学术综合英语unit2.docx

1、学术综合英语unit2学术综合英语unit2 Energy in Trnsition The er of chep nd convenient sources of energy is coming to n end. trnsition to more expensive but less polluting sources must now be mnged. John P. Holdren 能源转型 能源资源价格低廉、使用便捷的时代已经过去，目前应向尽管价格较高、但污染较小的资源转变。 约翰P霍德雷恩Understnding this trnsition requires look t

2、the two-sided connection between energy nd humn well-being. Energy contributes positively to well-being by providing such consumer services s heting nd lighting s well s serving s necessry input to economic production. But the costs of energy including not only the money nd other resources devoted t

3、o obtining nd exploiting it but lso environmentl nd sociopoliticl impcts detrct from well-being. 了解这一转变，需首先考察一下能源和人类幸福的双重关系。从积极的意义上说，能源为人类幸福作出了贡献，它为经济生产活动提供必要投入的同时，也提供了诸如取暖、照明等消费服务。然而，人类为利用能源所付出的代价却削弱了能源为其带来的利益，这种代价不但包括为猎取和利用能源所投入的资金和其他资源，而且包含了能源开发和利用所产生的环境影响和社会政治影响。 For most of humn history, the do

4、minnt concerns bout energy hve centered on the benefit side of the energy well-being eqution. Indequcy of energy resources or (more often) of the technologies nd orgniztions for hrvesting, converting, nd distributing those resources hs ment insufficient energy benefits nd hence inconvenience, depriv

5、tion nd constrints on growth. The 1970s, then, represented turning p oint. fter decdes of constncy or decline in monetry costs nd of relegtion of environmentl nd sociopoliticl costs to secondry sttus energy ws seen to be getting costlier in ll respects.It begn to be plusible tht excessive energy cos

6、ts could pose threts on pr with those of insufficient supply. It lso becme possible to think tht expnding some forms of energy supply could crete costs exceeding the benefits. 人类历史进展长河中，人们主要关怀的是能源和人类安康等式关系中有利的一面。能源资源不足或者（更经常）开采、加工和分配这些资源所需技术与机构的不足，会影响能源为人类带来利益，同时意味着能源的增长遭到干扰、损害或限制。到了20世纪70年代，出现了一个转折

7、点。此前的几十年中，能源的资金成本一直保持稳定，甚或有所下降，而且，其所牵扯的环境成本和社会政治成本一直处于次要地位。但20世纪70年代开始，开发和利用能源的多方成本均显著增长。人们自然有理由认为：高昂的能源成本所带来的威胁已同能源供应不足所产生的危险不相上下。同时，也有人担心，依靠扩大能源资源增加供应所需付出的代价，也许大于其所带来的利益。 The crucil question t the beginning of the 1990s is whether the trend tht begn in the 1970s will prove to be temporry or permne

8、nt. Is the er of chep energy relly over, or will combintion of new resources, new technology nd chnging geopolitics bring it bck? One key determinnt of the nswer is the stggering scle of energy demnd brought forth by 100 yers of unprecedented popultion growth, coupled with n eqully remrkble growth i

9、n per cpit demnd of industril energy forms. It entiled the use of dirty col s well s clen; underse oil s well s terrestril; deep gs s well s shllow; mediocre hydroelectric sites s well s good ones; nd deforesttion s well s sustinble fuelwood hrvesting. 20世纪90年代初期人们关注的焦点在于这种始于70年代的能源进展趋势是临时的还 是长远的。廉价

10、能源时代是真正一去不复返，还是通过开发新能源、应用新技术、改革地缘政治秩序等措施，有可能重登历史舞XX？回答这个问题的一个关键因素是过去100年以来因人口空前增长带来令人瞠目的能源需求以及同样使人无从应对的人均工业能源需求。急剧增长的能源需求使得人类对能源的使用无所不用其极：不管是清洁煤炭还是劣质煤炭，见煤就挖；无论是陆上石油还是海底石油，深层气还是浅层气，见油气就采；水电站建设不论适宜与否，见水就上；一边绿化造林以求燃料树木可持续进展，一边却砍树毁林。 Except for the huge pool of oil underlying the Middle Est, the chepest

11、 oil nd gs re lredy gone. Even if few more gint oil fields re discovered, they will mke little difference ginst consumption on todys scle.Oil nd gs will hve to come incresingly, for most countries, from deeper in the erth nd from imports whose relibility nd ffordbility cnnot be gurnteed. 除了中东地区蕴XX着巨

12、大的石油资源，地球上廉价的油气资源已经不复存在。即使间或找到几个大油田，同当今巨大的能源消耗相比，也是杯水车薪。对于大多数GJ来说，油气资源越来越多地依赖于深层埋XX，越来越多地依赖进口，且不说进口油气资源的可靠性无法得到保障，其对进口国的支付能力也是一个考验。 There re vriety of other energy resources tht re more bundnt thn oil nd gs. Col, solr energy, nd fission nd fusion fuels re the most importnt ones. But they ll require

13、elborte nd expensive trnsformtion into electricity or liquid fuels in o rder to meet societys needs. None hs very good prospects for delivering lrge quntities of electricity t costs comprble to those of the chep col-fired nd hydropower plnts of the 1960s. It ppers, then, tht expensive energy is perm

14、nent condition, even without llowing for its environmentl costs. 诚然，其他许多资源的储XX量大于石油和天然气，最重要的有煤、太阳能、聚变裂变燃料等。但这些资源转化成电力或液体燃料，以满足社会需求，均需经过技术复杂、成本昂XX的转化过程。同20世纪60年代成本低廉的燃煤火电站和水力发电站相比，仅从成本角度考虑，以上各种资源用于大规模发电的可能性极小。因此，即使不考虑能源开采的环保成本，能源价格居高不下已成无可改变的定局。 The cpcity of the environment to bsorb the effluents nd

15、 other impcts of energy technologies is itself finite resource. The finitude is mnifested in two bsic types of environmentl costs. Externl costs re those imposed by environmentl disruptions on society but not reflected in the monetry ccounts of the buyers nd sellers of the energy. “Internlized costs

16、” re increses in monetry costs imposed by mesures, such s pollution-control devices, imed t reducing the externl costs. 环境吸纳由于能源利用而产生的废弃物和其他影响的能力本身也是有限度的，表现在两方面的环境成本上。所谓“外延成本”即由于环境遭到破坏对社会产生的影响，但尚未反映到能源买卖双方的交易价格上；所谓“内涵成本”即为降低外延成本而采取各种措施（如污染防治措施）所引起的资金成本的增长。 Both types of environmentl costs hve been rising for severl resons. First, the declining qulity of fuel deposits nd energy-conversion sites to which society must now turn m