英语听力精选进阶版 6276

With revenue from pig products getting smaller every year, some farmers from rural England have decided¹ to make some extra money by turning poo into profit.

James Hart, who runs a pig farm, came up with a simple solution of using the huge amount of pig faeces, cow dung and chicken droppings on his farm to generate electricity.

It may look unremarkable from the outside, but inside Glebe Farm there is a state-of-the-art biogas station. It's one of only a few in the UK, which has been slower than many of its European neighbours in developing renewable energies such as wind turbines and solar panels.

So how does it work? Large quantities of animal waste are mixed with lots of grass in a tower. Bacteria then break it all down, producing methane², which is siphoned off, cleaned and filtered.

The gas is then used to power an engine which in turn powers a generator³. The electricity from this is then fed into the National Grid⁴. Mr Hart thinks he'll be able to sell 2.2 million kilowatt⁵ hours of electricity every year.

The heat generated by the process is also captured and used for central heating at the farmhouse⁶.

But it's not only Glebe Farm which benefits. Methane is one of the most powerful greenhouse gases - 20 times worse than carbon dioxide in trapping heat in the atmosphere. By capturing so much of it, Mr Hart expects to reduce his carbon footprint by about 10,000 tonnes a year.

James Hart says he's pleased because he's managed to find another source of income and improve his environmental impact.

Quiz 小测验

1. Are farmers making big profits from their pig products? 

No. "With revenue from pig products getting smaller every year..."

2. Find four words in the article which mean animal waste. 

Poo, faeces, dung, droppings.

3. Is the UK leading Europe in developing renewable energies? 

No. "It's one of only a few in the UK, which has been slower than many of its European neighbours in developing renewable energies."

4. Which is worse for the environment: methane or carbon dioxide? 

Methane. "Methane is one of the most powerful greenhouse gases - 20 times worse than carbon dioxide in trapping heat in the atmosphere."

5. Why is James Hart pleased? 

"James Hart says he's pleased because he's managed to find another source of income and improve his environmental impact."

Glossary 词汇表

poo 屎，粪便 

faeces （猪）粪 

dung （牛）粪 

droppings （鸡）屎 

biogas 生物气体 

renewable energies 再生能源 

wind turbines 风力涡轮发电机 

solar panels 太阳能电池板

animal waste 动物粪便 

methane 沼气，甲烷 

siphoned off 吸走 

generator 发动机 

National Grid 全国高压输电线网 

kilowatt hours 千瓦小时 

greenhouse gases 温室气体 

environmental impact 对环境的冲击

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 methane   

n.甲烷，沼气

参考例句：

• The blast was caused by pockets of methane gas that ignited.爆炸是由数袋甲烷气体着火引起的。
• Methane may have extraterrestrial significance.甲烷具有星际意义。

3 generator   

n.发电机，发生器

参考例句：

• All the while the giant generator poured out its power.巨大的发电机一刻不停地发出电力。
• This is an alternating current generator.这是一台交流发电机。

4 grid   

n.高压输电线路网；地图坐标方格；格栅

参考例句：

• In this application,the carrier is used to encapsulate the grid.在这种情况下，要用载体把格栅密封起来。
• Modern gauges consist of metal foil in the form of a grid.现代应变仪则由网格形式的金属片组成。

5 kilowatt   

n.千瓦

参考例句：

• They pay thirty fen per kilowatt hour.他们每度电付三角钱。
• The watt is a small unit of power so that we use the kilowatt instead.瓦特是小功率的单位，因此我们用千瓦代之。

6 farmhouse   

n.农场住宅（尤指主要住房）

参考例句：

• We fell for the farmhouse as soon as we saw it.我们对那所农舍一见倾心。
• We put up for the night at a farmhouse.我们在一间农舍投宿了一夜。