VOA慢速英语2009年-Development Report - Brazil Launches First

This is the VOA Special English Development Report.
　
A hydrogen fuel cell powered bus in Hartford, Connecticut, in 2007.

If you travel by bus in Sao Paulo, Brazil these days your vehicle may be powered by hydrogen fuel cells. The city's urban transportation system recently launched the first of up to five hydrogen buses. The hydrogen reacts with oxygen to produce electricity and water.

The bus uses a hybrid¹ system that combines the hydrogen fuel cells with high power batteries. It can be driven three hundred kilometers on the hydrogen cell and an additional fifty kilometers on its batteries.

The bus carries passengers in communities around Sao Paulo. The United Nations Development Program, the World Bank and other private, public and international groups supported the project.

Project official Carlos Zundt says the bus is the first of its kind in Latin America. Mister Zundt says the vehicle releases only water vapor² and is "totally clean." Traditional buses that run on diesel³ fuel release harmful carbon dioxide and other pollutants⁴. Most buses around the world run on diesel fuel. Mister Zundt says diesel vehicles are the main cause of air pollution in Sao Paulo.

The cost of the bus has not been announced. Hydrogen fuel cell buses cost more than traditional buses. But Mister Zundt says reducing air pollution and acid rain will reduce respiratory illnesses for people in the city. In addition, the new bus is very quiet and does not produce noise pollution. Mister Zundt says a hydrogen bus will last an average of twenty years, while a diesel bus can be used for five to eight years.

Sao Paulo has almost twenty million people. Almost half of them ride buses every day. Brazil has a large, modern and competitive bus industry. It is one of the top producers in the world. The project hopes to export hydrogen fuel cell buses in the future.

A Brazilian report says that Brazil is one of five countries that have developed such buses. The others are the United States, China, Germany and Japan.

But not everyone sees the hydrogen fuel cell bus as the hope of the future. Critics note the high cost of producing hydrogen. And they say other kinds of energy choices can provide power for buses.

And that's the VOA Special English Development Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. Transcripts⁵ and podcasts of our reports are at voaspecialenglish.com.

 

1 hybrid   

n.(动，植）杂种，混合物

参考例句：

• That is a hybrid perpetual rose.那是一株杂交的四季开花的蔷薇。
• The hybrid was tall,handsome,and intelligent.那混血儿高大、英俊、又聪明。

2 vapor   

n.蒸汽，雾气

参考例句：

• The cold wind condenses vapor into rain.冷风使水蒸气凝结成雨。
• This new machine sometimes transpires a lot of hot vapor.这部机器有时排出大量的热气。

3 diesel   

n.柴油发动机，内燃机

参考例句：

• We experimented with diesel engines to drive the pumps.我们试着用柴油机来带动水泵。
• My tractor operates on diesel oil.我的那台拖拉机用柴油开动。

4 pollutants   

污染物质（尤指工业废物）( pollutant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Pollutants are constantly being released into the atmosphere. 污染物质正在不断地被排放到大气中去。
• The 1987 Amendments limit 301(g) discharges to a few well-studied nonconventional pollutants. 1987年的修正案把第301条（g）的普通排放限制施加在一些认真研究过的几种非常规污染物上。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

5 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句