VOA常速英语2014--Africa Looks to Nuclear Power to Light Up Continent 非洲希望大力发展核电

 

Africa Looks to Nuclear Power to Light Up Continent 非洲希望大力发展核电

JOHANNESBURG — At least three African nations are looking to add nuclear power to their grid¹. Kenya and Nigeria want to establish nuclear energy, and South Africa, the only sub-Saharan nation with nuclear facilities, is looking to expand its capabilities². Until now, African nations have relied on age-old forms of energy generation: Hydropower and coal among them. But those sources have taken a social and environmental toll³, displacing communities. But does Africa have the means to turn on nuclear power?

This NASA space flight over a darkened continent illuminated⁴ a fact that many Africans already know. The World Bank says fewer than 10 percent of African households have access to electricity. That, in turn, hampers⁵ industry and development on the world's poorest continent.

美国航天局夜晚航行经过这片漆黑的大陆，这说明了许多非洲人已经知道的事实。世界银行称只有不到10%的非洲家庭用上电，这就阻碍了这个全世界最贫困大陆的工业和发展。

This dire⁶ need for power has pushed many African nations to consider nuclear energy - increasingly popular in developing and developed nations such as the U.S., India and China.

对电力的迫切需求使得许多非洲国家考虑核能，核能在美国、印度和中国等发展中国家和发达国家越发受欢迎。

Kelvin Kemm, a South African nuclear physicist⁷, said Africa needs to look beyond traditional sources, such as water and hydrocarbons⁸.

Kelvin Kemm是南非核物理学家，他说非洲需要寻找水和碳氢化合物等传统能源之外的能源。

"Africa is very largely fueled with hydropower. And in Africa it's possible to have droughts that last a couple of years," he said. "Therefore it's very risky⁹ to build an economy on hydropower. Many are not fortunate enough to have coal and gas, and therefore nuclear is an ideal solution for Africa.

“非洲在很大程度上依靠水电，非洲可能会出现持续几年的干旱。因此，依靠水电的经济是很危险的，许多国家没有煤和天然气，因此核能是非洲最佳的选择。”

South Africa is the only African nation to have successfully developed nuclear technology, and gave up its weapons program in the 1990s. Today, the Koeberg Nuclear Power Station produces about 5 percent of the nation's electricity.

南非是唯一成功开发出核技术的非洲国家，并在20世纪90年代放弃了武器项目。如今，库贝赫核电站为该国提供5%的电力。

President Jacob Zuma said he wants more nuclear power to decrease the nation's reliance on coal.

雅各布·祖玛总统称他希望生产更多核电，来减少本国对煤的依赖。

"We expect to conclude the procurement¹⁰ of 9,600 megawatts of nuclear energy," he said.

“我们希望能生产9600兆瓦的核电。”

Kenya and Nigeria say they too are building their nuclear programs to meet rising electricity needs from their burgeoning¹¹ populations.

肯尼亚和尼日利亚称也在建造核项目，以满足人口增长对电力需要的增加。

According to Kemm, the power needs in Africa are so dire that ordinary power sources can't meet demand the way nuclear power can.

Kemm说非洲对电力的需求很迫切，一般的电力来源无法满足需要，而核电则可以。

"They need to double electricity consumption immediately, and then double it again, and again and again for their people," he said.

“需要将电力消费量迅速加倍，然后再继续加倍加倍再加倍。”

Critics of nuclear energy say it is not entirely¹² safe, citing nuclear disasters like Fukushima in Japan and Chernobyl in the former Soviet¹³ Union.

核能的批评者称核能并不是很安全，并提到日本福岛和前苏联切尔诺贝利的核灾难。

But those critics' fears about Africa getting nuclear power may be drowned out by the almighty¹⁴ market.

但这些批评者对获得核能的担忧可能被淹没在全能的市场上。

France-based Vincent Industrie sells complicated components¹⁵ that are necessary to make a nuclear plant run. But sales manager Frederic Marrone, noted¹⁶ that you don't need to be a nuclear physicist to see why many impoverished¹⁷ African nations are slow to implement¹⁸ nuclear technology.

总部在法国的文森特工业出售建造核电站所需的设备零件，但销售经理弗雷德里克·马罗内指出，就算你不是核物理学家，也能看得出为何很多贫困的非洲国家实施核技术的步伐那么慢。

The problem, he said, is cost.

他说问题在于成本。

"We speak about Billions," he explained. "How much, I don't know, depending on the size, but just for us, equipment, we provide only equipment. For this, we speak about five million euros of equipment to manufacture only one part.

“需要数十亿的成本，具体多少我不知道，这要看规模，但就我们来说，我们只提供设备。要建造一个核电站，需要价值500万欧元的设备。”

Experts say it will be years, even decades, before Africa finds a way to address its energy needs, with nuclear energy or otherwise.

专家称需要数年，甚至数十年非洲才能找到解决能源需求的办法，可能是核能，也可能是别的能源。

 

But everyone agrees that more power is needed to bring Africa into the light.

但大家都认同的一点是，需要更多的电力来照亮非洲。

1 grid   

n.高压输电线路网；地图坐标方格；格栅

参考例句：

• In this application,the carrier is used to encapsulate the grid.在这种情况下，要用载体把格栅密封起来。
• Modern gauges consist of metal foil in the form of a grid.现代应变仪则由网格形式的金属片组成。

2 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

3 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

4 illuminated   

adj.被照明的；受启迪的

参考例句：

• Floodlights illuminated the stadium. 泛光灯照亮了体育场。
• the illuminated city at night 夜幕中万家灯火的城市

5 hampers   

妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Prejudice sometimes hampers a person from doing the right thing. 有时候，偏见会妨碍人正确行事。
• This behavior is the opposite of modeless feedback, and it hampers flow. 这个行为有悖于非模态的反馈，它阻碍了流。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

6 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

7 physicist   

n.物理学家，研究物理学的人

参考例句：

• He is a physicist of the first rank.他是一流的物理学家。
• The successful physicist never puts on airs.这位卓有成就的物理学家从不摆架子。

8 hydrocarbons   

n.碳氢化合物，烃( hydrocarbon的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Hydrocarbons (HC), like carbon monoxide, represent unburned and wasted fuel. 碳氢化合物(HC)像一氧化碳一样，为未燃尽的和被浪费掉的燃料。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• With this restricted frequency range it is not applicable to hydrocarbons. 这个较紧缩的频率范围不适用于烃类。 来自辞典例句

9 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

10 procurement   

n.采购；获得

参考例句：

• He is in charge of the procurement of materials.他负责物资的采购。
• More and more,human food procurement came to have a dominant effect on their evolution.人类获取食物愈来愈显著地影响到人类的进化。

11 burgeoning   

adj.迅速成长的，迅速发展的v.发芽，抽枝( burgeon的现在分词 )；迅速发展；发（芽），抽（枝）

参考例句：

• Our company's business is burgeoning now. 我们公司的业务现在发展很迅速。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• These efforts were insufficient to contain the burgeoning crisis. 这些努力不足以抑制迅速扩散的危机。 来自辞典例句

12 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

13 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

14 almighty   

adj.全能的，万能的；很大的，很强的

参考例句：

• Those rebels did not really challenge Gods almighty power.这些叛徒没有对上帝的全能力量表示怀疑。
• It's almighty cold outside.外面冷得要命。

15 components   

（机器、设备等的）构成要素，零件，成分； 成分( component的名词复数 )； [物理化学]组分； [数学]分量； （混合物的）组成部分

参考例句：

• the components of a machine 机器部件
• Our chemistry teacher often reduces a compound to its components in lab. 在实验室中化学老师常把化合物分解为各种成分。

16 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

17 impoverished   

adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化

参考例句：

• the impoverished areas of the city 这个城市的贫民区
• They were impoverished by a prolonged spell of unemployment. 他们因长期失业而一贫如洗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。