VOA常速英语2019--可再生能源为哥斯达黎加提供动力（在线收听）

Renewable Energy Powers Up Costa Rica

In Costa Rica, an increasing number of entrepreneurs and small businesses are switching to renewable sources of energy.

在哥斯达黎加，越来越多的企业家和小企业正在转向可再生能源。 

Because it’s a smart economic choice.

因为这是一个有利于经济的明智选择。 

Luis Diego Vasquez says it’s not just about being green.

Luis Diego Vasquez说，那不仅很绿色环保。 

The solar panels that run his ice-cream shop save him money.

使其冰淇淋店运营的太阳能电池板还为他省钱。 

We used to work with a gasoline generator here.

我们之前使用的是汽油发电机。 

The gas cost about 25 dollars a day.

汽油每天耗费25美元左右。 

Now with the panel’s, no fuel is used.

现在，有了太阳能板，就不用使用燃料了。 

There is no pollution, it does not make a sound, people like it and the investment is recovered by saving money on the fuel.

这不会有污染，也不会产生噪音，人们很喜欢这一点，而且节省下来的燃料费用可以恢复投资。 

Vasquez is in solar farm Fatima Montealegre, a part of a renewable energy economy.

Vasquez在太阳能农场Fatima Montealegre干活，该农场是可再生能源经济的一部分。 

It has allowed Costa Rica to get a record 98% of their electric energy from renewable sources.

它使得哥斯达黎加从可再生能源中获得98％的电能。 

We have the opportunity with this energy to have tranquility, health, save money electricity, gas and above all were contributing to the health of the planet on the health of all the people.

我们有机会利用这种能量来维持安宁的环境、健康，节省电费和燃气费，最重要的是它能促进地球上所有人的健康。

On a national scale, the country gets its energy from a number of sources, like wind energy, geothermal energy and hydroelectric power, even the streetlights are solar-powered.

就全国范围而言，该国从风能、地热能和水力发电等多种来源获取能源，就连路灯也是太阳能供电。

Government officials like Andrea Mesa say the country is making choices to go carbon neutral. Because that is simply what the future will demand.

安德里亚梅萨等政府官员表示，该国正在做出选择以实现碳中和。因为那就是未来所需要的。 

Where we are going to be very digitalized and these two processes’ feedback on each other and where we are going to start to produce electricity in a decentralized manner, these are very structural changes of the energy model and the economic model and the country sets out its road-map to prepare and take advantage of it, to give it opportunities.

我们将要在哪实现数字化，这两个过程相互之间的反馈如何以及从哪儿开始以分散的方式发电，这些是能源模型和经济模式的非常结构性的变化。国家已规划准备路线，打算利用这一点，给予机会。

All this is possible because Costa Rica only has about 5 million citizens and no major industry.

这一切都是有可能的，因为哥斯达黎加大约只有500万公民，没有主要产业。 

So their electric energy grid is small.

所以他们的电能网很小。 

But the transportation sector is big and that relies almost exclusively on gasoline.

但交通部门很大，几乎完全依赖汽油。 

Because of that petroleum products still account for most of the country’s total energy use but Mesa insists that two will change.

因为石油产品仍占该国总能源消耗的大部分，但Mesa坚持认为两者将会发生改变。 

It is imortant this is like a mantra that we always repeat, this is not an environmental issue.

重要的是，这就像我们总是重复的一句咒语，这不是一个环境问题。 

It is a development model issue this is a matter of preparing the country for the fourth Industrial Revolution.

这是一个发展模式问题，这是国家为第四次工业革命做准备的问题。 

The world is moving towards an economy where we are going to stop using oil.

世界正在形成一个停止使用石油的经济。 

Although some think that it will never be possible but that is what we are going to do.

虽然有些人认为那永远不可能发生，但这就是我们要做的事情。 

In the short term, analysts expect the growth of renewable energy and the demand for oil to continue to rise.

从短期来看，分析师预计可再生能源的增长以及对石油的需求将继续上升。