煤炭將是未來的能源

　　2023復習正是強化復習階段，在考研英語中占了40分，所以考研英語閱讀是英語科目中重要的一項。名師老師曾建議過考研生需要堅持每天泛讀10-15分鐘的英文原刊。強烈推薦了雜志《經濟學人》.雜志中的文章也是考研英語的主要材料來源.希望考研考生認真閱讀，快速提高考研英語閱讀水平。 　　Coal 　　煤炭 　　The fuel of the future, unfortunately 　　很不幸，這便是未來的能源 　　A cheap, ubiquitous and flexible fuel, with justone problem 　　這是一種廉價、易得且用途廣泛的燃料，但僅存在著一個問題 　　WHAT more could one want? It is cheap and simple to extract, ship and burn. It isabundant: proven reserves amount to 109 years of current consumption, reckons BP, aBritish energy giant. They are mostly in politically stable places. There is a wide choice ofdependable sellers, such as BHP Billiton , Glencore ,Peabody Energy and Arch Coal. 　　還能奢望更多的好條件嗎?這是一種廉價，且便于獲取、裝運和燃燒的能源。它的儲量十分豐富：英國能源巨頭BP證實，現有的煤炭儲量可供人們維持目前的消耗量長達109年。煤炭資源還大多分布于政治穩定的地區。可靠的煤炭供應商數量眾多，如必和必拓、嘉能可，以及皮博迪和阿齊。 　　Other fuels are beset by state interference and cartels, but in this industry consumersinheating, power generation and metallurgyare firmly in charge, keeping prices low. Just asthis wonder-fuel once powered the industrial revolution, it now offers the best chance forpoor countries wanting to get rich. 　　其他能源均被國家或者卡特爾寡頭所控制，但在煤炭產業當中，其供暖、電力和冶金業的消費者處于絕對主導地位，令價格持續低廉。正如當年這一完美的能源推動著工業革命的發展，現在它也為貧窮國家們提供著發家致富的絕佳機會。 　　Such arguments are the basis of a new PR campaign launched by Peabody, the world slargest private coal company. And coal would indeed be a boon, were it not for one smallproblem: it is devastatingly dirty. Mining, transport, storage and burning are fraught withmess, as well as danger. Deep mines put workers in intolerably filthy and dangerousconditions. But opencast mining, now the source of much of the world s coal, rips awaytopsoil and gobbles water. Transporting coal brings a host of environmental problems. 　　如此的論斷正是皮博迪公司發起的新一輪公關活動的核心內容，而目前該公司是全世界最大的私人煤炭企業。煤炭本該成為上帝的惠澤，而若不是因為這一個小小的問題：它的破壞性污染。開采、運輸、儲存和燃燒使用的一系列過程中，不僅充滿著問題，還具有相當的危險性。深入地下的礦井意味著礦工們要在難以忍受的骯臟以及危險的條件下工作。但目前大多數煤礦所進行的地表開采，不僅會使地表土壤流失，同時也消耗著大量的水。煤炭的運輸還會帶來一系列的環境問題。 　　The increased emissions of carbon dioxide from soaring coal consumption threaten to fry theplanet, as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reminded everyone in a newreport this week. The CO2 makes the oceans acid; burning coal also produces sulphurdioxide, which makes buildings crumble and lungs sting, and other toxic chemicals. Bysome counts, coal-fired power stations emit more radioactivity than nuclear ones. Theyrelease tiny, lethal particulates. Per unit generated, coal-fired stations cause far moredeaths than nuclear ones, and more even than oil-fired ones. 　　正如聯合國政府間氣候變化專門委員會在這周最新的報告中所提醒的，持續增長煤炭消耗帶來的二氧化碳排放的增加，使得地球溫室效應加劇。二氧化碳的增加使得海水的酸度增加;與此同時，煤炭的燃燒產生二氧化硫和其他一些有毒化學物質，而這導致了建筑物結構的損傷以及人類肺部的損害。根據某種計算方式，煤炭發電廠所排放的輻射物質甚至比核電廠所排放的還要多。各大電廠所排放的都是極小的致命微粒。而煤電廠每單位發電排放的致命微粒要遠比核電廠多，甚至比石油發電廠還要多。 　　But poverty kills people too, and slow growth can cost politicians their jobs. Two decades ofenvironmental worries are proving only a marginal constraint on the global coal industry.Some are trying to get out: in America Consol Energy is selling five mines in West Virginia toconcentrate on shale gas. Big coal-burners such as American Electric Power and DukeEnergy are shutting coal-fired plants. Yet despite America s shale-gas boom, the federalEnergy Information Administration reckons that by 2040 the country will still be generating22% of its electricity from coal. The International Energy Agency has even predicted that,barring policy changes, coal may rival oil in importance by 2023. As countries get richer theytend to look for alternativesChina is scrambling to curb its rising consumption. But others,such as India and Africa, are set to take up the slack. 　　但貧窮問題也同樣危害著人們的生命安全，而緩慢的經濟增長更是會令政治家們失去自己的飯碗。二十年來的環境問題，證實了目前對于全球煤炭行業僅僅存在著一個最基本的限制。部分煤炭企業則試圖抽身離開：美國康壽能源公司正在叫賣位于維吉尼亞西部的五個煤礦，從而專注于頁巖氣的開發。像美國電力和杜克能源等大型煤炭消耗的電力公司，則著手關閉他們旗下的煤電廠。但盡管美國頁巖氣開采實現了產量增長的井噴，聯邦能源信息管理局預計截至2040年全國發電量中的22%會來自煤電廠。國際能源總署甚至還預言說，除非政策發生變化，煤炭的地位很可能在2023年便超越石油。隨著國家的富強，宏觀管理當局總傾向于在能源方面尋找煤炭的替代品---中國目前正積極削減節節攀升的煤炭消耗。但像印度和非洲地區的其他國家，正準備填補煤炭需求的短缺。 　　America s gas boom has prompted its coal miners to seek new export markets, sendingprices plunging on world markets. So long as consumers do not pay for coal s horribleside-effects, that makes it irresistibly cheap. In Germany power from coal now costs half theprice of watts from a gas-fired power station. It is a paradox that coal is booming in acountry that in other respects is the greenest in Europe. Its production of power from cheap,dirty brown coal is now at 162 billion kilowatt hours, the highest since the days of thedecrepit East Germany. 　　美國天然氣市場的繁榮，促使著本地煤炭企業到海外拓展市場，推動者煤炭國際價格的下跌。只要一天消費者們仍不用對燃燒煤炭的副作用承擔責任，那么煤炭價格將依舊保持那讓人難以拒絕的低廉。在德國，煤炭發電的成本僅為天然氣發電的一半。這是一個多么自相矛盾的情況：煤炭正推動著其經濟的發展，而在其他方面，德國卻是歐洲最環保的國家。由廉價、骯臟的棕色煤塊所產生的電力，目前已經達到了自東德時期以來的最高水平，達到了1620億千瓦時。 　　Japan, too, is turning to coal in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster. On April 11ththe government approved a new energy plan entrenching its role as a long-term electricitysource. 　　隨著福島核電站事故的發生，日本也轉向于使用煤炭發電。在4月11號，日本政府頒布了新的能源規劃，以鞏固煤炭作為長期發電燃料的地位。 　　International coal companies face two worries. One is that governments may eventuallyimpose punitive levies, tariffs and restrictions on their mucky product. The other is theglobal glut. Prices for thermal coal are at 80-85 a tonne, which barely covers the cost ofcapital. Some Australian producers are even mining at a loss, having signed freight contractswith railways and ports that make them pay for capacity whether they use it or not. 　　國際煤炭公司面臨著兩大問題。首先是各大政府或許最終會對他們骯臟的產品征收懲罰性的稅費、增加關稅以及增設限制。其次，便是全球煤炭市場的供過于求。電煤的價格位于每公噸80至85美元之間，而這僅僅只夠補償資金成本。由于簽訂了鐵路和港口的運輸合同，部分澳洲供應商甚至還處于虧損的經營狀態。 　　One answer to that is cost-cutting and efficiency, much stressed by companies such as BHPBilliton. Unlike oil and gas, coal is geologically simple and does not require a costly array ofdrills, platforms and pipes. If the price is too low, companies can decide to stop productionand await better times. But thriftiness with capital has its limits: the cost of mining is goingup, as the easiest coal seams are worked out. 　　其中一個解決之道，在于成本削減和效率提升，而一些公司已大力著手實施，例如必和必拓。與油氣資源不同，煤炭開采的地理復雜程度低，不需要成本高昂的鉆井平臺和輸送管道。如果價格太低，公司可以選擇停止開采以等待更好的機會。但縮減投資規模也有它的局限：在最便利的煤層開采完畢后，接下來的煤炭開采成本便會持續上升。 　　Some companies have tried to switch efforts to met coal, which fuels smelters. This wasthought to be scarcer and more profitable. But that theory has suffered. Supplies of met coalhave proved more abundant than expected. 　　一些公司已經嘗試去開發冶金煤炭市場。冶金煤炭，是專為熔爐供熱使用的煤炭，而這部分的資源曾被人認為是較為稀缺且利潤豐厚。然而，這一想法顯然與事實不同。冶金煤炭的供應已經被證實了遠比設想的要充足。 　　Perhaps the biggest hope for all involved in the coal industry is technology. Mining andtransporting coal will always be messy, but this could be overlooked were it burned cheaplyand cleanly. Promising technologies abound: pulverising coal, extracting gas from it,scrubbing emissions and capturing the CO2. But none of these seems scalable in the wayneeded to dent the colossal damage done by coal. And all require large subsidiesfromconsumers, shareholders or taxpayers. 　　也許對所有煤炭行業相關的人來說，最大的希望是在于科技的發展。雖然煤炭開采和運輸問題將一直存在，然而，如果它的燃燒利用能變得更為干凈和低廉，上述小問題肯定會被大家所忽略。大量的技術值得我們去期待：煤炭粉碎、煤塊提取燃氣、氣體排放凈化以及二氧化碳捕獲。但對于減少由煤炭造成的巨大傷害方面，這些技術都沒有所需要的促進作用。與此同時，這些技術的開發還需要來自消費者、企業股東以及納稅人的巨額資助。 　　A 5.2 billion taxpayer-supported clean-coal plant in Mississippi incorporates all the latesttechnology. But at 6,800 per kilowatt, it will be the costliest power plant yet built. At thoseprices, coal is going to stay dirty. 　　在密西西比州，一座由政府出資價值52億美元的清潔煤炭發電廠，集中了所有最新科技。但那兒每千瓦時的發電成本高達6800美元，創下了有史以來的電廠發電最高的成本。如此高價的清潔代價，意味著煤炭目前還得貼著污染的標簽。 　　詞語解釋 　　1.amount to 共計;意味著 　　But his critics grumble that his policies amount toputting haiti up for sale. 　　但他的批評者則抱怨說他的政策相當于將海地拿去賣掉。 　　But placebos amount to lying to the patient. Surelyour troops deserve better. 　　但是安慰劑就相當于對患者撒謊，我們的軍隊值得擁有更好的治療。 　　2.as well as 既又除之外 　　As well as the lack of reaction today on the news. 　　以及為何消息公布后市場反應不大。 　　Yet they provoke fear as well as wonder. 　　然而他們也激起了恐懼以及困惑。 　　3.threaten to 威脅 　　Now two other measures threaten to reignite tensions. 　　如今另兩個措施威脅再度燃起緊張局勢。 　　Now e-books threaten to undermine sales of the old-fashioned kind. 　　如今，傳統圖書的銷售受到電子書的威脅。 　　4.concentrate on 全神貫注,專心于 　　Filter out the noise and nonsense. Only concentrate on what you deeply desire. 　　過濾掉噪音和胡言亂語，只全神貫注于你內心深處的向往。 　　Most concentrate on wine bottled in the past 50 years. 　　多數基金集中投資過去50年中裝瓶的品種。

　　2023復習正是強化復習階段，在考研英語中占了40分，所以考研英語閱讀是英語科目中重要的一項。名師老師曾建議過考研生需要堅持每天泛讀10-15分鐘的英文原刊。強烈推薦了雜志《經濟學人》.雜志中的文章也是考研英語的主要材料來源.希望考研考生認真閱讀，快速提高考研英語閱讀水平。 　　Coal 　　煤炭 　　The fuel of the future, unfortunately 　　很不幸，這便是未來的能源 　　A cheap, ubiquitous and flexible fuel, with justone problem 　　這是一種廉價、易得且用途廣泛的燃料，但僅存在著一個問題 　　WHAT more could one want? It is cheap and simple to extract, ship and burn. It isabundant: proven reserves amount to 109 years of current consumption, reckons BP, aBritish energy giant. They are mostly in politically stable places. There is a wide choice ofdependable sellers, such as BHP Billiton , Glencore ,Peabody Energy and Arch Coal. 　　還能奢望更多的好條件嗎?這是一種廉價，且便于獲取、裝運和燃燒的能源。它的儲量十分豐富：英國能源巨頭BP證實，現有的煤炭儲量可供人們維持目前的消耗量長達109年。煤炭資源還大多分布于政治穩定的地區。可靠的煤炭供應商數量眾多，如必和必拓、嘉能可，以及皮博迪和阿齊。 　　Other fuels are beset by state interference and cartels, but in this industry consumersinheating, power generation and metallurgyare firmly in charge, keeping prices low. Just asthis wonder-fuel once powered the industrial revolution, it now offers the best chance forpoor countries wanting to get rich. 　　其他能源均被國家或者卡特爾寡頭所控制，但在煤炭產業當中，其供暖、電力和冶金業的消費者處于絕對主導地位，令價格持續低廉。正如當年這一完美的能源推動著工業革命的發展，現在它也為貧窮國家們提供著發家致富的絕佳機會。 　　Such arguments are the basis of a new PR campaign launched by Peabody, the world slargest private coal company. And coal would indeed be a boon, were it not for one smallproblem: it is devastatingly dirty. Mining, transport, storage and burning are fraught withmess, as well as danger. Deep mines put workers in intolerably filthy and dangerousconditions. But opencast mining, now the source of much of the world s coal, rips awaytopsoil and gobbles water. Transporting coal brings a host of environmental problems. 　　如此的論斷正是皮博迪公司發起的新一輪公關活動的核心內容，而目前該公司是全世界最大的私人煤炭企業。煤炭本該成為上帝的惠澤，而若不是因為這一個小小的問題：它的破壞性污染。開采、運輸、儲存和燃燒使用的一系列過程中，不僅充滿著問題，還具有相當的危險性。深入地下的礦井意味著礦工們要在難以忍受的骯臟以及危險的條件下工作。但目前大多數煤礦所進行的地表開采，不僅會使地表土壤流失，同時也消耗著大量的水。煤炭的運輸還會帶來一系列的環境問題。 　　The increased emissions of carbon dioxide from soaring coal consumption threaten to fry theplanet, as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reminded everyone in a newreport this week. The CO2 makes the oceans acid; burning coal also produces sulphurdioxide, which makes buildings crumble and lungs sting, and other toxic chemicals. Bysome counts, coal-fired power stations emit more radioactivity than nuclear ones. Theyrelease tiny, lethal particulates. Per unit generated, coal-fired stations cause far moredeaths than nuclear ones, and more even than oil-fired ones. 　　正如聯合國政府間氣候變化專門委員會在這周最新的報告中所提醒的，持續增長煤炭消耗帶來的二氧化碳排放的增加，使得地球溫室效應加劇。二氧化碳的增加使得海水的酸度增加;與此同時，煤炭的燃燒產生二氧化硫和其他一些有毒化學物質，而這導致了建筑物結構的損傷以及人類肺部的損害。根據某種計算方式，煤炭發電廠所排放的輻射物質甚至比核電廠所排放的還要多。各大電廠所排放的都是極小的致命微粒。而煤電廠每單位發電排放的致命微粒要遠比核電廠多，甚至比石油發電廠還要多。 　　But poverty kills people too, and slow growth can cost politicians their jobs. Two decades ofenvironmental worries are proving only a marginal constraint on the global coal industry.Some are trying to get out: in America Consol Energy is selling five mines in West Virginia toconcentrate on shale gas. Big coal-burners such as American Electric Power and DukeEnergy are shutting coal-fired plants. Yet despite America s shale-gas boom, the federalEnergy Information Administration reckons that by 2040 the country will still be generating22% of its electricity from coal. The International Energy Agency has even predicted that,barring policy changes, coal may rival oil in importance by 2023. As countries get richer theytend to look for alternativesChina is scrambling to curb its rising consumption. But others,such as India and Africa, are set to take up the slack. 　　但貧窮問題也同樣危害著人們的生命安全，而緩慢的經濟增長更是會令政治家們失去自己的飯碗。二十年來的環境問題，證實了目前對于全球煤炭行業僅僅存在著一個最基本的限制。部分煤炭企業則試圖抽身離開：美國康壽能源公司正在叫賣位于維吉尼亞西部的五個煤礦，從而專注于頁巖氣的開發。像美國電力和杜克能源等大型煤炭消耗的電力公司，則著手關閉他們旗下的煤電廠。但盡管美國頁巖氣開采實現了產量增長的井噴，聯邦能源信息管理局預計截至2040年全國發電量中的22%會來自煤電廠。國際能源總署甚至還預言說，除非政策發生變化，煤炭的地位很可能在2023年便超越石油。隨著國家的富強，宏觀管理當局總傾向于在能源方面尋找煤炭的替代品---中國目前正積極削減節節攀升的煤炭消耗。但像印度和非洲地區的其他國家，正準備填補煤炭需求的短缺。 　　America s gas boom has prompted its coal miners to seek new export markets, sendingprices plunging on world markets. So long as consumers do not pay for coal s horribleside-effects, that makes it irresistibly cheap. In Germany power from coal now costs half theprice of watts from a gas-fired power station. It is a paradox that coal is booming in acountry that in other respects is the greenest in Europe. Its production of power from cheap,dirty brown coal is now at 162 billion kilowatt hours, the highest since the days of thedecrepit East Germany. 　　美國天然氣市場的繁榮，促使著本地煤炭企業到海外拓展市場，推動者煤炭國際價格的下跌。只要一天消費者們仍不用對燃燒煤炭的副作用承擔責任，那么煤炭價格將依舊保持那讓人難以拒絕的低廉。在德國，煤炭發電的成本僅為天然氣發電的一半。這是一個多么自相矛盾的情況：煤炭正推動著其經濟的發展，而在其他方面，德國卻是歐洲最環保的國家。由廉價、骯臟的棕色煤塊所產生的電力，目前已經達到了自東德時期以來的最高水平，達到了1620億千瓦時。 　　Japan, too, is turning to coal in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster. On April 11ththe government approved a new energy plan entrenching its role as a long-term electricitysource. 　　隨著福島核電站事故的發生，日本也轉向于使用煤炭發電。在4月11號，日本政府頒布了新的能源規劃，以鞏固煤炭作為長期發電燃料的地位。 　　International coal companies face two worries. One is that governments may eventuallyimpose punitive levies, tariffs and restrictions on their mucky product. The other is theglobal glut. Prices for thermal coal are at 80-85 a tonne, which barely covers the cost ofcapital. Some Australian producers are even mining at a loss, having signed freight contractswith railways and ports that make them pay for capacity whether they use it or not. 　　國際煤炭公司面臨著兩大問題。首先是各大政府或許最終會對他們骯臟的產品征收懲罰性的稅費、增加關稅以及增設限制。其次，便是全球煤炭市場的供過于求。電煤的價格位于每公噸80至85美元之間，而這僅僅只夠補償資金成本。由于簽訂了鐵路和港口的運輸合同，部分澳洲供應商甚至還處于虧損的經營狀態。 　　One answer to that is cost-cutting and efficiency, much stressed by companies such as BHPBilliton. Unlike oil and gas, coal is geologically simple and does not require a costly array ofdrills, platforms and pipes. If the price is too low, companies can decide to stop productionand await better times. But thriftiness with capital has its limits: the cost of mining is goingup, as the easiest coal seams are worked out. 　　其中一個解決之道，在于成本削減和效率提升，而一些公司已大力著手實施，例如必和必拓。與油氣資源不同，煤炭開采的地理復雜程度低，不需要成本高昂的鉆井平臺和輸送管道。如果價格太低，公司可以選擇停止開采以等待更好的機會。但縮減投資規模也有它的局限：在最便利的煤層開采完畢后，接下來的煤炭開采成本便會持續上升。 　　Some companies have tried to switch efforts to met coal, which fuels smelters. This wasthought to be scarcer and more profitable. But that theory has suffered. Supplies of met coalhave proved more abundant than expected. 　　一些公司已經嘗試去開發冶金煤炭市場。冶金煤炭，是專為熔爐供熱使用的煤炭，而這部分的資源曾被人認為是較為稀缺且利潤豐厚。然而，這一想法顯然與事實不同。冶金煤炭的供應已經被證實了遠比設想的要充足。 　　Perhaps the biggest hope for all involved in the coal industry is technology. Mining andtransporting coal will always be messy, but this could be overlooked were it burned cheaplyand cleanly. Promising technologies abound: pulverising coal, extracting gas from it,scrubbing emissions and capturing the CO2. But none of these seems scalable in the wayneeded to dent the colossal damage done by coal. And all require large subsidiesfromconsumers, shareholders or taxpayers. 　　也許對所有煤炭行業相關的人來說，最大的希望是在于科技的發展。雖然煤炭開采和運輸問題將一直存在，然而，如果它的燃燒利用能變得更為干凈和低廉，上述小問題肯定會被大家所忽略。大量的技術值得我們去期待：煤炭粉碎、煤塊提取燃氣、氣體排放凈化以及二氧化碳捕獲。但對于減少由煤炭造成的巨大傷害方面，這些技術都沒有所需要的促進作用。與此同時，這些技術的開發還需要來自消費者、企業股東以及納稅人的巨額資助。 　　A 5.2 billion taxpayer-supported clean-coal plant in Mississippi incorporates all the latesttechnology. But at 6,800 per kilowatt, it will be the costliest power plant yet built. At thoseprices, coal is going to stay dirty. 　　在密西西比州，一座由政府出資價值52億美元的清潔煤炭發電廠，集中了所有最新科技。但那兒每千瓦時的發電成本高達6800美元，創下了有史以來的電廠發電最高的成本。如此高價的清潔代價，意味著煤炭目前還得貼著污染的標簽。 　　詞語解釋 　　1.amount to 共計;意味著 　　But his critics grumble that his policies amount toputting haiti up for sale. 　　但他的批評者則抱怨說他的政策相當于將海地拿去賣掉。 　　But placebos amount to lying to the patient. Surelyour troops deserve better. 　　但是安慰劑就相當于對患者撒謊，我們的軍隊值得擁有更好的治療。 　　2.as well as 既又除之外 　　As well as the lack of reaction today on the news. 　　以及為何消息公布后市場反應不大。 　　Yet they provoke fear as well as wonder. 　　然而他們也激起了恐懼以及困惑。 　　3.threaten to 威脅 　　Now two other measures threaten to reignite tensions. 　　如今另兩個措施威脅再度燃起緊張局勢。 　　Now e-books threaten to undermine sales of the old-fashioned kind. 　　如今，傳統圖書的銷售受到電子書的威脅。 　　4.concentrate on 全神貫注,專心于 　　Filter out the noise and nonsense. Only concentrate on what you deeply desire. 　　過濾掉噪音和胡言亂語，只全神貫注于你內心深處的向往。 　　Most concentrate on wine bottled in the past 50 years. 　　多數基金集中投資過去50年中裝瓶的品種。