SSS 2009-10-08_在线英语听力室_免费在线英语听力学习网站

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Homes are rising on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. No, it's not a return of Hoovervilles thanks to the Great Recession¹. These are solar homes competing in the U.S. Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon, which starts October 8.

From Cornell University to Virginia Tech, 20 student-run teams have designed homes that will be judged on 10 fronts: from lighting² to how energy efficient the cooking can be—even the washing up afterwards.

The homes incorporate³ the latest technology: an iPhone app to control windows described to me by Team California co-leader Allison Kopf. Smart energy meters that can communicate with the grid⁴ employed by returning 2007 champions Technische Universitat Darmstadt.

I'm personally rooting for Team Missouri. It's where I grew up and it's not typically known for its solar technology.

The winner will be announced Friday, October 16, but in many ways it doesn't matter who takes the glory. Homes eat up 20 percent of U.S. energy use and companies are donating their products to the students to prove their real world energy efficiency. The true winners will be the homeowners putting some of these energy efficiency and solar technologies to work tomorrow.

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1 recession
n.（工商业的）衷退（期），萧条（期）
参考例句：
Manufacturing fell sharply under the impact of the recession.受到经济萧条的影响，制造业急剧衰退。 A rise in interest rates plunged Britain deeper into recession.利率的提高导致英国经济更加萧条。

2 lighting
n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光
参考例句：
The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。 The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

3 incorporate
vt.包含，加上，吸收；把…合并，使并入
参考例句：
Paints incorporate with oil.颜料与油混合在一起。 We had to incorporate the company for tax reasons.由于纳税的原因，我们不得不把那家公司合并了。

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。