Text b Tractor Operates Silently, Cleanly

Consider the headline of the text. Then read the text to find out:

- what event is described in the text;

- what machinery is presented;

- what general characteristics this machinery has;

- what the author’s attitude towards this event and this machinery is;

- what ecological problems are touched upon in this text.

The new hydrogen-powered tractor from New Holland will not emit anything but water and electrons, claims the equipment manufacturer. It will be unveiled at the Farm Progress show, coming up in Boone, Iowa.

I will be present, as many of you will be, to see what is new and exciting. In my nearly 10 years of covering machinery, it is an interesting trend to see more companies choosing to introduce their new items at the Farm Progress show instead of the National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville. There is still new equipment being introduced at NFMS but it does seem to me more manufacturers are now willing to introduce their new items at the outside venue of Farm Progress where the equipment can actually work in the field.

Among the new equipment on display this year for the first time to a North American audience will be the New Holland NH2, a hydrogen-powered tractor. The NH2 is a 106-horsepower working prototype able to perform all tasks of a tractor while emitting zero pollutants and operating virtually silently.

The NH2 is based on New Holland's T6000 series standard tractor. The NH2 has had the traditional combustion engine replaced with hydrogen fuel cells to generate electricity.

drive According to a press release from New Holland, the NH2 tractor uses compressed hydrogen from a tank on the tractor and the hydrogen reacts in the fuel cell with oxygen, which is drawn from the air. This mixture produces water and electrons.

The electrons are then harnessed in the form of electric current, which drives electric motors. These motors, in turn, power the tractor's train and auxiliary systems.

The fuel cell of the NH2 generates 106 horsepower and only emits heat, vapor and water. The experimental tractor produces zero emissions because it does not make polluting nitrogen oxides, soot particles or carbon dioxide.

The fuel cells of this tractor have a long working life, and use of these cells avoids environmental issues of battery disposal. Batteries lose their accumulation capacity during their life. Compressed hydrogen can be stored in a tank, allowing the energy to be stored for an extremely long period and also allows the tractor to be refueled quickly.

The NH2 will be on display at the New Holland exhibit throughout the three-day Farm Progress Show. I look forward to taking a closer look at the NH2 when I am in Boone next week and learning more about this out-of-the-ordinary tractor.

(Russ Quinn “The Progressive Farmer”, August 2010)

Practice 1. Look through the text to find out who this text is intended for:

1) students;

2) general readers;

3) specialists in agriculture ;

4) heads of agricultural enterprises.

Practice 2. Concentrate on discovering the author’s main idea. Select the statement which best expresses the author’s main idea.

1. The conference of scientists in Iowa.

2. A new type of a tractor.

3. A new type of the tractor presented at the agricultural exhibition.

4. General characteristics of a new type of the tractor.

Practice 3. Re-arrange the following sentences in a logical order.

1. It only emits heat, vapor and water.

2. It is a new, powerful, refueled quickly, ecologically safe tractor.

3. The Farm Progress show is set for next week at Boone, Iowa.

4. It will not emit anything but water and electrons.

5. The new hydrogen-powered tractor will be presented there.

6. The NH2 is a 106-horsepower tractor, able to perform all tasks.

7. It promises to be an exciting and a very interesting agricultural event.

Practice 4. Make a review of the article (use essential vocabulary from Appendix 2 on p.40).

Practice 5. Describe an ordinary tractor used in agriculture and compare it with the new one presented in the text (Use degrees of comparison of adjectives if possible).