英语听力精选进阶版 13711

 Are electric cars gaining ground?

Summary

26 March 2012

Australia's first electric car charging station has opened in the city of Melbourne. It takes about five hours to charge each vehicle, but costs a fraction of the price of petrol. Those behind the project say it has huge potential to provide carbon neutral transport in Australia.

Reporter

Phil Mercer

Report

Australia, the world's largest exporter of coal, is addicted¹ to fossil fuels, which generate most of its electricity and drives much of its transport system.

In the Melbourne suburb of Brunswick, conservationists say a small but significant step has been taken towards a cleaner energy future.

Australia's first solar power charging station for electric cars has been switched on. It takes up to 5 hours to fully² replenish³ a battery that allows an average vehicle to travel about 150kms.

As the technology improves, it's hoped that batteries could eventually be fully charged within half and hour.

Environmentalists say that Australia has been slow to embrace electric cars compared to other countries because of what they describe as "serious cultural and political resistance" to change.

Petrol prices recently hit US$1.60 a litre here. If those costs continue to rise then Australia's indifference⁴ to electric-powered vehicles could begin to change.

1 addicted   

adj.沉溺于....的，对...上瘾的

参考例句：

• He was addicted to heroin at the age of 17.他17岁的时候对海洛因上了瘾。
• She's become addicted to love stories.她迷上了爱情小说。

2 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。

3 replenish   

vt.补充；(把…)装满；(再)填满

参考例句：

• I always replenish my food supply before it is depleted.我总是在我的食物吃完之前加以补充。
• We have to import an extra 4 million tons of wheat to replenish our reserves.我们不得不额外进口四百万吨小麦以补充我们的储备。

4 indifference   

n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎

参考例句：

• I was disappointed by his indifference more than somewhat.他的漠不关心使我很失望。
• He feigned indifference to criticism of his work.他假装毫不在意别人批评他的作品。