??text 2
whilefossil fuels—coal, oil, gas—still generate roughly 85 percent of the world’senergy supply, it’s clearer than ever that the future belongs to renewablesources such as wind and solar. the move to renewables is picking up momentumaround the world：they nowaccount for more than half of new power sources going on line.
somegrowth stems from a commitment by governments and farsighted businesses to fundcleaner energy sources. but increasingly the story is about the plummetingprices of renewables, especially wind and solar. the cost of solar panels hasdropped by 80 percent and the cost of wind turbines by close to one-third inthe past eight years.
in manyparts of the world renewable energy is already a principal energy source. inscotland, for example, wind turbines provide enough electricity to power 95percent of homes.while the rest of the world takes the lead, notably china andeurope, the united states is also seeing a remarkable shift. in march, for thefirst time, wind and solar power accounted for more than 10 percent of thepower generated in the us, reported the us energy information administration.
presidenttrump has underlined fossil fuels—especially coal—as the path to economicgrowth. in a recent speech in iowa, he dismissed wind power as an unreliableenergy source. but that message did not play well with many in iowa, where windturbines dot the fields and provide 36 percent of the state’s electricitygeneration—and where tech giants like microsoft are being attracted by theavailability of clean energy to power their data centers.
thequestion “what
happens when the wind doesn’t blow or the sun doesn’t shine?”has provided a quick put-down for skeptics. but a boost in the storage capacityof batteries is making their ability to keep power flowing around the clockmore likely.
theadvance is driven in part by vehicle manufacturers, who are placing big bets onbattery-powered electric vehicles. although electric cars are still a rarity onroads now, this massive investment could change the picture rapidly in comingyears.
whilethere’s a long way to go, the trend lines for renewables are spiking. the paceof change in energy sources appears to be speeding up—perhaps just in time tohave a meaningful effect in slowing climate change. what washington does—ordoesn’t do—to promote alternative energy may mean less and less at a time of aglobal shift in thought.
?
26.the?word“plummeting’?(line?3,?para.?2)?is?closest?in?meaning?to?????? .
[a]?stabilizing[b]?changing
[c]?falling[d]?rising
27.according?to?paragraph?3,?the?use?of?renewable?energy?in?america?????? .
[a]?is?progressing?notably?[b]?is?as?extensive?as?in?europe?[c]?faces?many?challenges?[d]?has?proved?to?be?impractical28.it??can?be?learned?that?in?iowa,??????? .
[a]?wind?is?a?widely?used?energy?source?[b]?wind?energy?has?replaced?fossil?fuels?[c]?tech?giants?are?investing?in?clean?energy? [d]?there?is?a?shortage?of?clean?energy?supply29.which?of?the?following?is?true?about?clean?energy?according?to?paragraphs?5?&?6??[a]?its?application?has?boosted?battery?storage.?[b]?it?is?commonly?used?in?car?manufacturing.?[c]?its?continuous?supply?is?becoming?a?reality.?[d]?its?sustainable?exploitation?will?remain?difficult.30.it??can?be?inferred?from?the?last?paragraph?that?renewable?energy?????? .?[a]?will?bring?the?us?closer?to?other?countries?[b]?will?accelerate?global?environmental?change??[c]?is?not?really?encouraged?by?the?us?government?[d]?is?not?competitive?enough?with?regard?to?its?cost
参考译文
尽管化石燃料——煤炭、石油、天然气，——仍约占世界能源总供应量的85%，但未来属于风能、太阳能等可再生能源这一点要比以往任何时候都更明朗。向可再生能源转型正在全球范围内升温：目前，可再生能源占据正在使用的新能源的一半以上。
部分增长源于政府以及有远见的企业对更清洁能源承诺的资金支持。不过越来越多的说法是源于可再生能源的价格暴跌，尤其是风能和太阳能。过去8年间，太阳能电板的成本下降了80％，风力涡轮机的成本下降了近三分之一。
在世界很多地区，可再生能源已成为主要能源。比如，在苏格兰，风力涡轮机能为95%的家庭提供充足的电力。其他国家 之际，尤其是中国和欧洲，美国也迎来了显著的转变。据美国能源情报署报道，3月美国风能、太阳能发电比重首次超过10%。
特朗普总统强调化石燃料——尤其煤炭——作为经济发展的路径。在爱荷华州最近一次演讲中，他将风能摒弃为不可靠的能源。但这个说法在爱荷华州并不怎么被群众买账，该州的风力涡轮机遍布田野并且供应该州36%的发电量——微软等技术巨擘也被这里能为其数据中心供电的清洁能源的易获得性吸引。
虽说怀疑论者机智地以“如果不刮风、不出太阳，会发生什么？这一问话予以奚落，但是，电池存储容量的提升正使其更有可能能够昼夜不停地持续供电。
这一进展一定程度上是由汽车制造商推动的，他们在电池供电的电动汽车上下了赌注。尽管现在道路行驶中电动汽车依然鲜见，但是这笔巨额投资可能会在未来迅速改变这一局面。
尽管长路漫漫，但是可再生能源的趋势现在快速上扬。能源的变化速度似乎在加快———或许正好能够给减缓气候变化带来积极影响。在全球思想转型之际，无论华盛顿在推动可替代性能源中做什么或不做什么，其影响将愈来愈小。????
