1、制作人 : 中国石油大学 (华东 ) xue yue 科技英语 综合教程 石油大学 (华东 ) 1-7 单元 Text B + Text C http:/ The Future of Alternative Energy Cameron Walker for National Geographic News October 28, 2004 Residential energy use in the United States will increase 25 percent by the year 2025, according to U.S. Department of Energy (D
2、OE) forecasts. A small but increasing share of that extra power will trickle in from renewable sources like wind, sunlight, water, and heat in the ground. Last year alternative energy sources provided 6 percent of the nations energy supply, according to the DOE. “The future belongs to renewable ener
3、gy,“ said Brad Colllins, the executive director of the American Solar Energy Society, a Boulder, Colorado-based nonprofit. Scientists and industry experts may disagree over how long the worlds supply of oil and natural gas will last, but it will end, Collins said. 制作人 : 中国石油大学 (华东 ) xue yue While re
4、newable energy is generally more expensive than conventionally produced supplies, alternative power helps to reduce pollution and to conserve fossil fuels. “People sometimes get caught up in cost-effectiveness,“ said Paul Torcellini, a senior engineer at the DOEs National Renewable Energy Laboratory
5、 (NREL) in Golden, Colorado. “But it can be a question of values and what we spend our money on.“ Below, a look at some recent developments in renewable-energy technology: Solar Power Photovoltaic, or solar-electric, systems capture light energy from the suns rays and convert it into electricity. To
6、day these solar units power everything from small homes to large office buildings. Technological improvements have made solar-electric modules more cost-effective. In the 1980s the average price of energy captured with photovoltaics was 95 U.S. cents per kilowatt-hour. Today that price has dropped t
7、o around 20 cents per kilowatt-hour, according to Collins, of the American Solar Energy Society. The cheaper rate is still more expensive than the average national price of electricity, which in 2003 was a little over 8 cents per kilowatt-hour, according to the U.S. Department of Energys Annual Ener
8、gy Review. Other recent advances include “thin film“ photovoltaic technology, a high-tech coating that converts any surface covered with the film into a solar-electric power source. Boats and RVs that use the film are now on the market. Engineers have also developed a roofing material coated with th
9、e electricity-producing film. “The guy who puts on the roof on a house now puts on the solar panels at the same time,“ Torcellini said. The roofing material withstands inclement weather and, on bright days, taps sunshine for electricity. NREL researchers, meanwhile, are working to devise more effici
10、ent and cheaper solar-electric systems. Most traditional photovoltaic solar units on the market today convert between 11 and 13 percent of the suns light into energy. Engineers think they can improve on that. 制作人 : 中国石油大学 (华东 ) xue yue Jeff Mazer, a Washington, D.C.-area photovoltaic engineer, notes
11、 that most thin-film photovoltaic systems today have a 7 to 11 percent efficiency rating. But he estimates that thin films could surpass that rating within three years. He also notes that some new traditional solar modules achieve 15 percent efficiency and believes that figure can climb to 17 percen
12、t in the near future. In the last two decades solar-thermal panels (units used to warm household hot water, pools, and spas) have become highly efficient. Energy costs have decreased from 60 cents to 8 cents per kilowatt-hour since the 1980s, Collins said. Solar-powered water heaters are typically m
13、ore expensive than conventional ones, but, as with other products that harness alternative energy, consumers benefit by knowing their energy costs up-front, Torcellini said. “Otherwise, youre hedging your bets about the future cost of traditional energy sources by using standard appliances,“ he said
14、. Wind Power Compared to other renewable energy sources, wind power competes with conventional energy at a price less than 4 cents per kilowatt-hour, Collins said. Wind energy projects around the world now generate enough energy to power nine million typical U.S. homes, according to the American Win
15、d Energy Association, a Washington, D.C.-based trade group. One of the newest trends in wind power is the construction of offshore wind farms, clusters of electricity-generating turbines erected in open-water areas with strong winds. Europe now has 17 wind farms spinning offshore. The Arklow Bank Of
16、fshore Wind Park, 8 miles (13 kilometers) off the eastern coast of Ireland, is one such project. Its seven turbines generate enough electricity to power 16,000 homes. While few homes generate their own wind power in the U.S., many power companies allow consumers to opt for power generated at a wind
17、plant or other renewable source. On Tuesday, Colorado voters will consider a ballot initiative that would require power companies to provide 10 percent of their electricity from wind and other renewable sources by 2015. 制作人 : 中国石油大学 (华东 ) xue yue “If that passes, power companies will offer more reba
18、tes to homeowners“ to encourage renewable energy production, said Sheila Hayter, an NREL senior engineer. Ground Heat Tapping into the ground offers another option to regulate household heating and cooling. In most areas of the United States, the ground below the frost line maintains an average temp
19、erature between 50 and 54 degrees Fahrenheit (10 to 12 degrees Celsius). Ground-source heat pumps, also called geo-exchange systems, use this relatively constant temperature to keep homes at comfortable temperatures. The devices employ a series of underground, liquid-filled tubes or wells. Liquid fl
20、ows through the pipes into the home, where a heat exchanger either adds or subtracts heat from indoor air, depending on the season. In winter, that means added warmth captured from the ground. “If you can do that, your furnace doesnt have to work so hard,“ Hayter said. A U.S. Environmental Protectio
21、n Agency study found that geo-exchange systems can save up to 70 percent of home-heating costs. C The OceansMans Last Great Resource 1. For millennia man has exploited and destroyed the riches of the land, now man covets the wealth of the oceans, which covers nearly three-quarters of the earth. But
22、the scramble for minerals and oil, for new underwater empires, could heighten international tensions and set a new and wider stage for world conflict. 2. Even the most conservative estimates of resources in the seabed stagger the imagination. In the millions of miles of ocean that touch a hundred na
23、tions live for four out of five living things 制作人 : 中国石油大学 (华东 ) xue yue on earth. In the seabed, minerals and oil have been proved to exist in lavish supply. The oceans are a source of pure water and food protein; of drugs and building materials; they are even possibly a habitat for man himself and
24、 a key to survival for the doubling population on the land. 3. Man may yet learn to use a tiny fraction of this wealth. Unless international law soon determines how it shall be shared, that fraction alone could set off a new age of colonial war. Is the deep seabed, like the high seas, common to all?
25、 Or, like the wilderness areas of land, is it open to national claim by the use and occupation of the first or the strongest pioneer? The question of what is to be done to regulate and control exploitation of the sea beds is no longer a theoretical matter. It is a problem of international concern. W
26、e must decide how to divide this great wealth, equitable among nations. But wealth is not the only thing at stake. We must also learn how to protect the oceans from the menace of pollution. 4. A few years ago, “practical” men dismissed speculations about wealth in the sea. “That is economic foolishn
27、ess,” they said. It will never be economically profitable to exploit the sea beds, no matter how great the riches are to be found there. Unfortunately, they underestimated the lure of gold as the mother of invention. Yet the pessimists may be proved right. In these pioneer years of the Ocean Age, th
28、e damage done sometimes seems to exceed the benefit gained. Beaches from England to Puerto Rico to California have been soaked in oily slime. Fish and wildlife have been destroyed. Insecticides, seeping into the rivers and then the oceans, have killed fish and waterfowl and revived fears that other
29、lethal chemicals may contaminate our waters when they are used as garbage dumps. The future disposal of increasing amounts of atomic waste is an unresolved problem. Millions of acres of offshore seabed have been leased for drilling. Largely in ignorance, we are tinkering with our greatest source of
30、life. 5. The incredible magnitude of the oceans resources can be measured by just one isolated example; the metal content of manganese nodules. These lumps of mineral on the ocean floor were once regarded as a curiosity with no economic value. One study of reserves in the Pacific Ocean alone came up
31、 with an estimate that the nodules contained 358 billion tons of manganese, equivalent, at present rates of consumption, to reserves for 400, 000 years, compared to known land reserves of only 100 years. The nodules contain equally staggering amounts of aluminum, nickel, cobalt, and other metals. Mo
32、st of these resources exist at great depths, from 5,000 to more than 15,000 feet below sea level. Yet within five to ten years the technology will exist for commercial mining operations. This will make available virtually unlimited metal reserves. 6. More familiar to most of us is the accelerated pa
33、ce of offshore drilling that now extends more than 50 miles out to sea and accounts for 15 percent of U.S. oil production. In the twelve years between 1955 and 1967, offshore production of crude oil increased from seven million barrels. Estimates of known reserves of natural gas have more than tripl
34、ed in the past 15 years, and each advance of scientific exploration of the ocean beds brings to light new finds that would gladden the eye of the most hardened veteran of the California gold rush. 7. Perhaps the least developed resources, and one of critical importance to spiraling population figure
35、s, is the use of the seas for farming techniques or “aquaculture”. Present methods of fishing can only be compared with primitive hunting with a bow and arrow; if fish were cultivated like livestock, the present world fish catch could easily be multiplied five or as much as ten fold. The production
36、of protein concentrate and the distillation of fresh water are still experimental in an economic sense; there is no reason to believe that they too cannot 制作人 : 中国石油大学 (华东 ) xue yue become both useful and profitable. Aquaculture could also be applied to a variety of marine plant life. 8. Nor is the
37、potential confined to what we can extract from the seas or the seabed. In crowded England, serious plans have been developed to build entire cities just off the coast. Offshore airports may solve the demand for large coastal cities as New York and Los Angeles. Some people, quick to take advantage of
38、 the legal confusion that reigns beyond coastal waters, have planned to build independent islands atop seamounts and reefs outside the countrys territorial limitthis is indeed, a romantic notion, but one with, it is suspected, the more prosaic aim of avoiding the constructions of domestic law concer
39、ning gambling and taxes, one such venture has been restrained by the courts on the grounds that the reefs and seamounts attach to the seabed on the continental shelf, and are, therefore, under U. S. jurisdiction. In another case the United Nations was presented with an application for permission to
40、extract minerals from the bed of the Red Sea in an area 50 miles from the coastal states. The Secretariat dodged this thorny question, citing lack of authority to act. 9. Such claims are no longer isolated or frivolous. How to dispose of this wealth and exploit these possibilities has become a world
41、 problem. 第二单元 B 1.If its true that time is money, then its small wonder business owners find they can never truly clock out. Wherever they go and whomever they meet, entrepreneurs are walking billboards for their companies. In a tough economy, where advertising budgets are cut to the bone, that kin
42、d of person-to-person marketing is more important than ever. But if youre a billboard, how can you be sure youre communicating the right message? How do you get people to notice you without offending, boring or confusing them? Body language 2.Lillian Bjorseth, a communications consultant and author
43、of Breakthrough Networking, says people decide many things about you within 10 seconds of seeing you usually before you even open your mouth. Thats why entrepreneurs should always be conscious of their aura, she says. 制作人 : 中国石油大学 (华东 ) xue yue 3.“The aura is the area around you that you create by w
44、hat you wear, how you act, how you look,” she says. “It all goes together to make one impression. You could wear a very expensive suit, but if you stand slumped over with your head down, you wont give a confident aura.” 4.Though every persons aura is complex and unique, Bjorseth says entrepreneurs c
45、an focus on a few simple, non-verbal priorities to appear confident and in control. First, dont slip into a room “all smiles.” Instead, “claim your space” in the room by planting your feet six inches to eight inches apart, one slightly ahead of the other a stance that will make you feel grounded and
46、 confident. 5. After youve established eye contact, Bjorseth says a smile will create an upbeat, positive environment. Maintain eye contact 85 percent of the time during a conversation, she recommends. Doing so will make you seem trustworthy and it will demonstrate that youre interested in what the
47、other person has to say. 6. To avoid a fumbling introduction, Bjorseth says every entrepreneur should have in mind a “verbal business card” a quick, 30-word summary of who you are and what you can do. Focus on benefits for the other person rather than job titles or even company names, she recommends
48、. “You want to make sure people remember you as opposed to others who do the same thing you do.” Conversation 7.When its time to move beyond the handshake stage, simple conversational skills are the key to a successful first meeting, says Rosalie Maggio, bestselling author of How to Say It and The A
49、rt of Talking to Anyone. 8.“ Prepare in advance, then just try to forget yourself,” she says. “Being too self -conscious is the quickest way to shoot yourself in the foot. Remember that its about the other person thats the best possible way to make a positive first impression.” 9 .To help shift focus to the other person, Maggio says a bit of small talk is appropriate in almost every setting. When meeting someone new, the conversation should resemble a tennis match,
