Saving Resources
FoundationSwitch off lights and taps, and reuse things — saving resources means caring for the Earth.
- Water and electricity are hard to come by; wasting them costs money and harms the environment.
- Turn the tap off while brushing and take five-minute showers — saving water is easy.
- Switch off lights when leaving a room and cut power to idle appliances.
文體小知識：說明文用一張水電費單引入，教你從刷牙到離開房間的小習慣，把資源省下來。
§Text Passage
1Water and electricity are precious resources. Hong Kong's water comes mainly from rainfall and the Dongjiang River, travelling through long pipes and pumping stations before reaching our homes. Electricity is produced in power stations, which burn fuel and give off waste gases. Wasting water and electricity costs money and harms the environment.
2Saving water starts with small habits: turn off the tap while brushing and rinse with a cup of water; showers use less water than baths — keep them to about five minutes; use the water from washing rice to water the plants. Tell an adult at once if a tap is dripping.
3Saving electricity is just as simple: switch off the lights when leaving a room; open the windows instead of the air conditioner on cooler days; set the air conditioner at twenty-five to twenty-six degrees; unplug appliances when not in use, because standby power is invisible waste.
4Paper comes from trees, so treasure it too. Use both sides of every sheet, and bind the blank pages of old exercise books into rough-paper pads. Saving resources is not hard — with good habits, everyone can do their part for the Earth.
1Summary 重點摘要
Switch off lights and taps, and reuse things — saving resources means caring for the Earth.
2Vocabulary cards Vocabulary
Useful things such as water, electricity and paper.
The switch that controls the flow of water.
The factory that produces electricity.
The machine that cools a room.
The unit for measuring temperature, such as twenty-five degrees.
The part that connects an appliance to the socket for power.
Washing the body standing under water, using less than a bath.
To use carefully and not waste.
The electricity an appliance still uses when switched off but left plugged in.
3Step by step Steps
- Step 1: Keep the tap off while brushingKeeping teeth clean matters, but the tap need not run while you brush. Wet the brush and turn the tap off, brush with toothpaste, and rinse with one cup of about two hundred millilitres — nearly ten times less than a running tap. Some people think Hong Kong's tap water is endless, but fresh water is hard-won, treated and carried over long distances. This small habit saves a surprising amount of water every day.
- Step 2: Five-minute showersHow you bathe changes how much water you use. A bath fills the whole tub and uses a great deal; a five-minute shower needs only about fifty litres — more than half saved. So prefer showers, and use a timer to finish within five minutes; turn the shower off while soaping or washing your hair, and the savings grow. Some people think comfort comes first, but with a little restraint comfort and care for the planet can both be had.
- Step 3: Use water twiceWater used once can often be used again; this is called using water twice. Water from washing vegetables and rice does not look very dirty — keep it in a big basin for watering plants; the last bucket of floor-washing water can flush the toilet. Some people think once-used water is waste water, yet one portion doing two jobs means a smaller bill, longer-lasting reservoirs, and surer supplies in the dry season.
- Step 4: Lights and appliances off as you goMaking electricity burns fuel, so wasting power wastes resources and adds to air pollution. Switch off the lights when you leave a room; turn off the TV, computer and fan properly or unplug them, so the little standby light does not glow all night — standby power is used quietly all the same. Some people think standby use is negligible, but day after day it adds up. One small switch is an act of care for the Earth.
- Step 5: Enjoy natural light and breezeNature gives us sunlight and breeze free of charge, and using them well cuts electricity. Read and draw by daylight with the curtains open instead of switching on lights; on cool days open the windows and let the natural breeze in instead of fans and air conditioning. Some people think lights and cooling are always needed indoors, but use the air conditioner only in true heat and set it at twenty-five to twenty-six degrees — cool and economical at once.
- Step 6: Reuse paperPaper is made from trees: the more paper we use, the more trees are felled, so treasure every sheet. Single-sided printed sheets can be bound into a rough pad for sums; the backs of old calendar pages are big and white, perfect for drawing; finished books can be given to friends or put into recycling bins. Some people think paper is cheap and needs no saving, but every reuse means one less hurt to the trees, and forests endure.
4Diagrams Diagrams
5Worked example Example
Example: this month's electricity bill is three hundred dollars higher than last month's. Dad asks Long to find out why. What should Long check?
- Check whether the air conditioner has been running longer in the summer heat, and whether it is set too cold.
- Check whether the TV and computer have been left on standby all night.
- Check whether lights in the bedrooms and living room are often on with nobody inside.
- Actions: set the air conditioner at twenty-five to twenty-six degrees, switch off lights when leaving rooms, and cut the power to appliances not in use.
- Answer: Higher bills usually come from long air-conditioner use, standby power and lights left on. Long suggests switching off lights, cutting power to idle appliances, and setting the air conditioner at twenty-five to twenty-six degrees.
6Common mistakes Mistakes
7Quick check Quick check
Q1Where does Hong Kong's water mainly come from?
Q2How should we use water while brushing?
Q3At what temperature is the air conditioner most economical?
Q4What should we do with appliances not in use?
Q5What can the rice-washing water be used for?
8Recap Recap
- Water and electricity are hard to come by; wasting them costs money and harms the environment.
- Turn the tap off while brushing and take five-minute showers — saving water is easy.
- Switch off lights when leaving a room and cut power to idle appliances.
- Set the air conditioner at twenty-five to twenty-six degrees; try windows and fans first.
- Use both sides of the paper; saving resources means loving the Earth.