Unit 1 Living Green Key to Exercises Reading & Interacting I. Understanding the Tex t 1. Text Organization Parts Paragraphs Main Ideas Part One Paras. 1-4 The writer and her family wanted to slow things down and decided to move to a property that was off the grid. Part Two Paras. 5-10 Living off the grid, the writer’s family had to deal with a lot of big challenges, and yet meanwhile gained many benefits. Part Three Para. 11 Conclusion: Going off the grid was a great experience for the writer’s family. 2. Comprehension Check 2.1 Focusing on the main ideas After living in the city of Las Vegas for years, Alison Zeuschel and her family decided to move to the countryside. Their home hunting ended up in a very small town in Arizona where they purchased a house on 40 acres that was not only off the grid, but without access to any (public) utilities. Just imagine the challenges facing them, such as generating their own power and hauling their own water. However, they worked hard and succeeded in making the adjustment in a few months. In addition, they benefited a lot from living off the grid there. Most important of all, they came to know the importance of conservation and learned how to conserve power and water and how to reuse things, etc. In other words they learned how to live green. 2.2 Digging into detail 1. Her daughter wanted a horse. Her husband wanted property. Her son wanted a dirt bike. The writer herself wanted her family to be more self-sufficient. 2. The property was off the grid. It was actually not connected to any utilities — power, water or a sewer system. 3. They generated electricity by wind and solar power, and stored it in 16 golf cart batteries. ...
