But ski resort owners were completely dependent on the weather; if it didn’t snow, or didn’t snow enough, they had to close everything down. Fortunately, a device called the snow gun can now provide snow whenever it is needed. These days such machines are standard equipment in the vast majority of ski resorts around the world, making it possible for many resorts to stay open four months or more a year Snow formed by natural weather systems comes from Water vapour in the atmosphere. The water vapour condenses into droplets, forming clouds. IF the temperature is sufficiently low, the water droplets freeze into tiny ice erystals. More water particles then condense onto the erystal and join with it to form a snowflake. As the snowflake grows heavier, it falls towards the Earth. The snow gun works very differently from a natural weather system, but it accomplishes exactly the same thing. The device basically works by combining water and air. Two different hoses are attached to the gum, one leading from a water pumping station which pumps water up from a lake or reservoir, and the other leading from an ait compressor, When the compressed air passes through the hose into the gun, it atomises the water — that is, it disrupts the stream so that the water splits up into tiny droplets. The droplets are then blown out of the gun and if the outside temperature is below 0°C, ice crystals > will form, and will then make snowflakes in the same way as natural snow Snow-makers often talk about dry snow and wet snow. Dry snow has a relatively low amount of water, so it is very light and powdery: This type of snow is excellent for skiing because skis glide over it casily without getting stuck in wet slush, One of the advantages of using a snow-maker is that this powdery snow ean be produced to give the ski slopes a level surface. However, on slopes which receive heavy use, resort owners also use denser, wet snow underneath the dry snow, Many resorts build up the snow depth this way once or twice a year, and then regularly coat the trails with a layer of dry snow throughout the winterEB The wetness of snow is dependent on the temperature and humidity outside, as well as the size of the water droplets launched by the gun, Snow-makers have to adjust the proportions of water and air in their snow guns to get the perfect snow consistency for the outdoor weather conditions. Many ski slopes now do this with a central computer system that is connected to weather-reading stations all over the slope. But man-made snow makes heavy demands on the environment. It takes about 275,000 litres of water to create a blanket of snow covering a 60. 60 metre area, Most resorts pump water from one or more reservoirs located in low-lying areas. The run-off water from the slopes feeds back into these reservoirs, so the resort ean actually use the same water over and over again. However, considerable amounts of energy are needed to run the large air-compressing pumps, and the diesel engines which run them also cause air pollution Because of the expense of making snow, ski resorts have to balance the cost of running the machines with the benefits of extending the ski season, making sure they only make snow when itis really needed, and when it will bring the maximum amount of profit in eturn for the investment, But man-made snow has a number of other uses as well. A layer of'snow keeps a lot of the Earth’s heat from eseaping into the atmosphere, so farmers often use man-made snow to provide insulation for winter crops. Snow-making machines have played a big part in many movie productions. Movie producers often take several months to shoot scenes that cover just a few days. If the movie takes place in a snowy setting, the sct decorators have to get the right amount of snow for each day of shooting either by adding man-made snow or melting satural snow, And another important application of man-made snow is its use in the tests that aircraft must undergo in order to ensure that they can function safely in extreme conditionsBon Questions 1-5 Reading Passage 1 has seven paragraphs A-G. Choose the correct heading for each paragraph from the list of headings below. White the correct nurmber (ix) in boxes 1-5 on your answer sheet. List of hea i Considering ecological costs li Modifications to the design of the snow gun iif The need for different varieties of snow Wv Local concern over environmental issues gs vAproblem and a solution vi Applications beyond the ski slopes vii Converting wet snow to dry snow vili_ New method for calculating modifications ix Artificial proces | product x Snow formation in nature nal Example Answer Paragraph A v Paragraph B « Paragraph © Paragraph D Paragraph E Paragraph F Paragraph GTask: Diagram labelling Passages which describe machanical devices or processes may include a diagram labolting task 1 Look at the diagram below, What does itilustrate? How do you know? 2. Which paragraph in the passage explains haw this device works? (Use the heading matching task to help you). Read the paragraph carefully and study the diagram at the same time. Some labols are already given. Use thase to help you 3 On which side of the diagram does the process begin - left or night? 4 How many words can you write for each answer? Now do Questions 6-8. Be careful to copy the words you need accurately from the passage Questions 6-8 Label the diagram botow. Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 6-8 on your answer sheet. passage, use the words aes in exactly the same fore in mich thy appear Fanti) Sey Teper The snow gun anya. air below 0°C snow water water is atomised into 7 8 are formed DING MODULETip Strip + ihyou cannat find one dager. goon end do tenet one, then ook back later “The word ov words ou aod must be nent fs samo form asin he pasoge inthe exam you must fener your answess 07 the sepacete apovier sheet during the 69 ‘rinutes toned forthe module You can ete’ write your ansners ciecty Sato the answer sheet, ‘Sr uanstr thom later “putleave plenty of tie orth. Quostions 9-13 Complete the sentences below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from ine passage for each answer write your answers in boxes 9-13 on your answer sheet. 9. Dry snow is used to give slopes a lovel surface, while wet snow is used 10 increase the con busy slopes. 40 To calculate the required snow consistency, the of the atmosphere must first be measured. 1 The machinery used in the process of making the snow consumes a lot of which is damaging to the environment 42 Artificial snow is used in agriculture as a type of for plants in cold conditions 43 Anificial snow may also be used in carrying out safety checks on READING MODUI