VOA慢速英语 2007 1011a

This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

 
 
In Alexandria, Virginia, the two thousand students at T.C. Williams High School started classes last month in a new building. It was built as a "green" school based on requirements from the United States Green Building Council¹.

The council is a nonprofit organization made up of building industry leaders. It has a rating² system for buildings called Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED.

In two thousand one, there were four schools asking for LEED certification³. Now there are four hundred, including T.C. Williams. So far, fifty-eight schools have been recognized for meeting the requirements.

These include protecting natural areas and limiting the amount of chemicals in building materials. They also include better lighting⁴ and improved indoor air quality.

Buildings are also rated on how well they use energy and water, and on things like the use of recycling programs.

At T.C. Williams, one example of green design can be seen in the many windows that let in natural light. Students say the sunny rooms help them stay awake during class.

A rooftop garden is designed to provide stormwater control and help keep the building cool in the sun. And an underground tank can store one million seven hundred thousand liters⁵ of rainwater for air conditioning and other systems.

The new building cost about ninety million dollars to build. It stands next to the old T.C. Williams building, which officials say will slowly be taken apart and recycled.

T.C. Williams High School is still waiting for the final part of the LEED certification process. Schools receive points for the number of requirements they meet. Buildings are rated silver, gold or platinum⁶.

Around the country, concerns about limited budgets for public schools sometimes lead to objections⁷ to investing⁸ in green schools. But the Green Building Council points to a report by Capital E, a Washington, D.C., company that serves the clean energy industry.

Capital E examined the cost of thirty green schools in the United States. It says the average cost was only two percent higher compared to a traditional school. And it says this extra cost is small compared to the savings⁹ over time from lower energy and water costs and healthier students.

And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Dana Demange.

1 council   

n.理事会，委员会，议事机构

参考例句：

• The town council passed a law forbidding the distribution of handbills.市议会通过法律，禁止散发传单。
• The city council has declared for improving the public bus system.市议会宣布同意改进公共汽车系统。

2 rating   

n.级别，等级，额定值，责骂，收视率

参考例句：

• It is a ship with a rating of 500,000 tons.这是一艘五十万吨级的船。
• The opinion polls gave the president a high rating.民意测验显示人民对总统的支持率很高。

3 certification   

n.证明，鉴定，证书

参考例句：

• the medical certification of the cause of death 为死因出具医学鉴定
• He received his certification as a high school English teacher. 他取得了中学英语教师证书。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

5 liters   

n.升( liter的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• In the metric system, measurements are made in metres and liters. 在公制中，用米和升作计量单位。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This can holds five liters of water. 这个容器可装五升水。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 platinum   

n.白金

参考例句：

• I'll give her a platinum ring.我打算送给她一枚白金戒指。
• Platinum exceeds gold in value.白金的价值高于黄金。

7 objections   

n.反对( objection的名词复数 )；异议；厌恶；反对的理由

参考例句：

• I think we can safely dismiss their objections. 我认为我们对他们的异议完全可以不予理会。
• The chairman overrode the committee's objections and signed the agreement. 主席不顾委员会的反对，径行签署了协议。

8 investing   

v.投资，花费( invest的现在分词 )；授予；（把资金）投入；投入（时间、精力等）

参考例句：

• He was timid about investing money. 他不敢投资。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Europe also caught the excitement of investing in American railroads. 欧洲人对投资美国铁路也极感兴趣。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

9 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。