An airship is a type of aircraft that flies using a very large balloon filled with a lighter-than-air gas. Airships were an important means of air transportation before the 1940s but are little used today, having been largely replaced by airplanes and helicopters.However,some aeronautical engineers believe that airships could become popular again because they offer a number of advantages over airplanes and helicopters.
One advantage of airships is that for vertical lift(the force that keeps the ship airborne),they use a balloon that floats rather than an engine.Airplanes and helicopters use engines for both vertical lift and horizontal movement,but airships use engines solely for horizontal movement.So,airships use less fuel than a typical aircraft-thus making their fuel costs more economical.
Another advantage of airships is that they can be used in hard-to-reach locations.Unlike airplanes, airships do not require a long runway for takeoff and landing because of their ability to lift off and land vertically.The only other aircraft capable of ascending into the sky by going straight up and descending straight down to the ground is the helicopter,which can carry only a small amount of weight.Airships,meanwhile,are able to carry very heavy loads.As a result,airships could do jobs that neither airplanes nor helicopters can do,such as carrying heavy logs from forests to distribution centers.
Finally,airships could even be used to replace satellites.Currently, satellites are launched into Earth's orbit carying all kinds of equipment important in telecommunications or in surveying large areas of Earth's surface for military purposes.Since airships can also rise high above the surface and stay there without refueling for a significant amount of time,they could provide services similar to those provided by satellites,and at a considerably cheaper cost.
In the reading passage, the author concentrates on several advantages supporting the claim that airships can eventually replace airplanes and helicopters. However, the lecturer casts doubt on these advantages and respectively points out the problems with all the author's assertions.
Firstly, the author asserts that airships use less fuel compared to airplanes and helicopters because they can rise vertically without the need for engines. The lecturer admitted that airships use less fuel. However, he added that they require light air and gas to remain aboveground. Currently, two gases can efficiently serve this function: Hydrogen and Helium, but there are some problems with using these gases. Hydrogen can catch fire easily. As a result, using it may lead to tragic crashes in the sky, as they have been observed previously. On the other hand, Helium is safer, but it is expensive and also does not provide that lifting power. Consequently, there is already no suitable solution to keep a balance between cost and safety.
Secondly, the author suggests that airships can be used in hard-to-reach places. Conversely, the lecturer brings up the fact that in order to carry heavy loads, like tree logs, we should keep airships steady as they travel through the sky. However, these vehicles are too light to travel stably, just like balloons. Thus, by blowing winds, they may suffer considerable damages.
Lastly, the author claims that airships can also replace satellites too since they are able to rise high above the ground. In contrast, the lecturer refutes this claim and clarifies that airships can stay only 40 kilometers above the ground and at this location, they need to consume a large quantity of fuel to stay steadily. As a result, they should be frequently refueled, which is awkward and expensive, so they cannot serve the functions of satellites, which operate continuously.
Transition Words or Phrases used:
also, but, consequently, conversely, first, firstly, however, if, lastly, may, second, secondly, so, thus, as to, in contrast, as a result, on the other hand
Attributes: Values AverageValues Percentages(Values/AverageValues)% => Comments
Performance on Part of Speech:
To be verbs : 10.0 10.4613686534 96% => OK
Auxiliary verbs: 14.0 5.04856512141 277% => Less auxiliary verb wanted.
Conjunction : 12.0 7.30242825607 164% => OK
Relative clauses : 11.0 12.0772626932 91% => OK
Pronoun: 28.0 22.412803532 125% => Less pronouns wanted
Preposition: 34.0 30.3222958057 112% => OK
Nominalization: 4.0 5.01324503311 80% => OK
Performance on vocabulary words:
No of characters: 1596.0 1373.03311258 116% => OK
No of words: 304.0 270.72406181 112% => OK
Chars per words: 5.25 5.08290768461 103% => OK
Fourth root words length: 4.17559525986 4.04702891845 103% => OK
Word Length SD: 2.67959484472 2.5805825403 104% => OK
Unique words: 180.0 145.348785872 124% => OK
Unique words percentage: 0.592105263158 0.540411800872 110% => OK
syllable_count: 482.4 419.366225166 115% => OK
avg_syllables_per_word: 1.6 1.55342163355 103% => OK
A sentence (or a clause, phrase) starts by:
Pronoun: 6.0 3.25607064018 184% => OK
Article: 8.0 8.23620309051 97% => OK
Subordination: 3.0 1.25165562914 240% => Less adverbial clause wanted.
Conjunction: 2.0 1.51434878587 132% => OK
Preposition: 5.0 2.5761589404 194% => OK
Performance on sentences:
How many sentences: 17.0 13.0662251656 130% => OK
Sentence length: 17.0 21.2450331126 80% => The Avg. Sentence Length is relatively short.
Sentence length SD: 44.8012141457 49.2860985944 91% => OK
Chars per sentence: 93.8823529412 110.228320801 85% => OK
Words per sentence: 17.8823529412 21.698381199 82% => OK
Discourse Markers: 9.23529411765 7.06452816374 131% => OK
Paragraphs: 4.0 4.09492273731 98% => OK
Language errors: 0.0 4.19205298013 0% => OK
Sentences with positive sentiment : 7.0 4.33554083885 161% => OK
Sentences with negative sentiment : 5.0 4.45695364238 112% => OK
Sentences with neutral sentiment: 5.0 4.27373068433 117% => OK
What are sentences with positive/Negative/neutral sentiment?
Coherence and Cohesion:
Essay topic to essay body coherence: 0.15223501154 0.272083759551 56% => OK
Sentence topic coherence: 0.0505328992458 0.0996497079465 51% => OK
Sentence topic coherence SD: 0.0459554142612 0.0662205650399 69% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence: 0.0895082253331 0.162205337803 55% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence SD: 0.0388860512717 0.0443174109184 88% => OK
Essay readability:
automated_readability_index: 12.2 13.3589403974 91% => Automated_readability_index is low.
flesch_reading_ease: 54.22 53.8541721854 101% => OK
smog_index: 8.8 5.55761589404 158% => OK
flesch_kincaid_grade: 9.9 11.0289183223 90% => OK
coleman_liau_index: 12.87 12.2367328918 105% => OK
dale_chall_readability_score: 8.69 8.42419426049 103% => OK
difficult_words: 81.0 63.6247240618 127% => OK
linsear_write_formula: 9.0 10.7273730684 84% => OK
gunning_fog: 8.8 10.498013245 84% => OK
text_standard: 9.0 11.2008830022 80% => OK
What are above readability scores?
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Rates: 85.0 out of 100
Scores by essay e-grader: 25.5 Out of 30
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Note: the e-grader does NOT examine the meaning of words and ideas. VIP users will receive further evaluations by advanced module of e-grader and human graders.