Text 1

Cultural background notes

1.Future sources of power

    Fossil fuels, chiefly coal, oil and natural gas, now supply most of our energy. Only a small amount comes from renewable sources like solar or wind power, which do not release gases that trap heat in the atmosphere. If we could get more of our energy from renewable sources, we could reduce the amount of fossil fuels we burn.   

    Renewable sources could provide 40 percent of the energy needed in the world by the year 2050. Use of renewable energy can help both to slow global warming and to reduce air pollution.

2. Energy efficiency

    An energy-efficient light bulb or appliance does the same job with less energy. The saved energy can be used elsewhere, like any other source of power.  

3. What businesses can do to save energy

• Invest in energy-efficient fluorescent lighting.

• Build or remodel offices using energy-efficient materials, proper insulation and solar energy for heating and lighting.

• Set up ride-sharing systems for employees who commute to work.

• Plant trees to offset the company's greenhouse gas emissions.

• Invest in energy-efficient manufacturing processes and equipment. Use recycled materials.

• Establish recycling programs in the workplace and use recycled paper products.

4. Nuclear Power in the World Today

• The first commercial nuclear power stations started operation in the 1950s.

• There are now some 440 commercial nuclear reactors in 31 countries, with over 350 000 MW of total capacity.

• They supply 16% of the world's electricity, as base-load power, and their efficiency is increasing.

• 56 countries operate a total of 284 research reactors.

• Canada is the world's leading supplier of uranium.

Language notes

1. The sun is the most important source of energy that the earth has.

(太阳是地球最重要的能量之源。)

注意在定语从句中，当先行项带有最高级修饰语时，其后的关系代词通常用that。
e.g. Newton was one of the greatest men that ever lived.
He's the cleverest man that I have ever met.
此外，在以下情况中， 定语从句的关系代词一般也用that。

（1）当先行项带有only， all， any 等限定词时。
e.g. You are the only person that can help me.
Any boy that wants to succeed must work hard.
Ask Mr. Green, or any other person that is likely to know.

（2）当先行项为all或其他指物的不定代词如anything， something， nothing，且关系代词在定语从句中做主语时。
e.g. All that glitters is not gold.
This monument is all that remains of the ancient city.

2. It was seen only as one more problem in the search for oil and was burned off so that the oil could be reached more quickly.

(起初，人们只开采石油，认为天然气毫无用处，反而是石油开采的又一障碍。为了更快采到石油，人们将天然气白白烧掉。)

The phrase burn off means to destroy by burning.
e.g. The farmer are burning off the stable from the fields.

3. Hydro-electricity (water power) is probably the most-used form of energy given by nature.

(水力发电是能源利用最常见的形式。)

Note that hydro- is a commonly used prefix, meaning

(1) concerning or using water
    e.g. hydro-electricity (electricity produced by water power)
    hydro-therapy (treatment of disease using water)
(2) concerning or containing hydrogen
    e.g. hydrocarbon

4. Probably the most important function of coal and oil is to heat water for the steam engine, or steam turbine where electricity is produced.

(煤和石油最重要的功能是为蒸汽发动机和涡轮机中的蓄水加热，以产生电力。)

A turbine is an engine or motor in which the pressure of a liquid or gas, usually at very high temperatures, drives a special wheel, producing a circular movement.

5. A fuel such as coal or oil heats water in a boiler and steam is produced.

（煤和石油等燃料加热锅炉中的水，产生蒸汽。）

A boiler is a container for boiling water.

Text 2

Language notes

1. People who are against nuclear power would rather use the forces of nature, for example the wind, the sea, the rivers and the sun.

(反对使用核能的人宁愿使用自然能源，如风、海洋、河流和太阳。)

在would rather/would sooner, would just as soon, might (just) as well之后用不带to的不定式。
I'd rather/sooner stop now.
I'd just as soon come at five.
We may just as well walk.

2. There are no commercial schemes yet.

(目前还没有商业性的开发计划。)

Scheme means plan. The sentence means it has not been brought into business consideration and production.

3. The best seas for this sort of energy are the Caribbean and the Pacific. There, the temperature difference between the surface of the water and the colder layers can be as much as 4.4°C.

(加勒比海和太平洋最适合通过这种方式发电，因为水表和水下低温层的温差高达4.4摄氏度。)

Note sea here is a countable noun, meaning a particular area of the sea or the ocean.
e.g. the Caribbean Sea
the South China Sea

4. Only a few countries have geysers but it is also possible to produce energy of this sort by drilling holes deep into the ground and pouring water down the pipes so that it becomes so hot as to produce steam.

(尽管只有一些国家有天然喷泉，但是要获得这种能量是可能的。可以在地面钻个洞，深入地底。将水导入管道，使其变热来产生蒸汽。)

A geyser is a natural spring of hot water which from time to time rises suddenly into the air from the earth.

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