News report · Savings, fear or stars? Facts, opinions and estimates.
VILLARRASA. Since 1 March, one in every two street lights in Villarrasa has been switched off between one and six in the morning. Six months on, the village, home to 2,300 people, is divided, and the October council meeting will decide whether the measure stays.
The mayor, Rosa Merino, says the decision is “sensible and necessary”. The first full bill, for April, was 28% lower than the previous April’s. “We estimate that in a year we’ll save 40%,” she says. The electricity company, however, points out that in that month the price per kilowatt-hour was 10% cheaper than a year earlier.
The El Pontón Residents’ Association doesn’t see it the same way. “People are scared. There are more burglaries and everybody knows it,” says its chair, Marta Ibarra. In July, the association surveyed 120 residents: 70% said they felt less safe walking home at night.
Figures from the Guardia Civil, the local police force, paint a different picture: between March and August, four burglaries were reported in the village centre, compared with five in the same months last year. Only one took place between one and six in the morning.
One group that is celebrating the darkness is the Valley Astronomy Club. Since the lights went off, the Milky Way can be seen with the naked eye from the square, and its “star nights” drew around 300 people in August. “It’s been the best August in ten years,” says Andrés Soto, owner of the bar on the square. This year, what’s more, the village festival was moved from July to August.
The debate goes on in the street. “What people feel is one thing and what actually happens is another,” sums up one resident. For the council meeting, the town hall has promised to present all the bills for the six months.
Activities
1 Detective Inference
Based on the figures in the report, which conclusion is the most rigorous? Tick the correct hypothesis.
- a) Switching off the street lights has led to more burglaries in the village.
- b) The bill has gone down, but not all the saving is due to the measure, and there’s no evidence that burglaries have increased.
- c) It has been proven that the measure saves 40% of the electricity.
- d) The bar’s good August is due only to the dark sky.
Which figures support it? Copy or summarise the clue from the text that proves it.
2 The Loom Order of events
The report doesn’t follow the order of events. Rebuild the timeline. Write the order number (1, 2, 3…) in each box.
- The residents’ association surveys 120 residents.
- The April bill arrives, 28% lower.
- One in every two street lights is switched off at night for the first time.
- The council studies the six months of bills and decides.
- The village festival and the star nights fill the square.
3 The Missing Page Coherence
Which follow-up story would fit this report? Tick only one option.
- a) At the October meeting, the town hall presents the six months of bills to check whether the saving comes close to the promised 40%.
- b) The Guardia Civil corrects its figures: burglaries have tripled since March.
- c) The town hall decides to switch off the street lights during the day too, to save more.
- d) The residents’ association admits it never carried out any survey.
Why do you rule out the others? Explain one of them.
4 Spot the Contradiction Literal reading
Three statements don’t match the report. Put an X next to the 3 statements that don’t fit the text.
- a) The 40% saving is an estimate, not a measured figure.
- b) Since March, all the street lights have been switched off all night.
- c) Between March and August there were fewer burglaries than the year before.
- d) The association surveyed every resident in the village.
- e) This year the festival was held in August.
- f) The April bill went down by 40%.
5 The Gallery Visualisation
In the game you choose the illustration that answers this question: “Which illustration shows a street in Villarrasa at three in the morning this summer?”. Here, you draw it yourself, with every detail the text gives you.