VOA标准英语2011--Senegalese Villages Turn to Solar Power

Senegalese Villages Turn to Solar Power

In Senegal, growing electricity shortages are forcing more and more people to turn to one of the country's greatest renewable resources, solar energy.

There are no power lines running through the village of Langueme, in the Factik region of Senegal. Like many rural areas here, people here are not connected to the national electricity grid¹. But, after years of waiting for power, the local government has turned to renewable energy, installing eight solar panels to power outside lights.
Village chief Hokhane Ndong says people are no longer afraid to go out at night.
Ndong says robbers who used to come during the night to steal from the village are not coming any more because there is light.
Ndong says before the village had light, older people would not leave their houses or send their children out after dark because they were afraid of being bitten by snakes.
Now, Ndong says family gatherings² such as baptisms, weddings and religious rituals no longer stop after sundown. And, students who used to spend hours crouched³ beneath the flicker⁴ of a candle or flashlight now easily complete their studies.
Solar power in Langueme is part of a renewable energy project sponsored by the French region of Poitou Charente. Modou Diop is the project's business manager.
Diop says electricity problems in Senegal can be solved by solar energy. With a brief rainy season, Senegal has nearly nine months of uninterrupted sunshine every year. So Diop says solar power is the country's most reliable and easily-accessible source of energy.
That is why Fatick's regional government partnered with Poitou Charente in 2008 to develop a renewable energy project in Senegal to give light to villages such as Langueme.
Senegal is struggling to keep pace with rising fuel costs and growing demands for electricity which have led to major blackouts, countrywide. It is forcing some people to rethink the nation's future energy plans.
Mamadou Toure is Fatick's regional environmentalist. Toure says that, for many years, the Fatick region has had regular power cuts and people have not been able to work. But, Toure says after installing small solar units to keep computer and phone lines connected, many people can continue working. He says local businesses are turning to solar power as a backup and some are even relying on it as a main source of energy.
Toure says the project aims to install solar panels in villages that are unlikely to have electricity 10 years from now.
Langueme chief Ndong says solar power illuminates⁵ health posts and allows people to charge their cell phones.
Ndong says solar light improves education in the village and makes life safer for everyone, because children used to study by kerosene⁶ lanterns that could catch huts on fire. Now they can study safely during the night. Ndong says it has really improved their lives.
Charging phones, illuminating⁷ health posts, fighting off snakes and thieves, could solar energy be the future for Senegal?? Project Manager Diop says with the constant evolution in technology, solar units will become less expensive.
Diop says the future of solar power in Senegal is political, because there is no competition for the national electricity provider, Senelec. With all the problems of power cuts, he says a gradual push towards solar power should make it a long-lasting contributor to the country's energy needs.

1 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。

2 gatherings   

聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集

参考例句：

• His conduct at social gatherings created a lot of comment. 他在社交聚会上的表现引起许多闲话。
• During one of these gatherings a pupil caught stealing. 有一次，其中一名弟子偷窃被抓住。

3 crouched   

v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He crouched down beside her. 他在她的旁边蹲了下来。
• The lion crouched ready to pounce. 狮子蹲下身，准备猛扑。

4 flicker   

vi./n.闪烁，摇曳，闪现

参考例句：

• There was a flicker of lights coming from the abandoned house.这所废弃的房屋中有灯光闪烁。
• At first,the flame may be a small flicker,barely shining.开始时，光辉可能是微弱地忽隐忽现，几乎并不灿烂。

5 illuminates   

v.使明亮( illuminate的第三人称单数 )；照亮；装饰；说明

参考例句：

• The light shines on from over there and illuminates the stage. 灯光从那边照进来，照亮了舞台。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The sun illuminates the sky. 太阳照亮了天空。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 kerosene   

n.(kerosine)煤油，火油

参考例句：

• It is like putting out a fire with kerosene.这就像用煤油灭火。
• Instead of electricity,there were kerosene lanterns.没有电，有煤油灯。

7 illuminating   

a.富于启发性的，有助阐明的

参考例句：

• We didn't find the examples he used particularly illuminating. 我们觉得他采用的那些例证启发性不是特别大。
• I found his talk most illuminating. 我觉得他的话很有启发性。