2008-12-13 太阳能墓园

Catalans are famous throughout Spain for their spirit of innovation. That ingenuity¹ has recently been extended to the creation of what, the Associated Press reports, is the Barcelonan area's largest solar energy plant. The solar panels have been installed on top of several mausoleums at a cemetery² located in the suburb of Santa Coloma de Gramanet. It is one of a few open sunny places in the crowded city of more than 120,000 where space can be at a premium³.

The project includes the installation of 462 solar panels over an area of 700 square meters that generate 202 kilowatts⁴ of power. To put it in colloquial⁵ terms, this amounts to the amount of electricity that 60 families consume in a year.

The city has several other solar parks which have mostly been installed on top of the buildings, but the cemetery is by far the largest. That does not seem to worry Juan Arroyo⁶ Garcia who is a regular visitor to the cemetery.

“When I learned from the media that they were going to install solar panels in the cemetery, I thought that it wasn't a bad idea at all. It doesn't spoil the landscape. On the other hand, they don't disturb our private grief when we visit our deceased loved ones, and on the top of that all, we are talking about clean energy. I fully⁷ support this.”

Garcia’s reaction reflects the community-wide support for the project even though there were some initial concerns.

The first reaction from the public was one of surprise. They didn't understand why we put solar panels in the cemetery. They asked if they were built to light their homes. So when we explained to them why the panels were put there, they understood and thought that was a very good idea.

Row after row of solar panels now cover the tops of the mausoleums. They soak up the maximum amount of the sunshine as the panels almost face south.

They are also tilted⁸ at a low angle, making them unobtrusive.

“When I got here, I was really surprised, mainly because I hadn’t been here for a long time. I thought to myself, look at that -- now they’ll be able to watch television and to get heating during the winter time. But when I learned about this initiative, then I thought it was a very good idea, because the energy generated here will provide electricity to many families. It is ingenious.”

According to the Associated Press, the project helps reduce the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by 62 tons each year. Authorities now hope to install solar plants in most cemeteries⁹ in Catalonia as well as elsewhere in Spain.

1 ingenuity   

n.别出心裁；善于发明创造

参考例句：

• The boy showed ingenuity in making toys.那个小男孩做玩具很有创造力。
• I admire your ingenuity and perseverance.我钦佩你的别出心裁和毅力。

2 cemetery   

n.坟墓，墓地，坟场

参考例句：

• He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。
• His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。

3 premium   

n.加付款；赠品；adj.高级的；售价高的

参考例句：

• You have to pay a premium for express delivery.寄快递你得付额外费用。
• Fresh water was at a premium after the reservoir was contaminated.在水库被污染之后，清水便因稀而贵了。

4 kilowatts   

千瓦( kilowatt的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• It's about 500 kilowatts per hour on average. 年用电量平均为每小时500千瓦。 来自商贸英语会话
• We have an emergency-standby electric generator with a capacity of 300 kilowatts. 我们有一台三百千瓦的事故备用发电机。

5 colloquial   

adj.口语的，会话的

参考例句：

• It's hard to understand the colloquial idioms of a foreign language.外语里的口头习语很难懂。
• They have little acquaintance with colloquial English. 他们对英语会话几乎一窍不通。

6 arroyo   

n.干涸的河床，小河

参考例句：

• She continued along the path until she came to the arroyo.她沿着小路一直走到小河边。
• They had a picnic by the arroyo.他们在干枯的河床边野餐过。

7 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

8 tilted   

v. 倾斜的

参考例句：

• Suddenly the boat tilted to one side. 小船突然倾向一侧。
• She tilted her chin at him defiantly. 她向他翘起下巴表示挑衅。

9 cemeteries   

n.（非教堂的）墓地，公墓( cemetery的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• It's morbid to dwell on cemeteries and such like. 不厌其烦地谈论墓地以及诸如此类的事是一种病态。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• In other districts the proximity of cemeteries seemed to aggravate the disease. 在其它地区里，邻近墓地的地方，时疫大概都要严重些。 来自辞典例句