VOA慢速英语2019 太阳能为能源匮乏的也门提供了生命线（在线收听）

Solar Energy Offers Lifeline in Power-Starved Yemen

Yemen's civil war has resulted in widespread power outages across the country.

也门内战导致全国大范围断电。

The United Nations estimates that about 90 percent of the country's population lost electricity after the war broke out in 2015.

联合国估测，也门近9成的人口在2015年内战爆发后都经历了断电。

The severe power shortage has led some Yemenis to buy solar energy equipment to produce their own electricity.

内战造成的严重断电让一些也门人购买太阳能设备，目的是自己发电。

Ebrahim al-Faqih recognized this need four years ago and started selling solar panels. The demand for solar equipment has continued to rise, leading more people to get into the business.

易卜拉欣4年前发现了这个需求，然后开始出售太阳能电池板。人们对太阳能设备的需求依然在持续上升，这让更多人开始从事这个行当。

"Even people who used to work selling food moved to work in solar energy because of the high demand," Faqih told the Reuters news agency. He runs a store in the capital Sanaa which sells solar water heaters and panels imported from India and China.

就连那些以前从事食品出售行业的人也转行从事太阳能相关的行业，因为需求很高，易卜拉欣在接受路透社采访时如是说道。易卜拉欣在首都萨那经营这一家店，这家店出售太阳能热水器和太阳能电池板，是从印度和中国进口的。

Solar energy systems are providing answers to people struggling to meet their personal power needs. The availability of electricity was already extremely limited in Yemen's rural areas even before the conflict began.

太阳能系统提供了解决方案，让那些苦于无法满足个人能源需求的人能够得到满足。也门农村地区的用电已经极度有限，哪怕内战没爆发之前也已经极度有限了。

In many areas, electricity is needed to provide one of life's main necessities, water. Pumps are used to bring water to the surface for drinking and farming.

在很多地区，人们需要通过电来提供生活的主要必需品——水。人们通过水泵来将水泵到地表，用于饮用和农业。

Muhammad Yahya bought solar panels to power his home in the capital. He told Reuters that solar energy has become an important lifeline for many. "Electricity these days isn't just for lighting, electricity is life," he said.

穆罕默德买了几个太阳能电池板来为自己在首都的家供电。他在接受路透社采访时表示太阳能已经成为很多人的重要命脉。穆罕默德说，近来，电不只是用来照明的，电就是命根呀，他这样说道。

Yahya said solar energy is clearly being used by many as a way to help them get through the conflict. But he hopes people will keep using it as a main source of electricity when the war ends.

穆罕默德说，很多人用太阳能作为一种方式来帮助他们度过冲突。但穆罕默德希望人们能一直用太阳能作为内战结束时候电的主要来源。

Sanaa is controlled by the Houthi movement, which ousted internationally-recognized President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi from power in 2014. A Saudi-led coalition has been fighting a ground and air campaign in support of the government of Hadi, who fled to exile in Saudi Arabia. Iran supports the Houthi rebels.

萨那是胡塞政府控制的，而2014年，胡塞政府驱逐了国际认可的总统哈迪。沙特领导的联盟通过地面和空中活动来支持哈迪政府，哈迪逃亡到了沙特。伊朗支持胡塞叛军。

Some Yemenis use diesel fuel generators to produce electricity. But such equipment pollutes the air and is too costly for many people.

"Alternative energy is better, it changed my life dramatically," said Akram Noman, who lives in Sanaa. He says he now has very little use for traditional electrical power. Noman said the government should offer tax breaks for people to use solar energy and should help farmers buy solar equipment.

Omar Homadi has a farm south of the capital in the Houthi-controlled rural area of Dhamar. He told Reuters he could not cover the cost of running a diesel generator to water his land, so he bought a solar-powered pump. "Our land had dried up but now it has come back to life thanks to the solar energy," he said.

Dhamar's water production had fallen to 30 percent of pre-war levels, said local water official Muhammad Ali al-Habshi. But production has now returned to 70 to 80 percent of levels before the war because of solar projects supported by international donors.

"People used to get water every 10-12 days," Homadi said. "Now it is every three days...Solar energy was like a dream."

Words in This Story

panel – n. piece of equipment that attaches to the surface of something

generator – n. a machine that produces electricity

alternative – adj. different from what is usual or traditional

dramatically –adv. suddenly and to an extreme extent