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Alternative Energy: The Search Is On 新能源时代

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Times are hard if you’re in the energy producing business. Traditional sources of energy such as oil are getting scarce and expensive, and the public is growing tired of the pollution they cause. The search for safer, cleaner forms of energy is on.

如果你正从事能源制造业的话，现今的景气正处于低迷状态。传统能源来源如石油等正渐渐减少，并且变得昂贵；而大众们对其所制造的污染也日渐感到厌烦。因此，搜寻更安全、更环保的能源已经成为当前的课题。

But perhaps the word “search” is a little misleading. Alternative forms of energy have been around for decades. Solar cells, which transform sunlight into electricity, were first developed in 1946. Wind power, which uses long sails attached to turbines to harness the energy of the wind, first began to get serious attention in Europe in the 1970s. Denmark is one of the leaders in this field and has built dozens of “wind farms” (large collections of wind turbines) along its coasts. Today, the country generates 20% of its electrical needs from wind.

但是说「搜寻」或许会产生些许混淆。替代性能源事实上已经存在数十年了。在一九四六年时便发展出能够将阳光转化为电力的太阳能电池。而从一九七O年代开始，使用附着于涡轮上的长翼板来把风力转化为电力的风力发电也在欧洲受到重视。丹麦是这个领域中的佼佼者之一，并且已经在沿海建造了好几十座的「风电厂」(风力涡轮的大集合场)。今天，丹麦有百分之二十的电力都来自于风。

So why isn’t all our power produced from wind or solar power? Well, not everything is perfect in the alternative energy world. Solar cells are expensive to build, making the cost to produce one kilowatt of power higher than that of using coal or oil. Wind farms are usually situated offshore, or in remote locations. This makes construction and maintenance both costly and challenging.

那么，为什么我们不从风和太阳能中取得所有的能量需求呢?在替代性能源的世界中没有一项是完美的。太阳能电池的建造需要大量资金，这使得制造一千瓦的电比起用煤矿或石油制造要来的昂贵。而风电厂通常位于近海或是遥远偏僻的地方，这使得建造和维修变得所费不赀并充满挑战性。

Critics of alternative energy like to focus on the problems, forgetting that coal, oil, and nuclear power are equally, if not more, problematic. The truth is, we do have a choice when it comes to producing power. But whether our leaders will choose to bring alternative energy forms into the mainstream is another story.

批评替代性能源者，喜欢把焦点放在问题上，忘记了煤，石油，和核能也同样地，如果没有更多,有问题。事实上，当面临能源制造的时候，我们是可以有选择的。但是，是否我们的领导者会选择引进替代能源做为主流，则是另外的议题了。

－by Bill Martin & Robert Kelly

Vocabulary

单词发音

construction [kənˋstrʌkʃən] n. 建造，建设

maintenance [ˋmentənəns]n. 维修，保养

remote [rɪˋmot] adj. 遥远的；偏僻的

generate [ˋdʒɛnə͵ret] v. 产生

More Information

单词发音

scarce [skɛrs] adj. 稀有的，珍贵的

grow tired of  对(人, 事物)渐感厌烦

be around 在旁边, 在附近

sail [sel] n. 帆状物；（风车的）翼板

attach [əˋtætʃ] v. 装上，附上

turbine [ˋtɝbaɪn] n. 涡轮（机），叶轮（机）

harness [ˋhɑrnɪs] v. 利用

dozens of 几十个,数十个; 【口】许多, 很多

kilowatt [ˋkɪlo͵wɑt] n. 千瓦（电力单位）

offshore [ˋɔfˋʃor] adj. 离岸的

transform [trænsˋfɔrm] v. 变换；转换