VOA慢速英语20060808a

AGRICULTURE REPORT - High-Priced Oil Raises Appeal of BiofuelsBy Mario Ritter

Broadcast: Tuesday, August 08, 2006

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.


An ethanol plant

As oil prices climb, so does interest in fuels made from agricultural products. Many farmers hope biofuels like ethanol and biodiesel will expand their markets.

Government support has helped to make a few renewable fuels profitable. Much of this support is in the form of lower taxes for producers.

In the United States, the American Coalition² for Ethanol says Iowa leads the nation in ethanol production. That Midwestern state has twenty-two ethanol refineries³. Five more are being built.

But there is debate about biofuels in terms of both energy and agricultural policy. Newspaper opinion pages are a good guide to the positions.

One side basically argues that ethanol cannot replace the huge amounts of oil that American use. Also, some people say using food crops to make fuel could reduce the food supply. That could mean less to send to other countries in times of hunger. The other side argues that the food supply is secure and that biofuels are good for the economy and good for the environment.

Burning petroleum⁴ and other fossil fuels creates carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas blamed as a cause of climate change.

Each day, Americans use more than one thousand million liters of gasoline. Biofuels are still a small part of the national market. But it is estimated that as much as one-fifth of this year's corn crop could be used for ethanol. Ethanol is the most widely used biofuel.

The Renewable Fuels Association says American producers now make about two hundred eighty thousand barrels of it a day. This is expected to increase by almost half as new refineries are completed.

Making ethanol does not require the whole corn grain. For example, corn oil and corn protein can also be taken from the same grain used to make ethanol. And new technologies are being developed to make ethanol from plant wastes.

All current American cars can use a fuel mixture of up to ten percent ethanol. In many places, ethanol is added to gasoline to cut pollution.

Biodiesel is usually sold as a mixture of petroleum-based fuel and vegetable or animal fats. Many diesel¹ engines can run without changes on mixtures of up to twenty percent plant or animal oils. The National Biodiesel Board says there were sales last year of more than two hundred eighty million liters of biodiesel.

And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Mario Ritter. You can read transcripts⁵ of our reports and listen online at www.unsv.com. I'm Steve Ember.

1 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。

2 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

3 refineries   

精炼厂( refinery的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The efforts on closedown and suspension of small sugar refineries, small saccharin refineries and small paper mills are also being carried out in steps. 关停小糖厂、小糖精厂、小造纸厂的工作也已逐步展开。
• Hence the sitting of refineries is at a distance from population centres. 所以，炼油厂的厂址总在远离人口集中的地方。

4 petroleum   

n.原油，石油

参考例句：

• The Government of Iran advanced the price of petroleum last week.上星期伊朗政府提高了石油价格。
• The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。

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