VOA标准英语2008年-Hungary Opens Eastern Europe's First Sun-Powere

Government officials from more than 30 countries gathered in Hungary Friday for the opening of Central and Eastern Europe's first conference center powered by renewable energy. The building of the Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe is seen as an international example of environmentally friendly design. Stefan Bos reports from the Hungarian town where the Center is based.

Visitors looking at the sunlight-powered complex in front of a sometimes functioning fountain, could be forgiven for comparing it with an international space craft or a fortress¹ of steel.

It's difficult not to notice the 140 solar panels, heat pumps, air-handling units and other complicated equipment that make this roughly $3 million conference center work.

Yet, speaking to curious reporters sitting on environmentally friendly chairs made of cardboard, the building's Italian designer, Frederico Butera, defended his creation at Friday's official opening.

"All the solutions that were proposed by architects were based on the fact that they could solve everything just pumping more oil or more gas in it," he said. "And this becomes a culture, this is a way of designing. Well, this [building] is also a step, a contribution to a different architectural language that will change."

The conference center in Szentendre, an artistic² town 20 kilometers north of Budapest, replaces a communist-era building that never won a beauty contest either. The new building aims to have zero annual emissions³ of carbon dioxide, which has been linked to global warming.

Yet, being dependent on sunlight has a dark side. Builders admit that at night or peak hours the conference center will need electricity from a regular electricity plant. But the center will compensate⁴ for that by supplying electricity back to the grid⁵ when it has a power surplus during sunny days.

The building is run by the Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe, 'REC', which was proposed by former American President George Bush Sr. and founded by the United States, Hungary and the European Commission in 1990.

The REC has been helping⁶ several ex-Communist countries to face environmental challenges brought on by decades of neglect and out dated industries such as coal mining. There was also concern about pollution left behind by withdrawing Soviet⁷ troops in the early 1990s.

Officials from more than 30 countries attended the opening of the conference center, which has been mainly financed by Italy, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.

　

 

1 fortress   

n.堡垒，防御工事

参考例句：

• They made an attempt on a fortress.他们试图夺取这一要塞。
• The soldier scaled the wall of the fortress by turret.士兵通过塔车攀登上了要塞的城墙。

2 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

3 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

4 compensate   

vt.补偿，赔偿；酬报 vi.弥补；补偿；抵消

参考例句：

• She used her good looks to compensate her lack of intelligence. 她利用她漂亮的外表来弥补智力的不足。
• Nothing can compensate for the loss of one's health. 一个人失去了键康是不可弥补的。

5 grid   

n.高压输电线路网；地图坐标方格；格栅

参考例句：

• In this application,the carrier is used to encapsulate the grid.在这种情况下，要用载体把格栅密封起来。
• Modern gauges consist of metal foil in the form of a grid.现代应变仪则由网格形式的金属片组成。

6 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

7 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。