雅思词汇课文（14）· The Renewable Energy Revolution 可再生能源革命
环境与科技主题，约 350 词，融入 30 个雅思核心词。
🎧 课文朗读音频（约 1 分钟）
📖 课文 Text
The Renewable Energy Revolution
When the first wind turbines were installed in Denmark in the 1970s, they were dismissed as eccentric and uneconomical. Half a century later, wind and solar power are the cheapest sources of new electricity in most of the world. The transformation has been faster than even optimists predicted. In 2010, renewable energy accounted for roughly 20 per cent of global electricity. Today, it is over 30 per cent and rising steeply.
The driving force is economics. The cost of solar panels has fallen by more than 90 per cent since 2010. Battery storage, once considered prohibitively expensive, is now cheap enough to solve the problem of intermittency — the fact that the sun does not always shine and the wind does not always blow. Electric vehicles, once a niche product, now account for around one in five new cars sold globally.
Yet the transition is far from complete. Fossil fuels still supply roughly 80 per cent of the world's energy. Coal plants continue to be built in Asia, and oil remains dominant in transport. The existing power grid was designed for large, centralised power stations, not for millions of rooftop solar panels and distant wind farms. Upgrading the grid, building charging infrastructure and securing critical minerals such as lithium and cobalt all require enormous investment.
Critics of renewable energy point out that solar and wind require far more land than fossil fuels, and that the mining of battery materials carries its own environmental and social costs. Renewable energy, they argue, is not a solution but a shift from one set of problems to another. Supporters counter that no energy source is perfectly clean, and that the alternative — continued emissions at current rates — risks irreversible climate damage.
The path forward is likely to be pragmatic: a mix of renewables, improved storage, smarter grids and, in some countries, a role for nuclear power. The goal is no longer whether to decarbonise, but how quickly it can be done. The revolution has begun. The question is whether it can outpace the effects of a warming planet.
📝 生词表 New Words and Expressions
| Word | 音标 | 词性 | 中文 | 课文例句 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| renewable | /rɪˈnjuːəbl/ | adj. | 可再生的 | renewable energy |
| turbine | /ˈtɜːbaɪn/ | n. | 涡轮机、风机 | wind turbines |
| install | /ɪnˈstɔːl/ | v. | 安装 | installed in Denmark |
| eccentric | /ɪkˈsentrɪk/ | adj. | 古怪的、非主流的 | dismissed as eccentric |
| uneconomical | /ˌʌniːkəˈnɒmɪkl/ | adj. | 不经济的 | and uneconomical |
| solar | /ˈsəʊlə/ | adj. | 太阳能的 | solar power |
| transformation | /ˌtrænsfəˈmeɪʃn/ | n. | 转变、变革 | The transformation has been faster |
| optimist | /ˈɒptɪmɪst/ | n. | 乐观主义者 | even optimists predicted |
| account for | /əˈkaʊnt fɔː/ | phr. | 占（比例） | accounted for 20 per cent |
| steeply | /ˈstiːpli/ | adv. | 急剧地 | rising steeply |
| panel | /ˈpænl/ | n. | 面板、板 | solar panels |
| battery | /ˈbætri/ | n. | 电池 | Battery storage |
| prohibitively | /prəˈhɪbətɪvli/ | adv. | （价格）高得买不起 | prohibitively expensive |
| intermittency | /ɪntəˈmɪtənsi/ | n. | 间歇性 | the problem of intermittency |
| electric vehicle | /ɪˈlektrɪk ˈviːəkl/ | n. | 电动汽车 | Electric vehicles |
| niche | /niːʃ/ | adj. | 小众的、利基的 | a niche product |
| fossil fuel | /ˈfɒsl fjuːəl/ | n. | 化石燃料 | Fossil fuels |
| dominate | /ˈdɒmɪneɪt/ | v. | 主导 | oil remains dominant |
| grid | /ɡrɪd/ | n. | 电网 | power grid |
| centralise | /ˈsentrəlaɪz/ | v. | 集中 | centralised power stations |
| rooftop | /ˈruːftɒp/ | n. | 屋顶 | rooftop solar panels |
| infrastructure | /ˈɪnfrəstrʌktʃə/ | n. | 基础设施 | charging infrastructure |
| critical mineral | /ˈkrɪtɪkl ˈmɪnərəl/ | n. | 关键矿产 | critical minerals |
| lithium | /ˈlɪθiəm/ | n. | 锂 | lithium and cobalt |
| investment | /ɪnˈvestmənt/ | n. | 投资 | enormous investment |
| mining | /ˈmaɪnɪŋ/ | n. | 采矿 | the mining of battery materials |
| irreversible | /ˌɪrɪˈvɜːsəbl/ | adj. | 不可逆转的 | irreversible climate damage |
| pragmatic | /præɡˈmætɪk/ | adj. | 务实的 | a pragmatic mix |
| decarbonise | /diːˈkɑːbənaɪz/ | v. | 脱碳 | whether to decarbonise |
| outpace | /ˌaʊtˈpeɪs/ | v. | 超过、快于 | outpace the effects |
🧠 课文理解 Comprehension
1. How has the cost of solar panels changed since 2010?
- A. It has doubled
- B. It has fallen by over 90 per cent
- C. It has stayed the same
- D. It has fallen by half
2. The problem of "intermittency" refers to...
- A. solar panels being too expensive
- B. the sun and wind are not always available
- C. battery production
- D. grid maintenance
3. What percentage of the world's energy still comes from fossil fuels?
- A. about 30 per cent
- B. about 50 per cent
- C. about 80 per cent
- D. about 10 per cent
4. Critics argue that renewable energy...
- A. produces no pollution at all
- B. requires large amounts of land and battery mining has costs
- C. is cheaper than fossil fuels
- D. will solve all energy problems
5. The writer suggests the future energy mix will be...
- A. 100 per cent solar
- B. a pragmatic combination including nuclear and storage
- C. mostly coal
- D. entirely oil-based
✏️ 词汇练习 Vocabulary Practice
Fill in the blanks with the correct word from the list. Change the form where necessary.
| renewable / install / account for / prohibitively / intermittency / dominate / infrastructure / irreversible |
- The government aims to generate half its electricity from ______ sources by 2030.
- The council plans to ______ solar panels on every public building.
- Renewable energy now ______ nearly 40 per cent of the country's power.
- A hospital in a remote village needs equipment, but importing it can be ______ expensive.
- Battery storage helps solve the problem of wind and solar ______.
- A few large companies ______ the global smartphone market.
- The city has invested heavily in public transport ______.
- The destruction of the ancient forest caused ______ ecological damage.
✅ 答案 Answers
Comprehension
- B（"fallen by more than 90 per cent"）
- B（"the sun does not always shine and the wind does not always blow"）
- C（"roughly 80 per cent"）
- B（"require far more land... mining carries its own costs"）
- B（"a mix of renewables, improved storage, smarter grids... nuclear power"）
Vocabulary
- renewable 2. install 3. accounts for 4. prohibitively 5. intermittency 6. dominate 7. infrastructure 8. irreversible
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