【英语时差8,16】替代能源-生物能

Alternative Energy? Bugs¹ And Biofuel One day, probably sooner than we like to think, oil production will peak. Then, gasoline prices will go not merely through the roof but up and away into unimagined heights. Before that happens, though, we could have a replacement² for gas made from oil. Maybe,hopefully.That’s what many scientists around the world are working on, anyhow. Biofuels like ethanol made from corn and sugarcane have been around for decades. But the amount of crops and farmland needed to make enough ethanol has caused problems, including rising food prices. So now, scientists are seeking other ways to make fuel. Like bugs. That’s bugs as in microbes–not insects. Scientists have known that some bacteria, for example, dine³ on petroleum⁴ waste in soil, and on sugars from plants, and produce chemicals that can be turned into biofuel. Researchers at MIT are working with one such bacterium⁵, called Rhodococcus. They’ve mapped its genome and are now trying to figure out ways to make the microbe gobble up more petroleum waste and plant sugars to more efficiently⁶ produce fuel-friendly chemicals. These kinds of bacteria could be useful in several ways. For example, because they have a taste for different kinds of sugar made by plants, the bugs could help improve the making of cellulosic ethanol fuel made by breaking down sugar in non-edible plants like switch grass. This sort of research is still in the early stages. But there are already dozens of companies racing⁷ to become the first to use bugs to make fuel.

1 bugs   

adj.疯狂的，发疯的n.窃听器( bug的名词复数 )；病菌；虫子；[计算机]（制作软件程序所产生的意料不到的）错误

参考例句：

• All programs have bugs and need endless refinement. 所有的程序都有漏洞，都需要不断改进。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The sacks of rice were swarming with bugs. 一袋袋的米里长满了虫子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

3 dine   

vi.吃饭，进餐；vt.宴请

参考例句：

• I wish I could afford to dine off fresh meat every day.我要是能天天吃到新鲜的肉就好了。
• Let's dine out tonight，I'm too tired to cook.我太累了，不想做饭，今晚咱们到外面吃吧。

4 petroleum   

n.原油，石油

参考例句：

• The Government of Iran advanced the price of petroleum last week.上星期伊朗政府提高了石油价格。
• The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。

5 bacterium   

n.(pl.)bacteria 细菌

参考例句：

• The bacterium possibly goes in the human body by the mouth.细菌可能通过口进入人体。
• A bacterium is identified as the cause for his duodenal ulcer.一种细菌被断定为造成他十二指肠溃疡的根源。

6 efficiently   

adv.高效率地，有能力地

参考例句：

• The worker oils the machine to operate it more efficiently.工人给机器上油以使机器运转更有效。
• Local authorities have to learn to allocate resources efficiently.地方政府必须学会有效地分配资源。

7 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。