VOA标准英语2013--肯尼亚地热开发

 

Kenya's Geothermal Industry Grows 肯尼亚地热开发

NAIROBI — With Kenya's proximity¹ to the Great Rift², once a hotbed of volcanic³ activity, the country is the biggest producer of geothermal energy on the continent. Currently 13 percent of the national grid⁴ is powered by this renewable energy, but untapped geothermal fields have the potential to cover all of Kenya's power needs, and then some. 

在肯尼亚接近大裂谷的地方，曾经是火山活动的温床，这使得肯尼亚成为非洲大陆最大的地热能源生产国。百分之十三的国家电网的电力由这种可再生的地热资源提供，虽然如此，待开发的地热资源的潜力完全可以提满足肯尼亚的全部用电需求。而且远不止于此。

Near the Kenyan town of Naivasha, Isaac Kirimi treks⁶ up a steaming hillside. Kirimi is a drilling superintendent⁷ with KenGen, Kenya’s leading power company.

在肯尼亚小镇Navasha附近，Isaac Kirimi正在蒸气弥漫的山坡上跋涉，他是肯尼亚能源巨头KenGen公司的钻探项目总监。

“This is like a live volcano! You can easily convince someone you’re in hell,” he said.The rocks underfoot are still soft. He looks for a small bushy plant known as geothermal grass, which thrives in high ground temperatures.

他说，“这象个活火山，你很容易让人相信，你来到了地狱”。脚下的岩石仍然很软，他正看着一种叫地热草的小藻木类植物，“这种草能够在地面很高的温度下茁壮的成长”。

“It is normally used by scientists to give them an indication of where there is potential for geothermal resources,” said Kirimi. "A scientist is like a wild person. You are imagining things and now trying to transfer that imagination. And try to convince someone to invest in that is not very easy."

“科学家通常会把这种草视为当地蕴含有丰富地热资源的标识”，Kirimi 说道：“科学家就象个野人，他正在想象事情，然后正试图调动这种想象，试图去说服人们来投资一件不容易的事情”。

Investing in renewable energy

投资再生能源

Today, more than 30 years after KenGen built its first geothermal plant in the area, investment in renewable energy is booming. KenGen, with government support, is ramping⁸ up geothermal production.

自从KenGen公司在该地区建厂三十年多来，今天对再生能源投资正在激增，在国家的支持下，KenGen公司地热产量不断增加。

"The cost of drilling can be prohibitive:  the drilling costs, the power plant costs, and interconnecting all of these wells. Once you do that, you have nothing else to do for the next 25 years…except build another one. But we know the source is the center of the earth, so there will always be energy," said Geoffrey Muchemi, a development manager at KenGen.

“钻探的成本可以得到抑制：钻井成本，地热工厂成本，以及连接所有地热井的成本，一次性投入，在接下来25年你不需再做什么，除非你再去建另一个。我们知道地热资源是地球的中心，所以是源源不断的”。KenGen公司开发部经理Geoffery Muchemi这样说。

For now, a majority of Kenya’s energy needs are met by hydroelectric power.  But hydropower is diminished during rain shortages, leading to Kenya’s regular blackouts.

To harness geothermal energy, wells are first dug more than two kilometers into the earth’s surface.

现在肯尼亚的电力供给主要靠水力发电，但水力发电受限于估水期，这使得肯尼亚经常实行用电限制。为了获得地热，首先地热井必须要钻到地面两公里以下的地方，

The steam released by the wells is monitored for several months. If it's exploitable, hot water and steam are extracted from the well.  The steam travels through pipes to a power plant, where it is converted into electrical energy. The water is re-injected into the earth.

然后通过地热井释放出的蒸汽需要几个月的监测。如果符合可开发条件，地热水和蒸汽就会通进钻井抽取出来。蒸汽通过众多管道进入到地热发电厂，在那里它被转换成电力。利用完后的水又重新注回到地下。

Displacement⁹ fears

搬迁的恐慌

Near the wells, KenGen is also developing a geothermal spa. It features a large pool with mineral-rich waters, modeled after the Blue Lagoon¹⁰ in Iceland where many KenGen engineers studied.  

在地热井的附近，KenGen公司正在模仿冰岛Blue Lagoon温泉疗养院进行spa疗养院的开发。它的特色就是一个大的富含矿物质的温泉水池。

But not all Kenyans support the expansion of geothermal energy.  

但不是所有的肯尼亚人赞成地热能源的开发。

Reuben Sempui belongs to a Masaai community on Mt. Suswa, the site of a proposed geothermal project.

Reuben Sempui是一个叫Masaai 的部落的居民，这个部落位于地热开发地点的Suswa山上。

"The Masaai live inside the outer crater¹¹ rim⁵. In the inner crater rim, nobody lives there," Sempui explained. "So these are the manyattas [homesteads] where the Masaai live."

他抱怨的说：“我们Masaai人住火山边缘的外面，边缘里面是无人区，那里是Masaai的村落。

Sempui’s community faces displacement if the project goes ahead. Members of the community are negotiating with KenGen, demanding employment opportunities and a share of the revenue generated by the well. 

Sempui 的部落害怕由于地热项目的进行迫使他们搬迁，居民们正在和Ken Gen公司进行谈判，争取工作机会以及分享地热井开发项目的利益。

1 proximity   

n.接近，邻近

参考例句：

• Marriages in proximity of blood are forbidden by the law.法律规定禁止近亲结婚。
• Their house is in close proximity to ours.他们的房子很接近我们的。

2 rift   

n.裂口，隙缝，切口；v.裂开，割开，渗入

参考例句：

• He was anxious to mend the rift between the two men.他急于弥合这两个人之间的裂痕。
• The sun appeared through a rift in the clouds.太阳从云层间隙中冒出来。

3 volcanic   

adj.火山的；象火山的；由火山引起的

参考例句：

• There have been several volcanic eruptions this year.今年火山爆发了好几次。
• Volcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.火山活动产生了温泉和沸腾的泥浆池。

4 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。

5 rim   

n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界

参考例句：

• The water was even with the rim of the basin.盆里的水与盆边平齐了。
• She looked at him over the rim of her glass.她的目光越过玻璃杯的边沿看着他。

6 treks   

n.远距离行走 ( trek的名词复数 )；长途跋涉，艰难的旅程（尤指在山区）v.艰苦跋涉，徒步旅行( trek的第三人称单数 )；（尤指在山中）远足，徒步旅行，游山玩水

参考例句：

• And visiting companies and completing job treks are becoming much more important in the job search. 参观公司、进行实地考察在找工作中变得重要得多。 来自互联网
• These range from treks around Mont an ascent of North Africa's highest mountain, Mount Toubkal. 参与者是徒步绕勃朗峰，然后攀登北非最高峰托布卡尔山。 来自互联网

7 superintendent   

n.监督人，主管，总监；(英国)警务长

参考例句：

• He was soon promoted to the post of superintendent of Foreign Trade.他很快就被擢升为对外贸易总监。
• He decided to call the superintendent of the building.他决定给楼房管理员打电话。

8 ramping   

土堤斜坡( ramp的现在分词 )； 斜道； 斜路； （装车或上下飞机的）活动梯

参考例句：

• The children love ramping about in the garden. 孩子们喜欢在花园里追逐嬉戏，闹着玩。
• Have you ever seen a lion ramping around? 你看到过狮子暴跳吗？

9 displacement   

n.移置，取代，位移，排水量

参考例句：

• They said that time is the feeling of spatial displacement.他们说时间是空间位移的感觉。
• The displacement of all my energy into caring for the baby.我所有精力都放在了照顾宝宝上。

10 lagoon   

n.泻湖，咸水湖

参考例句：

• The lagoon was pullulated with tropical fish.那个咸水湖聚满了热带鱼。
• This area isolates a restricted lagoon environment.将这一地区隔离起来使形成一个封闭的泻湖环境。

11 crater   

n.火山口，弹坑

参考例句：

• With a telescope you can see the huge crater of Ve-suvius.用望远镜你能看到巨大的维苏威火山口。
• They came to the lip of a dead crater.他们来到了一个死火山口。