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Flexible Payment

Who says you have to pay for all your conservation investments? ―Energy service contractors‖ will pay for retrofitting in return for a share of the client‘s annual utility-bill savings. In Beijing. Shenwu Thermal Energy Technology Co. specializes in retrofitting China‘s steel furnaces. Shenwu puts up the initial investment to install a heat exchanger that preheats the air going into the furnace, slashing the client‘s fuel costs. Shenwu pockets a cut of those savings, so both Shenwu and the client profit.

If saving energy is so easy and profitable, why isn‘t everyone doing it? It has do with psychology and a lack of information. Most of us tend to look at today‘s price tag more than tomorrow‘s potential saving. That holds double for the landlord or developer, who won‘t actually see a penny of the savings his investment in better insulation or a better heating system might

generate. In many people‘s minds, conservation is still associated with self-denial. Many

environmentalists still push that view.

Smart governments can help push the market in the right direction. The EU‘s 1994 law on labeling was such a success that it extended the same idea to entire buildings last year. To boost the market value of efficiency, all new buildings are required to have an ―energy pass‖ detailing power and heating consumption. Countries like Japan and Germany have successively tightened building codes, requiring an increase in insulation levels but leaving it up to builders to decide how to meet them.

The most powerful incentives, of course, will come from the market itself. Over the past year, sky-high fuel prices have focused minds on efficiency like never before. Ever-increasing pressure to cut costs has finally forced more companies to do some math on their energy use.

Will it be enough? With global demand and emissions rising so fast, we may not have any choice but to try. Efficient technology is here now, proven and cheap. Compared with all other options, it‘s the biggest, easiest and most profitable bang for the buck.

1. What is said to be the best way to conserve energy nowadays?

(A) Raising efficiently. (B) Cutting unnecessary costs.

(C) Finding alternative resources (D) Sacrificing some personal comforts.

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2. What does the European Union plan to do?

(A) Diversify energy supply. (B) Cut energy consumption. (C) Reduce carbon emissions. (D) Raise production efficiency.

3. If you add enough insulation to your house, you may be able to _______.

(A) improve your work environment (B) cut your utility bills by half. (C) get rid of air-conditioners (D) enjoy much better health

4. How much of the power consumed by incandescent bulbs is converted into light?

(A) A small portion. (B) Some 40 percent (C) Almost half. (D) 75 to 80 percent.

5. Some countries have tired to jump-start the market of heat pumps by_________.

(A) upgrading the equipment (B) encouraging investments (C) implementing high-tech (D) providing subsidies

6. Energy service contractors profit by taking a part of clients‘______________________. 7. Many environmentalists maintain the view that conservation has much to do

with___________.

8. The strongest incentive energy conservation will derive from_______________________.

Put the following into Chinese

Today concern for the environment extends into such areas as chemical pollution of the air we breathe and the water we drink, strip mining, dam and road building, noise pollution, offshore oil drilling, nuclear energy, waste disposal, the use of aerosol cans and nonreturnable beverage containers and a host of other issues. In fact, there is hardly a realm of national life that is not touched by the controversy that often pits those who style themselves environmentalists against proponents of economic growth in our energy-consuming society. The problem is to balance the needs of the environment against those of the economy or consumers trying to cope with the high cost of living without destroying the earth on which we all depend.

Put the following into English

人们对于污染的关注，已从局部地区扩展到全球范围，在这方面，空气污染最具代表性。在工业化国家的一些城市里，空气污染正在不断改善；但是，在其他国家，主要是在发展中国家里，却在日益恶化，几乎没有好的解决方法。同时，全球矿物燃料的使用量，以及由此产生的诸如氧化硫与氧化氮之类传统污染物的排放量，还在继续上升。酸雨、臭氧以及上述这些污染物引起的其他后果，正在全球范围内影响着动植物的生存━━毁灭森林和鱼类、危及庄稼、改变生态系统的物种组成等。

同温层臭氧层的衰减引起了极大关注。人们已经商定一项国际协议来减少氯氟烃的排放量。但是，最新测量结果表明，现行协议已不适用。最为严重的也许是大气中对红外线有聚

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集和存储效应的温室气体正在增加，主要原因在于使用矿物燃料的氯氟烃，大面积砍伐森林，以及各种农业活动造成的后果；这种气体将对气候变化产生深远影响，威胁人类社会。总之，现在该是应对大气问题的时候了，这应当从当地、区域和全球等层面展开。解决它需要加强区域合作；从长远看，关键在于能源。

Role-playing

September 22 is a ―Car Free Day‖ in many countries around the world. Chengdu, capital of southwest China‘s Sichuan province, pioneered China‘s first ―car free day‖ on October 14, 2000.

So far, over 100 Chinese cities have responded positively to the ―Car Free Day‖ idea. Residents

are urged to take public transport, ride bikes or walk instead of using their cars.

Student A: You think the ―Car Free Day‖ is a meaning campaign that can cut emission, and make people more environment-conscious, but your partner holds different opinions. Discuss this issue with y …… 此处隐藏：3870字，全部文档内容请下载后查看。喜欢就下载吧 ……