托福听力荟萃 33

Since we've been discussing alternative fuels lately, I wanted to pass onto you some information I read about a new fuel that's been in the news a lot lately. It's called A-21.It's ______ of water and a chemical known as ______. It seems to be avery promising¹ fuel because it's much cleaner than the ______ that we usetoday. That's not to say that it doesn't pollute, but it is cleaner. A-21 isn'tlike some other alternative fuels that require completely new types of engines.A-21 still works in regular, everyday ______ engines --- like the ones incars --- with only minor² mechanical modifications³. So changing over wouldn't bea big deal.You may doubt some of these claims as many researchers have. Some people feared that because it contains about 45 percent water it would freeze in the winter. But a small amount of ______ was added to it, and that seems tohave solved the problem.A-21 has recently undergone street tests in buses in Reno, Nevada. So far it seems to work just fine. This is a good thing, especially in Nevada, because the state government there has passed a law requiring that a large percent age of vehicles in Nevada run on alternative fuels. A-21 should help.

 

 

【填空答案】

1.composed v. 组成；作曲（compose的过去分词）；著作

2.naphtha n. 石脑油；挥发油；粗汽油

3.gasoline n. 汽油

4.combustion⁴ n. 燃烧，氧化；骚动

5.antifreeze n. [助剂] 防冻剂

【听力原文】

Since we've been discussing alternative fuels lately, I wanted to pass onto you some information I read about a new fuel that's been in the news a lot lately. It's called A-21.It's composed of water and a chemical known as naphtha. It seems to be avery promising fuel because it's much cleaner than the gasoline that we usetoday. That's not to say that it doesn't pollute, but it is cleaner. A-21 isn'tlike some other alternative fuels that require completely new types of engines.A-21 still works in regular, everyday combustion engines --- like the ones incars --- with only minor mechanical modifications. So changing over wouldn't bea big deal.You may doubt some of these claims as many researchers have. Some peoplefeared that because it contains about 45 percent water it would freeze in thewinter. But a small amount of antifreeze was added to it, and that seems tohave solved the problem.A-21 has recently undergone street tests in buses in Reno, Nevada. So far it seems to work just fine. This is a good thing, especially in Nevada, because the state government there has passed a law requiring that a large percent age of vehicles in Nevada run on alternative fuels. A-21 should help.

1 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

2 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

3 modifications   

n.缓和( modification的名词复数 )；限制；更改；改变

参考例句：

• The engine was pulled apart for modifications and then reassembled. 发动机被拆开改型，然后再组装起来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The original plan had undergone fairly extensive modifications. 原计划已经作了相当大的修改。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 combustion   

n.燃烧；氧化；骚动

参考例句：

• We might be tempted to think of combustion.我们也许会联想到氧化。
• The smoke formed by their combustion is negligible.由它燃烧所生成的烟是可忽略的。