VOA常速英语2014--New Nuke Facilities Being Built but Old Questions Remain 美国新建核设施 遗留老问题

 

New Nuke Facilities Being Built but Old Questions Remain 美国新建核设施 遗留老问题

In the midst of the current debate over whether to build the Keystone oil pipeline¹ from Canada into the United States and the efforts to develop solar and wind power, nuclear energy is hardly being discussed. However, the Nuclear Energy Institute - an industry lobbying group -- reports the number of nuclear power plants in the United States is growing.

美国正在讨论是否建设从加拿大到美国的拱心石石油管道，和发展太阳能，风能，但很少有人提及核能。然而，行业游说机构核能源研究所说，美国核电站的数量正在增长。

The big news is new facilities. Four are currently being constructed: two each in South Carolina and Georgia. The Nuclear Energy Institute said there are 12 additional applications to build nuclear power plants.

重要新闻是有四所新的核设施正在建设之中，其中两所在南卡莱罗纳州，两所在乔治亚州。核能源研究所说，还有其他12个建立核电厂的申请。

Steve Byrne, of South Carolina Electric and Gas, said that for his company, nuclear was a good option.

南卡莱罗纳州电力燃气公司的拜恩代表他的公司说，核能是一个好的选择。

“Coal was in disfavor. The price of natural gas relatively² high, so nuclear made a lot of sense to us. So we were a company that already operated a nuclear facility, had a tremendous site for adding new nuclear capacity, so we made the decision to go nuclear,” said Byrne.

拜恩说：“煤炭不被看好。天然气的价钱相对较高，所以对我们来说，用核能是有道理的。我们公司已经运营一座核设施，我们有巨大场地用于添加新的核发电能力，所以我们做了决定，采用核能。”

South Carolina currently has seven operating reactors³. Georgia has six, plus the two new ones under construction.

南卡莱罗纳州现在有7个运行之中的反应堆。乔治亚州有6个，还有2个新的正在建设中。

Stephen Kuczynski, chairman and CEO of Georgia’s Southern Nuclear Operating Company, pointed⁴ out the long-term soundness of a nuclear plant.

库琴斯基是乔治亚南部核能运行公司的主席兼首席执行官。

“We see these as 60-year assets. Nuclear plants are high construction, but very low operating. But if you look at that over a 40-to-60-year period, it’s a very economical option," said Kuczynski.

他说：“我们把这些看作60年的资产。核能工厂造价很高，但是运行成本很低。如果你考虑到40到60年的时间段，这是一个非常经济的选择。”

Several plants have closed because they were not competitive with other power sources -- mainly cheaper natural gas. NEI favors a diversity of power sources for the nation, but NEI head Marv Fertel warned that this is not happening.

一些电厂由于与其他能源相比竞争力不足而被迫关闭，其中主要是由于廉价的天然气。核能源研究所支持国家的能源多样化。但是核能源研究所主任费泰尔警告说，目前情形并非如此。

"We are going all to gas because it’s cheap and it’s a good thing. But we are going all reliant on that and because of policies, we are driving renewables. So we are driving coal out because of environmental requirements and demands, and we are driving nuclear out for reasons that make no sense. And that’s not good for this country. We’re going to pay a price in reliability⁵, a price in affordability⁶, when the whole thing crashes,” warned Fertel.

费泰尔说：“大家争相使用天然气，因为它便宜而且是个好东西。但是我们会完全依赖它，出于政策原因，我们追求可再生能源。所以我们将由于环境要求和需要而淘汰煤炭，但是我们毫无理由抛弃核能。这不利于这个国家。一旦能源的来源发生大问题，我们将会为依赖某些能源和负担能力而付出代价。”

Opposition⁷ to nuclear power is strong, with some surveys showing more than half of Americans are against building more nuclear plants primarily because of safety concerns.

然而，反对核能的力量很强大，有些民意调查显示超过半数的美国人由于安全考虑，反对建设更多的核电站。

Phillip Museguus, of the anti-nuclear group Riverkeeper, said that in terms of economics and costs, nuclear doesn’t really make sense.

反核集团——河流保护组织的莫斯格斯说，就经济学和成本来说，没有理由采用核能。

"There are better ways to generate power; there are safe and cleaner ways. When you look at the price of natural gas in the U.S. economy, that is forcing many nuclear plants to close. Four nuclear facilities have closed in the past year and a half, so for the existing reactors, the economics are not good,” said Museguus.

莫斯格斯说：“有更好的生产能源的方法，有安全和更清洁的方法。看看美国天然气的价格，它将迫使很多核电厂关闭。过去的一年半中，四所设施被迫关闭，所以现有的反应堆的性价比并不高。”

Some 40 years ago, anti-nuclear groups like Riverkeeper began worldwide protests, but the Fukushima nuclear disaster of 2011 gave them more ammunition⁸.

大约40年前，河流保护组织等反核集团开始在世界范围内抗议，2011年的福岛核灾难给了他们更多弹药。

The industry refutes claims that nuclear power is unsafe or susceptible⁹ to terrorism.

核能行业驳斥有关核能不安全或者易受恐怖主义影响的说法。

“What we’ve done is we spent a fortune on security since 9-11. Nuclear plants, if you talk to the FBI or anybody else would tell you, are the most hardened targets in America. Our problem right now is that we think that adding more security in some areas makes no sense and what we need to do is look at the effectiveness of what we have," said Fertel.

费泰尔说：“我们做的是从911之后在安全问题上投以重金。如果你和联邦调查局或者其他人谈话，他们会告诉你，核电厂是美国最难打击的目标。我们目前的问题是，我们认为在某些地区增加安保没有意义，我们需要做的是看看我们拥有的效率。”

As for the disposal of nuclear waste, that remains¹⁰ a contentious¹¹ issue in the United States -- with Congress so far unable to agree on a solution.

 

核废料的处理在美国仍然是一个有争议的问题，国会目前仍未就此达成一个解决办法。

1 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

2 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

3 reactors   

起反应的人( reactor的名词复数 )； 反应装置； 原子炉； 核反应堆

参考例句：

• The TMI nuclear facility has two reactors. 三哩岛核设施有两个反应堆。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• The earliest production reactors necessarily used normal uranium as fuel. 最早为生产用的反应堆，必须使用普通铀作为燃料。

4 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

5 reliability   

n.可靠性，确实性

参考例句：

• We mustn't presume too much upon the reliability of such sources.我们不应过分指望这类消息来源的可靠性。
• I can assure you of the reliability of the information.我向你保证这消息可靠。

6 affordability   

可购性

参考例句：

• Performance-Based Logistics Affordability: Can We Afford Categorical Conversion to Performance-Based Acquisition? 基于性能的后期的可承受性：能否担负得起向基于性能的采办的无条件的转变？
• There would be no crisis of affordability, as't for food or clothing. 就想食物与服装一样，因为供给没有危机。

7 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

8 ammunition   

n.军火，弹药

参考例句：

• A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
• They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。

9 susceptible   

adj.过敏的，敏感的；易动感情的，易受感动的

参考例句：

• Children are more susceptible than adults.孩子比成人易受感动。
• We are all susceptible to advertising.我们都易受广告的影响。

10 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

11 contentious   

adj.好辩的，善争吵的

参考例句：

• She was really not of the contentious fighting sort.她委实不是好吵好闹的人。
• Since then they have tended to steer clear of contentious issues.从那时起，他们总想方设法避开有争议的问题。